Spotlight Podcast

On today’s show, we’re going to be talking about the advantages and disadvantages of creating a brokerage within a brokerage. Creating your own satellite office within the brokerage, perhaps incorporating your "brokerage within a brokerage" to benefit from the tax advantages that come along with incorporation. Are these good ideas that will save you money and grow your business in the process? The answer isn’t as clear cut as you would think. Eryn and Linas discuss this topic and where best to spend your money to grow your business.

On today’s show, we discuss video content on the web. Video media has become increasingly popular all across the Internet as it becomes easier and more accessible for people to create content. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and various other social media platforms are seeing drastic increases in the amount of video being created, produced and consumed by the general public. As a real estate agent, what's the best way to take advantage of this demand for video content? How would you get started generating content? We discuss these topics and more on the show. Bomb Bomb is discussed on the show as an enabler of video content emails. Bomb Bomb's services can be found at bombbomb.com

On today’s show, we’re going to cover a topic that has recently come into the limelight with a recent exposé by the CBC. A couple of weeks ago, CBC released a story where they showed the results of their undercover investigation. They sent in consumers posing as prospective buyers without representation. These people were recording both video and audio of the conversation with the listing agent, and it showed that 6 out of the 10 listing agents that were caught on tape were in clear violation of rules set out by RECO on multiple representation arrangements by sharing confidential information with the buyer side. Promises of controlling the offer process to ensure that their buyers got the home, promises of disclosure of the value of other offers… Clear cut violations of the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act were clear and plentiful. In this episode we discuss the ramifications of this story and how it may affect real estate in the future.

So we unfortunately don't have a show this week, and for that we apologize. However, the reason is a good one. We would like to send out our best wishes to my regular co-host Eryn Richardson with regards to the birth of his new son. We will be back to our regularly scheduled programming during the week of November 14, and we've got some exciting news to cover with the recent news coming out of Ontario regarding realtor abuse of multiple representation arrangements. It'll be an exciting show, we look forward to seeing you next week!

This week's episode was a very special episode of the Spotlight Podcast, as the show was filmed for the first time in front of a live audience at CENTURY 21 Canada Conference 2016 in Vancouver. While Eryn couldn't fill his usual spot as co-host this week, filling in for him was Brian Rushton, Executive Vice President of CENTURY 21 Canada. We talked to Brian along with our other guests (Rob Vivian, owner of Rob Vivian Coaching and Chris Leader, Master Trainer and Owner of Leader's Edge Training) about their 'origin stories'... Where they started out, and how they ended up in their current positions they've found themselves in today. Find out more information about our guests on their respective websites below. Both Rob and Chris have deep roots in the CENTURY 21 system, and are well respected trainers in the industry. Rob Vivian Owner of Rob Vivian Coaching https://robvivian.ca/ Chris Leader Master Trainer and Owner of Leader's Edge Training http://www.leadersedgetraining.com/

In our most recent episode we talk about something that all agents want.... leads. We delve into some strategies on how to effectively get more leads, and more importantly, the best way to handle and convert incoming leads to make sure you're spending your money on acquiring online leads effectively. There's no one better to discuss this topic with than our guest on the show, Paul Baron. Paul is the broker of record and owner of the #1 CENTURY 21 firm in Canada by both production and units. Paul heads 9 branch offices and 6 satellite offices with over 680 Sales Representatives and Brokers located throughout Toronto and surrounding areas.

On this week's show we cover two main topics. Eryn and Linas discuss the recent news coming out of Ottawa to "address factors that could lead to excess risk" in the real estate industry. We focus on the two main financial policies soon to be implemented federally: making the "stress test" for mortgage approval more rigorous and closing the loophole where foreign owners could claim a capital gain tax credit on home sales in Canada. The second segment on the show discusses real estate virtual tours, and where they are headed in the future. Virtual Reality and Interactive Virtual Tours have been hot topics over the past couple of years, and it appears that the "perfect storm" is brewing to help these technologies to take off in the marketplace. One of the technologies discussed on today's show can be found at http://matterport.com

On this week's show, we discuss strategies for setting up and executing your professional presence on the web. We emphasize the importance taking advantage of your fully featured and well designed (might I add free?) century21.ca website. We also discuss a variety of other topics, including generating content for your site(s), improving your websites' performance for search engines as well as purchasing multiple websites for the purpose of generating leads.

