Real Agents. Real Winners: Anna Armstrong Wins WJD Annual Agent Contest

Anna Armstrong Wins WJD Annual Agent Contest!

Every year, WJD Management hosts a special contest for Northern Virginia Real Estate Agents where one lucky agent is awarded free NVAR dues for a year, plus a generous referral commission. WJD runs this special contest as a way to thank agents who are out there showing our rental homes. The nice thing about our contest is, even if you do not win, you still receive a generous referral commission for your referral plus our promise that we will return your client to you when they are ready to sell. Becoming a part of our network is simple and rewarding. We view our relationships with agents as partnerships and understand your desire to maintain your relationships with your clients. This is a big part of why WJD Management focuses 100 percent on property management! We do not want to compete with you. We want to do what we are good at, and let you do what you are good at.

We know it is a competitive market out there and we also know that agent referral programs are a dime a dozen. The main difference with ours, aside from the fact that we do not sell real estate, is our commission structure is more generous than most. We offer up to a 30 percent commission rate for referrals–and payments are issued on time and quickly! In fact, here is what one agent recently said about receiving her commission: “Finally sat down to do my books for the last two months and saw the very generous referral commission for 6109 Holly Tree Drive. Thank you so much! –Tanya Salseth, Keller Williams Realty.”

In addition to our generous referral commissions, our relationships with agents are real. Last year, as in years past, we awarded one lucky agent free NVAR dues. Our winner last year was Anna Armstrong! After we announced that she had won our contest, we caught up with Anna because we wanted real insight from a real agent. Anna Armstrong leads Team 1intergrity powered by Samson Properties, and here is what she had to say about working with WJD Management.

What Anna Armstrong Had to Say About WJD Management’s Client Referral Program

Anna Armstrong: I first contacted WJD Management in the Spring of 2018 and have been working with them ever since. They have consistently held a large portfolio of listings spanning the NOVA region on a year-round basis. As a Realtor, it’s nice to be able to show properties to prospective tenants even when the market slows down.

Tenants who rent properties managed by WJD must adhere to a vacating checklist upon move out which includes having the carpets and the entire property professionally cleaned. This helps to ensure the properties are ready to be shown to prospective tenants. Properties that are clean and “show ready” are much more likely to be rented and this makes my job easier as a Realtor.

Working with WJD has helped me grow as an agent and has also helped my business grow. They receive inquiries from prospective tenants and funnel those through a list of trusted Realtors. Among the inquiries they receive, many of the prospective tenants are qualified. Instead of having to hustle and “pound the pavement” to find my next client, WJD has the resources to facilitate that.

WJD has a smooth application process that makes it easier on the applicant and Realtors. They provide an online application which eliminates a lot of back and forth communication and corrections needed between Realtors and their clients. They also provide a YouTube tutorial that walks the applicant through the process. That has been a great tool to share with prospective tenants.

One of the best things about working with WJD is that I never have to wait until my client moves into the property to receive my commission check. The check is mailed once the lease is signed. Also, I don’t have to ask WJD for a copy of the signed lease. Once the lease is signed, I automatically receive a notification email and then I can download it at my convenience. Another great thing about working with WJD is the generous amount of commission offered. It’s 10% higher than the market standard amount.

Additionally, I would be remiss if I did not say a special “thank you” to my Team 1ntegrity teammates Darrone Suggs, William Restrepo, and Mikal Walker. We all love working with WJD and I owe my continued success to them because it’s truly a team effort.

To learn more about WJD’s Client Referral Program and our Annual Agent Contest please visit www.wjdpm.com and click “For Realtors” for details. Finally, don’t forget to connect with us on social media! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest for tips, ideas and updates.

Agent Guide! 10 Rules for Simplifying Rental Showings

in Realtor Tips, Uncategorized

Are you looking for tried and true rules for simplifying rental showings? Let us help you! Here are 10 Rules for Simplifying Rental Showings.

Call 1st or appointment only? Wait for callback or show the property? Help!

Agents, we’ve heard you. Here’s your 5-minute guide to rules for simplifying rental showings–courtesy of WJD, the Northern Virginia property management firm with more than 30 years’ experience in residential rentals and leasing.

Realtors: How Property Management Referrals Build Your Business

in Realtor Tips, Uncategorized

Realtors, are you wondering how property management referrals build your business? Get great advice on how property management referrals build your business from Top-Producing Agent Beth Kenney.

