Greetings
Last week I was in Charleston South Carolina for the annual Compass Retreat with 1,000+ of my realtor associates. And while the parties were terrific, I'm most grateful for the smaller gatherings; the early morning beach walk, the breakout seminars, the intimate lunches and dinners where I was able to get a better sense of how my associates operate; their mindset and methodology.
In this month's newsletter, I’m pleased to introduce an amazing realtor out of Richmond Virginia who treats her clients like rockstars (literally). I'm also sharing an innovative Compass strategy that helps homeowners list and sell their property on their own terms, and presenting a new tri-level home with killer views in the Hollywood Hills above the Sunset Strip.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving week and let's go Lions!
Rocking in Richmond: Meet Annemarie Hensley
Annemarie Hensley and her team have been offering white-glove customer service in the Richmond Virginia suburbs for over 20 years, priding themselves on treating their clients as if they were rockstars, ensuring that all their desires are taken care of. And, trust me, she knows rockstars. You see, when Annemarie isn’t helping folks buy and sell real estate, or spending time with her husband and two daughters, or volunteering in the community, she’s on the road with Bruce Springsteen. No, not as a member of the E-Street Band. But as a fan. Last month she took in her 60th show. She’s seen him across 9 countries. She was a “fan” during the Super Bowl halftime show. Heck, Bruce even pulled one of her daughters up on stage to sing a few years back.
You can meet her in the short video below and if you’re interested in exploring the Richmond Virginia area (or want tips on how to score prime tickets to a Springsteen show), I’d be thrilled to make an introduction.
Helping Homeowners Succeed On Their Terms
For years, the traditional way of selling a home has been part of a system that disadvantages sellers by showing negative insights on their listings, such as days on market, public price drops and inaccurate home value estimations. At Compass, we belief that homeowners should be able to sell their home on their terms.
Our 3-Phased Marketing Strategy gives sellers that power of choice, while protecting and promoting their home’s value. With it, we can:
- Test Aspirational Pricing
- Harness the Power of Pre-Marketing
- Learn From Real Time Insights
- Eliminate Days on Market & Price Drop History Risk
Phase 1: Compass Private Exclusives
- Soft launch your listing privately to our network of 33,000 agents and by extension, millions of buyers
- Fine tune pricing and positioning based on real-time market insights.
- Respond to a buyer who is willing to present a preemptive offer in order to eliminate a public bidding situation.
Phase 2: Compass Coming Soon
- Receive key engagement insights on how buyers and buyers’ agents are viewing, commenting and sharing your listing.
- Signal to the market that increased competition for the listing will be coming soon
- Generate market interest without damaging days on market or public price drops.
Phase 3: Live on All Platforms
Launch publicly on the MLS and the home search sites (Zillow, Redfin, Homes.com, et al) where your home will be seen by a wider audience while accruing days on market and visible pricing history.
Learn more here or reach out for a free consultation.
What Do You Love?
I’m not one to moralize, but it sure seems like LOVE is in short shrift these days. To quote the great Stevie Wonder, “love’s in need of love today.” But how do we tap into the reservoir of love within our hearts when there is so much hatred and fear out there on full display?
Last year, in support of our book, we held a number of 45-minute family events in LA revolving around the idea that when we identify the things we love, we exponentially grow the love we have to offer.
And it worked! As our audience arrived, they’d each receive an 11x17" handout of the above colorful heart along with some crayons and markers. We’d invite them to think about all the things they love, then name or draw a few within the empty heart, thus filling it up.
From there, we’d talk with the audience about some of the things they loved. To kick things off, we’d show images that stimulate our senses or touch our heartstrings: people, places, pets, foods, etc. As the audience got more comfortable speaking and sharing, we’d delve a bit deeper, talking about internal love and the things that make us feel good: giving to others, improving our skills to achieve something, standing up for what we believe in.
At event’s end, we’d ask the audience to identify one thing they discovered they loved today and share it with someone who wasn’t at the event – a grandparent, sibling or classmate – thus spreading love.
The beauty of this experience is that it connects generations. Not only do both parents and kids get to know something new about each other, we often learn something new about ourselves.
I invite you to bring this exercise into your home this holiday season. Download the Empty Heart printout here. Bust out the crayons and start talking about all the many things you love with your family and friends. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results.
Featured Listing
9350 Sierra Mar Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90069
4BD|4.5BA offered at $2,349,000
Live out your Hollywood dreams in a newly remodeled tri-level home with killer views in the Bird Streets overlooking the Sunset Strip.
Listed by Ron Holliman
310.270.6682|DRE #01161952