The Alimond Show
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The Alimond Show
Ingrid Pickett: How A Creative Mind Builds Client Trust In Real Estate
I am Ingrid Pickett. I am Northern Virginia realtor and I serve all those who are looking for a new place to live. And it's been a pleasure to be able to serve people in this capacity. It's really fun. I love it.
SPEAKER_00:Amazing. I can't wait to just learn more about everything you do to make it happen.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So take me back to how you got started in all of this. Tell me how you got to where you are today.
SPEAKER_01:Funny story. My husband, about five years ago, he told me, he said, you need to be a realtor. And I'm like, I know we want to invest in homes and flip houses and all that, but I don't think I need to be a realtor for me. And the honest answer is I was afraid of the test. Fast forward a few years later, I had this calling, I guess, in the middle of the night, or actually when I was waking up, and I just felt a really strong impression to get your real estate license. I should have listened to my husband because five, that means I would have been a realtor much longer, but I didn't. At that point, I went on and started to study. And like I said earlier, I was afraid of the test, and I don't even know why. And I just went on and studied, studied, studied, and then I took the test and passed, and here we are today.
SPEAKER_00:The rest is history.
SPEAKER_01:The rest is history, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:I love it. I love it. It all just aligned together.
SPEAKER_01:It really did. It really did.
SPEAKER_00:And what have you enjoyed most about working in real estate so far, especially when it comes to connecting with clients and guiding them through the important decisions?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it's very pleasing to me to connect with people that I don't know one-on-one, hear about what their needs are, and to be able to, to the best of my ability, serve them in that capacity to help them find something that's very important, which is a new home. I really love connecting with people. In the beginning, they tell you, talk to people. Well, I had no issues there. I love talking to people. It's been very refreshing for me.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And I think that's one of the best personality traits a realtor could have is to just be a people person and love that human connection.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, awesome.
SPEAKER_00:Amazing. And with that, you've received wonderful feedback from clients about your dedication and responsiveness. How do you approach supporting clients through what can be a very significant and life-changing process?
SPEAKER_01:Listening.
SPEAKER_00:Listening.
SPEAKER_01:Listening is how you do that, how you approach it. You go into a house and you see it and you may or may not like it, but it's really not about you. It's not about me, it's not what about what I like, but it's about listening to the need of my clients.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And just giving that like personalized experience.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00:And meeting them where they're at, no matter where that is.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. Exactly. And everybody's at a different phase in life. Everybody's doing what they need to do for themselves now. And if I'm not listening, then I'd miss the whole thing. So listening is definitely it.
SPEAKER_00:For sure. Listening and doing your homework.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:And a large part of your work so far has involved rentals and helping people secure housing. How do you bring the same level of care and attention to clients in rental transactions as you would with buyers or sellers?
SPEAKER_01:The same. I've I believe that no one is, I don't know what you would call it. Everyone should be treated the same. And it's very, to me, it's like when you hear realtor, you're thinking buying and selling. But renting is also a thing. And I love being able to help people get into their new home. For if it's for 12 months, if it was for 18 months. Like for us, we lived in a home renting before we bought for five years. So I think that it's very important not to make a difference between whether someone is buying, selling, or renting. I think it's all the same.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:It's all the same goal, getting someone into a new home.
SPEAKER_00:For sure. It's a big milestone either way.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:And I feel like we all start out renting too.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:And you share that you believe the market is beginning to move in a more positive direction. How do you help buyers or sellers feel encouraged and confident when they're considering their next step?
SPEAKER_01:It's a very it could be a grueling process in terms of purchasing a home. And I think the best way to do that is to start with getting them into the lender. And of course, at Long and Foster, we have all those, we have the man, the mortgage company, Prosperity in-house. So getting them over to uh Brian and help letting him say, okay, you can qualify for this amount or you can do this. I think that is the first step because it helps people know where they are and where they can go. So to me, that's the first step I would encourage people to do.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, got it. It's really interesting to see all the different moving parts and pieces.
SPEAKER_01:A lot of moving parts you can do behind the scenes. Yes, it's a lot.
SPEAKER_00:Everyone really works together. And I think that old saying teamwork makes the dream work. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I agree with it wholeheartedly.
SPEAKER_00:It's so true. And just going back into relationship relationships, real estate is built on relationships. How do you intentionally create a sense of trust, comfort, and partnership with your clients from the very beginning?
SPEAKER_01:It is interesting and it's a good question. I don't know if there is an absolute targeted answer to that. But for me, I have other businesses. So I know I have a network of people that I already work with that I'm connecting with in order to let them know this is what I'm doing now. And it's very interesting how people want to trust who their realtor is. I feel like that is going to help me in this business, but I also feel like I can do the same when meeting a new person and just being me authentically who I am, which is going to hopefully get them to the point where they trust me and they are going to allow me to help them in this process.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. So I love the point that you made about authenticity because that's so crucial. Just in this field, I feel you really want to let your personality shine through. They can get a feel for who you are and know that you're on their side and they get it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Fortunately or unfortunately, I am who I am. I can't even pretend to be anyone else. You get what you're saying. And most of the time it works. Beautiful said. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And working with Long and Foster has been such a strong part of your experience so far. What aspects of the brokerage have helped support your growth and confidence as an agent?