Introduction:

Recently, in an effort to thank the Northern Virginia Realtor community, WJD Management sponsored its first-ever contest drawing for agents. The prize was reimbursement of a full year’s MRIS dues—a $660 award. Real estate agents are the lifeblood of a firm like WJD—especially since we operate without any affiliation to a sales brokerage. We figured the start of a new year was the perfect time to offer a gift that would give a boost to one hardworking Northern Virginia agent.

The contest was administered by an independent contractor (and the name randomly drawn by a software application)—but, as luck and coincidence would have it, the agent whose name was drawn is one we’ve worked with many times over the years: Beth Kenney, of Berkshire Hathaway Homes Services (BHHS) PenFed Realty in Reston.

In conversations we had with Beth after she received her prize check, we learned a lot about what’s motivated a top-producing Realtor to refer well over 40 clients to WJD over the span of her two decades in real estate. For agents who wonder how a property management firm can benefit their business (i.e., help their clients), read Beth’s story:

From In-House Property Managers to Outside Referrals

NVAR Lifetime Top Producer Beth Kenney

When I started out selling real estate, there was a property management firm housed in the same Vienna office I worked from. You’d think it’d make all the sense in the world for an agent to use the in-house property management arm of their brokerage, and it made sense to me at the beginning too. But honestly, I had such negative experiences with that property management company that it led me to be open to other avenues.

And when I stopped and thought about it, why wouldn’t I want to look beyond the brokerage I worked at? I believe you have to be super-independent—and I’m never a blind follower of anything. Just because some service is located conveniently within my own company doesn’t mean I should use it. In fact, that might be the biggest reason not to use it. When you look for outside vendors, you’re guaranteeing a measure of accountability. Even more than that, you’re avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest between your clients’ needs and your (or your brokerage’s) financial interest.

I like showing my clients that what they need is important enough to look outside my own company. And they’ve always appreciated that.

Plus, it’s pretty awkward when you make an in-house referral and your own company lets you down. When you refer to independents like WJD, you can hold them accountable, since they know you owe them nothing, and they have to earn your referral every time.

Build Trust First. The Listings Will Follow.

The key to success in real estate is building trust–over time–with your clients.

It’s been as much about trust for me, though, as it has been about accountability. My goal is always to build trust—first and foremost with my clients. And from the beginning, David Norod at WJD built trust with me. Actually, just as a side note, David was the person who convinced me to get involved in real estate in the first place. I was in the same building as him—a college grad, magna cum laude, answering phones.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “You’d be awesome in real estate!”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

I feel lucky that I found David, a property manager I could trust with my clients—not to mention someone I genuinely liked. And property management is what he does. It’s all he does. I know David’s motivation will always be there to make my clients happy as their property manager, because this is his bread and butter. Unlike the property management arm of that first brokerage I mentioned, he doesn’t have a sales business to fall back on if he lets his rental clients down. He has to please them.

How Does the Property Management Referral Process Work?

So, a typical referral would play out something like this:

I have clients who need to get a certain price on their home or it’s just not worth it to sell. Or they have a tight timeframe to sell before leaving the area. And, whether because of price or timing (or both), they decide not to sell.

That’s the point at which I say to them, “This just may not be the right time—and that’s okay. Let’s hand it over to WJD and let them take care of everything for you until it is the right time. They’re specialists. And by the way, their rates are in line with everyone else’s.”

My job is easy after that, since WJD handles everything. And it’s always worked out well. Every client that I’ve referred who’s ended up hiring WJD has been pleased. So I benefitted. I provided a valuable resource to my clients. And that’s a huge part of my business. I provide great resources.

“Who Will Take Care of My Home When I Leave?”

Your clients love their home. They want reassurance that it will be cared for as they would care for it.

People go to their Realtor all the time and say, “Who can manage this place for me when I leave? Who’s going to make sure it gets taken care of the same way I’d take care of it if I were here?”

Will an arm of a sales brokerage take the best care of your client’s property? I really don’t think so.

WJD’s a pure value-add in my business, because I can honestly tell someone who asks those questions, “Don’t worry. They’ll take great care of your home. Whether you decide to sell it after renting it out or to come back and live in it, you’ll be happy. You won’t have to constantly worry.”

The “Zoe’s Kitchen Effect” (and Letting Realtors Know They Matter)

Like the favorite Vienna eatery, Zoe’s Kitchen, WJD is “making it fun”–offering contests, giveaways, and chances to enjoy community at the local level.

