January 28, 2025 • 51 mins
What is your most valuable asset in your real estate media business? If you're an owner that has anyone shooting for you besides yourself, we'd propose that your photographers are that "most valuable asset", so we believe it's critical that you...cover your assets! Listen in for tips from Todd & Craig on how to truly care for the humans that are helping you serve your clients and grow your business! It's worth the effort to invest in your people!
Chapter Timestamps:
00:00 Episode Introduction
01:56 Time Tracking - The Why
09:51 Spiro Updates / Spiro Academy
12:01 Covering Your Assets
50:30 - Episode Close
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Coming up on this episodeof The Spiro podcast.
(00:04):
what is going to get your photographer
to walk across the yardor walk to the very back of the yard
when it's their last shoot.
They're cold or hot, they're hungry,and they have to use the bathroom,
but they know the bestangle is in the back corner of the yard.
What's going to get them to spendthe extra 10 minutes to do that?
(00:24):
Welcome to the Spiro podcast.
Managing your real estate photographyand videography business
with your hosts, Todd Kivimaki
and Craig Magrum
Hi, and welcome to the Spiro podcast.
Managing your real estate photographyand videography business.
Spiro is a software platform.
(00:46):
It's designedto help you run your day to day
real estate media business, butreally to help it grow and scale as well.
I'm Craig Magrum host of the podcast.
Welcome back to another week.
If you're a returning viewer or listener,if this is your first time welcome.
We're all about building communityin the real estate
media industry and helpingyou build a strong business.
So we hope you find this valuableand profitable for your business.
(01:11):
And we always love interaction with thosethat are listening and watching,
getting your input on topicsthat we discuss and ideas
for other business topicsthat we can discuss on this podcast.
So I'll just start off by inviting you.
Drop us a line if you have a topicright off the top here.
You can email us at hello@spiro.media
(01:31):
and we would love to hear your ideasfor topics that you'd like to learn more
about in running a real estatemedia business.
All right.
So with that aside,let me introduce the Spiro
founder and owner and our co-hostof the podcast, Todd Kivimaki
Hey, welcome back to another week,Todd
Crai, It's fabulous to be back.
What a fast start of the year this is.
(01:53):
Yeah, this has gone by really quick.
You know, one one activity.
I'll just dive right in here.
And this is not the topic of the podcast,but one thing that I am doing
and I have a postwith some more detail in it
on the Spiro Super User Facebook group.
And then also if you are a REPPcoaching student,
I have posted in the channeland there to your forward students.
(02:17):
I am time tracking CraigI am back on that.
We've talked about this a little bitand I'm doing it because I feel like
the year is going very fast alreadyand I don't like that feeling.
I want to make sureI know where my time is going.
It's the one thing I havethat I can get more of
(02:38):
No matter how much money I have,
you know, you know any, any type of asset,you know, tying along with this week
but you can't get moretime is what I'm trying to communicate.
And I want to go back to a quote that
I didn't come up with,but I learned from a coach.
(02:59):
He said, when you're young, you will trade
all of your time for money.
However, when you are old,
you will trade all of your money
to get more time.
And so I didn't like thisfeeling, Craig, of coming in,
(03:20):
and I felt like I was more reactive andI felt like we were getting things done.
We were super busy.
So the media business has been so busy,busy.
Spiro has been insanely busy,which is great.
I love that's what we work towards.
Craig, You said you had a great busy weekfor me though.
I was like, Ooh,I woke up in the middle of the night
three nights agoand I remember I didn't reply to Michael.
(03:43):
It was like, Oh crap.
Michael There was an emailfrom his assistant in my inbox.
I said, I responded right away, said, Hey,thank you so much for this.
Let me reviewand I'll get back to more detail.
And I didn't do that.
Two or three days went,I don't like that. What?
So I said, Todd, think of allthe other things
you've done that weren't that productive.
And we run a businesslike clients are our number one priority.
(04:07):
And that did not sit
well with me that Michael's assistantwas waiting on me.
So anyways, long story short,I just thought, Todd, you've got some time
bandits in thereand let's figure out what you're doing.
And again,even if you are very efficient with time,
looking at a daily timesheet of what you do is great.
