In our April episode of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick of At Properties, Carrie discusses how in grade school she was able to tell an emotionally engaging story about a seashell during show and tell and how she uses that same principle today to list properties. D.J. talks about how you can partner with third-party management companies to send your clients virtually over to their leasing consultants and earn a commission along the way!
If you’d prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on YouTube!
Carrie can be reached at carrie@atproperties.com or by phone at 312.961.4612.
Please follow Carrie on Instagram by clicking here.
Transcript
D.J. Paris 0:00
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Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real, the largest podcast made by real estate agents and for real estate agents. My name is DJ Parris. I’m your guide and host through the show. And today, we are speaking once again with Carrie McCormick for our Monday market minute. If you’re not familiar with Carrie, she’s actually been with us since the very beginning almost four years on the show. We’re so grateful to have her she’s one of the top real estate agents in Chicago. And just to tell you how big a deal that is. There are over 44,000 Real estate agents in Chicago, she is always in about the top 15 Out of those 44,000, sometimes top 10. She’s been a top producer for over 20 years, she’s with AP properties, and just an amazing broker. And if you want to find her online, please visit her on her website, which is Carrie McCormick our e.com Again, Carrie McCormack ar e.com. And also please follow her on Instagram. She has an unbelievably wonderful Instagram account and it’s a great it’s a great model for how real estate agents probably should do Instagram so you can find her at at Carey McCormick real estate again at Carey McCormick real estate. Carrie once again. Thanks and welcome.
Carrie McCormick 2:13
Well thank you. It’s a wonderful intro. appreciate it as always. So hope you’re doing well hope everyone out there is staying safe and sane right through this time. But I wanted to chat today to talk a little bit about marketing. Right now obviously, times have changed and I wanted to bring everybody back to your grade school days. So do you remember your show and tell days at school? Yes. What all you know, it was a nerve wracking time, but I remember show Intel and while I’m asked her that really early on in my years, and I never thought show Intel would you know be part of my professional career. So just a quick little backstory about Carrie. When I grew up, I was actually a tomboy. And I remember my show and tell days at school or by date that came and I was at home, feverishly looking for something to bring to school and being a tomboy. You know, I didn’t, I was afraid that the girls were going to judge me or the boys were going to judge me and my favorite toy was the General Lee from the to
D.J. Paris 3:23
Sure. And that was a favorite toy of mine as well.
Carrie McCormick 3:27
So my mom convinced me not to bring the generally to school. But what she did tell me she she brought me this, this shell and she’s like remember this, you know, the C shell that we got when we were in Florida. And she started telling me the story about the day that we found this, this shell and how we’ve kept on to it. And you know, it’s just it’s been in our house ever since. And you know, she was such a good storyteller. It just made me think it made me feel like happy, you know, hearing that story and just kind of remember at the beach and how the sun felt that day and the sound of the waves and the seagulls and you know, brought a smile to my face. I’m like, Yeah, you know, I’m gonna bring this shell to school and, you know, so I go to Show and Tell day and, you know, I get up in front of the class and, you know, my hands have got this shell. And, you know, I can just kind of feel like the classroom looking at me like, Oh, God, you know, shell you like really, you know, and so I got up in front of the class and I started you know, just not talking about the shell. But I was talking about the day I found the shell and how it made me feel and just created this story around the shell. And I do remember at some point, you know, the classroom just kind of like leaning in, right? Like, you know, like, I want to hear more about this and you know what happened next and so it just it didn’t become a story about the shell. It just became a story of emotion and how it made me feel and You know, I mean, really fast forward to now, that’s what we have to do. Right? So we can’t show properties for the most part, we can, but you know, a lot of people aren’t out. So we have to know, tell people about the properties, right? We need to turn our listings into consumable virtual content now, and we have to think beyond this visual, we have to engage people. And we do that through storytelling, you know, so I think our, our descriptions of the homes and you know, our marketing just has to change. A few years ago, I came up with this marketing campaign. And if you look back to my, my Instagram, you’ll see that I had this ad that said, every home has its own story. Yeah. And our job is to tell the story of this home and make it come alive. I think we’ve been inundated by these images of homes, right? You just start clicking through these homes. But what a story does is it engages somebody in it tells the history and the personality of the home, right? You start engaging and connecting with people’s emotions. And I mean, think about even those like Budweiser commercials. If you remember, those are some of these commercials that make you feel a certain way. Yeah, yeah. So what we have to do, so not only now, are we real estate agents, you know, we’ve got to be storytellers and marketers. One thing that I’ve done is when I sit down with a seller is I asked them, you know, their perspective of their home, like, what’s, what’s their favorite, you know, design of the home, the architecture, the history of the home, even sometimes quirks of the homes and have them tell you a story. So if it’s, you know, you know, my kids loved it, you know, hiding out under the stairs, they would play, hide and go seek there. I mean, that’s when you do showings. And when you could talk about that when someone else storage under the stairs, just be like, Oh, I got a funny story. My, you know, my sellers, kids used to, you know, play hide and seek down here. Again, it’s sharing moments, it sharing the history of the home that really makes it come alive.