On today’s show, we’re going to be discussing a newer practice that’s been cropping up in the real estate industry of late, especially in the hotter markets. Promotion of your listings before putting them on MLS. These listings are often presented as ‘Coming Soon’ in attempt to attract interest, and potentially sell your client’s home prior to putting it on the market to save on commission. Is this in everyone’s best interests? Does this potentially prevent your client from getting proper market value for their listing? How do you best leverage this strategy to maximize the value of the home? We discuss all of these questions, along with addressing some more recent news on the success of the Vancouver foreign buyer's tax in the show. APP OF THE WEEK Collaborate is a system implemented by the Toronto Real Estate Board that could potentially be a game changer for the industry. In a world where access to listing information online is quick and easy, home buyers are often finding properties they are inte

The listing presentation. Even if you’re a brand new agent, you’ve likely got one. Listing presentations come in all sorts of colours and flavours, but what makes for a good one? What are the common pitfalls that most agents find themselves in when crafting, or giving a listing presentation? On today's show, Eryn goes over the best ways to craft a listing presentation, and more importantly, how important it is to be flexible and adaptable while presenting. If you're a new agent or an experienced veteran, you're going to want to tune in. APP OF THE WEEK Google Drive's suite of office productivity applications, Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets are valuable tools for any professional. Real time collaboration, easily accessible cloud document storage, and it's all completely free. Break free of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint with these refreshing alternatives. https://www.google.com/drive/

On today’s show, Eryn and Linas talk about one of the most under-utilized and underrated tools in a realtor’s toolbox, the buyer’s presentation. The ying to the listing presentation’s yang. Why aren’t buyer presentations more popular? How can I craft an effective buyer presentation? Find out why Eryn strongly believes that implementing a buyer presentation into your buyer workflow can improve your professionalism, gain the trust of your buyer, and help prepare your client for the buying process. APP OF THE WEEK Hootsuite is a must-have app/service for anyone who juggles or manages multiple social media accounts. It gives you one central service from which to manage your social media posts, and helps you spend your time efficiently in the world of social media. https://hootsuite.com/

On today’s show, we’re concluding our mini series on building the foundations of your real estate business. Over the past couple of shows we’ve gone over getting started in the industry and how to make that ever important transition to becoming a top producer. Today, we’re going to talk about planning your endgame… making sure you’re financially secure for retirement. As a real estate agent, you probably know by now that there’s no pension the day you retire… How much money do you really need to retire comfortably? Are you on track to get to that number? Do you understand the rule of 72? What should I be doing now to get to where I need to be? And who better to answer these questions, than Kevin Stanley. Kevin has been working with Century 21 for 31 years in many roles - Salesperson, Recruiter Manager, Real Estate Trainer, and now his current position is the director of Knowledge and Learning at Century 21 Canada. APP OF THE WEEK Tired of remembering hundreds of passwords for all of your web services?

This week's show is the third of our four part series on building your business foundations in the real estate industry. So you’re an agent that’s been in the industry for a while, you’ve got a healthy amount of business coming in… You’re so busy that there simply not enough hours in the day to properly service your clients and balance your own quality of life. Business is good, but you’re becoming a slave to your career, and maybe even your personal life is suffering as a result. Today, we’re going to talk about how to manage your business, your time and resources effectively to not only help grow your business, but to make sure you’re running your business, and your business is not running you. Maybe you need an assistant? Maybe it’s time to form a team? We discuss all of these questions with our guest this week Brad Miller, team leader of the Goodale Miller Team from Century 21 Miller in Oakville, one of the top teams in the country. APP OF THE WEEK Go Connect is a mobile CRM app that is great f

This week's show is the second of our four part series on building your business foundations in the real estate industry. So you've been in the industry for a while, but you've hit a ceiling. You're struggling to take that next step, ramping up your business to become a 'top producer'. How do you take your business to the next level? Our guest this week is Pam Prescott, Broker/Owner of Century 21 Heritage Group. Pam has mentored hundreds of agents, turning them into top producers over the past 30 years. We pick Pam's brain to figure out what makes a top producer, and how you can make the jump.

