SPEAKER_00 0:00

Tell me why I should be trusting you. Tell me what it is that you are gonna do for my clients better than anybody else. Give me your elevator pitch, you know. Um, but then go beyond that and and make a personal connection.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

All right, everybody, welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we tell the stories from the Northern Colorado business owners about how to make connections that truly matter to you. Today we have a great guest, Jessica Spears. She's with EXP Real Estate. And uh Jessica, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me, Andrew.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Uh well, Jessica, I'll tell you as someone who builds communities and networking groups, real estate agents uh are one of the first people that are trying to get into the groups, trying to build, because it takes such a vast network to get more homes sold, get more homes bought. Uh, but just real quick, tell us a little bit about you.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Yeah. Um, so again, Jessica Spears with the EXP. I have been helping folks buy and sell residential real estate since 2019. Um, I absolutely love it. I've lived in northern Colorado for almost 15 years now, kind of up and down the front range for 20. Um, yeah, five children, happily married, three dogs, two cats, you know, living the dream in Berthod.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Yeah. So Berthood's a small town. Obviously, you are uh a community leader. I follow the Life in Birthhood Facebook page where you're an admin and a builder of community. Um how has that helped you as a real estate agent? Um, feeling like you are taking care of a small town like Berthood.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Yeah, absolutely. I think, especially in a small town, I think it's really important to be a steward of the community and really try and foster as much of that small town feel as you can. The way that everything is always changing nowadays with um with social media and um, you know, just kind of the internet and and life has taken away from that small town feel. So I feel it's really important to try and foster that community as best I can online, um, which is sort of an oxymoron as I'm saying it, I think. But it's been important to me to continue having that small town feel in uh an internet community. So that's what I'm trying to do for sure. I like when people get on there and and there's great discussion, or when small businesses are promoting themselves. I think it's really important that we've got that to help tune out some of the the Walmarts of the world, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Yeah, and like I see that's a place where people ask for referrals. They, hey, who knows a great landscaper, or hey, I uh um I need a great HVAC person. Um people are going, especially in a small town in those community groups or on next door. Um, but sometimes these groups, you know, they have admins and there's different rules. Um, and so you don't want to have a where people are getting sold to or spammed in. And so when you're cultivating a community, what is your coaching around? Somebody who might want to ask for a recommendation or promote their business in a way that is not salesy and something that actually adds value to the community you've created.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Sure, yeah. Um, so I say that life in Birth It is lawless. So people are allowed to do whatever they want, which is maybe um backfires a little bit because sometimes it does feel a little spammy. But I think the way that people can combat that is by telling a story in their post, you know, making it personal rather than just like, hey, we do backyards. It's more like, man, picture yourself sitting out in one of those crisp Colorado evenings around the fire pit, you know, we're gonna help you get there. We're gonna help you achieve that dream. And it, you know, I think that goes again to the small town community. If you met somebody on the street and you want to earn their business, how are you gonna do that? Are you just gonna walk up and shake their hand, hey, I want to make your backyard pretty? No, you're gonna try and sell to them in that same kind of way. And and the way to do that, I think, is by making them think about it and imagine it. So hoping that people, you know, post that way to try and find their folks.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

So has it been uh has it been a valuable way for you to make connections and alliances and what makes different business owners or other people who got it like a landscaping business or HVAC business, what makes them stand out uh as a way that maybe you want to send them a referral?

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Uh, you know, that's a great question. I think for me, um, it all goes down to the relationship. So um getting to know each other so that I feel comfortable referring my clients out to you, I think is the number one. Um obviously I have reason to refer to businesses often. Um and especially certain folks, plumbers, um, electricians, landscapers. There's I definitely have a handful of people that I use on a regular basis. And it really comes down to if I feel like you're trustworthy enough to refer someone to because it's my name is on that too, right? At the end of the day. Um, if I'm sending somebody your way and you're super disappointed in them, that's gonna reflect badly on me. So I want somebody that is um gonna follow through, is you know, gonna be accessible and answers their phone and you know, returns phone calls or follows up with my clients in a timely manner. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Is there anybody specifically you want to shout out or that's doing it really well at our high level?