(04:29):
Because if we want to grow, most of usin here, we're all overachievers.
in here, if you're listening to this,you're an overachiever.
You have started a business takingthe leap, thinking about taking the leap,
and you want to grow that businessthat you're not like everyone else.
True
So you are an overachiever.
If you are listening to this,if you want to grow,
(04:51):
you've got to protect your timeand you've got to put your time and energy
into the activitiesthat are going to move your business
the furthest along.
You know, again,this isn't the topic for this week,
but I can't helpbut think of a time waster.
One of the biggest ones forfor many of us is video shorts.
(05:13):
Okay. We're in the media business, right?
We're all about producing mediaand viral media and helping
agents, realtors get theiryou know, get their brand out there.
And we all do it through media.
And man it's so easy to scroll through,you know, TikTok videos.
Well, maybe TikTokthat might be getting banned
or you know, YouTube shortsor any of that.
(05:34):
I thinkthink of how much you could get done even
by just eliminating thethe mindless scroll.
And, Todd.
I'll admitI get sucked into that sometimes.
And I feel like I've developedlike adult onset A.D.D.
where it's hard to focus.
But yeah, by time tracking if youwrite down literally the number of minutes
that you spend doing an activityand then start creating time blocks,
(06:00):
I guess I'm trying to relate this
to the whole idea of multitaskingand trying to do it all at once.
And we're not.
Correct me if I'm wrong,
but we're not wired to multitask,at least not do it well.
Well, we're not.
There is no multitasking.
It is switch tasking.
It is not good for your brain.
Yeah, maybe that's a topic for next weekwe can dive into.
(06:21):
We've talked about it before,but it be good review that
You know Craig, this is so not on our topic.
So maybe we're going to renamethe darn thing.
Now we'll get back to our topic, but
I had a very similar experiencewith YouTube Facebook shorts.
So part of all of our businesses is
we actually need to be on social mediachannels.
(06:42):
And I get on I set time aside for Facebookbecause there are some groups
that I want to make surethat I participate in and I help
and attend, and I'mpart of the conversation when needed.
And I scroll those darn things too.
And you know what?
So what we're going to do,
this is going to be a confessionof what shorts you're going to give up.
(07:02):
I have not clicked onesince the beginning of this year.
I won't click them.
I don't watch them.They're a waste of time.
There's two that there's twothat I would watch and one I like.
And one was just stupid,just stupid, mindless time.
The first one is there's this
individualon I can't remember his name as,
but he's out of Austin, Texas,and he goes around and he interviews
millionaires and billionairesand successful people on the street.
(07:25):
And I'll ask them,what's the biggest thing
that you that led up to this?
And he just gets like
very quick and like really greatinformation from them.
And I would click on I liked it.
But the problem is, isI would watch one, two, three, ten
like, why am I doing this?
So I gave that up the second I gave upand I'm going to admit this to you all
because this is such this
(07:47):
it was created, thoughI want you all to know
and I'm going on a rant here,Those social media was created to
navigate to a part of your brain
and exploit it to continueto get you addicted to it.
So the dopamine hit that you get all.
So yeah, call me, call me crazy onor call me a conspiracist,
(08:08):
but I believe it's true.
And so the other one I would watch, I'mjust going to tell you and you tell me
what you're giving up in the commentsbelow.
Okay? Tell me what video you watch.
You're like,I can't believe I watch this thing, Todd,
Because I got to tell you what I watchedthere is this guy
who would act like he's like a gang memberand he would act.
He would have a really hard, like,mean face.
(08:29):
And he'd go off to peoplelike in big cities downtown
and he'd be like, Yo, homey,you want to slice, you want to get sliced.
And he would say, like, Have youseen that guy?
I’ve seen that guy
To the guy that is doing that.
I don't know his name,but I would watch these dumb things.
I'd be like, Oh my gosh, he'sso bold and like, look at where he's at.
(08:51):
And he would keep a straight faceand he would keep doing it.
And then some guy would walk upwith a pizza
box and like, Hey,you want a slice of pizza?
And sometimes they would likeand sometimes they would chase him.
So stupid.
You all right?
Like, stupid, like, why am I, like,Todd?
