Tips from a real estate celebrity: Sam DeBianchi
Recently, we had the pleasure of working with Samantha DeBianchi.
Sam is not only a top producing agent in south Florida. She’s a sought-after real estate expert for news outlets like Fox Business, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, HuffPo, Forbes, Inman, and Bloomberg to name a few. Plus she’s the first female star of Million Dollar Listing Miami, the real estate reality show on Bravo TV.
Now Sam is onto her next venture — coaching. SamSpeaks! is an opportunity for agents everywhere to learn more about how Sam built her brand from the ground up. She’s going to help agents identify what makes them unique and then capitalize on their natural abilities.
Throughout our recent conversations, Sam has dropped several nuggets of inspiration. We captured most of them here for you.
Wake up and READ. Know what’s going on in the world so you’re ready.
This is actually what Sam does every day. She’s on Twitter, she’s on Instagram, she’s on Facebook, but not just for casual connections. She’s watching what the buzz is about, reading headlines that are trending, and looking for the why underneath the what. She believes that you can never truly know enough and it’s so important to keep learning!
What’s your hook on the data? How will you make it your own?
And here’s step two of the tip above. Once you get the trends, what’s your take on it? Why does it matter to your market, the industry or your customer base? Why should people care? Don’t just regurgitate the facts. Put them into context. This is how you create your own voice that you can market to other outlets.
Reality shows are scripted. (Surprise!)
Next thing you’ll say– there’s no Santa! Just kidding. Sam was very matter of fact when she talked about instances on Million Dollar Listing Miami on BravoTV when there were many “real” moments that needed to be shaped and scripted. Okay, this isn’t really a tip, but it’s important for everyone to know. Especially with the next tip.
Make your own mini-reality show.
This is a killer tip. Want to get camera-ready? Don’t wait for a production crew. Do it yourself! Simply record yourself talking and watch it. Do it again and again. Then use Facebook Live, Periscope or Snapchat to start sharing it. Get used to sharing your story on camera and get comfortable in front of it. Work your way up to weekly installments with a common theme.
Want to make your direct mail stand out? Put your letter in a colored envelope!
This was one of those little tips that Sam dropped off-handedly. And talk about a practical tip to put use right away. A few days after the webinar, we got a note from an agent who was opening her own direct mail and tossed everything but a bright blue envelope, which she promptly opened. Then she realized, “Sam was right!”
It’s not all about the leads. Buzz matters!
Well, this sums it up for us. At Adwerx, we focus on helping real estate agents create that brand awareness, that sense of being “everywhere.” And Sam gets that. That’s what public relations is all about, really, and can be incredibly effective for real estate agents. Not everything you do should be focused on leads. Use tactics that build your brand so that the lead gen tactics work even better.
Visit SamSpeaks! to learn more about coaching and subscribe to the podcast!