A Cool Example Of The “Lighthouse Marketing Strategy” For Realtors

Christy Cox:  Everywhere we're at, I need to start taking more pictures to have, which is because we go out to eat a lot. We go do things a lot and I used to always just write a little quick personal moment ad and send Karly and I haven't done as many of those, but those always got tons of interaction because they were either about, “Hey, we're at Zachary's and we blah, blah, blah.” Local stuff, just what was going on. A quick snapshot of me and Doug there. 

I've lived here my whole life, so I do know a lot of people. But again, I willl say, and I've told you this before, but people ask all the time, “So how much of your business comes from Platform?” And I can tell you right now, 95%. Without a doubt. Even though, let's just say 20% of those people have known me my whole life, they wouldn’t have known me if I hadn't been doing Platform, doing the social media advertising. That's the first thing everybody says, whether they knew me before or not. 

And I'll tell you now that 60% to 70% is people that never met me before in my life.

Tim Chermak: This is the Platform Marketing Show where we interview the most creative and ambitious real estate agents in the country, dissect their local marketing strategy, and get the behind-the-scenes scoop on how they're generating listing leads and warm referrals.

We'll dive into the specifics of what marketing campaigns are working for them, how much they're spending on those campaigns, and figure out how they have perfected what we call the Platform Marketing Strategy. This is your host, Tim Chermak. I'm the founder and CEO of Platform. I love marketing and I talk too much. So let's dive in.

Tim Chermak: Hey guys, it's Tim Chermak and welcome back to another episode of the Platform Marketing Show. I'm joined today by Christy Cox. Christy, welcome to the show!

Christy Cox: Thank you very much. 

Tim Chermak: So Christy is a realtor in Mississippi. And we were just talking before we started recording - I need to make sure I get this right - you're (in) is it the Triangle Area of Mississippi? What is it called? 

Christy Cox: It's called the Golden Triangle. So we're actually three cities - Starkville, which is the one everybody probably knows better, which is Mississippi State University. 

Tim Chermak: Okay. 

Christy Cox: Columbus, Mississippi, and then West Point.

Tim Chermak: Okay. And you live in Columbus, Mississippi? 

Christy Cox: I do, yes. 

Tim Chermak: And what is the broader population there if you combine the populations of all those towns? Is it like a couple hundred thousand people or what is the size there? 

Christy Cox: You combined all cities probably a hundred total. 

Tim Chermak: Okay. 

Christy Cox: And you gotta remember, Mississippi State University is mostly populated by students which don't actually live there, so you know.

Tim Chermak: Okay. So that kind of lays the foundation or the context of kind of the type of market you're in. I know you've worked with Platform at this point for several years. I honestly don't even know what year you signed up. I know it's been, at least…

Christy Cox: It was San Antonio year. 

Tim Chermak: Okay. So actually you've been with Platform for over five years then. 

Christy Cox: Yep. 

Tim Chermak: So you've been in the PlatFam for a long time. Do you know where your business was like before you signed up for Platform in terms of sales volume? Like do you even remember?

Christy Cox: Yes. So I started real estate probably about eight to nine years ago. 

Tim Chermak: Okay. 

Christy Cox: So immediately discovered that, hey, all my friends and family didn't just start calling me the next day to sell their house or to help them buy a new one. So I realized real quick if I was gonna actually make money, I had to do something and not sit and wait.

So magically, your book started showing up on my newsfeed just when I thought that. So of course I called, got to talk to you in person back then. And it just made sense, although seemed like a lot of money at the time. Now, not so much because I was then at about $1.5 to $2 million in sales per year, and I'm usually between $7 (million) and $10 (million) now, just depends on what's going on. 

And like I tell Karly all the time, I'm like, “You can get onto me a lot. I understand and I fully expect you to. And I'm not mad that you get onto me because I could do more. I could probably double that if I realy really try.”

Tim Chermak: It's actually hilarious that you say that 'cause I was talking to Karly earlier today. ‘Cause I usually do somewhat of a prep before these podcast interviews with your account manager 'cause I wanna make sure I get the story of where your business has been and what have been some of the wins over the years. 

