Latest / Between Two Chairs - Demystifying Commercial Real Estate / How Can Commercial Realtors Build Community Through Social Media?

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How Can Commercial Realtors Build Community Through Social Media? · Between Two Chairs - Demystifying Commercial Real Estate

0:00
Welcome to Between Two Chairs, Demystifying Commercial
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Real Estate, the podcast that brings you the
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latest insights and trends on the South Florida
0:09
commercial real estate market with your hosts,
0:12
Fernando Arencivia Jr. and Jennifer Wolman. In
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each episode, we dive into the world of commercial
0:18
real estate and break down complex concepts to
0:21
make them accessible for everyone. Whether you're
0:24
a real estate professional, a curious investor,
0:28
or just interested in the South Florida market
0:30
in general, Between Two Chairs is the podcast
0:32
for you. So pull up a chair and join us. Welcome,
0:49
everybody, to another episode of Between Two
0:51
Chairs. My name is Fernando Arencive Jr. And
0:53
with me, as always, is the very social Jennifer
0:56
Wolman, Jennifer, say hi. Hi, everybody. So,
1:00
Jennifer, you know, this is always our. favorite
1:04
episodes is when we get to introduce someone
1:07
to our community, but also have, you know, lively
1:10
discussion about all the things that they're
1:12
doing to expand their brand, to expand themselves
1:15
and to contribute to this amazing ecosystem that
1:19
is real estate and commercial real estate. So
1:23
would you do the honors and introduce our very
1:25
special guest? Sure. I'm super excited because
1:29
today we have a long time friend of mine. We've
1:32
worked together for a really long time. I don't
1:34
even know how many years. I don't want to count
1:36
because it'll age me. But Lindley Cherobia is
1:39
a realtor with the Lindley Residential Group,
1:41
a division or a team, right? You're a team within
1:44
real estate. And the reason I thought you would
1:49
be perfect for this is because our topic, as
1:51
you know, this month is building community and
1:54
relationships. Honestly, Lindley is amazing at
2:00
creating community. So she, from the time that
2:04
we worked at a previous brokerage together, she
2:07
was always willing to share, to share her ideas,
2:11
what was working, what wasn't working. And even
2:14
though we both left, she's still creating networking
2:17
opportunities with realtors in the area. and
2:21
we get together. She has a coffee. She put together
2:24
coffee and com combos for conversations just
2:28
because I butchered that. But it's coffee and
2:30
combos. She's just nothing short of amazing.
2:33
And she also does amazing things on social media,
2:38
all about the community. She's doing a lot on
2:41
South Miami, et cetera. So welcome, Lindley.
2:44
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you both
2:47
so much for having me. It's very fun to be here.
2:50
Good. Before we get started, can you just tell
2:53
us a little bit about your background, what you
2:56
were like growing up, where you grew up, are
2:58
you native, et cetera? What got you into real
3:01
estate? And then we'll go from there. You bet.
3:04
So I actually grew up in Miami. I am a rare breed
3:09
of Miami because my grandparents both grew up
3:12
in Miami. My great -grandfather was the first
3:15
dentist in Key West and then he raised his family
3:17
in Miami. My grandfather went to Miami High.
3:20
My mom went to Palmetto. So I go way back. And
3:24
I will tell you, my mom is one of a few children,
3:27
but she has tons of cousins. everybody in her
3:29
nuclear family, everybody has left Miami. I'm
3:33
the only one left. So I'm here like preserving
3:38
the Campbell name in Miami -Dade County. So I
3:43
was born and raised in Pinecrest. Actually I
3:45
was born in Coral Gables and then I was raised
3:47
in Pinecrest. I currently, well I left for college
3:50
and thought I would never come back. So it's
3:52
a little bit ironic that I'm the only member
3:54
of the family left. here, my husband brought
3:57
me back here after college. And we live in unincorporated
4:03
Dade County, but we're like on the edge of the
4:05
gables in South Miami. So I live very close to
4:07
the University of Miami. And when I moved to
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Miami, I worked in advertising for many years,
4:14
which I think built me a perfect foundation for
4:18
what was to come in real estate, not realizing
4:20
at the time that that's what was happening. But
4:22
I come with a background in marketing and advertising.
4:25
and then I was hired to be one of the top agents
4:28
in Miami's assistant and I worked with her for
4:30
seven years and I say everything I know about
4:33
this business I learned from her and about 11
4:36
years ago I left and went on my own you know
4:40
with the same company I've been doing this for
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almost 19 years the last two of which have been
4:46
at Real Broker and it's just awesome I love what
4:49
I do I think it should be illegal to have as
4:53
much fun and enjoy my job as much as I do because
4:57
nobody loves their job this much. Don't get me
5:00
wrong, there are times where I don't want to
5:03
do it another day, but for the most part, I think
5:06
this is the best job on the planet. We get to
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help people with one of the biggest, you know,
5:11
transactions in their lives and get to know them
5:14
and make money doing it. It's like problem solving.
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It's so fun. Agreed. I remember I was on a panel
5:20
once and they asked if you weren't doing real
5:23
estate, what else would you be doing? And I said,
5:26
why don't know? Because within real estate, I
5:28
get to be everything. I can be an architect.
5:31
I can be an advertiser. I can be a marketing
5:34
specialist. I can be an attorney or pretend to
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be an attorney. Right. Like I can do all of these
5:40
things within therapy. Therapist. Yeah, that's
5:43
a big one. So I agree. And please don't bartender
5:46
for sure. So please do not make it illegal to
5:52
have this much fun because you're right. So how
5:54
did you actually transition into real estate
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from marketing? We always say that most people
6:01
come into real estate from something else. So
6:05
obviously it sounds like a great fit. I mean,
6:08
no brainer marketing advertising in real estate.
