INTERVIEW: Kevin Speaks with Debra Hodges of Group One Sotheby’s International Realty about Real Estate Marketing and Life
Kevin Shirley, Associate Broker (DC), GRI, ASP, e-PRO
Kevin Shirley:
How do real estate agents market themselves? And do agents with similar personality types market themselves in similar fashions? Those are the questions that I’m attempting to answer in my upcoming book, The Power of Personality, A Realtor’s Guide to Marketing To Your Strengths. Hello everybody, I’m Kevin Shirley. I’m with Long and Foster Real Estate in Washington DC, and my website is RealAstute.com. I’m here today with a very special guest, Debra Hodges with Group One Sotheby’s International Realty in Boise, Idaho. We’ll be talking about Debra’s real estate story and specifically about her preferred marketing strategies.
Kevin Shirley:
Debra, welcome. I’m so glad to have you here.
Debra Hodges:
Thank you so much, Kevin. I’m happy to be here.
Kevin Shirley:
It’s awesome to see you. Debra and I worked together many years ago. This is the first time we’ve seen each other in person for a very long time. It’s really a treat to have you here and to reconnect and to hear your story. As a part of my research for my book, I’ve been talking to a ton of realtors and it’s just such a privilege to get a sneak peek behind another realtor’s business and how they do business, and how they market themselves. I’ve learned so much over the course of this.
Kevin Shirley:
I’d like to start off with a few background questions so that folks get a sense of where you are with real estate and what brought you here. How long have you been licensed as a realtor and what was your professional life before real estate?
Debra Hodges:
That’s a great question. I have been licensed since 1994. Being that I was 19 years old at the time, I really didn’t have a profession besides working at the mall as a kid. I was born into real estate. My mom is in real estate and still to this day and she’s turning 81 this year.
Kevin Shirley:
Wow. Growing up, did you help your mom with stuff?
Debra Hodges:
Yes.
Kevin Shirley:
Were you labeling letters and that kind of stuff as a kid?
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, actually, I showed property. My mom owned a property management company. I didn’t have to be licensed to show rental property. My mom would pay me if I got that place rented. I also did my mom’s taxes. I did quite a bit. I was a very entrepreneurial high school kid.
Kevin Shirley:
Okay, I’m going to come back to the entrepreneur in you in a minute. If you would just describe a little bit about your professional trajectory in real estate, from the time you got licenses to where you are now. Give us a little sense of what that journey looked like for you.
Debra Hodges:
That’s a great question because I have done it all. When I first left Idaho, I went to Seattle. That’s where I got my first real estate license in 1994. I was a transaction coordinator for a small brokerage there. 1994 is the year that buyer agency came out. Prior to that, all realtors represented the sellers. I went to work for this really sweet team who decided to open a brokerage that only represented buyers. I had a lot of fun with them. As we went into the mid-90s recession, I picked up my stuff and moved to DC in 1995. That’s where I worked for the dream team, Suzanne Goldstein and Phyllis Alexander. I worked for them, or with them, in a capacity for quite a while. Being transaction coordinator, buyer’s agent, manager, and did a lot in that capacity.
Debra Hodges:
I’ve always been part of a collaborative group. When I came out to Boise in 2003, I really jumped into development and new construction. I really enjoyed representing builders and working with developers. I had always done residential resale. The bottom fell out from under that during the recession. As I came back around, I went back on my own as a solo agent focusing on residential resale. When my children were small here, I also was a buyer’s agent for about five years, but left that team in 2019, and have been independent since then again.
Debra Hodges:
I’ve kind of done it all.
Kevin Shirley:
Got it, got it. I don’t know much about your market. Could you tell us a little bit about the Boise real estate market? What are you licensed? Do you handle outside the city, in the suburbs? What’s most of your business? What does that look like?
Debra Hodges:
I do live near downtown Boise. I tend to focus on the county, Ada County. That includes Boise, Meridian, Star, Kuna, Eagle. It includes the bedroom towns close to Boise. In the past, I’ve worked Canyon County which is a little more rural and other parts of the country. I feel recently, probably the last five years, I’ve really focused on… I’m a city girl. I lived in DC for almost ten years. I really enjoy the urban side of Boise.
Kevin Shirley:
Got it. Give us a little flavor of your market. Most places, right now, are in a really strong seller’s market.
Debra Hodges:
Yes.
Kevin Shirley:
Does that hold true for Boise as well? What are your current challenges? Give us a little sense for what that’s like.