And she's like, “Yeah, Christy's actually a really cool story.” And this is Karly, telling me this. “Her business has definitely grown a lot with Platform, but she could probably double it from where it's at. I think she just doesn't really want to 'cause she likes traveling with…” 

Christy Cox: It's not because I'm lazy. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah, I know. She said, “She likes traveling with Doug. They go on all these RV trips all the time and she just likes her life kinda where it's at right now in that $7, $8 to $10 million range.”

And then I kinda started laughing because it's funny hearing someone so casually say, “Oh, she's content with selling $8 million to $10 million a year.” Because for most real estate agents across the country, they dream of one day being able to sell $8 to $10 million a year and you're like on cruise control, $8 to $10 million of, “Oh, this kind of feels nice. I'm not a workaholic at this level.” 

Christy Cox: And I mean I would say, and I just spoke with somebody the other day about this because of another agent in our area and I was like, I think that's great, but for me, once you get beyond that you really need a team to do a good job and I wanna do a good job.

Tim Chermak: Sure. 

Christy Cox: While still being able… You know, my daughter's a senior this year. She won't be here very much longer, so maybe I'll pick this up a little bit once I have just all my time to do that.

Tim Chermak: Yeah. 

Christy Cox: But right now it's worked out. He's also self-employed, 

Tim Chermak: Your husband.

Christy Cox: We don't wanna get carried away with sending money out of our pockets, right? So I've just found that to be a really happy medium that I can travel when I want to.

Tim Chermak: And so you guys have an RV? That's what Karly said. 

Christy Cox: We have a fifth wheel. 

Tim Chermak: Fifth wheel. Okay, cool.

Christy Cox: Yes. 

Tim Chermak: What kind of fifth wheel do you have? 

Christy Cox: It's a Coachman and it's actually really nice. We bought it used, but it was an older couple that used it one time to live in for a few months and they just parked it in their backyard so we got a really good deal on it. And we actually took that one summer before last, all the way to California. 

Tim Chermak: Oh, wow. Okay. 

Christy Cox: And did kind of the big three-week loop. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. The reason I ask is that when I was a kid, my dad owned an RV dealership, so both me and Andrew, our first jobs in high school is we were working like the parts desk at the RV dealership. And they actually were a Coachman dealer, believe it or not.

Christy Cox: Really?

Tim Chermak: So when I was in, I wanna say fourth grade, i had like a traveling baseball team, like a little league team, and it was called the Coachman because my dad's RV dealership sponsored. He was our sponsor for our baseball team. So anyways, that's just a completely random detail from my childhood. 

Well, that’s cool. Like I said, I talked to Karly and she said, “Yeah, Christy's business has definitely grown and yet she's kind of in this perfect happy medium where yeah, you're making enough money if you're selling $8 to $10 million a year. I mean your GCI is probably somewhere in that $200,000 to $300,000 range. And you kind of know, if I wanted to, if I prioritize growing my business at all costs, yeah, I could probably sell more. But I have a lot of things going on in my life that I enjoy being able to take trips.  You mentioned your daughter's a senior in high school. So you wanna be present for all that. 

So I wanted to establish that early on, that you've been with Platform for many years now. Your business has grown from like a couple million to…

Christy Cox: It's probably quadruple. Our average sales price is like $175,000, so we're not in an area where… You know what I mean? 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. That's always important to point out. And I love it when we get to do podcast episodes with agents that are in like the more affordable markets in the country. 'Cause I'm from a small town in Minnesota where the medium price point is still $200,000 or less. I completely understand that. That's where I grew up and that kind of shapes my worldview, I guess. I still think a $200,000 house is normal.

And for so many other agents across the country, they're in markets where all the homes are $500,000 or all the homes are $600,000 and they hear a number like, “Oh, I sold $8 million last year,” or “I sold $10 million last year.” And they're kind of like, “Okay, you're all right. You're not totally crushing it, you're doing okay. Well, try selling $8 million or $10 million when the homes are all $200,000. Because that's actually some pretty serious volume.” For you then, if you get a $400,000 listing that's like a luxury listing in your market.

Christy Cox: Oh, yeah. Yes. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. So many agents across the country, if you're in California or if you're in certain markets in Florida, they just don't really have a conception of what it's like being in such an affordable market like that where, frankly, to make $200,000, $250,000 a year as an agent, you have to really hustle. You have to sell a lot of homes. 

Christy Cox: Right. Exactly. 

Tim Chermak: First off, congratulations 'cause that's really impressive. 