6:10
But what made you transition into that? How how
6:14
difficult of a transition was it? Sure. I mean,
6:18
it really landed. It fell out of the sky and
6:21
into my lap. I did not seek it out. I was actually
6:24
working in real estate advertising and marketing.
6:27
So I was working at McGuire Company. We were
6:30
the ad agency that helped Hugo Colombo with the
6:33
Grosvenor House. And many of Hugo Colombo's projects
6:37
on Brickell. I was working on the accounts like
6:39
the Ritz Carlton Clubs, which is the fractional
6:42
division of the Ritz. Sea Island was one of my
6:45
clients. So I was working on real estate advertising,
6:48
like high -end resorts and residential. And then
6:52
that was in 2007. So the world was sort of falling
6:56
apart. The real estate world was sort of falling
6:57
apart. Big businesses, big companies like those
7:01
were having to cut costs because things weren't
7:04
selling. Marketing budgets were getting slashed
7:07
and our company went from being a very big company
7:10
to a fairly small company. And I was on maternity
7:13
leave and got a call that my friend needed an
7:18
assistant. And so I just became a real estate
7:22
agent to go work with her. And I mean, I'll tell
7:25
you, it was Ashley Cusack. She's one of the best
7:27
in Miami. Yeah, she's awesome. So I worked with
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Ashley for seven years. And we did everything
7:36
together. Sort of negotiating, which I didn't
7:39
do a lot of when I was on her team. I did everything.
7:42
I did all the marketing. I did everything. And
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I learned so much from her. I tell anybody that's
7:49
coming into this business that I get calls all
7:52
the time. I just got my license, what do I do
7:54
next? And I say, the best thing you can do is
7:58
go be somebody's assistant. Join a team, go find
8:02
somebody that needs help because you're gonna
8:03
learn so much more working with somebody who
8:07
has a lot of volume than trying to figure it
8:09
out on your own. I didn't aspire at that time
8:13
to be in my own, like to be an agent. I was just
8:16
there to support. But obviously things changed.
8:20
I started having a family, wanted a little bit
8:23
more flexibility, which is ironic because we
8:26
all know how demanding this job is. Had a summer
8:31
where one of my very dear friends wanted to buy
8:34
and sell five properties. And I knew I couldn't
8:36
possibly serve them the right way while also
8:41
working full time with Ashley. So I tell them
8:43
all the time, they were my... How do I say this?
8:48
If it wasn't for them, I don't know that I'd
8:50
be where I am today. That's amazing. And then,
8:55
so you end up going off on your own. And I'm
8:59
trying to remember, because I know we were neighbors.
9:01
We shared an office, and now we're neighbors
9:03
again. What goes around comes around in this
9:08
business. But I remember you were one of the
9:12
first in our office to really embrace social
9:15
media. And you used to do, I think you called
9:18
it car talks or something. Or maybe I nicknamed
9:21
it that because it was you sitting in your car.
9:23
talking. Can you tell us a little bit about how
9:27
you got started in social, why you got started
9:29
in social, and how you've grown because your
9:33
account is amazing. So yes, they were called
9:36
Car Confessions. Oh that's right, Car Confessions.
9:39
I had had this idea to just tell the stories.
9:42
I mean, any ask any realtor like what crazy thing
9:45
happened in your deals last week and they're
9:47
all going to have a story. So I had had like
9:50
for six months, I'd been dreaming up this idea,
9:52
but I was too shy. I don't know. I was I was
9:56
I didn't have the courage to do it. So one day
10:00
I was on Old Cutler driving to the Palmetto Bay
10:04
City Hall to close a roof permit for my handicapped
10:08
client. We were supposed to be closing the next
10:10
week. They discovered this open permit, you know,
10:13
from a post Hurricane Andrew roof. She had since
10:16
replaced the roof, but they didn't ever close
10:19
out this permit. She couldn't get to City Hall.
10:22
And so I said, I'll do it. So I was driving there
10:25
to close this permit so we could close on the
10:28
house. And I was like, this is the perfect example
10:31
of these things that we do, these stories that
10:33
I wanted to share. So I literally, I remember
10:37
it pulled over. at the Coco Plum Circle parked
10:40
my car, put my phone in front of my face and
10:43
told the story and told myself, you will not
10:46
leave until you've posted it. So I posted the
10:50
story on Instagram and kept driving. And I don't
10:54
remember exactly what the feedback was, but I
10:57
guess people enjoyed the story. So that week
11:00
I did a few car confessions, stories. And it
11:03
just took off. What I realized was nobody cares
11:07
about our just listed or just sold. Like that's
11:10
not, that doesn't connect with people. What connects
11:13
is storytelling. And now I love being a student
11:18
to all of this. And I take classes all the time
11:21
about how to improve and they teach it. I didn't,
11:24
I just had the idea. It wasn't like anybody was
11:27
telling me this was the way to do it, but it's,
11:29
it works. You know, you tell stories, you share.
11:33
And what it did was remind people every day that
11:37
I was a real estate agent, that I was in my car
11:39
working, but I wasn't talking about just listings
11:43
and just solds, which nobody cared about. I was
11:44
connecting. And I had no intention of that. I
11:49
didn't do this with the intent to either grow
11:51
my Instagram or grow my business. I just did
11:53
it because I thought it was going to be fun.
