We kicked off Women’s History Month with a bang during our Titans of Industry: Women in Real Estate event. Keep reading for valuable insights from our powerhouse speakers.
Four Tips for Negotiating in Life & Work
Negotiating is a vital part of your job. Not only will you be negotiating on behalf of your client, you’ll also need to negotiate for yourself throughout your career, from compensation, advancement and more.
Here are my top tips for negotiating:
- Advocate for yourself like you would for others. Studies have found that women overperform when advocating on behalf of someone else, and underperform when they advocate for themselves. The next time you’re asking for higher commission or negotiating a salary, if possible, take yourself out of the frame of mind and ask yourself, “Would my colleague, would my best friend, would my mother, father, whoever, see me in the same light? Would they think I’m getting what I deserve?”
- Know the difference between what you’re getting and what you’re worth. There will inevitably be times when you won’t receive the commission you ask for. All of us are business owners running a sustainable business model. We cannot afford to be giving away our worth on a regular basis.
- Understand how to articulate your value. Potential clients are likely looking at you and asking, “What are you offering that makes you different?” Take the time to determine your value proposition and learn how to articulate it to others.
- Know your non-negotiables. Are your needs less important than anyone else’s? It’s important to remember to negotiate for yourself first by identifying the things you aren’t willing
to give up.
Closing the Gender Gap
Did you know:
- There are 23.3% fewer women than men in commercial real estate.
- Women in commercial real estate are paid 30% less than men.
- In the 1970s, the majority of REALTORS® were men. Today, the industry is dominated by women.
- Women outperform men when it comes to the number of transactions they close each year, but they have a lower sales volume.
So, what’s being done to correct these disparities?
The Equal Pay Act was amended last year to require organizations to provide data about pay range and job titles to the government. This ensures everyone will be getting paid equally, regardless of race and gender.
You can personally get involved by holding intentional, transparent conversations with your network. Your connections can be a valuable sounding board about pay, balancing work and life and so much more.
The 5 Rs of Digital Brand Strategy
Any person (or business) who wants to be successful needs to be present on social media. Here are five R’s you can follow to create a successful social media strategy.
#1. Real: You need to show personality through your content to connect with your followers, so don’t be afraid to lean into authenticity.
#2. Relatable: Building trust and reliability are important for your platforms; the easiest way to create trust is by being relatable. Have fun creating content your followers will connect with and enjoy engaging with.
#3. Responsible: Nothing in the digital space goes away, so be mindful of what you say; you’re not just representing yourself, you’re also representing your company, association and so much more.
#4. Recognizable: Determine why your followers find your content relatable and continue to create that content to become recognizable in that space.
#5. Rich: No, this doesn’t mean being rich with money. Instead, make your platforms rich through attractive visuals and content.
Staying Afloat as a Self-Employed Women During Health Struggles
In 2020, Marki Lemons Ryhal was diagnosed with lipedema, a condition where excess fat gathers in the lower part of the body. Her pain became so intense that her only option was to schedule three surgeries. Here are the tools she used to set her business up for success during her extended medical leave:
GUSTO
She knew she still needed to get paid while she was on PTO. She set up Gusto as a payroll system to ensure she was getting paid every two weeks without question.
QUICKBOOKS®
She has a bookkeeper who keeps her QuickBooks® in line to track her sales and expenses.
CALENDLY
Calendly’s paid version allowed her to automatically set up meetings and appointments without taking precious time from her recovery. It also allows clients to know on the spot when she was or wasn’t available.
CANVA
Canva makes it easy to utilize and repurpose graphic design items by quickly updating text, dates and more. For example, her Black Friday sale turned into a December sale, but editing her template in Canva was both quick and easy.
Identifying Your Value Proposition
It’s important your clients know why you do what you do and what sets you apart from other REALTORS®. You can identify, articulate and implement your value proposition with these three questions:
- What is a value proposition actually about?
Your value proposition should be consumer-focused; it should make someone realize it’s about them and what they’ll gain from working with you, not about you specifically. Your value proposition should clearly outline why someone should choose you. - How do you articulate your value proposition?
To articulate your value proposition, you need to find your “why:” why you do what you do. Answering that and determining how it sets you apart will help you put together your value statement. - How do you implement your value statement into your business?
It’s simple: make sure with everything you do, your actions back your statements.
Listen to the full audio recording of each of our Titans of Industry: Women in Real Estate sessions.