Real Estate Marketing Secrets: Floor Plans, AI & Standing Out as an Agent

Lucy (00:00)
I believe that you have to invest in marketing strategy for every property. Even if you know that it’s priced well, it will be sold tomorrow before noon. You have to do that because that is your reputation. It is your brand. It is your future. It’s referrals.

you cannot cheat. And you cannot be cheap

not just the listing you are investing in. It’s your future.

is Googling you and they see what ⁓ properties you had ⁓ represented and what results you received.

is another $50,000 in your pocket for your next listings.

Skyler (02:07)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I am your host today, Skyler Byrd, and I am joined by Lucy Edwards. I am very excited to speak with you today, Lucy. ⁓ She has got quite a lot of experience on the marketing side of real estate, again, an area I’m not so familiar with, so I’m really happy to get to ⁓ speak with her and actually do a lot of learning myself. So Lucy, thank you very much for joining the podcast.

Lucy (02:32)
Well, thank you for inviting me. I love podcasts. And I think that it is the future for real estate to be on podcast and to talk about what you do and how you feel and what your dreams are.

Skyler (02:45)
There you go. I couldn’t agree more. ⁓ yeah, Lucy, before we get diving into what you’re doing now, can you give everybody just a little bit about your background?

Lucy (02:54)
Absolutely. So I was ⁓ I always believed in building relationships regardless what industry I was in for the past 25 years I was in residential real estate and my husband and I we decided to do something completely different we We had ⁓ an opportunity to to create to buy ⁓ Build whatever bed and breakfast on to Nana Lake in upstate New York. And ⁓ So my husband got the camera took some photos

I bought a cheap $30 architect ⁓ floor plan software, created a floor plan as it is now, or as it is going to be. We went to the zoning committee. Thank God it didn’t go through because I cannot see myself sitting in the middle of nowhere, bed and breakfast in the middle of winter, and just wait for someone to stop by. ⁓ But my niece saw the floor plan and she said, my gosh, she used to work for Sotheby’s.

you have such a great design. So we start doing floor plans for Sotheby’s. Back then they paid very well. ⁓ And then we took our floor plans and introduced in New Jersey to just every real estate company we possibly could. Again, building the relationship, introducing the idea of floor plans, why is it important? Majority of people were moving to New Jersey from New York. They already knew everything to know about floor plans. So it was a must.

That’s how we started the business. We were the pioneers of floor plans in New York metropolitan area. We were referred to Long Island, to Westchester County, to Hudson County. We started growing like crazy. Then other companies, competitors, start coming along, but floor plans didn’t come. That was like in 2001, but floor plans competitors did not really come along till like 2005 or six. So we basically occupied

the market and everyone knew us as unique pioneers. So that’s how it all started. But again, I believe that the foundation of marketing

or of anything at all before you sell something, before you offer something is just listen and build relationship, be flexible and offer what they really need.

but not what’s profitable for you today. So that’s how I see it. And actually in 2006, it was a great demand for aerial photography, which was very expensive. And my husband being a scientist in a previous life, he built the tripod that was 10 feet in radius and 50 feet up with a camera on top and like a Nintendo game on the bottom where you click and you move the camera.

Skyler (06:14)
Thank

Lucy (06:29)
or you move, it’s just like a mast for the ship. And it was really cool. And we were it for the Hamptons and for South Jersey. So that was amazing. And that again showed us as a forward thinkers as flexible. for the Twilight photography, that was the best because if the house is on a hill, you couldn’t really do it. And there were no drones back then.

Skyler (06:33)
yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Lucy (06:57)
You couldn’t really

do it with a regular airplane unless God knows how many thousands of dollars you invest. But with that, like for 150 bucks, that’s what we were offering. It was great. So again, marketing, be flexible and listen to what agents need.

