Barbara Betts is a highly successful REALTOR® and brokerage CEO. Like many in our industry, she didn’t begin in real estate but found success after different careers. She then went on to found the Betts Realty Group alongside her husband and is now leading a team of agents with an emphasis on a top-notch culture.
The team from Knock spoke with Barbara to discuss this competitive market, the chief importance of relationships, and how she’s arming her agents with tools like the Knock Home Swap™ to give them a leg up against the competition.
Let’s get to it, Barbara. It’s tough out there for a buyer. What are you doing to help your clients stay ahead of the game in this hyper-competitive market?
2021 is a challenging market for buyers, which makes it challenging for their Realtors. We’ve had likely buyers come to us and say: “I would sell my home right this second if only I had somewhere to go!” But it’s almost impossible to buy and sell at the same time right now.
That’s why I was thrilled to be introduced to Knock and its Home Swap program. It has quite literally become the solution to help our sellers purchase a new property. The flexibility that it gives our clients is second to none. They get to move up in the market and secure their next home while having the peace of mind of not having to sell their old house first (or move twice!).
When I was new in real estate in the early 2000s, we used “bridge loans,” of course, but they had their pitfalls (like huge fees) and didn’t serve the client well. The Knock Home Swap is different. It’s a highly generous program that creates a win-win solution for our clients and us. Plus, it’s giving us a serious leg up on the competition!
The market is competitive, but so is the landscape for agents. How do your agents stand out?
I’ve always had a philosophy of Real Estate by Relationship™. Our entire brokerage focuses on relationships, not transactions. When you run a business where relationships are your core, your clients trust you and come to you for everything real estate-related. This is as true right now as it has ever been.
Your days must be jam-packed. What solutions are you finding make it easier to run your company?
My two magic tools are Asana and Slack. Here’s why:
- Asana helps me stay on top of all the details that go into taking care of our clients. I also use it to keep tabs on a range of other priorities, such as relationship-building, marketing goals, and not to mention my personal life!
- And then there’s Slack—my favorite tool ever. It keeps our culture alive and has completely replaced texting and emails within our team, Plus, it allows me and my compliance manager to stay on top of transactions.
Any final words of wisdom to fellow or aspiring Realtors?
No matter what anyone tells you, this business has always been—and will always be—about relationships. The Realtors who realize that early in their career are the ones that have long-standing businesses that can weather any storm.