Christy Cox: Thank you. Yeah. Mainly because of you guys. 

Tim Chermak: Honestly, I'm glad I asked the question early on of like, “How long have you been in the PlatFam?” 'cause I would've guessed like three years. I was like, “Yeah, I know Christy's been along for several years,” but I did not realize that you were at the San Antonio Mastermind. 

Christy Cox: Yep. That was my first. I think I started like September/October that year. And then we actually got on… 

Tim Chermak: So that was in 2019. 

Christy Cox: ‘19. Okay. 

Tim Chermak: So that means you've been with Platform for coming up on six years. That's cool. That awesome that this partnership has lasted this long and that you  trusted us every month for almost six years. 

The story I wanted to dive into today, Christy, was a post you made in our private Platform Facebook group last week, and you shared that you went in to surprise kind of local small business owner and just bless them and give back to the community. This is something that we preach at Platform that it should be integrated into, not just your ads, but even how you think about marketing. It should be that you are deeply connected in the community, and your ads are just a reflection of that commitment that you actually are a member of the community.

So would you mind just sharing this story of what happened and kind of why we told you, “Hey, go into the small business, do this.” And let's just assume that those listening have absolutely no context of the Lighthouse Challenge or any of this. So share with people what prompted all this, and then what happened when you went in.

Christy Cox: Well, this is one thing that I said to Karly a while back, “I've gotta get better at that.” Because that used to be the one thing that people said to me, that didn't know me on the street. They'll say, “Hey, you're that realtor.” And I'd be like, “Yeah.” And then they would say, “I just love what you do, recognizing all small businesses, locally owned business.” That's what they would say. And I'd be like, “I'm so glad that you noticed that.” We'd get a conversation going because of that. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah.

Christy Cox: So, can’t lie, I’ve sucked at doing it as of late. And you think it's a couple months, but it turns into six months and then you haven't really done anything like that in a while.

So she brought it up before y'all posted about the Mastermind. And I said, “I want more information about that. I want more information about that.” And then she's like, “It's coming up. It's coming up.” And she gave me a couple maybe examples and I said, “I just love that y'all are doing this 'cause we need something to force us. Sadly, we need people to force us to do our jobs. We appreciate it when you do that.”

Tim Chermak: Which honestly, it’s just like straight up accountability, right?

Christy Cox: Exactly. 

Tim Chermak: We say if you look at the stats… 'Cause you're a personal trainer right, too? You had that background? 

Christy Cox: Actually have a master's degree in exercise physiology. That's was my first half of my life. So yes, I was personal trainer, managed a gym.

Tim Chermak: Yeah! Okay, okay. So I'm not totally hallucinating that. I was like, “I thought that…” Yeah, you were a personal trainer, so you totally understand then this dynamic of just getting a gym membership does not mean you're gonna get in better shape. Just the act of signing up in a gym, charging your credit card every month, doesn't mean you're magically gonna get stronger or lose weight or whatever. It's the act of actually going to the gym that actually creates that change and actually working out. 

And often what people have to do to achieve that is hiring a personal trainer, even if technically all the workouts are on the internet for free. There’s not like they don't know how to work out. But having that accountability is sometimes worth paying for. And that's the difference between some people going to the gym or not, is knowing they have that accountability. So for you, that's kind of like what Karly is in your business.

Christy Cox: Yeah.

Tim Chermak: For those listening who have no idea what we're talking about. Karly is her Platform account manager who you have like a weekly call with and she kinda helps you ideate and think of what marketing campaigns you're going to do next. But Karly also functions as just built-in business accountability.

Christy Cox: 100%.

Tim Chermak: So we don't come up with ideas. You actually have someone harassing you to actually go out and take action on the ideas. 

Christy Cox: Yes. So when they brought up this challenge, they said, “This is what we kinda want you to do.” She and I had already talked about like a boutique just because they get a lot of business during November, December. 

Tim Chermak: Sure.

Christy Cox: And then it's dead in the water obviously after Christmas, so I shop at several local ones. This particular one I've maybe been in one time, and it's been like a decade. So they had just moved out to Highway 45. So I knew in my mind that's what I wanted to do. Well, you can just think of something and all of a sudden it pops up all over your social media. 

