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Alicia Berruti is a seasoned professional in the real estate industry, having spent more than eight years at Bomb Bomb before transitioning to Fidelity National Financial as the Director of Agent Engagement. Alicia believes the real estate industry has a substantial opportunity to rebuild consumer trust, especially in light of the ongoing commission lawsuits. Her perspective is shaped by her experience in the industry and the belief that real estate agents can demonstrate their value and protect consumers throughout the real estate process. This viewpoint suggests a proactive approach, with agents showing up stronger and emphasizing their professional value to regain trust rather than focusing on the negative aspects of the lawsuits. Alicia's experiences and her current role in fostering trust and transparency in real estate through innovative product design greatly contribute to her perspective.
In a recent episode of 'The Real Estate Sessions' podcast hosted by Bill Risser, Alicia Berruti shared insightful tips on rebuilding consumer trust in the real estate industry. Drawing from her experiences at Bomb Bomb, Alicia highlighted the significance of providing value and excellent service to clients to enhance industry relationships and trust. Here are three key takeaways from the episode:
1. **Show Your Value**: Alicia emphasized the importance of demonstrating value as a means to regain consumer trust amidst commission lawsuits. By showcasing the unique services and expertise agents bring to the table, they can establish credibility and rebuild confidence in the industry.
2. **Prioritize Relationships**: Alicia spoke about the lasting relationships she built within the real estate community, underscoring the value of connections in fostering trust and mutual respect. By nurturing professional relationships, agents can create a supportive network that benefits both clients and industry peers.
3. **Provide Tools and Resources**: Offering tools for home management and maintenance can be a valuable resource for potential buyers and sellers. By equipping clients with practical resources, agents not only add value to their services but also demonstrate a commitment to supporting clients beyond transactions.
Alicia encapsulated her perspective with a powerful quote, "Provide value and abundance will follow." This mantra underscores the principle that by prioritizing client needs and delivering exceptional service, agents can cultivate meaningful relationships, establish trust, and ultimately achieve success in the real estate industry.
00:00:01 - Alicia Berruti
My time there, that opportunity, the impact it really had, is helping me to understand that I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was.
00:00:16 - Bill Risser
You're listening to The Real Estate Sessions, and I'm your host, Bill Risser. With nearly 25 years in the real estate business, I love interviewing industry leaders, up-and-comers, and anyone with a story to tell. It's the stories that led my guests to a career in the real estate world that drive me into my 9th year and nearly 400 episodes of the podcast. And now, I hope you enjoy the next journey. Hi, everybody. Welcome to episode 387 of the Real Estate Sessions podcast. As always, thank you so much for tuning in, and thank you so much for telling a friend. Today, we're doing another shortcut episode where I visit a guest from the past. And this week, we're going back about five years, and we're going to be talking to Alicia Biroudi. Now, most of you know Alicia from her Bomb Bomb days, but just about seven months ago or so, she actually joined Fidelity National Financial. We're going to catch up on what that change was and a couple of other things as well. Let's get this thing started. Alicia, welcome back to the podcast.
00:01:18 - Alicia Berruti
Thank you, Bill. I'm so happy to be here again.
00:01:21 - Bill Risser
It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm having a great time doing these because I get to go backwards and kind of try to remember what we talked about. And I think with you, it was really easy because you had this, some cool stuff in that episode. But the first thing I'm going to ask you is, do you remember the date, or at least how long ago it was that I had you on the podcast?
00:01:42 - Alicia Berruti
Hmm. If I had to guess, I would say 2018.
00:01:52 - Bill Risser
That's a pretty good guess. It was actually five years ago. April of 2019.
00:01:58 - Alicia Berruti
Okay. April of 2019.
00:02:01 - Bill Risser
Yeah. Things were a lot different for you then. I'm just guessing it's five years ago.
00:02:05 - Alicia Berruti
Yes. A lot has happened in five years.
00:02:08 - Bill Risser
And then there's this really weird thing that's happened, and that is that you and I are now both working for the same company. We're both with Fidelity national financial. Why don't you quickly tell me your role there, what you're doing?
00:02:21 - Alicia Berruti
Yeah, absolutely. So I was hired by Fidelity to be Director of Engagement for a product that we have called live in here that is for real estate agents. It's really, really exciting because I think it's a product that solves one of the number one problems that we know agents have, which is how do you maintain a high value relationship for the seven, eight,- or nine years in between when they are using your services. Right. And so you know, the answer in the solution has always been marketing and trying to maintain that relationship. And livin here just does it in a really, really exciting, scalable way. Hyper personal. The quickest way that I like to describe it is if you've ever used MyChart like healthcare portal that your doctor has given you so that you can schedule appointments, keep track of your health, access resources, request to see a specialist, your test results live in here is like my chart, but for homeownership, where the agent gets to be the doctor, giving a portal to their homeowners to manage their home and get help with repairs and maintenance and keep track of their value and equity and see how their home is performing in the local market. But it's all hyper personal and relevant to that consumer and their home.
00:03:45 - Bill Risser
Yeah. In my new role, which is in sales enablement, which is helping our sales team when they're actually out talking to agents, live in here is a huge piece of the puzzle for me as well. So it's. It's amazing how we're going to get to work together on this project. I know you've been doing this for six or seven months at least already. I'm in my second month coming up and looking forward to working together to make this happen. It's going to be very exciting.
00:04:09 - Alicia Berruti
So what a fun full circle though, that five years later we're working together, still serving agents.
00:04:15 - Bill Risser
That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. So let me ask you this question then. This is how I start every shortcut in the last five years. What's the most exciting thing to happen to you personally or professionally?