You're 42 years old.
You have a you have a wife,kids and businesses, and you're
(09:12):
watching this guy talking about,hey, homey, you want a slice?
So a full confession.
I've given that up.
I am just saying it out there.
Please tell me the mindless videothat you're giving up in the comments
below and we'll give them all up together.
I'm ashamed to admitI just watched too many in general.
I think I just.
I'm just need to go cold turkey.
(09:35):
- Let's do it together, Craig,- I've got a garage to clean.
It's been sitting therefor the last two years.
You know,
if I spend 10 minutes a dayinstead of scrolling
and go work on the garage,I'd have a great looking garage.
Simple, but not easy.
Right Right.
Okay. Okay.
Well, a great, great intro to the episodewhere we're going to be
(09:57):
we're introing a future episodetopic about time management.
But this week's topicwe're going to get to in just a second.
But first, we always like to let you knowwhat's going on
with the Spiro software updatesthat are coming through.
So, Todd, what what do we have this week?
Yeah, I will make it quick because
I didn't make the first part quick,but we just pushed some updates a week ago
(10:19):
and we're cognizant and put your brandingfirst and we put in many other things.
We've talked about that,so I won't take the time.
A couple of points I want to make to youas we are creating what we're calling
and Shannon's calling.
It's her brainchild, the Spiro Academy.
So this is going to be learning foryou time that you learn, not only Spiro,
(10:39):
but we want to give you market insight.
We got such great
feedback from the broker dealerpresentation from the market update,
and we want to be generouswith that information.
Share that all to you.
So there's 21 years from meand Shannon has a ton of knowledge
that is like,
(10:59):
Oh, there's different types of brokerages,traditional, you know, capping,
transactional, all of those thingsall matter when you are running
and navigating a business.
So we're creating the Spiro Academy togive back to you to spend time with you.
These are going to be sessionswhere some of the team, myself, Shannon,
are going to be online with youin a webinar based fashion
(11:23):
to help you, to help you hit your goals,to help you better understand Spiro
But also the bigger reason of whywe created Spiro, how it fits into
growing and scaling your business.
So excited for that to come,
you will see those start to hit,those schedules start to hit.
If you are not part of the SpiroSuper User group and you are Spiro user,
please jump in there.
We give great information.
(11:44):
You typically hear about itfirst in there.
Also, we hint to new releases as well.
So join the group if you’re Spiro User.
We'd love to have you in there.
Absolutely. Good deal. That's exciting.
Yeah, I'm excited about it.
Well, let's dive in this week. Todd.
No guest this week,but we are going to be working
on having some more guestsjoin us here on the Spiro podcast.
(12:07):
But Todd, this morningwe record this on Friday mornings
and we have our staff meeting on Fridaymornings as well.
And you shared a little bit about
what's the word.
I'm looking for a venture that we have in
recruiting some new photographersfor Wow video tours.
And you talked a little bit about,you know, how to how to build culture
(12:30):
with our photographers and let them knowthat they're cared for their, you know,
the the
your photographer is for your businessis really your biggest asset.
And we want to talk aboutcovering your assets this week.
And so
this is very much business
(12:51):
related because you mayor may not have heard this before.
And I'll just open with this, Todd, andthen you can you can dive in and comment.
But the cost of retaining an employee
or a contractor, you know, 1099s,
retaining them inand continuing to invest in them and grow
them is much, much smaller
(13:13):
than the cost of recruiting and training.
A new team member.
I did a quick searchand now the number is escaping.
But how much I think it's the costof losing a veteran team member
is something like their salaryor salary and a half
is the expense of losing somebodyand having to hire new a new one.
(13:37):
Yeah. And I was like, Whoa.
I mean, I knew it was more,but I didn't realize how much.
So do you want to kind of dive in, Todd,
and talk with us a little bit about
the business impactof caring for your photographers?
For sure there.
(13:57):
So let's think about this.
If you have a photographer right now
on your team or if you're thinkingabout hiring a photographer
or if you are the only photographer,you will resonate more with this.
I will tell you the further awayyou get from
being that sole photographer
and put yourself into the business ownerjust naturally.