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Heck yeah. I've got a couple in our in our town that I absolutely adore. Um Travis LaFort and Lafort Belt are probably my number one referral partner. I absolutely adore them. They're just they're so good at what they do and really have built their own little community that I think is phenomenal. Um and then we've got uh Zach with A Plus Heating and Air. So I started working with a former podcast guest. Yeah. I started working with Zach before I was a realtor. Okay. So we go way back and he is phenomenal. I know for a fact that he will take care of my clients, and that is so invaluable to me. Um, and then of course we've got AGT landscaping, and I think that they are also really wonderful. Um, one thing I really like about them is that um Alex, the owner, is on site from start to finish. You know, he's the guy. You're not getting a random superintendent or like a different guy every time. It's always Alex that you're dealing with, and I think that is a wonderful, wonderful thing for his clients.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yeah. And and uh with Travis, uh, I I know you've been in business since uh 2019, but you recently joined the chamber. I I went to your grand opening and you did it with uh with Travis as like a a co-event. And um, how do you how did you first meet him? How did you set him up where he was the first name out of your mouth where you're like, yes, no, let me tell you about left or construction. What was that process like?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Yeah, um, I actually met him through a mutual friend. So, or or maybe that's not the right way to say it. Someone that I know had their basement remodel done by him, and he was specifically looking to buy properties in Berthid, and she said you should talk to Jessica. So that was the connection. Um, and it's just it's been an excellent, we've we've got a great business relationship. I've helped him buy numerous properties in Berthid um to remodel. And yeah, I it's just it's been great. He's been wonderful for me to say, Hey clients, you want to finish your basement? Or I recently had some I had a client that bought a nearly three million dollar house and gutted it and put a million dollars into a remodel in it, which is crazy. But the only person that I could have possibly trusted to refer them to was LaFort. I mean, hands down, I didn't even hesitate for a second to say, oh, you're gonna spend a million dollars on this remodel. You should talk to Travis.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yeah. Well, so since 2019, uh I mean, I I bought some real estate in 2020 and things were crazy. It was like uh you'd you'd list an offer and it would get a million, but now things are different, right? The market has changed. I mean, obviously you follow the market closer than I do, but uh, I'll tell you a quick story. I just uh had a HELOC, uh, applied for a HELOC, we moved and had some opportunities to do that. But they pull my credit, and then whatever happens there, um I've gotten maybe a hundred spam messages today of people who be like, hey, I have wholesale rates and all this. But I imagine um if if the mortgage lenders and stuff uh financing if if I had that many people after one buyer me, um I would imagine that someone like you, uh they're also trying to get your attention and take you out to lunch. So what is it like uh, you know, industry professional to industry professional, um getting those kind of synergistic relationships?

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Yeah, yeah. I get I get the hey, can I buy you a coffee regularly? Okay. It's like, oh gosh, you know, listen, I appreciate it, but my time is more valuable than a coffee. Um so my favorite, I'm gonna tell you a quick story. Yeah. My favorite was one that called and said, Hey, can I take out for coffee? And I was like, listen, if you want to take me out for tacos and tequila, I'm there. And sure enough, she was like, Okay, yeah, let's do it. That was a great, great lunch. It was fun. So yeah, we we work great great together now, and that's how I knew. Um no, I think that it's um honestly, it's catching me at the right time on the right day. If I answer the phone and I'm in a good mood and I've got time in my schedule, yeah, we can probably go do lunch or coffee. Um at that meeting, though, you're gonna have to impress me. I know that sounds so stupid, and I don't want it to come off as, you know, like, ugh, but I get so many of those phone calls. And again, it's really important to me that I'm able to refer my clients to people that I think are trustworthy. So if you want to take me out to lunch and pitch your services, hopefully you're gonna follow through when you get home. I hope that you're gonna send me an email with any information that we talked about at that meeting that you know can help me um pass stuff along to my clients. I I just I I want to see like more out of it than just that lunch, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

Yeah. Well, I mean, uh I follow you. I we we've talked uh about the concept of being five mile famous. Like uh, you know, Bertha's not a big place, but to be known as one of the best people. But when you when you start to be a producer and a top uh performer in any industry, the other top performers try to, you know, you you see each other like, oh, I know you, you're the best automotive shop in town, or hey, you're the best restaurant in town, or absolutely um you're the who's who. But then if somebody's trying to break into those, um, you know, what is maybe some tips you have to grab something. Is it offer tacos and tequila more than the coffee?

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Yes, absolutely. I think it's knowing your audience though, right? Um, and maybe, maybe not everybody wants tacos and tequila, but that's a good way to get to my heart. Um I think that if I were starting out as a realtor right now, and especially in this market, um I think joining up any, I don't plug you here, but any networking group that you can possibly get into, whether it's with Andrew, obviously the right choice, but since I have that slot already cornered, um, you know, I think that is the number one thing you can do, just meeting the big fish, meeting the players and and learning who they are, not just what their business is, but learning about them and what makes them tick and how you can be helpful to them. Um, and not only just from like a business standpoint, but like uh texting them just on a hey, I saw this meme. It was funny, it made me think of you. Uh that way you're really building that relationship um so they know that they can trust you. I think that's it. I think it really all comes down to trust in the end. Yeah. I've said that a few times today, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

No, I especially trust is a big is a big deal. A client like somebody moving into town, they don't know anybody. And so your recommendations is probably what they're gonna go on. They don't have any other uh necessarily information or they don't have any different biases for them, but um you know, you have one shot with their trust, right? It's really especially in a small town, it's easy to um if you undo the trust, it's almost impossible to get that and to get that back. Um, and also there's a lot of people in play to get to a closing table. Uh those inspection, those uh those inspectors with their red ink, right? There's all these different things and uh back and forth negotiations. Um But how many people do you think uh are involved in a typical real estate transaction um to get something to the closing table?