11:55
And it put me on this trajectory of Loving it,
12:00
you know, now I have a paid videographer and
12:03
we pump out a heck of a lot of content that people
12:06
connect with. And it's been a lot of fun. Well,
12:09
and you've actually, I mean, you are. a creator.
12:13
I want to say you're an influencer, but I don't
12:16
know if I'm using that word correctly, because
12:17
I know a lot of influencers get paid, you know,
12:22
and they do collaborations and stuff. I don't
12:25
know. I don't think you get paid to do this.
12:28
My bank account says, where's the money? But
12:32
you're an influencer in the sense of, I guess
12:35
you're just a creative. You have a ton of followers.
12:39
You create great content, but you're You also
12:42
get invited to speak in places and to present
12:47
how to do social media successfully, right? So
12:51
tell us a little bit about what some of your,
12:55
I guess, flops were and what some of your successes
12:59
were with social media. Or do you feel like there's
13:02
ever really a flop? So, I mean, there have been
13:05
many flops, but I think... I consider a flop
13:09
a learning opportunity. So there's not one that
13:12
I would point to and say, I mean, sure, if you
13:15
go back in time, some of the things that I did
13:18
and said are just so cringy, but that's normal.
13:21
And you learn from it and you improve. What was
13:24
your other question? The flops and the successes?
13:26
Correct. I mean, to me, it's like what I think
13:30
I have done is I'm a student to the process and
13:34
I've I've reinvented myself and I've evolved
13:37
so much over time. So if we use Instagram, because
13:40
that's where I spend most of my time, if you
13:43
scroll down in my feed, it looks very different
13:46
two years ago than it looks today. So I've just
13:50
learned how to be better and I've changed what
13:52
I talk about. Obviously what I'm doing now is
13:55
called hyper local content. So if the goal is
13:59
to try to get business from social media, then
14:02
I don't need followers in Indiana. I need followers
14:05
in South Miami. So when I talk about what's happening
14:10
right here in my neighborhood, it resonates with
14:12
people in my neighborhood as it should. So I
14:17
have sort of shifted my focus in the last few
14:20
years. I would say when I got pretty serious
14:22
about it two or three years ago, maybe even four
14:25
years ago, I was doing a lot of content where
14:28
I was teaching people about the process or you
14:32
know, trying to make real estate fun and how
14:36
I spoke about real estate. Well, I don't know
14:40
about you, but when I am tired and like getting
14:44
in bed and winding down and I go to Instagram,
14:47
I don't really want to be taught to. I'm just
14:50
there to be entertained. And like, I'm there
14:54
for fun. So if you feed people things that they
14:58
think are fun, then they like you. If you...
15:01
teach them about a backup contract, they don't
15:04
care. Like that's not what they care about. So
15:07
I just learned over time, like if you give them
15:10
what they want, that's what connects with people.
15:14
So sharing the hyper -local stuff, like Einstein's
15:18
Bagels just closed, or Board Cuban just opened
15:22
on Sunset, that's what people care about. That's
15:25
in their backyard. They just drove by and they
15:27
wondered what that sign was. Right? So now I've
15:31
connected with you on a more personal level on
15:34
something that we both agree on. You might not
15:38
be thinking about what a backup contract is because
15:41
you're not in the market to buy a house. But
15:44
if I'm connecting with you on what's happening
15:45
in the neighborhood, now we have something in
15:49
common to talk about. So, you know, as you and
15:53
I know, as we learn about social media and connection,
15:56
We need a low barrier of entry to connect with
15:58
people and then and that's That's what's worked.
16:02
So my whole approach has been this sort of hyper
16:05
local What's happening right here in the neighborhoods
16:08
that I serve? You're going to get to know me
16:11
as a real estate agent because I tell you In
16:14
a lot of my videos that that's what i'm here
16:16
for but i'm sharing information that is really
16:18
interesting to you. I mean, yeah, my my my Instagram
16:23
followers have grown like crazy Business has
16:27
come from it because I'm super consistent. And
16:30
if we want to talk about consistency, I've posted
16:33
two videos a week for the past five years, at
16:36
least. And video, video. You were doing video
16:39
before most people were doing social period and
16:42
video is where it's at. Video is where it's at.
16:44
And I mean, we can have a whole nother discussion
16:46
about the fear of putting the phone in front
16:48
of your face. The only way to get over the fear
16:50
is to put the phone in front of your face. Trust
16:52
me, you get over it five years later. I hired
16:56
a videographer years ago and people always think
17:01
it's crazy because I do, you know, spend money
17:03
on video. But if it wasn't for her and I was
17:06
up, it was up to me to hold myself accountable
17:09
to post two times a week. I mean, there's weeks
17:11
when I'm just too busy and it would not have
17:14
happened. So I firmly believe in outsourcing
17:17
the things that we're not good at because she's
17:20
the reason I've stayed this consistent. I pay
17:23
her. I show up, we shoot video and here we are.
17:27
And so let me ask you about that thought process
17:31
because you have to be organized and I completely
17:34
understand that it's the only way to get consistency.
17:38
So where does the where do you leave room for
17:41
spontaneity in things that you're, you know,
17:44
that you see all of a sudden something, you know,
17:46
an idea that pops into your head, all those kind
17:48
of things I'm curious about, because I'll tell
17:52
you. It feels very spontaneous. It's obviously
17:55
well orchestrated, but it does feel very, very,
17:59
very yourself. You know, you're really conveying,
18:02
this is who I am. And the videos do give you
18:05
a feel of spontaneity. Right. So, well, to give
18:10
you a little peek behind the curtain, yesterday
18:12
was video day. We met in South Miami and we shot
18:17
13 videos yesterday. So... We don't need to shoot
18:22
videos again for another six weeks, because now
18:24
I'll have six weeks of content. I will be wearing
18:27
the same thing in the next six weeks of videos,
18:30
which people think, do you change outfits? No.
