“It instantly gives me credibility over anybody else, and I probably have almost a 100 percent success rate of landing that client to get them to buy a home using me versus somebody else.”
That’s what 40-year real estate veteran Richard Freedkin has to say about his experience using his Authorify book. Richard is based in Chicago and has owned a mortgage company for 25 years.
As a former real estate investor, Richard used to tour the country, giving speeches on investing. He previously wrote books on the investment business, which he sold at his seminars and conventions.
“So I've kinda got a little background in just about everything in real estate. I got my real estate license about two years ago, and knowing the power of having written books before, when I saw the Authorify program, you gave me the opportunity within your platform to edit the books. I was able to make them more personal and use more of my knowledge in the books so that when you gave a book out to somebody that had your picture, your name and information, that you actually wrote, right?
“You have a lot of command of that client. When you've written a book, you look more authoritative. So it was natural for me to say, ‘Hey, I want to use this product.’”
Richard is primarily focusing his business in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, where homes are in the $250-$300K price range.
“I'm not focusing on any one particular niche. They're all good. So I don't need to just hone in yet on one, and I'm just developing my real estate business. I want to be able to have a lot of different clients from a lot of different backgrounds that with my background, I can serve properly and get referrals from. And that's the name of the game, right?”
While he started out using printed books, since the release of the digital books, Richard has been using them to his advantage.
“I have both the printed version and the digital and because I know a lot about the Facebook ads platform, I am now promoting the digital book forms as a free download giveaway as a lead magnet. And it's really powerful, and I'm really happy that you guys came out with that.
“I really just finished editing the seller book, and actually just put it on my kvCORE website so that people can download it from there, too. I haven't yet started running the Facebook ads for that. And then I just started editing the buyer end of the book. So I'm really busy right now. I haven't had a lot of time to do that, but I'm looking forward to doing advertising with that.
Richard says when he’s showing homes to new buyers and brings his book along, he instantly establishes credibility over other agents. Likewise, when he hands them out on listing presentations, he increases his conversion rate.
“Listing appointments that I've gone on when I handed them the seller business card book, probably 85%, 90% of the time, I got the listing. I’ve been focusing since starting the real estate side of my business, more on buyers first because listings were harder to get. But every buyer's going to turn into a seller or know somebody who's selling. So I'm kind of reverse engineering it at this point to get my list up of clients that I can remarket to.”
Whether he’s meeting with buyers or sellers, Richard puts together a packet of information for his potential clients that includes a copy of his book.
“And I make sure I point out, you know, here's a good resource for you to read in between us looking at homes and finding more homes to go look at next weekend or whatever.
“I was with buyers showing them some homes, and we got done with like three or four showings. And we were sitting at this one house and on the breakfast bar in the kitchen, I just opened up this plethora of information that I typed up to give them. And then I said, ‘I know you're selling a home, too. So I had both the buyer and the seller book, and they looked at it and the wife said to the husband, she says, ‘Wow, we picked a good one.’
“So when you hear stuff like that, you feel good because everybody has the idea of a Realtor as kind of a used car salesman, right? And this just gives you an edge above others that gives you credibility. And the fact that you can edit the book and have your bio in there. And on the back cover of all the books, I have a picture of me when I was speaking. So I'm on stage and you could see me on stage with hundreds of people in the audience, and instant credibility. It's like, wow. You know, this guy knows what he's doing.”
While Richard gained confidence during his years of public speaking, he said having a book just amplified his standing.
“Now if you've written a book, it just takes my previous authority figure stature and elevates it to another level. So I would think it's even more important for people who don't have that background that I have. But even given the background, I'm using it. It's a tool. And if you're a carpenter and you don't have the right tools, you're not building a house. So as a Realtor, you gotta have the right tools to make the investment, if you want to be successful. And I think it's a great tool.”
Especially since the pandemic started, Richard has leaned on his books to make connections with potential clients.
“Sitting down at the table, you can't shake hands anymore. So handing them the book and sliding across the table is important. I'm really looking forward to using the digital advertising and then remarketing using retargeting with Facebook, which is a skill I honed when I had another online business. But again, I had to invest in a lot of courses to learn how to do that, too. So again, you've got to invest in your business and have the right tools.
“You can keep yourself in front of these people for pennies. And it's probably one of the most powerful tools if you know how to use it, and your books are the greatest lead magnet I can imagine out there. So I would recommend people take whatever course they can, whether it's yours or something else. I'm learning Facebook advertising and pixels and custom audiences and lookalike audiences and all of that stuff.
