Real Estate Wisdom from a Veteran Coach

Thriving During Real Estate Market Shifts: Insights from a 30-Year Veteran | Feat. Yvonne Arnold  

Grounds for Success. 

Yvonne Arnold got her real estate license in 1988. She and her husband are licensed in Southern California and Northern Idaho.

In 2009, Yvonne became coach #14 in Tom Ferry’s burgeoning organization, which today boasts a team of nearly 200 coaches. “I was one of the original gangsters,” she says.

Recently, Yvonne joined host Shawna Martinez for an episode of “Grounds for Success” from Espresso Agent.

Over the course of their conversation, Yvonne shared nuggets of wisdom gleaned from more than three decades as a successful agent and coach. In this post, we’ll share a few of those nuggets. You can watch the entire interview below.

STAY ON THE CUTTING EDGE

Anticipate change in the marketplace.

When asked to explain her success in the face of constant change in the industry, Yvonne quotes retired NHL icon Wayne Gretzgy: “I knew where the puck was going and got there first.”

Yvonne stresses the need to pay attention to market conditions; not just your market, but the U.S. market and even global markets. You need to “feel when something is ready to shift,” she says. As an example, she references Southern California’s real estate collapse in the early 1990s, precipitated by the departure of the aerospace industry. She began to work with REOs, or real estate owned properties. These are foreclosed properties owned by lenders like banks, government agencies or loan insurers.

Her experience with REOs paid off in the early 2000s, when she anticipated the 2008 real estate crash.

LIST TO LAST

Kiss babies and shake hands.

Having worked on both sides of the real estate fence, she eventually turned to listings as the primary source of her revenue.

But she’s quick to point out that an agent needs to put much more time and energy into prospecting listings.

“You have to do much more than advertise and post in social media,” she says. “You have to make calls. You have to go out and see people. You need to kiss babies and shake hands.”

Yvonne stresses something that most top-producing agents know: “A buyer or seller will work with the agent who is in front of them at the moment they decide to buy or sell.”

It’s all about persistence.

SWEAT EQUITY VS. CHECK EQUITY

There’s no easy button.

Yvonne bemoans the fact that so many agents spend lots of time and money trying to find something to make their business easier. But, in reality, “there’s no easy button.”

She stresses that what works is doing the work. What works is getting comfortable with being uncomfortable with things like making prospeecting calls. “Nothing good comes from staying in your comfort zone,” she says.

You need to stay consistent in your program, in what you’re doing to grow your business. You need to have conversations, or, as she puts it, you need to “go belly to belly.”

YOUR MISSION: GET AN APPOINTMENT 

The key is to build rapport.

As we’ve said numerous times in this blog, the real magic in prospecting is to get in the door so you can look at your prospect face to face (or, belly to belly as Yvonne might say).

Yvonne echoes this sentiment. “I think you should be texting and video texting and all of those things we didn’t have back in the day,” she says. “However, I still believe if you make a phone call you have a better opportunity to get in front of someone.”

You always need to “push for the meeting” to close the deal.

HELP THEM BUILD WEALTH

Adding value.

Regardless of the industry, great sellers know that the key to success is to provide value to the prospect. But this perspective is magnified in real estate because we are helping people with what could be the most important decision they will make in their lives. In other words, we’re in a high-stakes profession.

That’s why Yvonne believes you have to view your job as “helping clients build wealth.” “I’m meeting them to solve a problem,” she says. “They’re going to hire me, and then I get paid at the end for solving their problem.”

With FSBOs, in particular, once you show them your value, they become “your biggest raving fans.”

THE ESPRESSO AGENT EDGE

It’s about the data.

Yvonne has been a long-time client of Espresso Agent.  She notes that agents have so many lead sources requiring payment. But Espresso Agent provides the data the serves as the foundation for her business. Armed with Espresso Agent’s accurate, reliable data, she knows that the rest is up to her: calling, following up, getting the appointment, making the presentation and CLOSING THE DEAL!

If you are not familiar with Espresso Agent, you should check out our industry-leading lead generation system that includes:

• The most accurate and up-to-date expired and FSBO leads, delivered to your inbox every morning.
• Plus, For Rent by Owner (FRBO) and Pre-Foreclosure leads.
• Advanced real estate farming leads/software.
• A superior CRM system that helps keep you focused and on-task.

CALL US to learn how Espresso Agent can enhance your real estate prospecting efforts.