Debra Hodges:
I recently looked at an infographic at inventory levels across the country. Idaho is in the top in terms of negative inventory. We are down 68% from the last year. I heard yesterday that there was a house in DC that was listed for 250 and had 88 offers.
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
That’s not uncommon here. We don’t have 88 offers, but $100,000 over asking. Inventory is very, very tight. We are one of those places that have attracted a lot of incoming migration. We have been open as a state for the entire pandemic for the most part. We had a small shutdown in March and April, but restaurants have been open since May of last year. My kids have been in school except for eight weeks between November and December. For the most part, as a state, people are able to function, run their restaurants, and do business as normal.
Kevin Shirley:
You’ve got people moving in from other areas because of the pandemic?
Debra Hodges:
Yes, absolutely. People wanted … We call it bug-out land. I have a lot of friends that work in other parts of the state. I have a really good friend up in Northern Idaho. They’re getting bombarded with people saying, “I need my 40 acres so I can escape for the next pandemic.” My market tends to be… It’s interesting, a lot of people come to Idaho thinking it’s the next frontier. Our frontier has long been recognized and established. People are surprised by how expensive Boise is. Our median home price is well over, between 450 and five. You and I know the median home price usually is not a good indication of what you’re actually going to pay. Right now, an average home in Boise is between seven and $800,000. I think people are really surprised at our market because it is very strong. It’s a highly desirable place to live. It’s so easy to live in Boise. It’s so safe. People just like being here.
Kevin Shirley:
Right. In your business, do you represent mostly buyers, mostly sellers? Is it mostly a mix? For your buyers, I’m curious about strategies you’re using now to help them get their arms around operating in a seller’s market.
Debra Hodges:
I do typically have a stronger buy-side and have for a long time. I’m sure you can remember from our time in the mid-90s, I’m still a mama bear. I like to represent my clients. Obviously what someone is willing to pay for it has to be strong. I think price always makes a difference. We never had a buyer take an inspection out here until this year.
Kevin Shirley:
Okay.
Debra Hodges:
We’ve always been very fortunate to protect our clients’ rights to protect homes, really know what’s happening. This last year, people have come in from other areas, where it’s typical to remove an inspection. They’ve started winning. So removing inspections can be a big deal. We’re not able to do pre-inspections very often here, so it’s a big risk. Obviously strong earnest money. Here our standard earnest money is one percent, whereas in DC it was five at the time. Getting people to up that earnest money, releasing it to the seller early. Basically, anything we can do to make that seller happy from giving free rent backs for the time they need to get out of the house, escalation clauses. We do use them. One thing that’s worked really well lately is a no cap escalation which is kind of new to the market here. The nice thing is, from our late 90s boom in the DC, I was given a lot of tools for my tool chest.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s awesome. Let’s get into why we’re talking, the meat of all of this. One, I wanted to talk to you a tiny bit about your personality profile. Then I wanted to talk to you a little bit about how you market yourself. I ask everyone who participates in the research to this project to fill out a quick questionnaire based on the Myers-Briggs profile archetype. You fell into what’s known a the ESTP or entrepreneur profile. When I read that, and I was reading a little bit about the entrepreneur profile type, I really felt that resonated a lot for you. Did you feel like represented, accurately represented, who you are as a business person?
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, I think I did a pretty intensive Myers-Briggs coaching class in Sun Valley a couple of years ago. I think what really resonated or made me laugh was that the external portion of it. The group of ESTPs had naturally, in the room, glommed together with where we sat. Which was funny, because we’re just social animals. I think that part is what really resonated with me, to say, I am outgoing. My energy comes from other people. I’m not the person that recharges a loan. I recharge off people.
Debra Hodges:
I think that part is what really kind of cracked me up about it.
Kevin Shirley:
Got it. The big question that I’m asking every agent that I come in contact with, in those moments when you wake up at 2:00 in the morning, and you think, “Holy crap, if I don’t get some business soon, I’m not going to pay my mortgage next month.” When you have those moments, and you really get to your desk the next day and you say, “Okay, I’ve got to really bump and grind to get some business.” What is that strategy that is your go-to marketing strategy to fill your pipeline when you get anxious?
Kevin Shirley:
I was reading your response, and it sounds like you want to get face to face with people. You bring some kind of client appreciation gift or pop by gift. Talk a little bit about how you structure that process, how you go about that. Do you pick up the phone? Do you call? Do you do a drive by, pop by? Do you make an appointment for a coffee? Talk a little about that process and who do you decide to go and see when you decide to implement this strategy?
