With interest rates still high and more sellers staying put, how can realtors still manage to gain listings? This was the looming question on every real estate agent's mind going into this next year. According to Blake Shawn, who still sold over 100 homes this past year, he and his team shifted from solely focusing on transactions to gearing his team towards maintaining their local real estate authority, going “out-side-the-box” with their real estate marketing and utilizing real estate technology like their custom real estate app.

‍^‍‍^{We recently sat down with Blake and he shared his strategies for winning listings, staying relevant and leading a real estate team in a challenging market. Watch or read on to learn more!}

Think of how you can provide value and maintain relevance in a down market, rather than solely focusing on sales numbers.

“You don't need to have 100 personal sales this year for it to be a win. You need to get deep in relationships with vendors, which we'll talk about how we're doing that with the app, And get deep into the communities that I serve. That could be the city itself, chamber of commerce events, or reaching out. Then utilizing technology like our real estate app to validate who you are as an agent. Because and gives people that level of trust where they know you are not just because you have an app, people are like oh yeah, they're legit. Like, literally it can be that simple sometimes for people's minds…I want our team to have the unfair advantage when we go into any listing appointment when we go and talk to someone, like our reputation, and our team and our brand should supersede us.”

First build momentum by building a real estate app, but continue to utilize it in your funnel to truly grow your business over time.

Blake explains the importance of having a branded app integrated with their Follow Up Boss CRM to streamline their workflow, but also how crucial a tool like a branded app is to capture your real estate prospects information and attention.

"You have to play the long game wen building your real estate tech stack. Yes, you can build a real estate app and post about it on social media, you can go on our Instagram and see that we did, it was really cool and it allows you to build build momentum out of thin air. But where you see results is how do you continue to utilize it as a funnel and that is a mindset change. They preach to realtors "CRM, CRM, CRM, grow your database, grow your database, grow your network". However, technology has changed, the CRM, in my opinion, is secondary to the technology that's catching the information - real estate app! At one time, the CRM, catching your online funnels was it, now, you need a real estate app to get in front of people because they are on their phones! The old method works for a certain amount of the population, but trending to the larger population is a real estate app. So I knew it was inevitable to build a branded real estate app for my real estate team, and anyone that is on the fence, understand that at some point, you will have to have a branded app."

"The goal right now is not “get rich quick”.... It is to provide value to your prospects in a down market and maintain your local authority. Whether sales are up or down, you can always be the local real estate expert in your area…it comes down to “How can I provide value for the people that need to buy or sell now?” and “How do I stay relevant and top of mind for the people that don't?” If you do those two things, you will still gain market share.“

For a Team Leader integration of your real estate app + CRM is essential

"Having our HomeStack real estate app integrate with our Follow Up Boss CRM from a real estate team leaders perspective, there's a peace of mind attached to it. Knowing that my real estate agents have individuality through the app, but that at the end of the day, the app back end, and my CRM is still catching all prospect contact information allows us to utilize it on a larger platform. For email marketing campaigns and drips, targeted ads, we have still a centralized database in two locations where my marketing team or whoever to have access to and work."

Blake provides tips for encouraging people to download the app, such as using language that emphasizes the value it provides for free and slowly building a relationship through push notifications.

"Our real estate app just feels more personal. At Open houses, or even in your everyday life, it's the perfect way to connect with new people you meet and bring them into your real estate systems and network. You literally have your branded app in your hand and it's easy to grow your database and in a way that feels organic as opposed to more old school methods. It doesn't feel like you're "selling something" when you share your own branded app. It's a lot friendlier and I'm able to be more of myself when asking for their personal information utilizing my own real estate app."

Blake explains how push notifications can help businesses stand out by associating them with trusted brands, creating a larger sense of affiliation.

"Think of app notifications like the ones you get from big store apps the places that you trust and use every day. It's the same mentality. I don't even care if they disregarded it, because, the idea is that subconsciously it gets in the consumers head about you, real estate, your brokerage and that you are affiliated with something bigger is bigger. It also takes a lot of this individual sales pressure off of the agent. It allows the real estate team to start marketing and branding from a higher level."

"Consumers expect you to at least be able to match the technology and information that they have available to them? I can tell you that. The most basic level, yeah, you have to provide value as a realtor. And if they can go to other apps and get the same info without you. How do you provide your value outside of the service in the transaction itself? But at that point, it's too late. You have to catch him over here in the beginning part.

Blake shares how The Shawn team is winning listings over competition, and  provides examples: having a high value proposition and using their real estate app to showcase listings.

"The key to win listings in any market is to have a high value proposition or be a part of a real estate team that does. Your reputation should precede you. Recently, I went to interview for listing with multiple agents. When the other agent found out he was up against me, he ended up just canceling. He knows what our real estate team does with marketing and technology like our real estate app. He knows how strong my listing presentation is and honestly, I don't even call it a presentation, I call it a conversation. I always want my team to have the "unfair" advantage of walking into a meeting like that.

Blakes foolproof strategy for getting listing clients on his real estate app and shows the marketing value.

"When I am with clients, I have them download our real estate app right away. I say "Hey, do you mind opening up your phone for me?" I have them download the The Shawn Team app before we even start our appointment. I'll make sure both parties are downloading it because I want them both to see the value that it has.

Then while they're downloading it, then I'm talking about the neighborhood comps. Pointing out "See those purple dots, those are The Shawn Team listings" Our Featured Listings in our app have their own color so they pop and all of our 400+ users are seeing our listings first.

Next, I let them know "I really want you to know, while interviewing other agents and real estate brokerages is, if you list with The Shawn Team, you're actually get pre -marketing started on our real estate app, several days before we go live. And what that does for you is it gets activity built up so that when we do go live and run our first open house, we have some decent traffic. Otherwise that would have taken a week or two to get going, sound good to you guys?" Boom, that gets them excited."

Blake encourages realtors to overcome their ego and pride, and be vulnerable and honest in their videos, as this is how they can truly connect with their audience and build trust. He emphasizes the importance of being vulnerable authentic on camera, even if it feels uncomfortable or challenging.

"In the real estate industry, there's a lot of pride and ego. Don't let that block you from getting on the camera. We've all been on the receiving end. Watching a friend or competitors video and you may have cringed, but in the back of your mind, you are like "good for them for putting themselves out there". And I can tell you, that's how you take market share, by putting yourself out there, even just a little bit. You can even be honest in your video, like "Hey, guys, I'm a little nervous today...but I just want you to know that I'm here for you and The Shawn team is here for you." When you are honest, vulnerable, upfront. is when you see the magic happen. Treat your video as a place to just be weird and kill your ego in the process, and then you gain market share, new friends and maybe even some real estate clients. People won't judge you for doing a video. And if they would, you don't want to be friends with those people man. Checking our, our social media groups and videos and you will see what we have been up to. And if you do a video and you lose friends, because of it, I can tell you, you're better off."

Learn more from Blake and The Shawn Team and follow along with their adventures in real estate technology and real estate marketing @theshawnteamre

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