(14:19):
You know, it's the law of elasticity.
The more naturally you forget about
being in the trenches every dayas a photographer.
So, for example, in our area,many areas throughout the U.S.
and the world that are in winter, it was
dangerously cold
this week for us and our markets,like dangerously
(14:40):
a couple of days, like -10to 20 Fahrenheit with the wind chill.
And I had one of our most seasoned
photographers come in and just spenda little time with him this week.
And we'll get to some strategy of thingsthat you should be doing with your team.
But just small talk.
Before we got into a few questionsI had for him
(15:02):
talking about was so bad on Tuesday.
That was the day that it was that cold.
He was outside for 10 minutesand couldn't feel his hands, didn't know
that he was really pushing the buttonsbecause he was so frozen.
And think about this, you know,and those those you
that are shooting,you're like, Yeah, I'm doing it.
And those are you there in Florida?
Like, yeah, it's worse in the summerbecause it's like I'm in an oven.
(15:22):
But you are asking someone on your teamto go out there on your behalf,
wear your polo shirt with your logo,your hat or whatever it is,
and you really need them to replace you,
right?
I mean, this is this is business.
But for those youthat forgot about that transition,
I think Craig will have a storyto tell with this.
(15:45):
But remember the first timethat you sent another photographer
and how nervous and any feedbackand remember
anyone you sent onyour behalf is not going to be you.
A good goal is they're 70 or 80% of youand that's great.
No need to get them anymore.
So that's just one thing to remember,
(16:08):
is that your face,the face of your company
is in the hands
daily with your photographers.
at Wow we have a sales team.
Okay, so Craig is on the sales team.
He does a hybrid role.
We have four other salespeople
(16:29):
and we have a team and we have a managerand we have a director.
That's a lot of peoplethat are selling, right?
They are a fraction
of the input that we have with our teamor with our clients.
Excuse me,
No matter how
much interactionthey have, you know, on a busy summer day,
if we shoot 80, that's 80 opportunitiesthat our photography team,
(16:52):
80 appointments can potentially see.
an agent say they're therehalf the time, an agent or a homeowner
because homeowners
are really your clients too rememberthey're your client's client.
That's about 40 timesNo matter how hard the team of five
or six worked,we would not see 40 clients in a day.
So I just say thatbecause there's times where you're going
(17:16):
to review your photographers mediaand you're like, Oh,
why did they do that?
Why did they angle down the camera?
Why did they stand inside the room?
Why did they shoot it at that angle?
Why did they say that thing to a homeowneror a client, or why were they late?
But remember,
(17:37):
they're not the owner of the business.
No one will ever care for itas much as you are.
And that's that's okay.
That's actually a good thing.
And they are out there
doing all the little things for youevery single day.
So I truly believe that they areyour largest asset in your business.
Right?
And so you want to cover themwell and invest in them well,
(18:02):
you know, one thingthat that we've talked about, Todd, before
in our in our staff meetings and elsewhere
is how easy it is for a photographerthat's serving
a particular market to feel likethey're out on an island by themselves.
And,
you know, you can get that lonely feelingand you shared a little bit
and I'm guilty of thiswhen you're out by yourself working,
(18:28):
it's kind of a nice thing.
There's a lot of aspectsI like about that being a photographer out
in my own market,but it's also somewhat alienating.
And you can start to have conversationsin your head
that may or may not be trueand a lot of times probably aren't true
where you start having perceptionsor thoughts about your company, you know,
(18:50):
the people that you're doing thiswork for, you know, say, as a contractor.
And if that business owneror management team
supervisoror whatever isn't making a vested
taking a vested interestin that photographer
and really engaging them purposefully,
they're going tothey're going to feel alone.
(19:10):
They're going to feel not a partof the culture, not a part of the company.
It's just a paycheck. They're just out.
There's a a disconnect.
So Todd, I would ask you,you know, from a from an owner’s standpoint
and even maybe what Wow is doing right nowto try and minimize that disconnect,
what what are some good practical tips
or strategies that say, Wow is working on
(19:34):
to to engage our photographersand build a just a cohesive unit
and make those photographers feel partof the part of the family, the company.
The family.
Yeah. I love to share.