18:33
No one notices. And if they do, whatever. So
18:36
what I do is I keep a note in my phone. So does
18:40
she. And anything we see that we want to talk
18:43
about, we put in the notes. We kind of have a
18:45
little pow wow, usually the night before a shoot,
18:48
to talk through. what we're going to shoot, where
18:50
should we start, because being on site, I think
18:54
is important. So we're kind of just making a
18:56
map across the across town and going from place
19:00
to place to shoot video. Now, spontaneity, there
19:05
are so so I post every Monday and Wednesday a
19:09
video. And then on Fridays, I do everything you
19:12
missed this week in Miami, which is Marisol post
19:16
of like top really cool things that happen. And
19:19
that's new. I've only started doing that a couple
19:21
of months ago, but people have enjoyed it. But
19:23
if on Tuesday I come across something or I see
19:26
an article or there's something I want to share,
19:29
I'll just post on the fly or post in stories.
19:32
Stories are never well thought. Stories are just
19:35
whatever I'm thinking about at the time. I could
19:37
do better on stories. But there is an element
19:41
of spontaneity. But I think people think I'm
19:43
more spontaneous. than I actually am. So speak
19:46
about something that I think a lot of people
19:49
miss, just because you're writing down little
19:52
notes as ideas are coming to your mind. You have
19:55
someone who's not only going to hold you accountable,
19:57
but they're going to bring in their own ideas
19:59
as well. And you want to be intentional about
20:03
showcasing South Miami. How much has that? made
20:07
you a better broker and a better agent. In other
20:10
words, the fact that you want to be intentional
20:12
about what's happening in your town and you want
20:15
to share it in social media, inevitably all that
20:18
information, you're internalizing all that information
20:20
as well, right? And so sometimes we always speak
20:24
about everything you do in this business, you
20:26
should leverage it for other things. You know,
20:29
the thing is not the thing itself. that thing
20:32
becomes two or three things and you never know
20:34
when you're going to utilize that piece of information,
20:37
that contact, that relationship that you build,
20:41
you know, things that come in. So I love your
20:43
perspective on that. So the one thing that comes
20:46
to mind immediately when you say that is the
20:49
relationships that have come from these videos
20:51
are unmatched. People said to me when I started
20:55
doing this, you're crazy to be creating videos
20:58
for businesses. and they're not paying you for
21:01
it. You're paying to advertise their business.
21:04
You're crazy. And I understand the concept of
21:09
that being crazy. But I know the mayor of Pahamata
21:15
Bay personally. I know the council members of
21:20
South Miami personally. I know... I know so many
21:25
people that I have met through doing this consistently
21:28
over the years that have that I've either turned
21:31
to because I needed help or you name it the way
21:35
the things that have come out of this giving
21:37
creating videos are so unexpected and I mean
21:42
obviously Jennifer knows but I'm a firm believer
21:45
that we give more than we receive and as long
21:48
as you're giving you're always going to receive.
21:50
I never worry about giving too much because it's
21:53
only in the giving that we receive so the relationships
21:57
that have come from this fun that I've had over
22:02
the past five years I couldn't have created if
22:05
I tried and it's again like I when people say
22:09
you're an influencer I go yeah accidental like
22:11
that's not what I ever set out to do um I didn't
22:15
even necessarily well did I hope it turned into
22:17
business sure and has it yeah but it's been so
22:21
much more than that like it's just been anything
22:25
you do with this amount of consistency is going
22:28
to come back Absolutely. And, you know, sometimes
22:30
we live in a world where there are there are
22:33
some people that, well, let's face it, some people
22:36
have just kind of put fun out of their out of
22:39
their life like they don't intentionally schedule
22:42
fun, you know, or leave room to be surprised.
22:47
Right. And so when people ask about ROI, what
22:50
is the return on your investment? There are things
22:53
that are very difficult to quantify, but just
22:55
imagine how much better you have gotten at speaking
22:59
to people about your your town. you know, how
23:02
much better your pitch about yourself and your
23:05
services has become. Being comfortable in front
23:08
of the camera, you know, has to lead to being
23:10
comfortable in front of other people when you're
23:13
when you're talking about your services and and
23:15
then the relationships that you build and the
23:17
fact that Jennifer brought up something which
23:19
I think is very important is there is an intentionality
23:22
in building community. How do we define that?
23:24
How do we, you know, how do we tell people, well,
23:27
there's an ROI to building community? Well, first
23:29
of all, We all love to be part of a community,
23:32
right? And so there's something about doing something
23:36
where it's something that is bigger than yourself.
23:40
Right. For sure. So a couple of things come to
23:44
mind. Number one, I had this sort of light bulb
23:49
moment a few months ago. My kids go to Palmer
23:52
Trinity. I'm on the board of Palmer Trinity.
23:54
They went to St. Thomas before that, and I was
23:56
on the board there. I serve on the board of a
24:00
camp slash educational program organization in
24:04
Maine. I belong to a gym in Miami that I love
24:09
and I'm very involved in. And what I realized
24:11
is all these things that matter to me and that
24:14
I'm involved in, all of them at the heart value
24:19
community. And like, I had this light bulb moment,
24:23
like, oh my gosh, one of my core values is community.