Skyler (07:09)
Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. mean, that’s is a great solution to what could be a kind of complex problem. So that’s that absolutely had to kind of set you guys apart there. Now, so you started up in the in the New York area, which is probably an excellent place to start. where have you been able to kind of stretch out to the rest of the country? Have you mainly stayed in that area? Tell me about that.

Lucy (07:40)
So in 2019, at the end of 2019, we were acquired by VHD Studios. So we sold it. we basically broke, we got our company from ground zero from working with, actually for six months or even longer, we worked for free and agents would pay us at the end when they get paid. If they don’t get paid, we don’t get paid. So we invested our heart and soul into the business. So in 2019, we were already the leader.

And because again, relationships are so important, I built company relationships where we had corporate pay and we were the main vendor or one of the main vendors or partners. As a result, VHT was very much interested. They did have Manhattan, but they didn’t have anything around it. So they bought us. So Pete and I, we made a couple million dollars, ⁓ few actually. ⁓

That’s how it started. That’s how I started my new chapter. So VHT decided they don’t want me in sales because it was all about Lucy. Lucy, Lucy, you know, Lucy created so many pricing schedules that their head was spinning. Lucy had so many packages that they didn’t know where to start. they said, why don’t you do something else? Why don’t you put VHT Studios on the map as a company that offers marketing strategy?

Because until they bought us, was image is everything because that’s all they offered. Everything else they outsourced. So, and then with us, they start offering throughout the country, mostly like Chicago and Florida, ⁓ Iowa, Minnesota, they start offering the same products, which is video, drones, drone video. I believed in stories. We created stories where the drone is flying around and then you walk in.

into the house and you walk through the house and you say goodbye with the drone. So it’s a story. So everything I did in marketing, I tried to wrap around the story or I wrapped the story around that property. So they liked it and they wanted to put VHT on a map as a marketing company versus images everything. And then I start traveling throughout the country interviewing leaders in real estate industry who were

sharing their success

and how they work with their agents and what their marketing is and what their system is and why they are better than others and how they got started. Is it a family business? Is it a corporate business? So I made it interesting. It was very conversational. And I also had my lunch with Lucy podcast where I invited people who were, ⁓ one was K2 diet.

and you would think it’s natural state related, but it is. Because if you behave yourself well, you eat well, and you don’t drink as much as I do, you are actually very productive. ⁓

Skyler (11:09)
No, it definitely falls into place there, would imagine. Yeah, absolutely. So let me ask, since you’ve had the opportunity to do marketing for properties kind all over the country here, what was your favorite area? What did you think worked best?

Lucy (11:27)
I still, I like Worcester County and I love Long Island. I think Long Island is probably my most favorite one because, ⁓ know, they have especially North Shore, the waterfronts are just absolutely stunning and beautiful. ⁓ you know, the property itself, they have larger properties than in Miami where you can shake hands, you know, because they’re so close to each other. It’s just, I would say Long Island, North Shore is amazing.

Skyler (11:55)
Okay, no, mean that is, it’s a gorgeous area. I don’t blame you there. And just on a kind of a technical side of things, just something I kind of want to know. you like take the day that you have right now, you know, completely overcast. If you’re going to stage your property and really try to showcase it in its best light, are you going there, you know, on a day like today to take, you know, to take photos and do a walkthrough and everything, or are you waiting for a bright sunny day? Does it matter anymore? Tell me about that.

Lucy (12:25)
In my opinion, overcast is actually good for photography. because the sky is blue and the grass is green for every property. And when I did the presentations, I would always say the sky is blue and the grass is green for Coldwell Bank everywhere. However, if you want to do the video, it’s not as good as well as the 3D tour like a metaport. It’s not as good because you cannot really Photoshop. It will come soon.

but it’s not here yet and the quality is not there. So you can either, if you have to put the property on the market and it’s urgent, then do the photography. The technology right now is amazing. Make sure that you do multi-exposure. Never take single exposure. Make sure that your photographer always uses tripod or their photos will never be as good quality as it should be. ⁓

and just stay there and wait for better weather, but do not delay putting your house on MLS and on the market because today is an overcast and it’s going to be overcast for the rest of the week. So what you’re going to lose a whole weekend for and not have an open house because of the clouds, of course not. So yeah, just use your judgment.