Debra Hodges:
I definitely fall into ninja coaching, so my relationships in my business are really important to me. My automatic strategy is how am I serving my relationships and how am I serving my clients. Who needs me? I’m fortunate because I do hear from my database probably on a daily basis, whether through Facebook, asking me for a vendor referral. I do have every house I’ve ever sold in Boise, I have a calendar with their home-iversary and the date they bought. For instance, on their sixth year, I send them Crumble Cookies delivery because the sixth anniversary is candy. I like to make sure that they are recognized for the time that they spend in the house.
Debra Hodges:
I think with ninja, every person in my database knows four to five people who will have a real estate need in the next year. I’m constantly thinking about how I can help. My newsletter, I’m constantly mentioning how I have relationships all across the country. I have relationships in DC. Some of my strongest real estate. I have relationships in Florida and California. Letting people know that I’m their person no matter where they go is helpful. For me, that 2:00 in the morning, if I’m stressed out about my pipeline, I would be focusing on my relationships. I wouldn’t be focusing on how much I need to spend on Zillow or where I need to buy an advertisement. I’m really looking to see, how do I make sure I’m communicating with my 80 to 90 raving fans to make sure that they understand that I can provide real estate help to everybody in their circle, not just the people here in Boise.
Debra Hodges:
I reminded everybody in my January newsletter, and I had three outgoing referrals that month. One even that I sold a house to them here, they sold that house, moved to Albuquerque, bought a house in Albuquerque, and now they’re getting relocated to Portland. They called me and said, “We want the version of you in Portland. Can you find them for us?”
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
I find that to be a huge compliment.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s very powerful.
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, very. It fills my ego. I loved it. I was like, “This is awesome.” That felt really good. When I look at my go to, I’m really focusing on my sphere. How can I help my friends, my past clients? Last year, I did 29 transactions and 22 of them come out of my sphere. My goal for 2021 is to be 100% by referral.
Kevin Shirley:
This is a question that comes down to style really, which is, when you’re in front of somebody, do you ask for a referral? What language do you use if you do?
Debra Hodges:
Man, I wish I could be in front of someone right now.
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
I do a big party every year, my Memorial weekend party. I am trying to figure out if I can have one this year. Both my husband and I are inoculated. I want to be like, “Okay if you’re vaccinated, come on over.”
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
I’m trying to figure out how I can do that. I miss people like crazy.
Kevin Shirley:
That must be very tough for all the Es out there, all the extroverts.
Debra Hodges:
Yes.
Kevin Shirley:
The pandemic must have been very tough.
Debra Hodges:
Yes, absolutely. About three months ago, I started calling friends and clients to start walking with me three days a week. Now I have a group of about five or six women who we do one on one hikes or walks two to three times a week. We’re touching base saying, “Hey do you want to walk Monday? Do you want to walk Wednesday?” I’m just spending tons of time trying to get in front of people, not for business, but for my own mental wellness.
Kevin Shirley:
Right, I bet you get business out of that.
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, actually, one of the big projects… I had a client. She was on the last flight out of Myanmar to get back to the United States. They were able to escape, not only the unrest that’s happening now, but because of the pandemic. I had sold them a house about a year and thank goodness, because they had a place to come. She was brand new to town. She had no way to meet anybody. Then we were in the pandemic. I said, “Why don’t we go for a walk?” Her husband has now contacted me and I’m going to be working some commercial, multi-family and possibly future condos with him as a development. It could be amazing.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s awesome.
Debra Hodges:
What I’m saying is, as far as getting in front of people and asking for referrals, I’m probably definitely old school A, B, C. I’m always be selling. I definitely am always making sure that people know. I didn’t always do that, but I feel like I’m older and more mature now, and I think, I like to let people know what I’m doing for business.
Kevin Shirley:
Right, so you don’t get in your head about it. You’re just out there.
Debra Hodges:
Yeah. It’s still easy to get in your head. I recently had a coaching call where he wanted me to highlight everybody who knows and trusts me who would refer me. It was three stages of people in my database. I’m like, “How do I know and trust that they would refer me?” He’s like, “Let’s switch this up. Let’s highlight everybody that you could just pick up the phone and call.” I’m like, “Oh okay, I got that.”
Kevin Shirley:
Right, that’s a clear delineation for you.