24:28
Real broker, their whole motto is work hard,
24:31
be kind. They tout themselves as being one of
24:34
the most collaborative real estate agencies around,
24:38
they are, and it's all about community. So I
24:42
realized like, shoot, I think I should just have
24:45
community tattooed across my body because everything
24:47
that I'm attracted to, has community at the heart
24:51
of who they are. So Palmer Trinity, when you
24:54
ask anybody at that school, what are we known
24:56
for? The community. You know, peak 360 where
24:59
I work out, what are we known for? Our community.
25:02
So it's just been a theme in my life and I love
25:06
it and I love people and I love all of it. I'm
25:10
a bit of an introvert. You'd never know it, right?
25:14
You see her and you talk to her and you'd never
25:16
know that she was introverted. But that's why
25:19
I thought you'd be perfect for this. The episode
25:21
that we did right before this talked about every
25:24
single one of us, whether we're introverted or
25:27
extroverted, are members of multiple communities,
25:30
right? We have the physical communities that
25:33
we live in, the state. the county, the city,
25:38
et cetera. But then we have all of these other
25:40
communities. You know, you talked about your
25:43
workout community. You know, we have our real
25:45
estate community, et cetera. So I think what
25:48
you're doing tying all of those together is brilliant
25:52
in your social media. And I love that you brought
25:55
that up because we literally just talked about
25:58
that for this month. And that's why the light
26:01
bulb went off a little bit late for me. But to
26:03
get you on. show because I'm like, oh my god,
26:07
she's perfect because that's what she does. We
26:12
had a conversation recently, you and I and a
26:16
group of people in a community that you created
26:19
to learn about social media. You said, you know,
26:23
especially in Miami, you get the feeling that
26:26
real estate isn't that collaborative. Now in
26:29
commercial, I think because we're so much smaller,
26:32
there are less of us doing it. It's way more
26:34
niche based. I think there might be a little
26:36
bit more collaboration because we rely on each
26:39
other. But tell me a little bit about that, about
26:42
your mission to change that. You know, tell me
26:46
a little bit about that because I love the fact
26:48
that you have that goal. rewind a little bit.
26:53
I left a company that I was with for 17 years
26:56
to join RealBroker. What our past company had
26:59
was a great sense of community. And what RealBroker
27:04
has is an incredible sense of community as well.
27:07
But Real isn't big in Miami yet. So in the brokerage
27:12
that I'm in right now, I don't have a huge community
27:15
of agents with Real. There are agents in Miami,
27:19
we're all scattered. So, you know, I have my
27:21
space here at Bureau, but there's no brick and
27:24
mortar because Real is a cloud -based company.
27:27
So last year, again, it took me a while to have
27:30
the courage to decide to do it, which is probably
27:33
a theme for everybody when we try something new.
27:35
I thought, you know, wouldn't it be great if
27:38
I could recreate community with the agents in
27:42
Miami that I kind of miss having that sense of
27:45
community. So I had this idea to have what I
27:49
called Coffee and Convos, which is a once -a
27:52
-month realtor mastermind that we've been hosting
27:55
till now in South Miami to just bring agents
27:59
together. And my idea was it's a collaborative
28:04
space for realtors to come together and share
28:07
ideas. And I didn't know how it would be received
28:12
because I really, my experience has been... With
28:16
realtors in Miami, nobody wants to share what's
28:19
working, what they're doing, because they feel
28:21
like if they share, then you're going to take
28:24
the business or something. Which, as you said
28:26
once, Jennifer, you can share everything you
28:30
know, and most likely people aren't going to
28:32
do it. So it doesn't matter. Share away. So I
28:35
started this group. I think the first month we
28:37
had 11 people show up, which I thought was a
28:39
huge success. And we've met every month since.
28:44
and it's become the coolest community. And again,
28:48
I didn't know what I even wanted when I started,
28:52
but this has been a total, it's like exactly
28:57
what I felt like I needed, times 10. So now we
29:01
have a WhatsApp group. Even if you can't make
29:03
it to the meeting, we still have a place where
29:05
people can communicate and either share ideas
29:08
or ask questions or, I mean, you know, I need
29:10
somebody to take the wallpaper off of my rental
29:12
unit. It's been a great place for sharing. And
29:16
that to me is what it's all about, just getting
29:20
agents together. So what I love is every month
29:24
we have a different group of agents showing up.
29:26
Not everybody knows each other. For the most
29:29
part, I know everybody, but people don't know
29:32
each other. So I think it's been a great way
29:34
for agents, like what's the word, agnostic brokerages,
29:39
right? So it's like every brokerage is welcome
29:41
to come. And people have met each other from
29:45
across brokerages, which is awesome. But really,
29:48
what's been great is having everybody share.
29:51
If you don't want to share, you shouldn't come.
29:54
So we've had meetings about lead generation.
29:57
We've had meetings about AI. We've had meetings
30:00
about how to talk about compensation. I mean,
30:03
every we've had meetings about inspections and
30:06
like we just spent a whole hour talking about
30:08
inspections, which was odd. But that's what ended
30:12
up happening. Well, and that was a super interesting
30:15
one because something that, I mean, both you
30:18
and I have worked in this community and real
30:20
estate and Fernando too, for such a long time.
30:23
And it was, remember, it was the radon one. And
30:25
we were all shocked by how all of a sudden radon
30:29
in so many of the properties was becoming like
30:31
a deal killer, even though it's been inspected
30:33
for before and everything else. But now the intricacies
30:36
of the equipment that we're having anyway. But
30:39
yeah, to your point. Every meeting's different.
30:43
Every meeting's a different group of people.