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Sure. Um I mean that number can be huge depending on how bad the house is. Uh yeah, just in a typical transaction, you know, you've got uh both sides with the real est realtors, you've got lenders, you've got title companies, you've got home inspectors, you've got appraisers, um yeah, escrow officers, all of the above. But in in an unusual transaction, you know, we could have structural engineers, we can have plumbers, electricians, roofers, you know, it can really get pretty big. My vendor list that I give to all of my clients is uh I want to say it's up to like 54 vendors now.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Okay. And what does somebody got to do to get on that list?

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, just call me, buy me tacos and tequila, and we'll we'll talk about it. No, I mean, honestly, I think that I've got the the who's who of I don't want to just say birthed because it's a little bit outside of that too. You know, I get a little bit of longmont, a little bit of Loveland in there because Birthid is small, you know, we we only have so many resources for ourselves. But um I I like to think that the folks that are on my vendor guide are people that you can count on and that aren't gonna let you down for sure. If I send you there, you're gonna call me and say thank you, Jessica. That was exactly who I needed.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Yeah, and that's cool. Uh the concept of a vendor guide, especially as a real estate. Like I see that uh like event venues or wedding planners will have, hey, here's my recommended DJs and florists. Um but as a real estate agent, who who's the movers? Who where where do I take my dog to the vet even? So um how did you put that together? What was that process like?

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah, um, so actually I'm I'm working on revamping it right now. I don't know if you caught my post in Life and Birth Hid like last week.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Check it out.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

Yeah, I said, you know, hey, I I need to know all the business owners in town. Um because I'm gonna make it a little more extensive, right? Um, but basically my process was just as I worked with someone, if I liked them, I added them to my list. Um, and then kind of it it just grew organically from there, I guess. Um it's changed over time. You know, there have been days when um some of the folks decided that I didn't want to work with them anymore. Or, you know, maybe they let a client down more than once that happened with a mortgage broker that I had been referring people to. I had to cut him from my list eventually because he wasn't returning phone calls quickly enough. Sure. Um but basically, yeah, organically, I just kind of grew a guide and I said, you know, I think I should put this on paper so that I have a an actual tangible thing that I can hand to people and say, here you go, welcome to town.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah, and I think a lot of tradespeople or um they want to get as many real estate agents as possible. They want to get, hey, I'll have all of these different connections. Um, you know, but for you to have loyalty, I would imagine, is is key, especially if there's a deadline coming up and you need to get somebody in there that they take your call. And so um, what would be your recommendation? Is it um, you know, because people are trying to get new business, I want to make a lot of additional connections or um feeling like they got to break in and feeling like they have loyalty and and producing with you where you know that might move them to the front of some of the other people on the list. How would you recommend somebody going about all that?

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Yeah, I mean, again, I think it's gonna come down to just the personal connection. So um I do think it is invaluable when I am under a deadline and I can call my plumber and say, hey, I really need you out there today. Can you make it happen? And she says, Yeah, absolutely. I got you. Um, in order to get on my good side, I that's like a I feel a little too hoity-toity for this. But you know, if you want to be on my list, literally call me. Tell me that you are interested in being a referral partner, take me off for tacos and tequila. Let's chat, let's figure out what that looks like. Tell me why I should be trusting you. Tell me what it is that you are gonna do for my clients better than anybody else. Give me your elevator pitch, you know. Um, but then go beyond that and and make a personal connection so that when I think of you, when I, you know, there's hundreds of roofers out there. Who am I gonna call? It's gonna be the one that I have the personal connection with, right? Yeah.

unknown 17:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

And we've been talking a lot of like the downstream referrals, the people that you're referring to. But, you know, as a real estate agent, there's people upstream, right? Like weddings, uh, maybe family law attorneys, um, people retirement. Um, is there any connections that you're looking for? People, uh people's list that you're trying to get on.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. This is gonna sound terrible when I say it, but I would love to um be on a divorce attorney's list. Yeah. Um I it sounds so bad, but I've done a couple of divorce transactions before, and I really uh feel that I have a special knack at navigating them. So I would love to continue to do them, even though they are a little dark.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Do you take the attorneys out for tacos and tequila too? Absolutely will.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Well, okay, so family law attorney, anybody else uh that you're looking connections that you're looking for?

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Um, you know, just beyond that, um people that No, I don't know that I am right now, actually.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

If I thought about it longer, I probably would have someone for you, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

All right. Well, where can people find you? Obviously, life in a life and birth at Facebook page. Um, but how can people find out or contact you?

SPEAKER_00 18:17

Yeah, absolutely. Um I've got a website, it is jessicaspearshomes.com. All of my info's on there, but also, of course, across my socials. Um, I've got the Instagram handle is at its underscore Jessica Spears. That's probably my next best place to reach me.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Awesome. Well, Jessica, thank you so much for coming on the show. Uh sharing about how to get on that list. Uh, tacos and tequila, everyone, is the is the key, but also um being trustworthy, being loyal, and uh being a good teammate. So, Jessica, thank you so much. Thank you. And that's a wrap.