Marc broke into the real estate industry in 2005, when he worked as a marketing manager for a real estate company. When the market shifted and agents weren't producing, he jumped in with both feet and joined his wife as an agent. The pair have been powering through ever since.  

While Marc has been an Authorify member for about five years, he said it wasn’t until COVID hit that he really began to buckle down and start taking advantage of his membership. 

“I was looking at things saying, ‘OK, something's got to change here.’ And then I started reaching out to the folks over in your office. … And that's how I ended up doing the digital book. “I've been with you guys a long time, but honestly, I've only been doing the best practices in the last few months.”

Adapting in the Digital Age

As a way to promote his books and reach more people, Marc is also trying to step up his YouTube presence. 

“I already had a lot of YouTube videos with no views. I would send it to clients just like the book. I would send it to them in my pre-listing package so that when I came in, they already knew who I was, they know what I look like. They already knew what my philosophy was on selling. So now what I'm doing is I'm making short videos and I'm adding the books on to the end so that a person can come in and at the end of the video, go to the landing page and grab a book.”

“What I'm learning about YouTube is YouTube is actually not a social media, but it is actually a search engine — the second largest search engine by Google, and it's owned by Google. So that being said, let me get my information out there so that people are going to — most of my clients are going to see it because I am sending them the link. But I sent it to everybody, and everybody knows somebody who's going through hard times and hopefully they’ll be able to pass it on to them. I'll capture their information in the lead capture component of the book page and be able to follow up with them. 

Marc says he is less focused on becoming searchable and more focused on accumulating views to solidify his reputation. 

“I doubt anybody or very few people are going to find me on a search, but when I send them the link and they see, ‘Oh, 500 people have looked at this video and they've left 50, 75 comments,’ it's another tool. It's another reason for them to trust that you know what you're doing. But again, what I want to reiterate is that as an agent, we’ve got to know what's in the books, not necessarily what's in the books. We have to know the tactics to be able to deliver on whatever the topic is. If you have a first-time home buyer book, you need to know how to win offers with a first-time home buyer.”

The Differentiating Factor

Marc says being a successful agent is all about standing apart from other agents, and his books have helped him do that. 

“You have to differentiate yourself at the end of the day. When I said it in the beginning of COVID, it's the same thing. You’ve got to differentiate yourself. If you don't have a plan, if you're just flying by the seat of your pants. And I mean, let's face it. Most agents, you go in, the first thing you do is you burn through your friends and family, and then they stop calling you. 

“The book is great to reinforce that. You know what you're talking about, but it's not a shortcut. You still have to know what you're talking about. At the end of the day, you have to be able to walk the walk.”

When he goes on listing presentations, Marc doesn’t immediately hand people a copy of his book. Rather, he lets it naturally pique the interest of potential clients. 

“I'm kind of frugal. So what I do is I bring the book on a regular listing appointments. I'll bring the book and open up my listing package and open up and, ‘Oh the book just happens to be there.’ And it just happens to be turned straight to them so they can see it. And I would say probably nine times out of 10, they make a comment. I don't ever talk about the book. They make a comment. They'll pick it up, they'll finger through it. And then sometimes they'll be like, ‘Oh, can you give me an autographed copy?’ But most times, I'm taking the book back. ... I've already got the listing. So I'm taking it back with me.”

Marc says sellers need reassurance before they sign on the dotted line with a particular agent, and his books are the perfect closing tool.

“By giving them that as a supporting character in the play, that just solidifies — it makes them feel good that they're signing up with the right person.”

Professional Partnerships

In the past, Marc has primarily used his books to build relationships with referral partners. 

“I've always been one who I believe in — if I'm going to spend a dollar for marketing — I'd like to spend it with a person who's going to send me more than one deal. So I do a lot of marketing to attorneys, to financial planners, to people that are going to send me deals. And so by my connections with them, then they'll send me a client and then I'll forward the client the book, and that seals the deal coming with a reference. 

“And then after that, it's never a question of ‘We're checking you against somebody else.’ It's always a matter of, ‘OK, what's the next thing that we need to do?’ There's never talk about commission, none of that.”

Some of Marc’s best professional relationships actually started with that person representing someone on the other end of a deal. 

“We were fighting tooth and nail, but I was always respectful and honest. And then over time, you build a relationship with them because just like any other business, when you get to know a person and you realize who is really good at what they do and who isn't, you migrate to them, and that's what happened. We started migrating. 

“Then, attorneys started recommending me to other attorneys. And now I do a lot of work in bankruptcy court. I get hired as an expert witness, you know, the whole gamut. But it's pretty cool because an attorney can send you — I can get a call and have — the biggest one so far was 19 deals in one telephone call. 

“It's like, you're the asset manager and the agent, so it's less stress and you're not working for pennies.” 

“You got to understand with the attorneys, they're all about billable hours. And a lot of times, they're getting their money through the sale of the property. So that being said, they want to make sure it's going to get sold and they want to make sure it's going to get their clients happy, because if their client's happy, everybody's happy. So they want to make sure you're honest,  you're competent and you're going to get close regardless of what happens. So that's how the relationship is built and forged in.”

Marc says he’s been able to gain the trust of his attorney partners by consistently coming through on deals.

“It's interesting because a lot of times when you're dealing with the attorneys, some of them just pass the referral on, and then they don't want to touch it again. Some of them will micromanage the first deal or two to make sure that you know what you're doing. And then after that, they'll just be like, ‘OK, Marc. Don't even send me all the offers. So don't even send it; just send the best offer, mark it up the way you want. And if we have any questions, we'll call you.’”

Rather than leaving several copies of his book behind with attorneys, Marc prefers to give them directly to the clients he’s being sent. 

“And let me tell you something. When you get a referral and the attorney says, ‘This is my guy,’ that deal is done. … There are many times where I'll get the listing agreement signed, DocuSign, or if it's a short sale, obviously paper signed, before I go out to the property.

“Then it takes the pressure off. Then I can show up in shorts and just go through the property and start figuring out our marketing strategy, but the listing is already signed.”

Advice for Other Agents

“Don't be like me and have it for years without doing it. Figure out your system, whatever it is, and don't try to do everything. That's the challenge. You try to do everything, you get caught out there, and you end up doing nothing."

“My advice is figuring out what your strategy is, put it on paper, and then start following through.”