30:45
But I love that you were able to bring together
30:48
people who were willing to share, because I agree
30:50
with you. We've all been in groups or at meetings
30:56
or gone to seminars where there are certain people
30:59
who are willing to participate and share, and
31:01
there are other people who are just... taking
31:04
notes, absorbing, absorbing, absorbing, but they
31:07
never open their mouth. They don't want to share
31:08
what they do, what's worked, what hasn't worked,
31:10
whether they thought it was a good idea. They
31:12
don't give any feedback. And so the fact that
31:15
you were able to attract, it shows that people
31:19
follow and work with people that they connect
31:22
to, that like -minded people have connected with
31:25
you. Yeah. I think it's been... Awesome. I mean,
31:28
and I still think it's hard to share all the
31:32
things that we're doing to get business. But
31:34
like I said earlier, I believe there is, I wish
31:38
I knew off the top of my head, who knows how
31:41
many people live in Miami? Three million? I don't
31:44
know. So three million people live in Miami.
31:46
And last year I did 40 transactions. That's it?
31:49
Aren't there more than 40 people that wanna work
31:50
with me? Well, the truth is there's enough to
31:53
fill everybody's plate. I don't need. I don't
31:56
even need one million transactions. I don't want
31:58
a million. I don't even want a thousand. So there's
32:04
enough to go around. But I think realtors, there
32:09
are some agents who have a scarcity mindset and
32:13
I just don't. I think there's enough to go on.
32:15
And I do believe that we can lift each other
32:19
up. There's room for everybody to improve. And
32:23
if that's what we can do for each other, heck
32:25
yeah. Like, let's all be better for our clients.
32:29
And I think that this kind of community building
32:31
helps support that. And makes it easier when
32:35
we're across the table from each other on a transaction.
32:38
Because inevitably, as my clients, many of my
32:41
clients have said, my relationship with you is
32:43
important, but I know when I leave, you're done
32:47
with me. But you're going to have to deal with
32:49
that agent again someday. So it's important that
32:53
you keep those relationships intact. You've shared
32:56
so many great nuggets, but I'm wondering something
32:59
that you mentioned earlier, what triggered the
33:02
mindset shift? You were doing a lot of videos
33:05
where you were educating and then that shifted
33:10
to where now you began to do videos where you're
33:16
entertaining. And so how did that come about?
33:19
Because I do feel that most people believe I
33:22
have to get into social media and I have to educate.
33:25
the public right in order to showcase that I
33:28
know what I'm talking about to you know to convey
33:31
that and so you know talk about how that when
33:35
did you come to that realization okay well don't
33:39
get me wrong Fernando but my educational content
33:45
was very entertaining when we used to brainstorm
33:52
for our videos back before I got into this hyper
33:56
local stuff, everything had a prop. So if you
34:00
scroll back in my Instagram, I very regularly
34:03
made a complete fool of myself. So in the process
34:07
of educating, I also entertain, I call it edutainment,
34:11
right? I used to say if it isn't entertaining,
34:14
educational or engaging, I'm not doing it. But
34:18
as you as you do it more, As I learned more,
34:23
as I was a student of the process, what I what
34:25
I learned was likes and comments are great, but
34:30
shares and saves are better. So if somebody shares
34:33
my content, then more eyeballs get to get to
34:38
see it. And that's better for me than somebody
34:41
liking it. And then it dies there. So nobody
34:45
wanted to share my video about backup contracts
34:49
because It's not that shareable. It was entertaining.
34:54
Maybe if I made a fool of myself, they were going
34:56
to share it. But but but when I'm telling you
34:59
about. You know what? Let's just use the Redbird
35:03
Shopping Center, which I'll give you a pointer
35:06
about the Redbird Shopping Center. I have a pointer
35:09
on my own about that, so I'm so glad you're bringing
35:11
it up. So the Redbird Shopping Center was so
35:15
shareable because nobody could believe it had
35:18
sold. Nobody knew. even though it had been in
35:20
the news six months before my video came out.
35:23
So that got shared more than 10 ,000 times. That
35:28
was far more shareable for a viewer than here's
35:31
how backup contracts work. So what's crazy about
35:35
that video is this. We were shooting content
35:38
that day, probably 10 to 15 videos, because that's
35:41
how we tend to do it. We pull in to the Redbird
35:44
Shopping Center and Cynthia, my videographer
35:46
Cynthia, goes, what are we shooting here? I said,
35:48
well, I don't even really know why I brought
35:50
you here. I don't even have a story. All I know
35:52
is it's old. That's all I got. And she was like,
35:56
oh, well, just say what you know. And I was like,
36:01
but that's it. She's like, maybe we should skip
36:03
it. And she was like, let's just shoot it. So
36:06
I said what I said. I'm at the Redbird Shopping
36:08
Center. It sold in July for $62 million to a
36:13
company out of Charlotte. We have no idea what's
36:15
going to happen here, but it's old. And then
36:19
that's the best video. As far as likes and shares,
36:23
I've never had a video go viral like that. I
36:25
mean, The New Times wrote an article about my
36:29
video. That's how crazy the video went. Never
36:32
underestimate an idea because you don't, I did
36:34
one last week about Aleda Moss Park and Pinecrest.
36:36
And I'm like, this is the most boring video.
36:39
And it's been seen, I don't know, 20 ,000 times
36:42
or something. So you never know. You know, what
36:45
I thought was very impactful about that video
36:47
is that is to your point is the simplicity of
36:49
what you're sharing. You're showcasing the shopping
36:52
center for sure. And you're mentioning some some
36:54
of the stalwarts restaurants and places that
36:58
have been there for a long time. But a lot of
37:01
people would have gotten stuck in, oh, I need
37:02
to do more research. I need to know who bought
37:04
it. I need to, you know, and and that's where
37:07
I think people get they don't allow for progress,
37:10
you know, because they're looking for perfection.
