Mastering the art of real estate
Mary Lane Sloan, CRS, says real estate is like a three-legged stool, and agents need at least one of the three legs in their locality to be successful: state or local government, military, or a university. Columbia, South Carolina, has all three: There’s a constant influx of buyers due to the large military presence (including Fort Jackson in Columbia and Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter), the campus of the University of South Carolina, and the fact that Columbia is the state capital.
Columbia has the affordability of a smaller town, but with the amenities of a larger city—the average home price in the MLS is about $200,000. Some cities, such as Charlotte, North Carolina, are relatively close by, so some residents live in Columbia for the amenities, but commute to a bigger city for work.
A Work of Art
Sloan started her professional career as an elementary school teacher. When she and her husband bought their first home, they found that some of the people she worked with were not very responsive. So, in 2007, she decided to get a real estate license to educate herself so she could rely less on other agents. However, she enjoyed the classes and decided to work in real estate for the summer. Now it’s 2020 and she has never gone back to teaching! During those years, she has mastered the art of real estate.
“Through my own buying experience, I saw a need for change in the profession,” Sloan says. “I knew that buyers needed more than a chauffeur and sellers needed more than a sign in their yard. By utilizing many of the skills that made me effective in the classroom, I was able to help guide buyers and sellers through the homebuying and selling process. Many of the skills I picked up as a teacher still apply, but now I teach big kids about houses.”
Team Dynamics
Sloan was originally part of a franchise, where a small team formed that eventually struck out on its own, becoming an independent brokerage in 2014. Sloan co-owns her firm, The Art of Real Estate, with Brad Allen. It was difficult to do everything, yet they felt their clients deserved 100%. “We looked at other professions: when you go to a doctor, you get the best of everyone—the receptionist, the nurse and the doctor,” Sloan says. “They all do what they’re best at. When everyone does what they’re good at, then the client gets 100%. So we adopted that model. If you like working with buyers, just do that. If you like marketing, just do that.”
Allen runs the marketing side of the operation—he runs statistics, tracks data and serves as a resource for other agents. Their team includes a chief staff person to help the agents, a listing coordinator, a closing coordinator, and a staff person who handles their video and photography. Some agents just do listings, and some are only buyer’s agents. “Agents can stay in their lane and coordinators will back them up,” Sloan says. “And there’s always someone in the office clients can talk to. They feel they have a team working for them.”
When looking to bring additional team members on, Sloan looks outside the world of real estate. Her perspective is that she can teach someone the nuts and bolts of real estate, such as writing a contract. She looks for people who are dependable, work hard and sincerely care for others. If someone has those characteristics, regardless of their current field or profession, they are a candidate for joining Sloan’s team.
Community Outreach
Sloan believes strongly in being invested in her community. “Being a lifelong resident of Columbia has given me a vast knowledge of the area and a deep sense of pride for my community and it’s well-being,” Sloan says. “My daily focus is to better the lives of others, whether in a real estate transaction, service opportunity or leadership role. I’m a community advocate—I am passionate about community service and involvement through local organizations.”
Sloan’s team hosts a variety of community events, including movie nights in the parks, pumpkin picking and a spring fling. The team sponsors many local events to be out in the community. Instead of conventional advertising, they invest much of their time in the community–that’s proven to be the most effective approach to grow their business.
One activity involves a “Yard of the Month”—Five people who live in the same neighborhood judge yards and select a winner, who receives a gift certificate to a local gardening shop. Sloan’s team started this program in 2008, and it runs from April to October. In February, the team hosts a party for all the winners to get together with all the judges, and winners are asked whether they want to serve as judges.
“We communicate frequently through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and our website,” Sloan says. “We have a strong social media presence and a large number of followers. We highlight specific restaurants, where we take the team; we shoot video and then promote the restaurant through social media. We have a large number of followers, in part, because people want to know where the Art Team is going next. We believe in supporting other local businesses.”
Sphere of Influence
“We greatly value our sphere of influence (SOI), so we made our own SOI training manual,” Sloan says. “For example, the manual reminds agents not to forget to say, ‘thank you.’ If you receive a referral, then thank the person who connected you. And when the property is under contract, thank the source of that referral again. When the property closes, thank them yet again. So there are three opportunities to reach out to the person who made the referral. When the 2nd person refers someone, then go back to that first person and thank them again. This approach builds clients for life.”
Sloan says that 92% of her personal business comes through referrals from her sphere of influence. “That’s what defines a successful real estate agent,” she says. “When your tribe is sending you referrals and you don’t have to chase down business, that’s a measure of success.
Other online sources of leads represent your peanut butter sandwich. It’s there to make sure you don’t starve, but you can’t live off it. Instead, convert to clients for life by developing your SOI.”
“When the market tightens, as it is now, we have to get more resourceful,” Sloan says. “But people will continue to buy and sell even in a pandemic because there are people who still have to move. It just means we have to work harder! I’m looking forward to what’s in store for the market in Columbia.”
Based on their success, Sloan’s team definitely has residential real estate down to a fine art.
