Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign welcome to the Bottom Line Me podcast, where we often like to explore strategies, stories, and skills that help real estate professionals. I'm your host, Ann Allard, and today we're talking about something that can set you apart in a crowded market, and that is becoming the go to expert in your field.
Whether you're in the title escrow or real estate sales, your knowledge is one of the most important, valuable assets that you have.
But how do you share that knowledge in a way that builds trust, attracts clients, and positions you as a resource that people turn to again and again? Today's episode is all about creating a plan to share educational content, whether that's through blog posts, webinars, lunch and learns, or public speaking engagements. Today, my guest is Brenda Nelson, someone who lives and breathes education in the real estate world. As a seasoned trainer and educator, she's helped countless professionals sharpen their skills and elevate their own businesses.
Today, she's here to share why positioning yourself as a trusted source of knowledge isn't just a smart strategy. It's a powerful way to build your own reputation, grow your network, and stand out in the crowd.
Brenda, welcome back. It's so good to see you.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Thank you, Ann. It's great to be here.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: Super, super. Well, let's start with the why. I love to start with the why. Why do you think important or valuable for real estate title professionals to try to position themselves as either educators or thought leaders?
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Well, I think first and foremost it establishes your credibility as someone who's valued, trusted source of information.
Everyone has someone that they can reach out to in the industry. You have your go to people and you have questions. You have unique situation, maybe in a transaction, and you go to somebody who you can get input from by building your reputation. That way, you can start to shape industry conversations.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: So, you know, sometimes just finding your own focus is the first or the biggest hurdle. So how can somebody identify a topic or a niche that they're confident and qualified to speak on?
[00:02:44] Speaker B: Well, you know as well as I do in real estate, there are all sorts of topics to choose from.
You can find your place or your niche, but I'm not sure that you pick, though. I think it's important to realize that a lot of times throughout your career, you find yourself answering the same types of questions, the same array of questions, and then you suddenly realize people are reaching out to you on a certain subject or they're asking you to present on that subject. So. So I think it finds you. I really do. I think it finds you interesting.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Interesting. So, you know, speaking of the repetition or the repeating of it all, sometimes people feel like everything's already been said or it's been talked about.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:24] Speaker A: What kind of advice do you give somebody who feels that way and they think, maybe I don't really have anything new to present or bring to the table?
[00:03:32] Speaker B: I think it's important to stop trying to figure it out. I mean, it's only going to frustrate you to think.
I think you overthink it. Instead, focus on listening and asking questions.
By doing those two things, it's going to probably spark your own thought process and make you realize that you do have something new to contribute.
I'm on a committee for our association and I'm always surprised by how much I learn from other people. When I'm sitting there and I sit and I listen. Sometimes it's simply the back and forth. Somebody posed a question and somebody answers. And it's that back and forth that gives me things to talk about.
[00:04:11] Speaker A: Yeah, it's one of the best parts about doing a podcast. I hear things over and over again and keep learning.
So I think there's a ton of different ways to share knowledge today.
What types of content have you found to be most effective? Is it blogs, video, webinars, live events? Talk to me a little bit about that.
[00:04:32] Speaker B: Well, I really think they're all effective. And once you determine the topic, then of course you decide how to present it.
Sometimes we decide to start by introducing the topic in a podcast. So we'll introduce it that way and then we'll do a full on and expand it to do maybe a webinar.
So I think what we found is most people like a combination.
They like a combination. They don't want to just learn from blogs, they don't want to just read articles.
So you may introduce a topic at a live event and then go on and see the interaction with people and ask questions and listen to the answers and then create the next type of content from that.
It also depends on the person. I don't want to say generations, but really it's the truth because so many people now like those very short clips and would rather not obtain information in an hour long webinar.
So it's all really based on the subject matter and the audience.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Great.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense to me. So let's talk a little bit about live events because those can be, you know, really daunting to people. Walk us through how you go about preparing for something like a lunch and learn or some kind of a public speaking Engagement?
[00:05:56] Speaker B: Well, it's really straightforward. I mean, to me, it's straightforward. We have a schedule and we set it up in advance, so lunch and learn. A lot of times we plan for those a year in advance, and we plan once a month maybe.
And we do leave room for hot topics that may come up or issues that may come up that we want to talk about, but we know what's coming up and who's speaking.
So once I find out if I'm speaking, then maybe it's something I've spoken about a lot and I just need to brush up and I need to know, do I have the most current information?
So I'm going to read industry newsletters, maybe current newsletters. I'm going to read recent articles, and all of that is to get the latest and the greatest news or information. And once that's complete, then I go about updating my outline and any Visual, maybe a PowerPoint or Canva that I'm going to use in the presentation.
It's really a routine now for me.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Is it? Yeah.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: And even if I hear something and I say that'd be a great topic, I'll research it because maybe it's a great topic, but it really is not going to be something that's going to be useful or anything in the industry. But there's a lot out there, and I think getting into a routine about how you prepare and all of that is really important.