37:12
And of course, This story broke six months ago
37:16
in a very unshareable way, right? It's an article.
37:20
It's somewhere but you made it very shareable
37:23
by being in the location and Being able to showcase
37:26
and also, you know credit to the editor the way
37:29
that it was edited together You know, it's it's
37:31
a fun video and you're conveying a lot of information
37:34
very quickly And so I don't know earlier in the
37:37
process when you started to do Did you get bogged
37:41
down in research, get bogged down into more of
37:44
what you were going to do or you were always
37:46
off the cuff? I'm very off the cuff. Off the
37:50
cuff. I do try to make sure my details are right
37:54
because I'll say 26 when I mean 62. I mean, I
37:58
try to be spot on. But I will tell you, I think
38:03
the one thing that I do well, and maybe Jennifer
38:05
can attest to it, done is better than perfect.
38:09
My own videographer, I started a YouTube channel,
38:12
which I really haven't talked about publicly,
38:15
but I've started creating content targeting people
38:18
that are relocating to Coral Gables in South
38:20
Miami. So my videos are very specific for that
38:23
person. And I'm shooting them in my best bedroom,
38:28
usually at 11 p .m. at night, with a ring camera
38:32
in my iPhone. And do you wanna know how long
38:34
it took me to finally shoot my first long form
38:37
video? Two years. Because I over thought, what
38:41
camera do I need? Where should I shoot it? What
38:43
am I going to say? What should the background
38:45
be? And one night I was like, that's it. Enough
38:48
is enough. And today my videographer was like,
38:51
I don't really like the cover on your couch and
38:54
you need to wear lipstick. And I was like, whoa,
38:56
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Done is better than perfect.
38:59
Remember? So sometimes you just have to do it
39:03
because we will think ourselves out of anything
39:06
if we let ourselves. versus just shoot it and
39:10
throw it against the wall and see what sticks.
39:12
So I've gotten very good at just post it and
39:18
see what happens. So you've seen other people,
39:20
obviously, you know, you were both users of the
39:23
technology and we're all consumers of the technology.
39:27
You know, and I think this might be a different
39:28
way of asking the question you asked earlier,
39:31
but what do you think is the biggest mistake
39:32
people do? or what has inspired you to do new
39:36
things in social media, maybe? I mean, by far,
39:40
the biggest mistake people make is not being
39:43
consistent, either starting and stopping or not
39:46
starting because they're scared. But I firmly
39:49
believe the reason that I don't call it successful,
39:53
but I have a following. So I guess it's working.
39:56
It's because I'm wildly consistent and I'm consistent
40:00
because I'm paying somebody to do it for me.
40:03
To me, it's like you just have to stick with
40:06
it. If you stick with it and never evolve, what's
40:09
the point? Stick with it, see what works, go
40:13
deeper on what works and keep going. But the
40:17
minute you stop or it's not working, I mean,
40:21
if I thought it's not working, I would have stopped
40:23
years ago. But it doesn't happen overnight. I
40:27
had somebody say to me recently, wow. you are
40:30
what did he say he was like you are crushing
40:33
it you just came out of left field and look at
40:35
you aren't you like you were an overnight success
40:38
i think that's what you're like really overnight
40:42
because i've been working on it for eight years
40:45
it's been anything but overnight it's you put
40:49
in the time you put in the time and you put in
40:52
the time and eventually you'll see a payout but
40:55
don't stop you just have to keep going and I
40:59
will say that a lot of what I do makes me cringe
41:03
while I'm doing it, makes me cringe when I see
41:06
it, makes me uncomfortable. And I've learned
41:10
to embrace the discomfort. I host a lot of client
41:14
events. Every time I host one, I think an hour
41:17
before, why am I doing this? I don't want to
41:21
go to this baseball game, this party that I'm
41:24
hosting, because it's uncomfortable. But at the
41:27
end of the night, it's always, I'm so happy I
41:30
did it. I just saw 60 of my clients and that
41:32
was the best. So we shy away from things that
41:36
are uncomfortable because they're uncomfortable,
41:39
but that's where the growth lies. And people
41:41
say it all the time until you do it. You don't
41:45
really know like you just have to do it. Yeah
41:48
for not see I told you she was perfect So you're
41:50
hitting on so many things that we talk about
41:53
all the time and one of the things that Fernando
41:55
and I talk about is how important it is to be
41:58
comfortable being uncomfortable, right? Like
42:01
it's a challenge. It's that to your point, the
42:04
cringe factor, but it's also what will either
42:09
stop your growth, whether it's business or personal
42:13
or whatever, or what will propel you if you do
42:16
it. But if you're comfortable, it's time for
42:19
you to shake things up. No doubt about it. No
42:22
doubt about it. And it's hard. It's very hard.
42:27
It's very hard. And consistency is also hard.
42:29
I remember when we started this podcast, we were
42:32
doing all the recordings and like you, I was
42:34
changing my outfit every time. Now I don't change
42:37
my outfit every time. But Fernando, it got to
42:40
one point where we were both super busy with
42:42
work. We were trying to start this new company
42:44
and Fernando's like, you know what, instead of
42:46
doing it every week, maybe we need to scale back.