D.J. Paris 7:10
I have a friend who bought a home recently, and it had a lap pool in the back I, you know, I’m not a practicing realtor myself. So I haven’t really seen one before. And, and it’s really unusual, it’s just a long, thin pool. And, and I said, What’s the story behind that, and he had bought the home, it was there when he bought it. And he told me this story about how the guy was training for this. It was some sort of triathlon, and he was so into it, that he built this into the backyard. And anyway, it created a story because I think you’re right, like what happens when someone buys a home, and their friends come over for the housewarming party as they look at something that might be unique about the home or unusual? And they’re like, what’s the story with that? What happened there? And so you’re right, like, when you have a listing, you now have the ability to tell those stories, and people love to know the history of of a place or what’s unique about it. And, and you’re right, I think so often Realtors FORGET TO to incorporate that. And that’s also one thing that the disruptors in particular the the algorithms, you know, the companies that are trying to, you know, just automate, a lot of the home buying selling process really can’t do. They can’t tell that story. They can show pictures, they can tell you the facts. So I think you’re right, they call that story selling, I think, this idea of Yeah.
Carrie McCormick 8:33
So another thing is, you know, as you’re talking to your sellers, and you’re writing your story about the home, make sure that you include key terms that buyers are likely to be searching, right, you have to think about all buyers searching, and you know, you can take advantage of a little SEO as well. So as people are, you know, Googling certain terms or certain aspects, you know, like lap pools, a good example, you know, I mean, that’s kind of broad, but you know, at least you know, you have some sort of descriptions to that give a little bit of history about it. Also, I’ve started doing a little bit more perspective of the homes from the outside. So because clients aren’t going out as much, you know, they don’t know, excuse me, they don’t know, like, what the street scene looks like. Right. What’s next? We take our pictures, we take a just at the front of that house. Yeah, you know, we don’t know what the neighbors look like. And Google Earth is become a very helpful tool, but also just, you know, videoing coming down the street coming into your, you know, front door, what does it look like to the left to the right. So definitely have more pictures, just in general, but I’d say also start incorporating some pictures from the outside as well.
D.J. Paris 9:45
You know, that’s a really that’s a really good idea, because I know that when I am looking to move, I want to see what’s nearby, and especially now when it’s not as easy to get out and be mobile, and actually go visit the properties. Now is the time For the realtors out here, let me show you what the neighborhood looks like. Let’s show you if you’re in the city, like what’s nearby what cool shops and restaurants and, and retail establishments. So it’s a and what the scenery looks like nearby.
Carrie McCormick 10:11
And now that the trees are budding and you know, everything’s starting to look better. So it’s really a good time to start, you know, doing some outside shots and more neighborhood shots. So, you know, the market is the market. And, you know, I think first and foremost, we have to, you know, worry about everyone’s safety and, and health. But also, you know, real estate is important, because it’s our home, you know, and we obviously, everyone’s spending more time in our homes. And and I do think that in times of uncertainty, you know, real estate can bring a tangible solution, and breathing room for people who are changing crate or craving change in their life. So I think it’s really an important aspect. And, you know, it’s our job to bring it to them.
D.J. Paris 10:59
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. I mean, I know I’m feeling I don’t know how you’re feeling. But I’ve started to think about, you know, maybe it’s time for me to upsize. Maybe it’s time for me to when, when this all when we return to normal, and maybe even before we return to normal, us to really get serious about you know, I’ve spent, I do, I’m lucky enough to be able to go into the office still. And I’m lucky most people don’t get to do that. But even with the amount of time I’m spending at home, which is more than normal, I’m still feeling confined. And I suspect a tremendous number of people are feeling that same way and, and are, you know, I think now more than ever, and people are also looking online to I think we’re maybe just have a little bit more time and we’re feeling you know, like, oh, maybe it’s a little too too close for comfort. And, you know, now’s a great time to reach out to those clients. And obviously check in to see how they’re doing, but maybe even wait for them to tell you hey, you know, it’s good thing you called I’m actually thinking about maybe maybe finding a bigger space or just a different space,
Carrie McCormick 11:58
right? Especially work from home, you know, people are going to be working from home, they need their own space. So it’s an interesting time, and it’s our job to you know, to help keep the real estate market moving forward and doing the right thing.