So currently,and this is just what we're doing at Wow.
So currentlywe well, let me step back a few months ago
(19:54):
because there's some value in some thingswe've been doing.
So a couple of months ago,the team called every single photographer
and we asked them how things are going.
You know, what can we help with?
And this was informal.
This is just along the daywhen we knew that they weren’t in a property.
And the way we knowthey're not in a property
(20:14):
is because in Spiro they check inand check out a jobs are on site tracking.
We understand where they're at.
So just a fabulous toolthat, you know, when you're photographer
is done with the job, when they're in,you know, in route to the next property.
So we called them again.
And that's somewhat about knowingand understanding your photographers.
If you even have a great intentionsof calling
(20:35):
all your photographersand you call them when they are in a house
or their drones is in the air, first,they're like, why is Todd calling?
Right?
I mean, always, no matter,no matter how big or small you are,
when the owner calls, everybody goes,Why is the owner calling me?
Even if you think
you have a fabulous relationship
with each one of your photographersand you might no matter,
(20:58):
no matter
what, when you call them,they're like, Hey, the boss is calling.
Okay.
That was a that was a thoughtI used to have in my head.
I was like, Oh, I'm just friendly Todd
So understand
that there is a prioritywhen your number shows up on their phone,
then there's some stress of I'm
in a house, I'm with a client,I have the drone in the air
or even I'm driving.I can't answer right now.
(21:20):
So just something as littleas understanding
the right time to callyour photographers is important.
It you know, it it further confirmsthat you understand them.
That then gets them the buy in thatgets them to walk across the yard
when it's -20 out and take the best shot.
You know,that's what that's your that's your goal.
(21:42):
I've said that before
and I want to say it on this podcast,but what is going to get your photographer
to walk across the yardor walk to the very back of the yard
when it's their last shoot.
They're cold or hot, they're hungry,and they have to use the bathroom,
but they know the bestangle is in the back corner of the yard.
What's going to get them to spendthe extra 10 minutes to do that?
(22:05):
It’s your relationship.
We talk about relationshipsall the time, understanding them.
So we have called all of our photographersand I did not call them.
And specifically I did not call them
because I didn't want my nameto show up on their phone.
I don't have a lot of interactionwith the photographer, so
I'm very aware ofwhen I do have interaction
(22:26):
and it didn't feelit was necessary to have me call.
We had Brittany and Jess calledand that's normal for them
and we collected really great feedback.
We jotted it all down,we took it into consideration.
And so they heard from us and,you know, I'll tell you that.
I'll tell you that
a lot of them said, Hey, it's really greatthat you're asking these things
or they would Slack Brittanyor Jess afterwards.
(22:46):
And hey, thanks.
Thanks for checking in.
Like, I don't really have any feedbackright now, but it's good to hear from you.
I really appreciate that.
I'll let you know if anything comes up.
That's a simple thing that you can doto show people you care.
It's free, it's easy.
Just takes a little bit of your time.
Then from
there we we realize through projectionsthat our goals for 2025
(23:09):
that we were goingto need to hire more photographers.
I guess I think we're we'rewe're we're trying to hire
six right nowas what we're trying to hire.
And in thatwe realized that it was time to talk to
some of our most seasoned photographers,the ones that have the most experience.
And we'll review some of our trainingpractices and procedures.
(23:34):
Now we have a very, very detailedtraining guide.
So our previous trainer who was with me
for a very long time,he was fabulous of what he did.
He createda very detailed training guide, video
series, trainingguide, expectation. we have levels.
He's he's a schoolteacher.
(23:55):
In fact, he went back into the schoolsystem, which I'm happy I'm sad
that we don't have his expertise here,but I'm super happy for him.
He is back at the school his kids go to,but he created a curriculum
for our photographersand we felt very special.
We feel it's great, but we don't feel thatanything is ever perfect.
So we're now collecting feedback on thatprocess of how we train photographers.
(24:19):
That is, we have four pillars here at Wow.
With the way we train individuals,we feel that it contains four things,
and the first one is
finding and
onboarding new photographers,onboarding and training.
So that is pillar one and that's wherewe're focused on because we are trying
to hire six photographers right now.
