Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:00 — 36.3MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | Subscribe to Elite Agent
Digital Marketing, for Real Agents, is essential if you want to stand out.
Want more from this episode?
Get access to the full episode guide, quick video tips, tools and more by joining our community or becoming a subscriber
This week we welcome innovators Mark and Lisa Novak to the show to discuss how they use digital marketing to drive business.
Mark got his start in the Real Estate industry working as an agent – and by the age of 21 he found himself the top seller in someone else’s company.
After receiving encouragement to start his own firm many times, he founded The Novak Agency.
Lisa came on board to drive the marketing department, and only recently moved into sales herself.
Over the years, Mark and Lisa have demonstrated repeatedly that they are not afraid of change, trying new things at every opportunity.
A great example of this is how they’ve been able to leverage social media to fuel their success.
This episode is a peek into the approach that has enabled them to dominate digital marketing within the Australian real estate industry.
In this conversation, we talk through the mindset they had to develop to be successful on social media.
Lisa shares how every agent can and should be creating live videos to demonstrate competence and build a connection with their future buyers and sellers.
We also discuss how the Novak’s get the word out through all social media channels and why they believe that in the digital age, there’s no excuse for a delayed response to customers inquiring about their services.
And since we recorded this episode on Mark’s birthday, as an added bonus you’ll hear how Lisa and Samantha celebrate the occasion, right near the end of the recording.
If you would like to meet Mark and Lisa Novak – they will be part of our Street MBA Sydney Tour on the 25th and 26th of September. Book at https://eliteagent.com/streetmba.
Outline of This Episode
- How and why Mark started Novak Properties despite his initial reluctance
- How Lisa went from marketing to selling
- “Open 24/7” – How Novak Properties makes it happen in real-time
- The 3-minute appraisal approach: How the team works together to pull it off
- How Mark and Lisa overcame the challenges of growing the business
- Next on the horizon for The Novak Agency: digital domination
- How they scored nine deals in the past few weeks – just from Facebook
- The principles you need to follow to get results from live Facebook videos
- Practical advice for managing time and getting rid of the “head trash” that can hold you back from engaging content creation.
With mobile devices in-hand, there’s no excuse for delayed responses
Two of the well-known promises the Novak Agency have made to their customers:
- The office is Open 24/7
- The 3-minute appraisal
Obviously, both of those guarantees require someone to be available to respond to enquiries the moment they come in – and the Novak Agency has built systems and team cooperation that enables it to happen without fail. It does take a lot of work, but its work the pair says is well worth the effort.
Digital Marketing for real estate is about consistency, authenticity, and getting past the fear…
Mark and Lisa receive feedback from people all the time about how helpful and even anticipated their videos and other social posts have become.
They believe it happens because of three simple things:
- Consistency
- Authenticity
- Getting past the fear
All three points are vital – and you can hear them each explained in the episode audio. But on that last point, Lisa says she came to the realisation that the fears running around in her head about how she might look, whether she might make a mistake, or if her hair looked alright were irrelevant. What mattered most was serving the people who needed the content she was producing. When she’s able to keep her focus on that, she can produce content that meets a need – and she’s even learned how to do it on-the-fly without much preparation.
2.4 million impressions over 28 days – and it’s free (mostly)
How effective has The Novak Agency’s approach to digital marketing been? Over any 28 day period they are making 2.4 million impressions with their social media efforts. As little as five years ago, that kind of viewership on any broadcast medium would have cost more than any agency could afford. But now, social media makes it possible, for free. At least it’s free in terms of the money you have to spend.
But Mark makes the point that it’s not free in other important ways.
You’ll have to invest time in producing truly valuable content that resonates with potential buyers and sellers. That’s a cost you should not underestimate.
For the Novak Agency, these costs have been recouped multiple times over.
Case in point: Lisa has signed nine real estate deals directly from her digital marketing efforts using Facebook in the last few weeks. That’s the kind of influence and engagement with real customers that every real estate agent is looking for. Lisa’s experience proves it’s possible if you’re willing to put in the time and work required.
Social media content creation is not about you. It’s about the people you help – and how your brand resonates with them
As you start to think through the types of content you should create for social media, the first step is to realise that what you’re doing is not about you. That means you want to forget the “head trash” that tells you not to move forward (eg fear) and instead focus on the people you have the potential to help.
Lisa’s advice: Find what fits you.
For example, Lisa discovered that she genuinely enjoys connecting with people and finding a way to help them – whether that help is in the form of real estate advice and services or not. When she serves in such an unselfish way, people remember her when it’s time to list their property or buy a new home.
On the other hand, when she tried to apply the “golden rule” of real estate by prospecting through cold calling (she actually printed out the Novak Agency database and started making calls), she knew within a day it wasn’t something she’d be able to sustain long term.
The Novak Agency social media approach flows out of that same belief of doing what fits you personally. Lisa and Mark are entirely themselves on social media, speaking honestly about the properties they have available, essentially doing their job as an agent in full view of the public. In doing so they are building and projecting their brand identity and ethos with every video and post.
As a word of final advice, Mark says that it’s very obvious agents have to sell real estate, but what you stand for while you’re doing it is super important. Quoting an old maxim, he says,
“It’s better to be worth a dollar than to have a dollar.”
By that, he means that your personal brand communicates your worth – customers will come to you, respond to your videos and social media efforts, and list their homes with you when they see that you (your brand) stand for something valuable.
Why is it so important? The typical customer interviews three to four agents when they start looking for a real estate professional. When you stand before a potential customer alongside other agents, offering the same exact services, something needs to stand out – and it needs to be smarter, faster, better, and stronger than your competitors. THAT distinction comes from being clear about your brand and communicating it well.
True to form, Mark and Lisa are entirely transparent in this conversation, explaining in very clear terms how they have maximised digital marketing for real estate. You’ll benefit tremendously from listening to what they share and applying what you learn.
Resources & People Mentioned
- The Novak Properties 3-minute appraisal
- Facebook Marketplace
- Mel Robbins’ 5-second rule
- Angie Gensler’s Social Media Calendar
Connect with Mark and Lisa Novak and The Novak Agency
- https://thenovakagency.com/
- Novak Agency on Facebook
- The Novak Agency on Twitter: @TheNovakAgency
- The Novak Agency on Instagram: @NovakProperties
Connect With The Elite Agent Team
Subscribe to Elite Agent Elevate on
Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, iHeart Radio, or Spotify