Debra Hodges:
Yes. It’s like, “Oh okay, these are people I feel comfortable calling. No problem.” It was fun. I even have it right here. Going through my database and highlighting the people that I would think are my raving fans and continue to stay in contact with me. It’s fun to see what that looks like and how I can continue to serve those clients.
Kevin Shirley:
You mentioned a few minutes ago, you do not lean into buying leads, Zillow, or wherever. Are there other strategies that you’ve maybe used in the past that didn’t bear fruit or that you spent a lot of money on that weren’t worth it for you? It sounds like you also do some kind of monthly newsletter. How does that tie in? Is that something that goes out that you do yourself? That you hire out? How do you get that out the door?
Debra Hodges:
Let’s start with what I’ve tried. Anything that puts me in front of strangers is difficult for me.
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
Zillow leads that come into me, I have no way to know if that person is my ideal client. Anything that I’m paying where strangers would be showing up on my phone are the ones that I find most difficult, for me personally. I really prefer a warmer approach. I want to be able to… I’m not comfortable selling myself. I want people to have already been told that I’m great.
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
I can pick up the phone and say, “Oh awesome,” and we can move forward together without me having to tell them how great I am or build trust because I think I’m just past that at this age.
Kevin Shirley:
Right, got it.
Debra Hodges:
Yes. We don’t get sign calls anymore. I don’t know if anybody does. I remember back in the day, I remember everybody would call the number on the sign. I don’t have to worry about sign calls. The ones I do like off Zillow though, are Agent Finder. I do have a lot of people that find me on Agent Finder. I don’t pay Zillow for Agent Finder. They can look me up based on my production and my reviews. I do show up, I think, within the first two pages of agent finder. That’s why I keep my Zillow profile and I have 75 five-star reviews on there.
Debra Hodges:
The other thing, I would say, at the beginning of the pandemic, I did start a monthly newsletter. I have one person that helps me with the writing portion. It’s all my voice. It’s all my information. I just pay her to put the words together. I also basically dictate two blogs a month with her. She puts them together, then I proof them, and then we put them out. I started that in January of last year. Then I put a new website together, really focusing on providing good content.
Debra Hodges:
I think, in the past, I was always afraid, after closing, to stay in touch with people. That’s been my transition the last five years, to not be afraid of everything after closing and to continue to stay in touch, continue to be of service, and providing vendors, tax information. Right now, rates are so good, letting people know you might want to pull money for your kids’ college or you might want to remodel something. Being of service that way has been really helpful.
Kevin Shirley:
Those kinds of messages are included in your newsletter or those are just individual messages. Tell me a little bit more about the content that goes into your newsletter every month. Sounds like you have one long-form article and then some other tidbits? How do you decide about the content?
Debra Hodges:
It’s always a short intro, something funny. In my last March newsletter, it’s like, “Hey I’m planning … we’re going next week for a ten-day camping trip. I’m planning this ten-day camping trip. I’m totally stalking this garden. I planted these tulips and I’m waiting for them to put their little heads up.”
Kevin Shirley:
So it’s very personal?
Debra Hodges:
Very personal to me, to say here’s what … I do a market update. My market update is, I do think as a REALTOR, we all need to be very informed of the date of our market. You can’t just skip over that stuff and pretend to be good at real estate. I think you really need to know your numbers. I am a numbers girl. The graphs that my clients get to review with me, when they’re actually working with me, whether it be at the buyer consult or during a listing appointment, those graphs continue in the newsletters. They know how to read the graphics now because I taught them. I also provide a written update on the market.
Debra Hodges:
Then I usually will throw in the two latest blogs.
Kevin Shirley:
Got it. So you repurpose information from your blog onto your newsletter?
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, because nobody will see the blogs if I don’t put them in the newsletter. I do post them on social media but I don’t always promote them. I do put them in the newsletter for my clients to see, because then they may not see them. I always put any new or sold to show people that I am actually still buying and selling real estate. It has a very standard format. I’m fortunate because I have really kind and amazing clients who say, “Wow, that was really amazing,” or, “I love getting this.” Even if you get one person a month that says, “Hey,” it’s like, okay I’m going to keep doing this.
Kevin Shirley:
It does give you the motivation to keep doing it — when you hear people are actually paying attention and reading it, it does reinforce the importance of those connections.
Debra Hodges:
Absolutely. To share with others, I’ve never been a fan of receiving emails, correct?
