Episode 286 – Wendy Thacher, Sales Executive

THE REAL ESTATE SESSIONS PODCAST

Episode 286:

Host: BILL RISSER

Guest: WENDY THACHER

Episode Summary:

Meet today's Guest, "Wendy Thacher," a business development manager with Chicago Title in Portland, Oregon. She is also one of Bill's top referral partners providing great guests on this podcast.

In this episode, I sit with Wendy, born and raised in Iowa, as she talks about Portland, where she is presently based, and its appealing features, career path, and Real Estate tips.

Top Takeaways:

"It's important to do your homework and lead with value."

- [Wendy Thacher]

"If I don't ask enough questions or enough of the right questions, we're going to end up with a marketing strategy that isn't sustainable... that doesn't speak what the client is trying to convey."

- [Wendy Thacher]

"The overall goal is to have marketing strategies that are sustainable, feel good, and reflect who the agent is and the services they offer."

- [Wendy Thacher]

Episode Highlights:

[00:34] Intro

[01:36] Wendy shares her background and how she met Bill.

[05:38] What is the biggest misconception about Iowa?

[08:51] What brought you out of Iowa to the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Oregon)?

[10:11] What are three activities you recommend for visitors to Portland?

[12:54] What led you to work for Chicago Title?

[16:24] What are some of the challenges you have faced as a service marketer?

[18:20] What would you recommend for people who also want to lead with value when interacting with clients?

[21:27] About Stephanie Chumbley.

[26:11] If you had one piece of advice you could give a new agent just getting started, what would it be?

[28:18] How to contact Wendy

[29:28] Outro

Episode Notes:

Wendy shares the humorous event around how she met Bill at a conference in 2013 and built a great working relationship since then.

As an active kid growing up, Wendy enjoyed the field of over 80 hectares of farmland in Iowa. Highlighting misconceptions about Iowa that it is Ohio or Idaho, Wendy shares that Iowa is known for corn and not potatoes. Also, there is the widespread belief that Iowa is generally flat, which is not the case.

During her schooling at the Iowa State University, Wendy had spent a semester at the University of Oregon while partaking in a National Student Exchange Program and fell in love with the state. Upon completing her degree at Iowa, she moved to Oregon.

Three key activities for visitors in Portland: First is tourism, which is too notable to pass up. Next is exploring the food scene, including restaurants and food carts or trucks, which are usually the starting point of the most well-known restaurants in Portland; an example would be a donut tour. The third is appreciating the proximity to other natural beautiful sites like the coast, mountains, and a country, all in different directions surrounding Portland, which gives ideas for various trips.

Following her response to a job advert for a Marketing assistant in a Real Estate company with a branch in Portland, Wendy worked on teaching Realtors how to use their tools and create their websites; this became her passion and formed the foundation for what she does now. She then moved to Transnation Title, which closed down later on, after which she got a job with Chicago Title. Bill recommends the "Business Wars Podcast; Starbucks vs. Dunkin episode" for listeners who are also coffee lovers like Wendy.

Wendy explains the challenges of being a Service Marketer. Two types of relationships are built; the first is between herself and the client, and the second is the relationship she facilitates between the client and the escrow officer who helps close the deal. Another challenge is that most potential clients already have a Title company or even a favorite escrow officer, so she intentionally always leads with value to get their attention.

Lead with Value: This refers to approaching a conversation every time with something that you are offering and doing a lot more listening than just starting with solutions that you assume would work. It is critical to ask questions first since the overall goal is to have sustainable marketing strategies that reflect who the agent is and its services.

About Stephanie Chumbley: Wendy talks about Stephanie, the Director of Social Media and Education at Chicago Title. She occasionally joins her in one on one appointments that deal a lot with social media strategy. Stephanie also goes deeper with the clients, offering her expertise to help meet the client's needs. Wendy shares her interest in biking and running and talks about her dog "Edith the Frenchton."

Wendy's advice for new agents: There is no magic bullet; there's going to be products and solutions that seem like "the thing," but if there were one, it would be the systems that you create along the way. These systems should help you reach more clients and work more efficiently to take better care of your clients. Pay attention to things you find yourself doing over and over again, and note the ones where a system can help you.

Resources Mentioned:

Connect:

Find | THE REAL ESTATE SESSIONS

At therealestatesessions.com

Find | Bill Risser

At bill.risser@ratemyagent.com

On Twitter

On Facebook

On Youtube

Find | Wendy Thacher

At Wendy.Thacher@ctt.com

On Instagram