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Now, I totally agree. I think routine is really, really critical. But something else that's really important is confidence. And, you know, so.
[00:07:30] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: You know, putting yourself out there can really be intimidating. In fact, what's that line that some people fear public speaking more than they fear death?
And I think that's true for many of us. So what helped you build your confidence so that you could put yourself out there?
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Well, you know as well as I do, Ann, that only time builds confidence. I mean, stepping out for the first time is super intimidating, but. And it's really scary. But it's important to get out there and get out of your comfort zone to do something you really want to do. But you have to take that first step.
So for me, after the first few times that I spoke, I was given a book by our one and only Ann Anastasi, and it's called Fearless Public Speaking.
And she gives you three steps to get over the fear of public speaking. Of course, a book is not going to be the answer to everything. It's not going to solve all your problems because you have to step out and do it. So it's really not as bad as people think.
[00:08:34] Speaker A: All right, now you've heard of the imposter syndrome. I really think it's a real thing, especially when you're in a competitive industry.
So how do you handle imposter syndrome or just fear of being judged by other people when you get up there and speak?
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Yeah. I think there's two ways that you can handle it.
The first one is controlling self talk, the negative self talk.
I'm a pro at negative self talk, but I've learned, and I continue to learn that you have to replace that negative self talk with positive and so not just quiet it, but replace it with positive.
The second way is you have to have trusted people around you. You have to have people that are going to give you that feedback. It could be a friend, it could be family, co worker. They need to give you honest feedback and you want someone who knows you person that's compassionate but also that you trust. Because honest feedback coming from a stranger sometimes doesn't come across the right way and it can start that negative self talk.
I think the worst thing is to get feedback and realize a person's not being honest.
They're either telling you what you want to hear or they sound very, very judgmental. Maybe that's their personality that they are critical.
Neither is really valuable.
So like I said, a trusted friend, family member, they're going to help you develop your own style. And that's another thing. Remember that don't compare yourself to other presenters. It's hard, it's very, very difficult. But one presenter may want to stand behind the microphone, behind the podium. One person wants to pace or walk.
Neither one is right or wrong. Just know you're going to develop your own style.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: Oh yeah, that's. I think that's so critical. You know, I have to go back to your self negative self talk. It just reminded me of when I used to be on the road a lot. I used to have a negative self talk person that I think was sitting in the backseat of the car and I remember even visualizing this person. He was short and he was smoking a cigar and he had a hat on and he would constantly tell me what I couldn't do and so I had to learn how to counteract that. So I got somebody else to sit in the back seat with him, slap inside of the head and every now and then.
So let's talk a little bit. You know, one of the hard things I think is the self promotion side of this. You know, how do you go about promoting yourself without feeling like you're, you know, being pushy or that it's, it's more about you than it is about the subject matter or the topic.
[00:11:28] Speaker B: Well, I really can't speak to this a lot because I don't do a lot of promotion of our programs that's done by our agency reps and they're out there talking us up and, and they're promoting what we have to offer. And so I don't do a lot of self promotion, so I'm not really an expert in that area.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Okay, well, well, to be continued on that one then.
So let's talk a little bit about impact then.
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: You and I both love, you know, to figure out whether something's working or it isn't. So how do you measure your success or effectiveness once you've progressed? Put yourself out there.
[00:12:06] Speaker B: Well, personally, I know I'm making a difference. When I get contacted by someone who says, oh, I got your name from someone else, it makes me realize that you really don't have to self promote because word of mouth is the best source of validation. And I think that's, that's something that I found very true. Especially in this industry. Yeah, interesting, interesting.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: Well, guess what time it is.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: Well, I would guess it's probably bottom line, Mita.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: It's time for the bottom line.
So to our audience, what's the first step that somebody could take to start positioning themselves as that go to expert?
[00:12:50] Speaker B: Well, Anna, you just want one because I've got, I've got quite a few. I'm all ears.
I guess it would be to set a goal for yourself and then jump in to accomplish it. Because if your goal is to be a presenter, to be a trainer, or to be an expert in a certain area, then set that goal and figure out the steps to get there. And then take that first step.
To be an expert, you need to be informed.
So maybe join and volunteer in your land title association, go to classes, join the education committee, listen and learn.
You can also watch for opportunities to co present with an experienced presenter. In our company, we bring people up as presenters and usually we start them by co presenting.
In doing that, they're not fully responsible for the program themselves.
And so it kind of takes some of that nervousness away.
But step out of your comfort zone. I have a magnet that I found when I was in the middle of having to make a decision. It was something that I was unsure of. Am I up for the challenge? Am I not up for the challenge? And the magnet said, well, if not now. Then when?
So I will leave you with that. Ann.
[00:14:08] Speaker A: That's a terrific bottom line. Brenda, thank you. It was great to spend some time with you.
Really appreciate your time, your experience in this and your ideas. And to our audience, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate you. Until we meet again, we hope you'll all continue to learn, grow and prosper.