This week's show is the first of our four part series on building your business foundations in the real estate industry. So you're a new agent. Where do you start? Real estate sales is one of the most competitive industries, and you have no sales history and no industry experience. It's easy to get discouraged, overwhelmed and disheartened. Eryn and Linas discuss several tips and strategies for getting started in the industry, from setting up a plan to managing your sphere of influence. All it takes to pave the road to becoming a top producer is drive, talent and a solid business plan. APP OF THE WEEK What better app to talk about on a podcast than podcasting apps? We discuss the various options for podcatching apps for both iPhones (iTunes) and Android devices (Google Play Music, Pocketcasts). iTunes (iOS and OSX) https://itunes.apple.com/ Pocketcasts (Android) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts&hl=en Google Play Music (Android) https://play.google.c

There's no show this week, instead we're announcing the upcoming series of shows we're going to be doing over the next few weeks that are focusing on building the foundations of your real estate career. Whether you're new to the industry, or looking to take your business to the next level, you'll want to make sure to tune in. We've got great guests and shows lined up, so we'll see you next week!

This week’s show Eryn and Linas discuss the ongoing drive in the real estate industry towards creating a ‘paperless’ office. Fax machines, filing cabinets, stacks and stacks of paper… These are all quickly being replaced by emails, PDFs, scanners and online storage. Technology is enabling us to allow for quicker and more efficient workflows, easier and more universal access to documents… essentially making our lives easier and more efficient. The only problem is that policies of local real estate boards, provincial and national real estate associations are taking time to catch up to the technology to make a truly ‘paperless’ office possible. Today’s show we’re going to look into the challenges of going paperless, what we can do to further this goal, and the common pitfalls and obstacles agents and management are likely to encounter along the way. APP OF THE WEEK If you're going to go paperless, you'll need some help from software along the way. Our app spotlight this week is on one specific app that i

CENTURY 21® Canada Conference in Vancouver, celebrating the 40th anniversary of CENTURY 21 Canada™ is just around the corner. Who better to talk about it than our guest this week... Chiyoko Kakino, the Vice President of Marketing for CENTURY 21 Canada. We talk to Chiyoko about the exciting content you can expect in Vancouver in October, including the compelling reasons why all of the members of the CENTURY 21 family should attend. Eryn provides insight on his past experience from an agent and manager's perspective, and we all talk about our excitement and anticipation of this milestone event. For more information about the conference and to register, please visit: http://century21.ca/cc2016 As mentioned in the show, here are the updates to today's release of Online Office 3.0 (Note that you will have to be logged in to Online Office to view this page): https://onlineoffice.century21.ca/versions/0220217c-084d-42bb-837f-802332757cec APP OF THE WEEK Paper.li is a fantastic news aggregation website that t

How important is it to have a healthy and welcoming office environment? This week we talk office culture with Joanne Evans, one of the most widely respected and loved brokers in the CENTURY 21 family. We go over the strategies that Joanne employs at her brokerage (CENTURY 21 Millennium Inc) and that Eryn uses at his brokerage (CENTURY 21 Heritage Group Ltd.) to promote a healthy working environment and keep their agents happy and feel like part of their brokerage's family. Find out why their brokerages are seen as two of the most agent friendly in the industry. APP OF THE WEEK Many of your favourite websites may be core to your day-to-day business activities, but may not have their own standalone "app". This week, we share a pro tip that helps you take any website and turn it into an icon on your home screen, making it just as accessible and convenient as any native application. We cover the procedure for this for both iPhones and Android devices.

Eryn and Linas are taking a couple of weeks off from doing the show. The Spotlight Podcast will return the week of June 27th.