Agent with a Can-do Attitude Uses RPR to Build Skills and Crush Goals

REALTORS who use RPR (Realtors Property Resource) to elevate and accelerate their business have some great stories to tell. We've featured quite a few of these in our Q&A "Success Stories" content series. This month's spotlight is on Trevia Ivey-Ojajuni, who has one of the best attitudes we've ever seen in the real estate business.

Her hustle and glass half-full outlook is truly inspirational. We first crossed paths with Trevia on our RPR Facebook Connect group, where she is very active and a helpful motivator within the group. We reached out to ask about her RPR success story, and she responded with this:

"We don't always have success stories, but that doesn't stop us from doing what is beneficial. I send out reports for sellers and some listed, but with another agent. I like to think I had something to do with that. I didn't get that listing, but I'm persistent. It gets rough with no immediate results, but I'm successful because I know the reports are beneficial, and I'm working on my marketing plan. For me, that builds skills! It feels good to crush personal goals by doing so."

Wow! A success story based on the process, not necessarily the results (which will come!). We're so impressed with Trevia's take, we just had to speak with her.

How long have you been a REALTOR® and what area do you specialize in?

Since 2016, and I specialize in residential: listing, buying and I also work with renters.

How were you first introduced to RPR?

First, I just want to say that I love the RPR Connect Facebook network and I really appreciate how engaged the admins in RPR Connect are. It really makes a difference to know that people are actively looking to help and support us—you don't see that from too many real estate tech sites.

My first experience with RPR was actually when I googled "RPR CMA," and the results came up: "a tool for REALTORS® to help with a CMA." It was so helpful! This is what they should mention in those new agent training classes!

RPR is online and available to every REALTOR® through NAR. Everyone should use it! I lean on RPR for everything I do. I give my clients more data, more options, more market info. They can then look at all these options and make an offer or determine list prices. I promote it to everyone I talk to, especially newer members.

Trevia, your posts on the RPR Connect Facebook page are so positive and helpful to members. Tell me about your great attitude towards prospecting.

I was trying to determine what my niche was, and I wanted a way to find sellers. So I decided to focus on an area that isn't as popular in this market: distressed owners, with pre and foreclosure citations. I was doing normal prospecting through postcard mailings, but I switched it up because I wanted to do something with my SFR (Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource). It's a designation available through NAR, and it focuses on various home seller skills, including short sales and foreclosures. I focus on people who are going through the foreclosure or pre-foreclosure process and help them list their homes.

And you're using RPR to do that?

Yes, my brokerage, Coldwell Banker, has a program called SAFAssist, which provides legal assistance for CB agents and customers, to help them understand and complete the process. So, first I find the distressed properties and owners in RPR through the mapping and prospecting tools. Then, I create a Property Report and a Seller's Report, each modified with just one page each, and show the RVM® (Realtor Valuation Model®) for the property and then provide a personal note via the "Add a personal page" feature in RPR Reports.

I draft a letter that puts people at ease to let them know what I'm trying to do to help them. And I offer assistance to help them list their home. I follow up with the SAFAssist flyer, which explains the program. I send the first page of the property report, with the RVM, to hook them. They see what their property is worth. I let them know that they have equity and it might not have to be a short sale. Then I follow up with the complete report when they respond (none have yet, but I'm sure it will work if I stick to it!).

Niche prospecting plans like yours are a long run game.

At the end of the day, I feel confident in my process. I'll continue to crush my own goals. This is what I want to do and focus on. Positive vibes, not negative. Sure, I post on social media the successes I've had. I got into this business to help first-time buyers achieve a home. I walk them through the process, and I get them to the lenders, and I love posting those stories to social media. I love helping people get to a goal they thought they couldn't achieve. I post on Nextdoor a lot. And of course, there's friends, family, word of mouth. That's my regular marketing sphere. This niche target of distressed homes is a whole different focus and side project. But I'm committed to it and products from my brokerage and NAR are helping me.

What's one of your favorite or go-to features of RPR?

My favorite is the mobile app. When I'm out and my location picks up what's going on in that area automatically—Boom! I know what's going on. When I'm on the go with buyers, I pull up RPR and just like that, I know everything about the area. I also really like how the app and the desktop version are in sync—I love that.

I also appreciate the RPR Learning Center, all the free classes and training. The prospecting webinar and the farming eBook, I love the formulas in there. It really helped me see what I was capable of doing with tools from RPR.

Any stories about how you've used RPR to "wow" a client?

(laughs) Oh yeah, when I was working with clients last year, they were first-time homebuyers, and they found a place and wanted to put in an offer. I pulled the CMA right there in front of them and they were impressed! They had previously worked with another agent, and they said, "You're really impressing us, because our last agent had to leave all the time. She had to go to her laptop at her office…" That delayed their opportunity to put in an offer. We did the offer right there at the showing! That data I shared with them really made an impression. I couldn't have done it without my RPR app.

As you can see, Trevia is really working hard to make a difference in real estate and to help her clients achieve their dreams. And she's using RPR to cast an even wider net and market herself to a specific, niche group of homeowners.

You can learn more about the tools and features that RPR offers by visiting the Learning Center. There are on-demand videos, live webinar sign-ups, and printable guides to help you sharpen your skills.

Good luck Trevia, and thanks for spreading those positive vibes!

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.