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
I’ve always said, “If I don’t want it, then nobody else is going to want it.”
Kevin Shirley:
You have a very high bar.
Debra Hodges:
I do. I need to be serving my clients and providing information that’s helpful for them. I’m not just looking to say hey. I wrote some very personal things when I started the newsletter, at the beginning of the pandemic. I was very vulnerable, as they say, and have continued to keep that voice and to share that it’s not about Debra Hodges. It’s about my community. It’s about my city. It’s about my clients and what they need.
Debra Hodges:
I think that’s one of the best things that I’ve done. My new website has been really helpful.
Debra Hodges:
I think one of your questions on your thing was where are my shortcomings. It’s all things technology.
Kevin Shirley:
It sounds like you’re on top of your technology in ways that a lot of agents are not. Just simply getting an e-newsletter out once a month is well beyond a lot of agents that I talk to. You get an A+ even if it’s something you worry about!
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, and I think I’m constantly just trying to figure out where to get the touches with your database. I do a postcard. My office is kind enough to have a system where they send a monthly postcard out. I pay for that. That goes out to all my past clients.
Kevin Shirley:
What kind of content is in that postcard?
Debra Hodges:
The postcard is actually a really amazing coupon. It’s not a coupon like you would get in a Valupak. This month it was a coupon for so much money off at the local nursery that people love. It’s for a buy one, get one breakfast at a luxury restaurant. It’s the buy one, get one to the pumpkin patch that everybody loves in the fall.
Kevin Shirley:
People must look forward to those.
Debra Hodges:
They do. Some of them. Some of them, they probably toss in the trash. I think some of them I think are like, “Okay, where’s the pumpkin patch one?” Or, “Where’s the buy one, get one at Richard’s?”
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
It’s a small price to pay to keep those touches. Working with my coach on that process, the home-iversary has been a tough one for me. I am a process-oriented person, so if I don’t have everything perfect, I don’t do it.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s a huge struggle for a lot of agents. We do have such high bars for ourselves that getting something out becomes tricky.
Debra Hodges:
Right. I started this year, I offered up a real estate review for my clients. That was a big one because I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it. A real estate review is basically what your insurance guy does every year, where he says, “Let’s look at your insurance policies. How are you using this vehicle? How are you living in your house?” My real estate review is basically the same thing to say, here’s what’s going on around you. Here’s where the market is at. It’s more of a one on one conversation. I’ve been hearing about it and wanting to do it, but because I didn’t have a system, and I didn’t have it exactly. Then I offered it up in my newsletter without the system in place, to say, “Okay I’m going to put it out there.”
Kevin Shirley:
Then you developed a system as you created that first market report for that first client.
Debra Hodges:
Yes. Someone says, “Hey I want a real estate review.” I’m like, “Okay.” Then I decided that I was going to do it as a Zoom call and they had to choose coffee or wine. We either would have a coffee appointment or a wine appointment. I had all my stuff. I had it all ready.
Kevin Shirley:
Did you send them something ahead of time or just let that meeting be it?
Debra Hodges:
I sent them the Zoom invite. Once they picked coffee, I sent them a thing for a Sunday morning. We jumped on and went through. I did a small CMA. I let them know that it’s not property-specific. It’s neighborhood-specific. That’s the way I decided to structure it, was that I would do a small CMA for the solds around their neighborhood and to show them where things were at with that, then go into the graph that goes into the newsletter so that I could then reteach them how that graph works so that when they see it in the newsletter they’ll understand it even further. Then just talk about what’s happening in town and the neighborhood in general. Then we said goodbye. Then the next day, her husband texted me that her father-in-law wanted to do a 1031 exchange.
Kevin Shirley:
There you go! For something that you just completely winged it, you were successful with it and you got business out of it.
Debra Hodges:
Yes.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s terrific. That’s something that you’ll continue doing?
Debra Hodges:
Yes. The only thing I’m working on my process is my home-iversaries. I had a coaching call and we talked quite a bit about it. I’ve always just focused on the sixth year. I literally have every one. Today, my calendar tells me whose anniversary it is to get their home-iversary. I’m just stuck. I don’t know what to do because I want to do something. I feel like I have this process or do something big for everyone. Then I do nothing.
Kevin Shirley:
Right, yes. The perfect can become the enemy of the good.
Debra Hodges:
Exactly. I did order cards. I ordered blank real estate-y cards. I’m going to start sending those out the week before. I’m going to call everybody the day of just to say hello. I’m working on that process.
