Marketing So Good Your Listing Appointments Are Just Formalities

Erin Pernice:  Before Platform, I think I lost like three or four… not that that's a lot, but I think over my entire career, over the last five years, I think I've lost three or four listings, and it would just shatter me. I would come home and be like, “What did I do wrong?” And I don't know that I did anything wrong, I just didn't have anything that stood out to make me so much better than that other agent. 

We're both right here. Maybe she gave them a better commission rate or something. I don't know. I don't really give a discounted rate because I'm worth it, and I have things to do. And now I can just… open my Facebook, I show 'em what I can do, I show 'em I have a whole listing presentation, and I just knock it out of the park that way. 

Tim Chermak: So you actually haven't lost a listing appointment. You haven't lost a listing since you joined Platform like a year and a half ago?

Erin Pernice: Nope.

Tim Chermak: That's crazy. 

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 Erin Pernice in Warren, Ohio. Erin, welcome to the show!

Erin Pernice: Thanks, Tim, for having me. I'm excited. 

Tim Chermak: So Erin got started using the Platform Marketing strategy last year, and she kind of has a cool perspective on what it's done for her business. 'Cause I know a lot of people that we interview here, we have the conversations on the podcast, it's “Oh, I increased my sales by 50%,” or “My GCI is up by, whatever.” And Erin actually kind of has a unique perspective on it. Like yes, her business has grown and that's all great, but it's grown in a very specific way that if you are a real estate agent, especially in a northern climate, as am I - I was born and raised in Minnesota - this will be very, very relevant to you. 

Erin noticed that in previous years, in basically Q1, every year - so January, February, March - if you're in a northern state, you're in Ohio, right? There's often a lot of snow on the ground. It's cold. Not a lot of people are moving, whether it's buying or selling in January, February, if they don't absolutely have to. They would rather wait until spring, summer, when there's more inventory and the market's just hotter both figuratively and literally. You have noticed that since starting the Platform strategy last year that the biggest difference is what Q1 looks for you.

Would you mind sharing what those numbers have looked like for you, Erin? 

Erin Pernice: Sure. So last year, my quarter one, I sold five houses and for a total of $407,000 for the entire quarter, which was okay, not great. But this year for quarter one, I have closed $883,000 and I have $2.3 million ready to close before the end of this first quarter. $2.3 million. 

Tim Chermak:That's under contract. 

Erin Pernice: That's under contract, yeah. I've listed nine houses since January. 

Tim Chermak: And what is the average price point in your market, typically?

Erin Pernice: About $190,000. 

Tim Chermak: So you're in a really, really affordable market. I wanna put that in the proper context, that when you say that, “Hey, in my Q1 this year, I have $2 million that'll close before the end of Q1 that's either closed or under contract.” That's in a market where your homes are $100,000 to $200,000. So that's actually a pretty significant amount of volume. And normally in Q1, in your market, in those cold months, normally you'd be looking at like, “Hey, I might be selling a couple homes.” You said last year you had $400,000 in volume for the entire quarter, for Q1.

Erin Pernice: For five homes, yeah. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. And this year it's actually five times that. So that's the biggest difference you've noticed with the Platform strategy so far. Why do you think that is? Why do you think you had such a better winter this year using the Platform strategy than last year?

Erin Pernice: Well, because we nurture. So I nurtured all year, all these clients, and when we were ready, we were ready. I mean, they weren't waiting. They saw me, they see the videos, they call me, they wanna be on videos, they want their houses on these videos and they just see me out and about in the community now and Platform has really done that for me.

Tim Chermak: So you would say probably one of the most valuable things about this strategy is the listing videos. 

Erin Pernice: Absolutely, and the community involvement. I was already involved in the community, but people just didn't see it. Now they see it. We showcase it on Facebook, we see me out and about. We see me feeding the football team with my son. I was always there, but now we show it. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. Yep. Now I have to ask a question here 'cause I'm pretty sure when we met last year in Ohio at the Platform event, you were a hairstylist, right? 

Erin Pernice: Correct. 

Tim Chermak: So that is crazy. Literally the last Platform podcast episode we just did, I recorded it this last week, was with Jamie Fearing. And I didn't know this, but Jamie Fearing was also a hairstylist for decades before going into real estate. And now she has a really successful real estate business. And she connected with…

Erin Pernice: So was Sandi Smith. 

Tim Chermak: Yes! I was gonna say she connected with Sandi Smith at the Mastermind and they talked and became friends, and apparently none of them either mentioned that both of them were hairstylist. So I was telling her, and she was just like, “No way!” So I've now interviewed two people in a row for the Platform podcast that went from being hairstylist to rockstar realtors. So that's just totally random. 

Erin Pernice: So wait, are you ready? I'm gonna blow your mind. I still work behind my chair three to four days a week.

Tim Chermak: That's awesome. Okay. It probably helps your real estate business. I would imagine that you're just regularly in contact with people. 