Skyler (13:42)
Got it, okay. Yeah, so don’t wait. Get it out there, get it on the market. Get better pictures if you can later or just get what you can out there.

Lucy (13:49)
Thanks.

Well,

the pictures will be great anyway. Get everything else later, like the drone or the walkthrough video or the Matterport. Get other products later, but do not delay the… And maybe you will even get it tomorrow and you will still make it for the open house. But don’t delay the open house because unless it’s just raining, pouring and you cannot do anything, period.

Skyler (14:18)
Yeah. Okay. No, absolutely. And

when we were talking before the podcast, you brought up ⁓ something I think everybody is probably interested in. And so can you tell me a little bit about what you see the, you know, what’s going to happen with AI in terms of marketing here?

Lucy (14:35)
Well, first of all, none of us should be afraid of AI. None of us, mean real estate ⁓ related industry ⁓ professionals. And especially my age, you know, I’m not 27. So I can’t say that AI and myself are best friends forever. But we have to embrace the technology. You cannot live without it. ChNGPT

is a great example. I was in Dallas.

and I wanted to know how many offices this particular brokerage had. I Googled it and it gave me some nonsense reply. I put it in Chair GPT and it gave me a real reply. So I tested certain things to see what I can and cannot trust and it all depends what questions you are asking and how you are doing it and then you will get the correct answer. So Chair GPT is an absolute must. Sometimes it’s just easy to write a short email.

So please invest in CHED GPT-5. It’s 20 bucks a month. I’m not on a commission over there. I’m just sharing my experience, but I believe that it’s great. There are so many other products. As an example, there is one where if you are not comfortable in front of the camera, you can…

just record a video sitting like this, talking about what you’re going to have for dinner and what are your plans for the weekend. And all you have to do is just smile and be friendly on the camera. That’s it. But you talk about nonsense. And then you incorporate a word document. Welcome to my open house this coming Sunday. And then you give all the details.

you can ⁓ put it on your social media. You can put it on your YouTube channel, which by the way, you absolutely must have. And then you should also if you would like, if you like postcards, you can create a QR code, put it on a card and send it in a certain zip code. So that is a great one. Then ⁓ also there is one I was talking about ⁓ Trust Scout. That is a great ⁓ marketing tool as well. If you are a broker and you are looking for

great agents that you would like to recruit. If you are a brokerage that would like to expand ⁓ and you can Google, not Google, but you can ask ⁓ Trust Scout what zip code you should invest in and what brokerage are available that they have so many transactions and maybe they’re suffering and you can invest and purchase them or and make them your brand.

The data is endless. There is so much data. You can use so much information for your advantage. If you are an investor and you looking for investment property, if you have a property but you don’t have the investor, mean, the sky is the limit. those are just few that I mentioned, but there are a lot of them.

Skyler (18:11)
Absolutely. All right. One of the things that, again, you had brought up a little bit earlier and I thought was a very interesting point. you kind of break down the importance of embracing a good marketing strategy for an agent, for a brokerage, and just how it can help them stand out, not just for that particular property, but going into the future?

Lucy (18:31)
Absolutely. And I believe it’s a great

I believe that you have to invest in marketing strategy for every property. Even if you know that it’s priced well, it will be sold tomorrow before noon. You have to do that because that is your reputation. It is your brand. It is your future. It’s referrals. So you have to do ⁓ everything possible from day one and you have to study what’s needed. I will take Florida as an example.

If you have something ⁓ inland and it’s $250,000 and the seller wants to have a drone, you do not want to have a drone because next door home is three feet away. You can have breakfast together. So it’s not the right strategy. But you can invest in something else, like maybe do the, again, the postcards if you believe in print, or you can do some paid ads on social media. Then you just have to treat each listing individually.