Kevin Shirley:
I think you’ll be really surprised at how warmly those calls are received. People aren’t thinking about their house anniversary, but that you are becomes so important to them … that you’re thinking only of them that day. It really is powerful for those calls and that pop by or that gift. They know that you’re just thinking of them that day. You’re not thinking of all the other hundreds of other people that maybe you’ve helped, but just of them. It really is important.
Debra Hodges:
The last two things I do for marketing, is I do wine delivery for Thanksgiving every year. I actually have an order form on the newsletter in October. I say, “If you want wine, you pick red or white,” then we hand deliver it the week before Thanksgiving.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s nice.
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, it’s more expensive because I do use a local winery. It’s something I enjoy doing.
Kevin Shirley:
That does get you face to face with people.
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, oh my gosh. My husband had to take over my deliveries last year because I was obviously hungry for some interaction. I was supposed to do 40 deliveries that day. Five hours in, I had 11. So the next day, I had to give him half my deliveries because he wouldn’t talk to anybody and I was talking to everybody!
Kevin Shirley:
Got it.
Debra Hodges:
Yeah, it was really fun. The other thing I’m working on to set up for this year is a fall family photo shoot. I’m going to do that as a sponsored event so that people can come in and do a photo shoot with their family.
Kevin Shirley:
That’s great. The final question that I’m asking everybody is, what advice would you give a brand new, baby real estate agent who was an entrepreneur, an ESTP, someone of your personality profile type? What advice would you give a brand new agent?
Debra Hodges:
ESTPs, we have, how do I want to say this? ESTPs don’t know any strangers. We tend to make friends easily, right?
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
We’re the life of the party. I feel like it’s important to anybody that’s in that ESTP, you’re going to have a sphere and you’re going to be easily accessible and talk to people and friendly and really focus on that circle. I think, as an ESTP, I did not want to burden my sphere. I felt like I was bothering them, until I realized that I was a benefit for them and they needed to know it. I think that being able to feel confident in tapping into your sphere, because that’s probably going to be the strongest thing an ESTP can have going into any new career, frankly.
Kevin Shirley:
Right.
Debra Hodges:
You have to see yourself as a benefit and not a bother.
Kevin Shirley:
Was that hard for you? Was there a light bulb that went off at some point that made you think, being my friend is a value?
Debra Hodges:
Yeah. I think I realized, oh I would much rather have my friends working with me than with someone else. I wholeheartedly believe that I am the best option for them. There was an aha moment where I was like, “Oh my gosh. I really need to make sure that my clients know that I am the best option for them, that I care more than anybody else, that I treat each transaction like it’s my own, that you’re not just a number to me.” I feel like when I believed that myself that it transferred into even more confidence in allowing myself to work with my sphere.
Debra Hodges:
Now I’m even surprised. I had a mom or a couple that’s a parent at my kid’s school reach out to me to help them buy and sell. I’m always so humbled and surprised and say, “You want to work with me?”
Debra Hodges:
I don’t know what your stats are, but we have 8,000 realtors in our MLS. I truly believe that everybody in Boise knows at least five realtors. If I’m the person that gets the phone call, I am deeply humbled.
Kevin Shirley:
Got it. Debra, thank you so much for being with me here today and sharing your story. Thank all you out there for watching. As part of my ongoing book research, I’m trying to speak with about 200 agents, all across the United States. I’m about halfway done at this point. I’m hearing so many interesting, important, useful stories, that I don’t want to wait until the end, when the book is published to get some of this information out there. Stay tuned for more interviews like this. If you’re an agent and you’re interested in participating in my research, just reach out. I’ll get you set up and we’ll be able to talk a little bit about the way that you market yourself as well.
Kevin Shirley:
Til next time everybody, I’m Kevin Shirley, Long and Foster Real Estate, Washington DC. Never too busy for any of your referrals.
Kevin Shirley:
Debra Hodges, thank you. Boise, Idaho, never too busy for any of your Boise, Idaho referrals. Stay tuned everybody. Thanks so much for being here.
Debra Hodges is an Associate Broker with Group One Sotheby’s International Realty in Boise, Idaho. As a proud Boise resident and Idaho native, she knows first-hand the sense of community and spirit of adventure that makes Boise special. She lives in the East End with her husband, two daughters, dog, and a flock of free-range chickens. You can reach her by phone 208.869.2323 or by e-mail at idahohodges@gmail.com.