Erin Pernice: It does, it does. Because you know, when Miss Betty is sitting in my chair and she's talking about like, “Hey, I'm gonna put my mother-in-law in assisted living. What are we gonna do with her house? Oh, will you come list my house?” And it kind of just flows. And the trust is already there because I've done her hair for 27 years and they watch my videos, they see me selling, they see me on the leaderboards in our company, and she’s like it's just a natural thing. And honestly, I don't even compete against anybody else because they see me, they know me. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. They actually see the marketing and they not only see the social media posts, I guess, but they see you're actively involved in the community. And the social media ads are just a reflection of that. 'Cause there's a lot of agents out there that are quote unquote “part-time agents” and they get a bad rep because usually when you hear part-time agents, because they have a normal job, and they're doing real estate on the side, and maybe they sell three homes a year, four homes a year, or something like that, you're basically just full-time in both.

Erin Pernice: Correct. 

Tim Chermak: Because you're making money in the salon, but you're also.. I mean, how many transactions did you do last year as a realtor, Erin? 

Erin Pernice: 52. 

Tim Chermak: Total. 

Erin Pernice: 52. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah, so exactly. No one could ever say that someone who did 52 sides is a part-time agent. Because doing 52, I don't have the exact statistics in front of me, but I would imagine if you're closing more than 50 transactions a year, you're probably in the top 1% of realtors nationwide, you know? And if not the top 1%, for sure the top 2%. There are not a lot of agents that are doing over 50 transactions a year.

Erin Pernice: I always said I was a full-time hairstylist, part-time real estate agent. And now when people ask me, I'm a full-time real estate agent and a part-time hairstylist. I come here basically for the scoop and the knowledge of what's gonna be, who's selling their house, and what's going on in the community, and just for the chit chat. I pretty much would do your hair for free just for fun now, because I love my ladies. 

Tim Chermak: Right, right. It's basically like get getting paid to do lead generation. Correct?

Erin Pernice: Correct, correct! It is. And my husband even laughs about it. He's like, “So did you go have fun with 16 of your best friends today?” That’s what doing hair to me is like now.

Tim Chermak: I think combining that with the fact that you have elite social media marketing is what makes all this work. Because I mean, I'll be honest, there's a lot of agents I've heard of that are again, quote unquote “part-time agents” and they're trying to do real estate and another job. And usually it's based on this scarcity mindset and this fear of, “I need the income from this other job to make this work.” “I'm too afraid to go all in on real estate because I need the income.” So they keep working this other job, whatever that is. Right? And that actually ironically, is what prevents them from ever growing a real estate business. Because if you're all in on your job and you're working 40 hours a week at a job, ironically, you're never going to build a real estate business, a brand. You're just not getting the reps. You're not getting the at-bats, right?

—

Tim Chermak: We had been talking about, Erin is still really a full-time hairstylist and a full-time real estate agent, and I know when most people would hear me say something like that, you kind of like roll your eyes thinking, “Okay, she's probably barely making it as a hairstylist and she's probably barely making it as a real estate agent.” And it's actually completely false on both of those. She's crushing it as a hairstylist. And she also sold, you said, was it over 50 transactions last year?

Erin Pernice: 52. 

Tim Chermak: 52. Yeah. So she's doing extremely well in her real estate career, but as we discussed, she's using this occupation. I mean, how many days are you in the salon cutting hair? Three, four days a week?

Erin Pernice: Three full, and then sometimes it has to be on Saturdays, but not every Saturday.

Tim Chermak: Sure. So for sure, three days a week you're in the salon as a hairstylist and you're almost treating that as a lead generation channel to constantly stay top of mind with your sphere and frankly, get paid for doing it. How often has it happened where someone became a client buying or selling a house, or they referred someone to you because of maybe a connection you had as a hairstylist? 

Erin Pernice: I didn't keep track last year, but in 2023 I had 35 transactions come out from out of my salon. 

Tim Chermak: Really? 

Erin Pernice: Yeah. 35 buyers and sellers. 

Tim Chermak: Wow! That's, I'm almost speechless right now. That's hard to believe. I was expecting you would say three or four or five, but no 35. 

Erin Pernice: 35 in 2023. 

Tim Chermak: Okay. So those relationships that you're forming with your clients in the salon are translating into a lot of business for your real estate career. But again, when you do real estate, you aren't doing this from a scarcity mentality. That was kinda the point that we left on in part one of this conversation is most people who will pursue being a quote unquote “part-time agent” because they're balancing some other job, it's because they need the income and they're too afraid to leave the other job and go all in at real estate 'cause they need that income. And that's a completely understandable spot to be in, especially in this economy where it's a really difficult time to build a business from scratch as a realtor. I wouldn't blame someone at all if they wanted to hang on to their normal W2 paycheck job while they slowly build out a real estate business.

But eventually you're gonna hit the spot where you have to go full-time, and most people, frankly, aren't willing to leave the normal steady paycheck and go all in on real estate. So most people are making this entire decision, it's framed in a scarcity mindset. You have somehow completely shattered that paradigm because you're doing really well as a realtor, and you're like, “No, I'm gonna keep doing this because it's actually driving business for my real estate career.” So there's no reason to quit. And in fact, it would probably cost you money to quit because of how much deal flow is coming from you maintaining your book of business as a hairstylist. I mean, that's incredible. You're probably the first person I've ever talked to that clearly you're doing this, and it's like a net positive. I mean, it's actually driving business for you. 