So two days before I was gonna go to this business, their live just pops up, which I've never seen that they even had a live, but they do one every Tuesday at 5. So then I started watching it and I was like, I think I remember one of those ladies from the Fitness Factory that I managed and personally trained at, which has been like 20 years ago. So I was like, well, that's cool. I'm gonna do it tomorrow. So I went.

I was gonna go to this one place to get lunch and it was no longer there, and it was a new sign on the door. I didn't even know it existed, and it was a new business. So I walked in and they have a sit down restaurant, which was extremely nice, which we need a lot. We need more here. We don't have a lot in our small town. So I was super excited about that. I was sitting at the bar, ordered the food to go, was waiting, and then two ladies walked in and as soon as she walks up to the bar to order, she said, “Are you Christy?”

And I said, “Yeah.” And of course, you always act like you know. “Oh yeah, I know you” even though you have no idea who they are. And then she came over and introduced herself, and then we talked for 15, 20 minutes about everything. Like she's been seeing my stuff on social media and I recognized her name, sort of. You know what I mean? 

Tim Chermak: Sure, sure.

Christy Cox: So as soon as she walks away, I put a note in my phone with her name, so I could go back later and find her on social media, and send her a Facebook message or something. So anyway, got the food, got to take pictures in there to create another ad for that business, and then drove to the boutique where I was gonna go. And I knew that one of the owners would probably be there because it was Tuesday and I knew that they did lives on Tuesday, right? 

Tim Chermak: Okay.

Christy Cox: So I went Tuesday. It was around 12:30. 11:30 or 12 probably, actually. And you pull up and you're like, “What am I about to say? I’ll just walk in here with bags of food and this might be weird.” And I didn't even think about it. I just got out, walked in. 

She had maybe one customer in there. She walks over to me, she's super sweet. And I said, “This is gonna sound really weird, but I just wanted to come to your store 'cause I haven't been since you moved. And I just saw your live the other day and then I just thought it might be a good opportunity to bring you lunch just because I know sometimes January might be slower. And I just thought it might be a nice little blessing for you today for you and Ms.Vicky.”

And she's just like, “What?” And she just said, “I just have chills. Oh my gosh. I just can't even believe that you're doing this.” And then she comes over and she throws herself on me, hugging me and she said, “This is what we need in the world.” And I noticed at the end of their live they do a prayer. Her husband's a pastor. So when they end their live every single week, 'cause I watch it every week now, he prays or she prays. And I was like, this is so cool. So she was beside herself and we talked for 30 or 40 minutes just standing there. 

Christy Cox: Then the lady that was in the store shopping, she comes over, she wants to know what's going on. So she starts telling her. She was like, “Oh my gosh, this is what she just did. I can't believe this.” And she said, “Would you mind taking a picture of us? I wanna post this on Facebook right now.” And I said, “You really do not have to do that. That's not why I did this.” And she said, “No, I want to. You're with which company?” And so she starts creating this post and takes this picture. And I was like, “That's really sweet of you, but no big deal if you don't.” 

So anyway, the other lady, I wound up giving her a card 'cause she starts asking me about property 'cause she just moved to the area, got married, blah, blah, blah. She lives a couple miles from my house and they might buy eventually. So anyway, I stayed in the store for two hours. I wound up shopping all of their cell racks, and then she was just elated, kept bringing me stuff, was so sweet.

And then she starts telling me about her house, which is in like the prime location that they bought for a steal probably about five or six years ago. They've renovated it and it's near our industrial area, which is like prime. So she said, “I can't say that we wanna sell it right now, but I'd love to know what it's worth.” And I said, “I'll do that anytime. I'm not gonna pressure you to sell it unless you wanna sell it, but hey, just let me know. I'll give you some numbers.” She was like, “That will be great.” 

And so I said, “Well, look, I also like to do a small business spotlight, so do you mind if I do a little video of your store 'cause I'm just gonna put it on my social media.” And she was like, “You do that?” And Karly was dying laughing because she was so excited. I said, “Yes. I'm gonna get a shot of me. Do you mind videoing it?” And so she puts me in this little location. She brings all my bags, I had all these bags and shoe boxes. She’s like, “Hold all this stuff. I'm gonna put stickers on 'em.” And then she said, “Here's what you need to say.” So she starts telling me what she wants me to say. I was like, “Okay.” 

And then after that I said, “I'm gonna do a walkthrough. Do you wanna be in it?” And she was like, “Me?” and I said, “Yeah. 

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