In Miami, for example, the new constructions and now all the way almost to Palm Beach, the properties that you are, that new constructions, that the new developments that are being for sale, 50 % go to international buyer. So your photos are important, but not as much as a 3D tour. And in that case, I would invest in good quality like Matterport.

And I would invest also in the technology with Matterport, like they offer SaaS accounts where you can put tag, the tag for refrigerator, for the washer, for the dryer, for how tall the ceilings are, how big the swimming pool is, and so on. So that is important. So you have to think about that. If you have a farm, if you have a horse farm.

You absolutely need a drone. And it’s just an endless ⁓ recommendation of what you can do. But you have to look at each listing separately. And you cannot cheat. And you cannot be cheap. You have to invest. It’s you you are investing to.

Skyler (20:33)
Absolutely. And again, like you told me before, it not only helps you with that property, but it helps you stand out as you’re trying to get listings and trying to sell other properties in the future. You can let people know this is how I’ve worked. So don’t, like you said, don’t be cheap. Make sure you come off in the best light possible, right?

Lucy (20:50)
Absolutely. Again, it’s you. It’s not just the listing you are investing in. It’s your future. It’s your tomorrow’s listing. Someone comes to an open house that you are running and they see what you do, or someone is Googling you and they see what ⁓ properties you had ⁓ represented and what results you received. That is your reputation. That is another $50,000 in your pocket for your next

And don’t forget that also

You represent yourself not just with your listing and your marketing strategy. Part of it is your social media and your Google business page because every agent gets Googled. Don’t you forget that. You will always be Googled over and over. So you have to have good reviews. You have to have videos there. You have to have consistent headshot and not from high school, but probably from…

a year ago, no, you cannot be, you cannot look 27 and not be recognized when you walk into an open house when you are really 70. So it’s important to be consistent and that is part of your marketing strategy.

Skyler (22:02)
Go be consistent be current and and embrace technology. It sounds like Awesome. All right And yeah in Lucy before we go in here tell tell everybody like you know what you’re doing now the the podcast that you have that that’s coming down the pipe and what you’re doing on on your freelance or consultancy

Lucy (22:07)
Yep, absolutely. You summarized it so well.

So well, I’m still thinking what I want to do when I grow up. After I had my company and we sold it to Vichy Studios, it was acquired by Matterport, where again I was continuing as ⁓ I was putting Matterport on a map as a humanized marketing company. It was my goal for everyone to believe in Matterport as ⁓ it’s for the final consumer. Matterport cares who buys and sells.

They don’t just care about technology or money and ⁓ just get another, sell another camera. So my goal now is really to find a company or to find a brokerage organization who would also have the same value, who would like to bring their brand as a humanized brand as they are about the buyers and the sellers. Because I’m mostly in residential real estate, so that’s how I look at it.

And it’s important. So my podcast is going to be Get Real with Lucy and my website that is actually my website is Get Real with Lucy. My podcast right now is youtube.com at sign Lucy Edwards real estate, but I might change it to get real with Lucy. So yeah. And I’m on LinkedIn. You can find me on LinkedIn as Lucy Edwards real estate. And I love my Instagram.

Instagram is combination of business and personal. Right now I’m in upstate New York, beautiful upstate New York, visiting my son, his lovely wife and my grandson. So ⁓ you will see some of my grandson there, quite a few of my grandson on my Instagram. So it’s part of marketing. It’s actually because you market yourself. You don’t just market your listings because you won’t get any listings if you won’t market yourself.

Skyler (24:17)
that is very well put. Excellent. And Lucy, as we kind of come up on time here again, I really want to thank you for coming on the podcast. I know I got a lot out of it. And for all of our listeners out there, if you’ve got something of value from this podcast, please make sure you’re subscribing. ⁓ We have got many more podcasts like this coming down the pipe for you. ⁓ So make sure you subscribe and we’ll see you on the next episode.