(24:41):
Awesome. Well, with growth.
Yeah, we definitely need to addto the team, Todd.
So it is exciting.
It's also scary, you know, new groupof people coming in to, to get trained.
And again,there's a business expense to that,
but it's not always a bad thingIf you're in a growth mode
and you have to add people,you're not replacing necessarily.
(25:01):
So let's let's kind of go back to that.
So we're adding photographers
because we're growingand we're very thankful for that.
But we want to make sure that is iswe continue to take care of and in value.
Our current photographers, our veterans,those that have been with us,
whether it's a short timeor have been with us multiple years.
(25:24):
You you talked a little bit
about having some of the veteransin to to talk about
caring for the rest of the teamout in the field.
So what and why are we having the veteranscome in
to to talk with with youand in the leadership about that?
Yeah. Great question.
So there's there's
a lot of strategic decisionsaround this of why we've had them come in.
(25:47):
So when we were collecting feedback
it started some other discussionwith team members
and they came fromsome of our most seasoned
and we realize how much they cared,like they truly cared.
And they said things such as
I wantto make sure that everyone in my city
is trainedand has as many services as possible
(26:11):
because it looksbecause we look bad as a team.
If one photographer is not doing videothe right way,
not shooting the right angles, thingslike that, we went, Oh my goodness.
Like, wow, that thing.
Okay, so think about that for those of youthat that don't know our company makeup,
at Wow we have subcontractorsfor our photographers
(26:34):
and to have a subcontractor say, Hey,I want to make sure
that the team knows
how to do the servicesbecause collectively as a whole,
it might impact all of our jobsand impact my jobs.
I mean, think about that.
Like if if you send a new photographer outand a client is not happy
with that, they assume that that is thelook of your entire company
(27:00):
and they assumethat either your quality has gone down
or something different or they're going tomaybe try a competitor.
So we heard some really great thingsfrom our team and then we also heard
some ideas
from them for training and asking,
hey, can we, you know,can we help do this in the field?
(27:21):
Can we help?
So it got us thinking of like maybethere's positions here to make people
something that we in the pasthave called like a regional trainer or
and that is
the one of the most experienced personand one of the best teachers in the city.
And some of what they dois they spend time
helping correct issuesand gaps with photographers in the field.
(27:44):
And so things like that were said, Craig,
that we knowthey're so much more in their head
and we don't want to assume, even thoughthat we have a incredibly built out
process for training, onboardingand the progression of skills.
We don't want to assume it's perfectbecause we need to pivot
and adapt and changeas the mark in our business changes.
(28:07):
You knowwhat you said about one photographer
having a skill set versus anotherthat might not be doing it quite the same.
And so our clients are wondering,yeah, what has a quality gone down?
I mean, that's that's a real thing.
Let me give you a personal example.
So I've got one other photographerin my market that we shoot.
You know, we both shoot.
(28:28):
I do a majority of them,but I felt really bad.
Todd,
because this photographershared a comment with me
just in the last day or twothat they feel like
the client is disappointedwhen they show up and it's not me
and my heart sank because,I mean, I, I care about people
and I don't want this photographerto feel that way.
I mean, I value the relationshipsI've built,
(28:50):
you know, over over the multiple years.
But I want them to be successful andfeel like they're valued by our clients.
And that just not just by the company,
but there is an experience difference.
I've been doing this a lot longerand so clients have gotten used to
a certain look and a certain way,you know, that I shoot,
which is mostly mostly the training thatI've gotten, you know, from Wow.
(29:13):
But clients can noticeeven small differences
that I don't even necessarily see myself.
So taking the time to investin that photographer,
to really replicate resultswill go a long way.
And I tried to encourage this person,hey, you know,
they're they're used to mebecause I've been doing this since 2017.
(29:35):
I've built relationships.
So I want to encourage you, don't give up,
you know, go back to your training,review things, look at things that
I've shot that other photographersin other markets have shot
and just try and replicate what you can,you know, minimize
any differences that you might have.
And look at it is building relationshipsthat you're part of that realtor's team.
(29:57):
You're not just a photographer,you're part of their sales force.