And by the way, I really like the way WJD is now reaching out to Realtors now by offering prizes and making it all fun. It kind of reminds me of Zoe’s Kitchen in Vienna, giving people a free entrée just for stopping by. The free entrée gets folks into Zoe’s Kitchen—and once they’re there, they see how great a place it is and become regular customers. I think contests and giveaways are a nice way to let Realtors know they matter. And they can only benefit by learning more and sharing a great local resource with their clients.

(Note: If you missed WJD’s last contest, no worries. You can get an advance entry into the next one–an all-expenses-paid NVAR dues award–by signing up here.)

My advice to other agents is this:

It’s not really about the money you might earn today—making a referral to a professional property manager involves long-term thinking. Sure, it’s nice that you’ll end up with a client referral fee from sending your clients to a firm like WJD. But that’s nothing compared to what you’re really building—which is a relationship.

A strong, stable relationship with clients who will eventually list with you when the time is right. Because their home was well taken care of when they needed the help the most.

For more advice on how property management referrals build your business and information from WJD Management follow our blog and find us on Facebook @wjdmanagement, Twitter @WJDManagement, and Instagram @wjdpm.

5 Real Estate Marketing Tips for Twitter

in Advice, Realtor Tips

Agents, are you looking for real estate marketing tips for Twitter? Do you need to get better at real estate marketing for Twitter? We’ve got 5 real estate marketing tips for Twitter that you can start using right now!

Finding new real estate marketing tips for Twitter is challenging. Generating real estate leads–whether here in Northern Virginia or in any local market–can be as simple as building your brand on Twitter (and sending the right messages to the right people). In this post, we’ve listed some of our own cool discoveries about Twitter. In mastering this noisiest of social media platforms, here’s how even the busiest of real estate professionals can use Twitter strategically. Build your brand, without drowning in a sea of competing voices.

If you know how to manage it, Twitter is a platform tailor-made for local lead generation. In fact, as a Realtor you should be aware of the power of Twitter to drive prospects your way in a remarkably efficient manner. Brand stewardship, the sales funnel, and the importance of connecting with potential clients…there’s nothing new here. Twitter is just a unique way to perform all these old marketing maneuvers.

To get you started on your own social media marketing campaign, here are the 5 Twitter essentials every Realtor should know. Nail these, and you’ll be fielding Twitter leads like the pro that you are.

#1. Become a Master at Positioning Your Brand

Twitter is great for building your brand, but figuring out where it fits into your business can be daunting. Diving into heavy Twitter activity without a first having a well-developed positioning statement could mean you’re wasting your time, at best. At worst, you’re committing social media blunders that could damage your reputation somewhere down the road. Even famous and powerful Twitter users well-schooled in the fundamentals of branding have made serious gaffes on Twitter- Al Roker, Mark Cuban, a Virginia State Senator, and even a press secretary (whose job is all about communication, after all!) have all made career-damaging Tweets in the past. And top brands with mega-sized budgets for social media marketing aren’t immune to Twitter gaffes that made onlookers wince.

In just the last couple of years, McDonald’s, US Airways, and LG have all committed deeply damaging Twitter mistakes. The point is, you should really figure out what your brand’s position will be on Twitter before you ever post your first tweet. To do this, take stock of your brand. Who are your ideal clients, and how can you reach them? Once you find them, how will you stand out in a sea of Realtors on Twitter?

Your positioning statement will emerge after you take the following steps:

Know who your ideal clients are and what they’re looking for. Young families? People who’ve recently moved to the area? Young professionals? Each of these groups will be interested in very different local resources–and will need very different types of real-estate-related information.

Decide what you’re going to tweet: Will you limit your tweets to real-estate-specific subjects, or will you offer glimpses into your personal life as well? You want to make human contact but there’s a limit to how many everyday details your followers will find interesting.

Figure out how to excel by offering better content than your competitors. If they offer tips on buying a home, beat that by offering followers something they haven’t seen before (more on this below, in Essential Tip #3). And whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of just broadcasting out your listings willy-nilly. That’s not really meeting anyone’s needs. It’s just adding to the noise in the Twitterverse.

#2. Strategize Your Profile

You could say Twitter is tailor-made to provide endless marketing ideas for Realtors. That’s because as a real estate sales agent, you have one great advantage over other types of businesses: You are your own brand. Thus, it’s perfectly natural for you to set up your Twitter account under your own name rather than a business name. And it’s way better to be a person on Twitter than a business.

Years of Twitter stats now prove that people prefer engaging with people over businesses. That goes for your profile picture too. Don’t use a logo, a snapshot of a house, or anything else other than a picture of yourself.