00:04:29 - Alicia Berruti
I'm going to do one of each.
00:04:30 - Bill Risser
Okay. Go for it.
00:04:31 - Alicia Berruti
Professionally, it was 100%. Being hired by Fidelity and stepping into this new role. I loved my time at Bomb Bomb. I was there for eight and a half years. But stepping into something new and exciting and having to level up and take on more responsibility, definitely the most exciting thing professionally, personally. My daughter graduated from high school last year, my first. So I've got two more coming up behind her real quickly. But getting one out of school was a big deal.
00:05:08 - Bill Risser
That's awesome. Mine was a few more years ago than that, but it was. I understand that feeling and that's. Congratulations. That's great.
00:05:17 - Alicia Berruti
Thank you.
00:05:19 - Bill Risser
You had a great backstory. And so I want to just ask this question. You know, has the acting bug bit you since the last time we talked, was there ever this thought? You're like, oh, I'll just, maybe I'll just go do some, some local theater. I'll do something. I just want to do it again. Has that ever happened?
00:05:37 - Alicia Berruti
Oh, man, I wish that I had time. The bug is always with me, Bill.
00:05:42 - Bill Risser
All right?
00:05:42 - Alicia Berruti
It's always, always with me. It's just a matter of finding the space to fit it into the life of a single mom with three teenagers and a full time job. However, what I would say is that my performing bug is getting engaged a little bit. I have just recently with some girlfriends, we've kind of started a little bit of a band and we're playing music together. I'm learning new things, like I've never drummed before and I'm learning how to drum. So I'm still getting my performing kicks that way.
00:06:21 - Bill Risser
Wow. So that's, that's going to have to be another episode because if you have to talk about that in depth, I think that's great. Fine, fine. This is a shortcut, so I'll keep moving. Number three, how do you describe the impact bomb, bomb had on your life? When someone's asking you and they, you know, because you, you were very open and honest, very, very, you know, really authentic about what was happening and then how this was such a change for you.
00:06:47 - Alicia Berruti
Yeah, I love my Bomb Bomb story, Bill. I, you know, I came into bomb bomb from a totally different career, career field. I had been a massage therapist for 13 years and, you know, was leaning into something new, not really knowing what was going to happen, but, you know, not only did it change my life, I think practically right, being given the opportunity to learn how to sell and make more money and get promoted and grow and all that, which opened the door for now, this new opportunity, I think, number one, my time there, that opportunity, the impact it really had is helping me to understand that I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was. Right. And I know that along my career journey, you know, it's me that keeps showing up and keeps showing myself that, but having people around you that also believe in you and say, like, we're going to give you this opportunity. The other thing that I would say the impact is the relationships. The relationships that I still have in the real estate community with agents and brokers and other tech people in the prop tech space and all of that, like some of my dearest friends now have come out of being in this industry and getting to work with the agent community. And so I think the relationships have been just as significant of an impact that I, you know, I get to keep those with me, too.
00:08:32 - Bill Risser
Yeah. Yeah. And you're still in the same space, so that works out perfectly. Yeah.
00:08:37 - Alicia Berruti
Space.
00:08:38 - Bill Risser
What has your attention in the world of real estate right now? There's a lot going on. Is there anything you're watching or anything that, you know, you're. That really kind of makes you kind of wonder, wow, what's that going to do? Or how's that going to work?
00:08:51 - Alicia Berruti
Yeah, obviously the, obviously the commission lawsuits are, have everyone's attention. But I think what I find most interesting about that is the opportunity that we have as an industry to show value and to rebuild that consumer trust. Because if you've ever had haters before, if you've ever experienced having haters or someone gossiping about you or whatever it is, you cannot possibly go around and defend yourself against everyone. But what we do when we have haters is people. You hear this all the time. You show up stronger. You show them who you are. And I think that as an industry, with consumer trust being at an all time low right now, what gets me excited about this time is that I know that agents have so much value to bring. I know that agents are key to the industry and to providing service for consumers and protecting consumers through this process. And so what has my attention is not, oh, no, the lawsuits. What has my attention is what an incredible opportunity to show value and show up and put trust back into the industry. That's what has my attention.
00:10:22 - Bill Risser
Yeah, I had the chance to watch four or five sessions. You did that. I was on the call with some of the operations in Texas, and you were really able to point out, bringing this back to living here, just as we wrap this up, that there's a way for a buyer's agent to be using this tool. There's a way for them to make this work for them as well in this new environment. Right.
00:10:44 - Alicia Berruti
I think that's, it's always about adding value to the conversation. I mean, that's why I jumped on board at living here. That's why I'm so excited to be talking about it, because it really gives agents a super valuable tool for every single person that they're having a conversation with. Even if that person is not planning on buying or selling in the next two, three, four years, the agent still has this incredibly valuable thing that they can say, oh, great, I'm so glad that you're happy in your home. Can I give you a tool to help you manage that home and maintain it for the next couple years, and that gives you all the insights into what's happening. It's just, it's that value, right? I have it on one of my boards here in my office. But it's a mantra that I, that I use. Provide value and abundance will follow. And it's the same thing for agents, right? Provide value and abundance will follow.
00:11:49 - Bill Risser
That is a wonderful way to wrap up this shortcut session. Alicia, thank you so much for your time today. As we record this, we're actually going to be in Houston together next week, which is going to be a lot of fun. We're going to be launching an operation there. It's going to be a blast. So I can't wait to see you again in person. And thank you so much for your time today.
00:12:10 - Alicia Berruti
Yeah, I'll see you in Houston. Thanks for having me.
00:12:13 - Bill Risser
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