You're part of that,helping them win new listings
and really try and bracket yourselfthat way and think of yourself that way
so that when you're interacting with them,they sense that from you, that you're
not just there to shoot some pictures,but you're there.
Part of their marketing team
and as you do that,as you communicate to them your desire
(30:18):
to help them grow their business, you'regoing to develop the same relationship
that I have with thembecause that's how I position myself
in, in the market that I serve.
So if if our messaging and our our tactics
in ways we shoot are are constant,
they're going to start to trustyou more as well.
So don't give up.
(30:38):
So all yeah all of that to say consistency
and taking the timeto invest in your photographers
and help them to see thewhy of what they're doing.
Yeah, I love that. Craig.
Craig, I'm asking you a question and, and,and I'll ask you this question on Monday
when you're for
you all, Craig is going to be part
of that group, too that's coming inon Monday for our company.
(31:00):
But I'm going to ask this nowbecause I think this is something that
I'm very curious about.
Oh, boy, no pressure.
And this is the reason whywe ask questions, because it's like I just
I simply don't Yeah, there is no pressurebecause I don't know this.
Do you think that consistency
do you think it's more technical
(31:22):
or do you think it's more client service
of where
that photographer has or do
they show upbecause it's not warm, friendly Craig
that knows about their family,that knows about
has a history with themor are they disappointed?
Because when they get that link,they go, Oh,
(31:44):
Craig's reflections not in the mirror.
And it's How do you know what to say?
Sorry,
Is that theis it like, oh, this these angles
are just that much better,
You know, That's a hard one.
That's a hard one to answer, Todd,Because I think it's a little bit of both.
(32:05):
Okay.
So back when I was on my ownand had my own business,
I had another photographerthat was shooting quite a bit for me.
And I would get comments where
they're not they're just not takingquite the right same angles.
And I would go back through their mediaand look at like, I'm happy
with these these angles and composition.
(32:28):
And I would I remember one clientspecifically that complained
about showing I think it waswas it too much ceiling or too much floor.
Okay, a common.
yeah and and I told this realtor,I said,
I'm going to confessI would shoot this the exact same way.
I just
I have to be honest with people.
(32:52):
So I do hear feedback from clients
that they'll firstgo to the technical part of it.
Well, it's just not the anglesthat you take, you know?
And sometimes that is true.
I have seen picturesthat I would not have taken
or compositions that I wouldn't haveformed because that's not part of our training.
So therethere is a legitimate aspect of that.
(33:15):
So it's definitely part of that.
But the other part of it is
the other photographersthat I've worked with in my market,
there is an age difference.
Let me let me start there.There's an age difference.
Okay. I'm going to leave that onealone. Craig.
I'm just gonna.
that I thinkthis is a legitimate part of it, though.
Okay?
(33:35):
For those of you watching,you see the gray in the goatee, right? Go.
You can't see it.
Well, maybe you can see a little straightstraight there.
I'm 48 years old.
Okay.
I'm I'm closing in on the half centurymark and I'm getting very introspective
about that.
But I think with age comes
some built in trust because people don't see youas the kid, right?
(33:57):
Is the inexperienced.
It doesn't matter how good you might be.
Sometimes people will look down on youbecause of your age
and not have any faith in you.
Now, you can'tyou can't let that get you down.
You just you have to workall that much harder to earn their trust.
Right.
For those that are older, that have beenaround the market for a little while,
you've got kind of built in trust and hey,this this is,
(34:20):
you know, a kid coming upjust coming out of college.
And there is things that you learnwith time and how to interact with people,
how to interact with clients confidencethat is built with time.
Todd If if you had taken meeven just ten years ago,
I would not have the confidence levelto speak with people about the business
that I'm in that I have now.
(34:42):
It's a good point
and it only comesbecause of experience and time.
You know,I've gotten to learn this industry
and so there's some things I can nowpretty comfortably talk about.
So when
when you have, say, a younger personthat is on your team out there shooting
the realtors that they're dealing with
might just not have the trust in thembecause they're
(35:05):
because of the age differenceand because of the
of experience in building businessrelationships, how to communicate.
There are differences.
So that part of what I try and
teach the photographers
that I'm working with in my marketis one little, one little.