Erin Pernice: Correct. I get more leads out of my chair than I get anywhere else. Period. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah, I mean, that's incredible. 

Erin Pernice: And I'm in the know. Even if Grandma Betty Sue, I don't list her daughter's house, I know that it's coming, so I have my buyer ready to go. So I'm like, “Hey, let's be ready because X, Y, and Z house is coming on the market next week in our prime location. And I know it's really well taken care of.” So I'm in there winning. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. It’s like you have all of these sources of referrals that are both sending business to you, but they're also telling you about people they know that might be buying or selling in the future. And again, you're getting paid for it. Usually realtors try to create that informal network, that sphere, via doing client appreciation events and whatnot. But you have to pay to put on client appreciation events. Obviously, you're getting paid to get all of this information and this intel about who's buying and selling in the community. You're getting paid to do it by cutting hair. I mean, it's genius. 

But I was gonna say most people that are kind of balancing another career with real estate as they try to make that transition, a lot of their decisions are made out of fear and out of this scarcity mindset. But I think why it's worked for you is because you invested in something like the Platform Marketing program. And even if you hadn't joined Platform, then insert whatever other companies are out there that do marketing, the point is, you were willing to invest money into building your brand and into your marketing, so that yeah, you had two careers going on at the same time, but it wasn't two careers that you were half-assing, right? You're actually like whole-assing two different careers at the same time, because you're investing more into building your brand as a real estate agent than frankly most agents ever do with all these Platform-style, social media ads and listing videos. 

I mean, I know that you've had a bunch of listing videos get a ton of views in the community. So people are talking about seeing your Facebook ads, and they're talking about your social media. 

Erin Pernice: So actually, today, I was having my call with Abby at 12:30, regular, scheduled every other Monday that we do. And I said, “I think we're done here. I have a call coming in and I have no idea who it is.” So she's like, “Yeah, sure. We're done. We've covered enough of it today.” And I answer the phone and he says, “Hey, you don't know me, but I see you all over town, Facebook, I saw your latest billboard.” He's like, “I need to sell my mom's house. When can you meet me?” I went at three o'clock today, listing’s signed, and off we're going. Photographer comes Monday and it'll go to market next Friday. 

Tim Chermak: And so this just happened today.

Erin Pernice: Today. Since I've actually talked to you Thursday, I have listed three houses and put two houses under contract this weekend. 

Tim Chermak: That's awesome. 

Erin Pernice: I mean, Platform works. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah, you had the courage to do that, to invest in building your brand, which is what I think a lot of agents they just don't have that level of courage.

If they're working some other job, that other job is kind of preventing them from ever taking that leap into real estate because they cling to that steady paycheck when what they need to do is at least at some point, you have to go all in. But I think you kind of avoided that trade off because you're like, “Hey, I'm gonna do both, but I'm also gonna invest in this really elite social media marketing with Platform, so that, yeah, I'm cutting hair, but I'm also gonna be the best known realtor in the community. I'm not just gonna be one of many realtors. I want to be the best known. I want to dominate social media in my community. So I think it's that decision that you made and the courage, Erin, that it took to make that decision to join something like Platform is probably why you're now thriving in both. 

Erin Pernice: Right. And you know, we had conversations before I even started about, “Can I afford this?” I'm in a market that's not an expensive market and I literally have to sell one house a month just to pay for Platform. And that was a big concern to me, especially when I first started, because my first quarter last year, I sold $407,000 in real estate. 

Tim Chermak: Right, right. 

Erin Pernice: That's not enough to pay for this, but you had the ramp-up program, and I came in and I did everything that they told me to do, and here I am. I have to date right now, $2.842 million under contract for first quarter. 

Tim Chermak: Awesome, awesome. Yeah. We always say that to cover Platform for a whole year with ad spend as well as the Platform fee, if you wanna join the Platform program, you need to sell a million dollars, that's basically what it costs. So, as long as Platform, over the course of 12 months of a year, can help you sell an additional million dollars, then at a minimum, you're breaking even on that investment. And anything beyond a million dollars in sales volume becomes your actual net profit.

So if Platform helps you scale your business by $4 million, then that $3 million is extra profit 'cause the $1 million was actually the cost of doing all that marketing. You've already surpassed that just in Q1. 

Erin Pernice: Yes. And last year, I saw a $5 million upswing from the year before. 

Tim Chermak: And what were the numbers again of where your business was at before and after Platform? 

Erin Pernice: So when I started in Platform of 2023, my 2023 numbers were $7.2 million. And then last year's ‘24 numbers was $11.7 million. 

Tim Chermak: Okay, so you almost hit $12 million then? That's just incredible in a market where you're selling a lot of $200,000 homes. 

Erin Pernice: So I had three, four homes last year that were under $40,000. 

Tim Chermak: Wow. Were they actual homes or was it just land or…

Erin Pernice: Nope, they were homes. 

Tim Chermak: Really? 

Erin Pernice: Mm-hmm. 

For more of this episode, listen on Apple or Spotify Podcasts.