42:49
And I said, no, we need to be consistent because
42:52
all of the other social media things that I had
42:54
tried. the very very beginning when like Facebook
42:57
first came out or when I you know I had a blog
43:00
that I loved doing but I never saw results so
43:02
I stopped doing it well guess what if I had continued
43:05
doing that imagine so I'm like let's just stick
43:08
with it let's not look at algorithms let's not
43:10
let's just do it because we enjoy doing it because
43:13
we're talking to fun people because we're answering
43:16
questions or telling stories about weird stuff
43:19
so I think your point on being consistent is
43:23
once you get over being uncomfortable, I think
43:25
the next hardest thing is the consistency factor.
43:29
Yeah. And then before you know it, you're recording
43:32
episode one hundred and seventy -fourth. Hey.
43:34
Which is awesome. Four years in. Which is awesome.
43:37
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. So, Lindley,
43:40
when for anybody who's listening and maybe wants
43:42
to join you in coffee and combos, how do they
43:45
find you? How do they sign up? How does that
43:48
work? Sure. So the easiest way to find me, you
43:51
know, as realtors, we have our information everywhere.
43:53
Just don't tell Jennifer. She doesn't tell anybody.
43:55
OK, she keeps it. She holds it. She holds it
43:59
to herself. You know, and then she surprises
44:02
me with it during a podcast. That's how it works.
44:06
I love it. The easiest place to find me is Instagram,
44:09
which is at Lindley Residential. And my name
44:12
is L. Y. N. L. E. Y. So. my parents gave me a
44:15
very hard name. They could have made it simpler.
44:17
Coffee and Convos, I basically marketed it to
44:21
my realtor list, my email list for realtors,
44:24
which has grown. We have a WhatsApp group. So
44:28
if you're interested in joining Coffee and Convos,
44:31
I'd say go find me on Instagram and send me a
44:33
DM and I'll get you the link to the WhatsApp.
44:36
But I post on Instagram before we have our meetings.
44:39
So everybody, every realtor in Miami is invited
44:41
to come. And the WhatsApp is growing and it's
44:45
been great. It's been great to watch it evolve.
44:48
I don't know what it's gonna become. I want like
44:51
micro mastermind groups to come through. Coffee
44:56
and convo. So smaller groups of people can hold
44:59
each other accountable to goals. That's sort
45:01
of what I think would be great. Like we had Jennifer.
45:03
Yeah. Love that. I don't know. We'll see. And
45:07
we will post all of Lindley's contact information,
45:11
the coffee and combos information, everything
45:14
in our show notes. Wouldn't that be great if
45:16
every realtor in Miami just showed up out of
45:18
nowhere? Oh, my God. Just the chaos. I just that
45:21
would be so much fun. Fresh Market will be so
45:23
happy. I haven't been there since you guys started
45:28
going there, but it looks like it's working out
45:30
great. Listen, they love us. They're giving us
45:34
coupons to give any buyer client that we have
45:37
to come get a gift basket after a closing. So
45:40
we're giving those certificates out at the next
45:42
coffee and combos to give out for our clients
45:44
and they create gift baskets and they're giving
45:48
us 20 % off gift baskets that we can either curate
45:50
ourselves or they will curate for us. to use
45:54
for closing gifts. Yeah, they're amazing. And
45:56
I'm so, so happy they're in South Miami. I just
45:59
love that they're right across the street from
46:01
us. Me too. Me too. So is there, since we're
46:05
wrapping it up, is there anything that you want
46:07
to share that we didn't ask you about or an experience
46:10
that you, you know, beware of or don't be afraid
46:13
of? Any last words or? You know, I think the
46:17
one thing that people say about me is like that
46:22
I'm authentic. I think that word is so overused,
46:25
but it's like, oh my gosh, I met you in real
46:27
life and you're just like you were on camera.
46:30
Well, I honestly don't know how else to be. So
46:33
I think that I see people try to be someone else
46:38
sometimes on social media and it doesn't work.
46:42
Like you are who you are. I'm not for everyone,
46:46
but if you watch me, you're gonna know if I'm
46:49
for you or not. I mean, my last word of wisdom
46:54
is like, just be yourself. Just like put out
46:57
to the world what you like and who you are and
46:59
what you do. And the right people are gonna find
47:02
you. And the people that don't resonate with
47:05
me, don't come work with me. That's fine. There's
47:09
somebody for everybody. So the more people can
47:12
just be authentic, be themselves, you know, do
47:16
what they love. It makes for a happier life.
47:19
I love that and also have fun. If Instagram isn't
47:25
for you, maybe LinkedIn is. If neither of those
47:28
are for you, maybe TikTok or Facebook. Just find
47:31
what you like to look at. Don't try to copy them,
47:34
but where you're comfortable being, and that's
47:36
something that Chelsea spoke about in her class,
47:40
was even if you're uncomfortable within that
47:43
discomfort, be on the comfortable platform for
47:47
you, where you're going to find people that resonate.
47:49
And I can't be Lindley, right? So I'm not going
47:52
to go out there. And she used to dress up and
47:55
make these props. And I'm like, oh my gosh, you
47:57
go girl. But me, in a million years, I can't
48:00
do it. I can't. That's beyond discomfort for
48:04
me. So I wouldn't do that. But she did amazing.
48:09
So I love that. Be authentic. Be uncomfortable.
48:14
Be uncomfortable. Be uncomfortable and be consistent.
48:16
And personally, I love that your grandfather
48:18
and I have something in common. I also went to
48:21
Miami High ghosting a Reese. So, you know, I
48:24
love that. That's awesome. Well, thank you both
48:28
for having me. I really. Of course. No, thank
48:30
you for being with us. And thank you, everybody,
48:32
for listening to this amazing episode of Between
48:36
Two Chairs. I hope you get a lot out of it. I'm
48:38
sure you will. And on behalf of Lindley, Jennifer
48:42
and myself. Bye.