You are your best asset when it comes to reaching out and engaging your followers and turning them into leads…so put your profile to work for you. Think of it as your business card.

(Take a lesson from WJD on this one. We learned that other Twitter users were a lot more eager to engage with us once David, the owner, had his picture up there. The logo came down for good, and now users see David, who’s also a local rock musician, performing on his bass guitar.)

#3. Engage, Engage, Engage

Just like working a room, when you use Twitter the goal is to be engaging. Although you’re limited to 140 characters, tweet naturally like you’re having a conversation. This is not the time to be using cute chat acronyms like 4COL (for crying out loud). Be interesting, be useful, and be relevant. And use pictures when you tweet! Sharing local content (like images of places your target market would know) is especially relevant for Realtors. After all, you’re looking for local leads.

“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” – Leo Burnett, advertising tycoon of the 1940’s & 1950s

As with just about everything else online, good content will get you places. Whether it’s sharing other people’s tweets (“retweeting”), sharing useful articles you’ve come across, or republishing useful content on your own website, always ask yourself first, before tweeting, if you’d find it to be of value if you were in your ideal client’s shoes.

Stay on top of what third-party tools are available to help you with engaging your followers. One is IFTTT (“If This Then That”), which makes retweeting automatic, among other things. Let’s say you’re a Realtor in Fairfax and your goal is to develop lead potential via Twitter. You’d like to engage your followers with useful tweets and you’ve come up with the idea of keeping them informed on local real estate news. Well, guess what? You can manually do tedious online searches via online newspapers covering Fairfax and tweet them, OR you can have IFTTT do it for you. (We sort of prefer the automated approach.) As long as those local sources have Twitter accounts, IFTTT will retweet any of their relevant tweets for you. Meanwhile, you can be elsewhere, doing more important things.

IFTTT will do almost anything for you on Twitter, including:

replying to new followers
sending a LinkedIn invitation to your new Twitter followers
automatically archiving tweets to Evernote or Google docs to keep track of engagement

#4. Learn Twitter’s Search Function and Use it Often

Just as you would do when moving to a new neighborhood, see who’s nearby and make friends on Twitter. Twitter’s search function is very often missed by Twitter users who, sadly, never benefit from this awesome feature. You’ll have to enable your settings to allow for Twitter to learn of your location…enable that and then let ‘er rip. You’ll be presented with a handy list of Twitter accounts managed by people in your neighborhood. And in the Northern Virginia region, don’t forget local hashtags like #NOVA, #NorthernVirginia, and town names like #Herndon, #Reston, #Arlington, etc. For local interest news items, try combining those local hashtags with interest-based terms that your target market would be interested in. Perhaps terms like #FarmersMarket, #FoodTruckLove, or #Jazz.

After identifying local “tweeps” you want to connect with, strike up a conversation–and enjoy the dialogue with a potential lead or local connector.

#5. Use Stats to Improve Your Twitter Lead Generation Results

Influencing your followers in the non-linear world of Twitter is hard enough, even before you begin worrying about how you’re going to track them as well. But tracking is essential–know your customers and their behavior, so your efforts at engagement aren’t wasted. There are useful apps for tracking your followers and even finding out who the bad ones are and weeding them out of your account like so many uninvited guests.

This becomes a cumbersome task once you have a good number of followers, so having a tool to do this for you is key. One such tool is ManageFlitter. It will scan your list of followers and weed out the “fake” accounts. What you end up with is a highly relevant collection of followers who are more apt to hear your message, engage with your tweets, and maybe someday become clients. In other words, Twitter holds the promise of bringing you “the good leads”, from the prospects you want in the neighborhood you’re targeting. Connecting with the right people and sending the right message have always been what real estate boils down to…Twitter may simply get you there faster.

WJD Management cares about realtors! In fact, as part of our commitment to Realtors, we offer the following:

A 30 percent client referral fee at lease signing
We guide your clients through the entire rental process making your life easier

Plus…

We give your clients a full menu of services including:

a best-in-class lease that protects their interests
a secure, automated payment portal
a staff of professional, licensed contractors

On top of that, we focus 100 percent on residential property management and leasing and there are no other PM firms in the area that we are aware of who can say this. What this means is that if you refer a client to us for property management, there is zero competition because we do not list or sell real estate; your clients remain your clients after you have referred them to WJD.

To learn more about our Referral Program simply visit our Client Referral Page. Also, be sure to join our Referral Network.

Finally, don’t forget to connect with us on social media! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest for tips, ideas and updates.