SPEAKER_01:As a referral, from a referral one from one of my very good friends that's been a realtor for over 25 years. And that's where she worked. But now she's gone on to another brokerage. But what I really like about Longa Foster is it sets you up and it it presents a lot of learning tools so that as a new agent, we can really grow in that space. Also, the realtors that are currently realtors and have been realtors for 20 plus years are very helpful to anyone who's new to be able to easily transition into the field. I love Longa Foster also because I think I said it already. There is people that you can plug into throughout the industry. So inspectors, home warranty people. It's very easy. You don't have to go out and search for it. It's right there for us. So that's the thing I really love about it. It's just been a great experience so far.
SPEAKER_00:Such a well-rounded team. It's almost like a family.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, absolutely. It's great. It's great.
SPEAKER_00:Wonderful. And long and foster, they offer a wide range of in-house resources from, like you said, lending to inspections and title services. Yes. How does having that full service support benefit your clients throughout the transaction?
SPEAKER_01:It makes it much easier. They don't have to go out and look for a lender. They don't go out have to go out and look for a title company. We can show them who to go to for insurance. We can say, go there for inspections. And it makes our job easier. We know who everyone is. So we can call them up and say, hey, did you go to Mrs. Smith's house to do her inspection today? Like it's very cool to have all that in-house. It's awesome. And I think that for people that are going through this process, you want to make it easy for them. And I think Longa Foster has that down packed when it comes to ease.
SPEAKER_00:Such a streamless process. You can't ask for anything better than that.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. Very streamless, yes.
SPEAKER_00:And in addition to real estate, you also co-own a relationship consulting business with your husband. How does that background influence the way you communicate, problem solve, and advocate for your clients?
SPEAKER_01:Because it's called Love First Couples Movement. We do premarital and we do premarital counseling. We do maintenance for couples that are married. And we do for people who haven't trouble, we also help them. The one-on-one that we offer with couples and the strategies that we have developed in our own marriage, now we share with other people. And we just want to help one family at a time, be great. So we really troubleshoot and we, like I said, we have strategies. We have all kinds of tools. We have all kinds of homework. And we really key in on helping people with whatever trauma, drama, or just helping them get evolve as life evolves. It is not a manual for marriage or for being a couple. And we have gone through from the top to the bottom of what can happen in a marriage. And we use what we what helped us, what made us stronger. We use that. And we have also built on what we've known for ourselves in terms of education for ourselves and our business. So we really are into helping people. We're into helping people with problems. We love it. We're into it. That's what all we want to do. And it's not grueling to us. It's a great thing. Friends say, How can y'all do that? People are calling out with the problems. How can you help people? How can families get better? Someone has to do it. We're those people.
SPEAKER_00:I can definitely see your passions just kind through it.
SPEAKER_01:No, it went on. Sorry.
SPEAKER_00:No, I love it. You can just really tell that it's a big part of you.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And we all need help sometimes. Yes. And we're all human at the end of the day. And I think that is it's just a really wonderful thing that you guys are able to do and help out the community and everyone around.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:And speaking with that, you're also an artist. Yes. And describe yourself as highly creative.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:How does that creative lens show up in your real estate work? Whether it's visualizing spaces, understanding client vision, or just seeing potential others, seeing potential others might miss.
SPEAKER_01:I think being a creative, it really puts you. I'm a person that's outside of the box already. Like I'm that person. So I think that lends to being able to not lock a person when they're coming to me for help in terms of real estate, not lock them into a box. Because there are many boxes that go along with, you know, what you should do, what you, this is the way you should do it, this is how you should go about it. I feel like by me being a creative, it already sets me into a place where I'm not doing that for people. I'm already out of the box. So I'm gonna always be out of the box. And I love being out of the box. Not always been popular, but who cares? I'm I am who I am, uh-huh. And I love it.
SPEAKER_00:That is such a good analogy.
SPEAKER_01:Who wants to be in a morning on box? That's right. The box needs to be a triangle sometimes. Sure.
SPEAKER_00:We all need to show our individuality and just uniqueness. Yeah, love it. And as you continue to grow your real estate career, what kind of clients do you feel most aligned working with?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's a question that don't think there's a real answer to it. You know what I mean? I think that aligning with everything else, I align it, I'm gonna align with my perfect client. That's really the short of it. I can't answer that any other way.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Just anybody needing help and wanting to learn more. Yeah, and I'm not for everybody, I'm sure. And it's okay, but I know that I feel like that I will align with who I'm supposed to. And also when there's someone that's before me that may not work, I hope to know that's a thing too. Okay, I don't think that this is working. But that's not anything that I anticipate happening because when I meet someone, I do everything I can to make it work. You know what I mean? But you have to be realistic. There's everybody's not going to be my perfect client.
SPEAKER_00:Sure. Sure. Absolutely. And I love I just love how you put it. And I don't think you have any problems with that. Yeah. You're I really don't. It's super easy to get along with and fun. Yeah. I'll definitely be hitting you up someday when I'm getting ready to go. Please do. Okay. Okay, great, Kate. And when somebody looks back on their experience working with you, what do you hope they remember most about the way you guided them through their real estate journey?
SPEAKER_01:I'm gonna go back to I listened. I listened. I did not go over or dismiss anything. I absolutely listened and that I was able to represent them well.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much, Ingrid, for joining me on the podcast and sharing your story with all of us. I wish you the absolute best of luck and all that comes your way in the future.
SPEAKER_01:I really appreciate that. I receive it all. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you.