D.J. Paris 12:13
Yeah, I also wonder too, and I don’t know much about the commercial world we have we’ve had commercial brokers on the show before but I’m curious and how many people once you know were able to return to work, I wonder how many employers are going to say you know, this work at home things works pretty well. And so I think from the residential side, there are going to be a lot of people going and I don’t really have a dedicated space for our home office. And this might be more of a you know, regular thing for me now or maybe at least some of the days of the week I’m going to work from home. And so I think there’s gonna be a lot of movement when every thing returns and rates are so low and it’s such a great time if you are looking to buy to to just be doing that and so I think now more than ever realtors are so important just staying in touch with the clients you know waiting for them even to reach out saying you know, I think I need to upgrade so I agree. I agree. So here’s my marketing tip of the of the month and you know, this might not necessarily apply to everyone listening so I apologize for that in advance but I think this will apply to most most broke Most brokers and when I say brokers I need to remember that not everywhere. Realtors are not always called brokers. So agent broker, realtor, whatever it is, you call yourself real estate professional. But here in Chicago this is quite popular and I imagine in many metropolitan areas, even maybe more rural areas you can still do this. So in you know we all know about the MLS and the MLS. I’m going to be talking about rentals just for a moment of course the MLS has lots and lots of rentals. Typically these are owners who are looking to rent out properties that they have two potential tenants but there’s also another side of rentals which are third party management these would be companies that either own or manage buildings or, or units that they typically don’t list on the MLS and a lot of times Realtors forget that their these opportunities exist because they’re not on the MLS and so often we’re tied to the MLS and thinking that’s the inventory. Well that is the inventory but there’s also this non MLS inventory so here in Chicago at least there are dozens of big property management companies that never list any of their units on the MLS and so if you’re a broker in an area and you have renters you know you can oftentimes feel limited by what’s available on the MLS. So if you can reach out to these, these these properties, you just call them and ask say hey, do you work with with realtors are you willing to pay a commission if I bring you someone and right now it’s actually kind of a you know, realtors don’t have to do as much work because a lot of these these management companies have their own in house leasing staff. They love it when brokers call they love taking right now they’re not getting calls, either they’re there, the phone’s not ringing as much. So if you have somebody that’s looking for an apartment, now it’s, you know, it’s probably in some ways easier than ever to pass them over to some of these leasing consultants, you still obviously earn a commission, and they’ll do the virtual showing, or if they’re able to go see the property that’s possible to, but just remember, these opportunities exist. And really, it’s as simple as just, you know, going online doing a search for apartments, if you’re a realtor, and just reaching out to the management company and say, Hey, I don’t know if you if you partner with agents or not, but I have somebody that would really love to see this property. Do you guys accept those kinds of referrals? And you’ll find more often than not that those, especially right now, and things are slower, those firms want your calls. And so reach out, you can pass it over to their leasing consultants, they’re the best ones to do the showings anyway, you can maybe be there on a virtual, you know, in the background, or just turn it immediately over. And I’ve heard from a lot of management companies right now saying, Please, please, please have your realtor’s call us we need tenants. So great opportunity. And if you’re in an area that you’ve never done that before, great opportunity to reach out to those management companies and build a relationship and say, Hey, I do get renters, and I would love to send them over your way. So that’s great. I agree. Awesome. Well, if anyone out there is listening who would like to work with one of the top Realtors in the Chicagoland area which by the way we are the second largest real estate market in the country are second or third. This is a big deal. Carrie is legitimately one of the very top Agents Brokers. She is well respected. She’s been doing it for 20 plus years. Carrie, what’s the best way a client can reach out to you or somebody who’s looking to work with you?
Carrie McCormick 16:49
Sure. So call I love when people call so it’s 312-961-4612 or you could shoot me a quick email at Kerry ca RR ie at@properties.com.
D.J. Paris 17:03
Also, please follow Kerry on Instagram, you can find her at Carey McCormick real estate I I’m oftentimes not impressed always with how Realtors promote themselves on social media. Carrie is the exception, she just does it. so unbelievably well, she does it all herself too, which is even more impressive. So if you want to see what a really impressive and wonderful Instagram account looks like follow her there Carrie McCormick real estate and also if you want to see a really great realtor website as well, Carrie McCormick R e.com is where you can go and learn more about Carrie. But definitely reach out to her if you are interested in finding a top agent to work with. Or if you’re just interested in learning more about Carrie. Well, Carrie, thank you so much. I’m glad to know that you and your family are safe and healthy. And you are still going strong. Thank you. Oh, God, I lost you for a second. Yeah, thanks. Thanks again. And we will, we’ll see you next time I want to on behalf of Carrie and myself, we want to thank the listeners for continuing to support our show. We’re now four years in and we’re going as strong as ever, and we have the most number of listeners we’ve ever had, which is so so we’re so grateful for that. And also please tell a friend think of one other agent that could benefit from watching or listening to these episodes and sending them over our podcast. And also please follow us on Facebook, you can find us@facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod and behalf on behalf of the listeners and myself. Carrie, once again, thank you for taking time we’re doing this on a Sunday morning, by the way. And that’s how dedicated Carrie is so kind to be on our show on taking time away from from her business and family to share with our listeners. So thank you so so much. Thank you. All right, we’ll see you next time.
Carrie McCormick 18:56
Awesome. You’re the best. Thanks. Thanks
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