Today in our “Meet the Agent” series we get to know Terry Swanson of CENTURY 21 Results Realty in Atlanta, GA. Terry and his team joined the System in January of this year and Terry says the team already feels Smarter, Bolder and Faster! Read on to learn how Terry got started in the business and how he’s made a name for himself by marketing with video.
C21: You and your team joined the CENTURY 21 System in January of this year, welcome! What brought you to CENTURY 21?
TS: I noticed the re-branding efforts while driving down the highway to a REALTOR event and saw a mobile billboard. It caught me off guard and I thought “Hmm, CENTURY 21 is seeing an opportunity and is going to be launching something big!” A few weeks later, the franchise team came to my office. I originally just wanted to talk about what they were doing from a competitive standpoint, but the more I heard, the more I could see that what we offered them in market share, they offered us in all the technologies, training, corporate people to help me be better. CENTURY 21 would provide us everything we did not realize they had, but we definitely needed to add. Six months in, I love the brand, the people, and Rick’s vision!
C21: You’ve been working in real estate for 20 years. How did you first get into the business?
TS: Ignorance! I was happily bartending, and had spent seven glorious and very fun years in college! I applied for a marketing position with Centex Homes and it ended up being a sales position. My mother was in real estate and my dad in mortgages. I swore up and down I would never go into sales, much less real estate sales. However, when they told me how much the lowest paid agent was making for Centex Homes, I realized I could do new home sales. And that was the beginning of my career!
C21: Do you remember your first sale?
TS: Yes! I thought I was going to get fired soon. I was great at building relationships with people and terrified to close the deal. Three months had gone by with no sales. I had a client that I had worked with for months on a community. At a Christmas party, my manager said, “Why don’t you just call them and say ‘why don’t we just meet at the community tomorrow and write up the offer?’” I did, and they said okay! I have never forgotten that. I believe I would have been fired, and would have been doing something else. What a lesson! Ask for the deal!
C21: When you bought your first home, what made you fall in love it?
TS: My mother! I was 19 and having fun. I had bad credit, but was making good money bartending and waiting tables. My mom and stepfather co-signed for me to be able to get a loan on the $67,000 home. I had two friends move in with me and it was a party house! It became a great rental property and I doubled my money when I sold it.
C21: Your area of focus is North Atlanta, GA. What makes this real estate market special and unique?
TS: We focus most of our business on North Atlanta and new home sales. However, we have agents scattered all over Atlanta. North Atlanta is the bright spot of values, new construction, and demand. We hope that the most recent trends continue! Most of the horrific price falls came from other areas around Atlanta. We did, as everyone has, see our fair share of prices falling, and units slowing over the years, but not as bad as others.
C21: Name the three qualities necessary to succeed in real estate.
TS: 1) Passion about the business. If you don’t love something you do, you probably won’t reach the high levels of success over a long period of time. If you love it, you will break through walls!
2) A competitive, internal drive. It is okay to lose. If you are competitive, you will figure out what you need to change to not have that happen again. You will grow, and you will find more ways to win!
3) Being likable. This one should probably be first, because if you are not likable, the other two really don’t matter much!
C21: Our company mantra is “Smarter. Bolder. Faster.” How do you embody the mantra in your day-to-day work?
TS: We were the number one position office in our pocket. We were just fine, and did not need to affiliate with anyone but in every way, affiliating our company with CENTURY 21 did just that. It made our company Smarter. Bolder. Faster. than we were before. We live it every day, and implement the tools that allow us to achieve those three qualities. It is all about performance and implementation!
C21: You have a blog called Talk to Terry. When did you start the blog and how do you decide what content to post?
TS: We started it three years ago. It started with Adam, my IT Director, coming to me and asking if we wanted to do some video. We wanted to talk about our specific market facts, and keep it relevant around that. We called it “Your North Atlanta Real Estate Expert” and we have a goal to be just that. I would have probably never done it without Adam.
C21: Your company also has a Facebook business page and a Twitter account. What is your strategy for using these two channels for lead generation?
TS: Part of Adam’s position is to manage these platforms. The goal is to provide a professional looking page/pages/accounts and fill them with content that is relevant, and some of it auto-populated. We also feed relevant custom information directly from us and video feeds. The whole goal is to have it changing regularly, and be informative, not to sell a consumer or agent, but to educate.
C21: You have a very active YouTube channel where you share video interviews, market updates and more. Many people are intimidated by being on camera. How did you get started and what advice do you have for other real estate professionals looking to use video?
TS: Not everyone should do it. But if you believe you have a message to share, and want to do it, then own it! You can go back to the first ones we did, and they were nothing like what we do today. We have adjusted much, and do not read scripts. Stay with it, you will get more comfortable, but it takes time. It is also difficult to manage. If you don’t have IT director like Adam, you need one if you are going to have a chance to do it right, but it can be done affordably! We have leveraged it to interview builders and build relationships. So, don’t do it just to do it, do it with a purpose in mind.
C21: If you could give one piece of advice to a young person starting out in the real estate business, what would it be?
TS: Regardless of what you think, there are no easy ways to success. You have to work your butt off, and study about the subject daily. Human relationships trump technology, but technology will make you more efficient and effective with your SOI, but always remember, face to face, toe to toe, is your highest form of communication, regardless of your age! And that is how you build referrals that will make you a lot of money!
C21: When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your free time?
TS: I am not a person who works 24/7. I was! I didn’t have step-kids, nor my beautiful, fun wife on board, so I was a 24/7. Life changed when I re-married February 19, 2010, and had three reasons to enjoy life outside of real estate! We spend time on the lake, going to cheerleading events, football, basketball, lacrosse, and more. I love every minute of it! Don’t get me wrong, I am the first in the office, and the last to leave. I work my butt off, but on the weekends, I enjoy the better things in life! I also take vacations for lengths of time I never considered before. Now that’s good!
C21: Is there anything else you’d like to share about your office?
TS: I have been blessed to have the best team working with me! We are like a family, and without the staff, and the agents we work with, all is gone. They are the reason I get to enjoy life outside of real estate. I have no fear when I am not there, for I know they perform at a high level, and it actually seems to run better without me!
C21: Continue this conversation with Terry on his website, Facebook page, Twitter account or on LinkedIn.