I don't want to call it a trick becauseI mean it, but I'll say to a seller, Hey,
(35:26):
you made a great choicein choosing so-and-so as your realtor.
They're really investing in their mediaand marketing for you.
And not everyone does that.
Not all the realtors that I seein the market do this.
So you've got a greatrealtor.
it’s a great line
It's a line, but it isn't.
But it's part of yeah, I mean, yeah, no,I know what you mean,
(35:47):
but it's part of positioning ourselvesas a company and as a, as a photographer,
but as a marketing specialistis part of that Realtor’s team.
So there's an added valuethat they didn't just hire a photographer,
they hired a marketing consultant.
Now someone that's new in the businessthat's younger
might not think of positioning themselvesthat way or communicating that way
(36:08):
in front of a seller and or the realtorthat's standing right there
that gets a little grinwhen they hear them, you know, say that
so long answer to a short question.
Honestly, I think it's both,because I've I've run into both.
Yeah.
I think.
Such as you were saying all that, Craig,I agree 100%.
(36:29):
And the splitwhat it is we can all argue on,
but say it's 50, 50, 50%,you have to be above the level
of technicals to not raise red flags.
And then 50% you need to give
a higher level customer service.
(36:50):
It's again, we're a service business.
This is the feelings.
Some of the feelings that they get
at the appointmentare then reflected on the end product.
Just simply think about it.
Think about it both ways.
So if they have a bad feeling
after the appointmentbecause of the photographer,
(37:12):
we all know they're going to pick apartthose images like none other.
Yeah, I'm going to expand on that.
So but back when I was on my own,the photographer
I had shooting with meyounger guy, college age.
He's the one that was producing photosthat I was happy with.
I thought they were good composition,they were good angles, but I would hear
(37:33):
people pick those things apart,but they would also say
most of them, he's he's very nice,but he's just so quiet.
Yeah.
So they took that quietness as shy,awkward slash even.
I had one person that thought he was rude.
And this guy. he was not rude.
He was not rude at all.
He was the nicest guy you'll ever meet.
(37:54):
But because he was quiet,they took it as rude.
So, yeah, their perception of.
Of personalityand or communication will impact that.
Their technical pick a part of the media.
Yeah. Yeah.
And it goes opposite way tooas to where if you leave that appointment
and you have just wowed themyou know you put on your song
(38:15):
and dance, you walk out, they're like,Yeah, those people are great.
You could produce crapand they're never going to say it.
Okay, case in point.
So I never produce crap.
But you.
I've shot real estatephotography 21 years ago.
It was not great.
You know, Ryan, I.
Ryan is
our trainer at Wow.
(38:36):
Who built that So manysome of you know that name.
But anyways we shot a lot of houses like
thousand, 1500, a lot of year properties
and looking back overand some of this is just a migration
from my memories probably going,but I don't remember one complaint come in
like I just don'tnow they weren't as picky.
(38:58):
Remember 20 years agopeople were photos on a Sony maverick
three and a half inch floppy.
So I had lower expectations.
But you know what?
And this is me being conceited,but when I walked out of that house, man,
I wowed those people.
They were like, man, that this.
And they would just look at itand you would get by with things
(39:18):
that are like, yeah, that wasn't so great.
But the experience and their expectationsmentally were
that was such a great level service.
It's going to be the same with photos.
I don't know what that isfrom a mental standpoint.
Some of you that study the brain
let me know what that theory is calledbecause I'd love to know what that is.
But the same
happens and thenyou even set your photographer up to fail.
(39:41):
Because if you're giving thatreally high level customer service
and they're notand their photos aren't so great,
that's when you start to get intothe nitty gritty of painfulness.
Because now you're like, Oh,why do I even try to hire a photographer?
But that's not the case.
You should hire photographers, right?
And so part of covering themand investing in them
(40:02):
that there's a business ofprofitability to that,
of taking the timeto teach that photographer
everything that you know,and thinking through all aspects of it
from the technical partto the customer service part,
you know, they might just quote unquotejust be a photographer.
They might not have a hybrid role
of a business development specialist,but train them as one anyway
(40:26):
because that's going to that's goingto impact the experience that the realtor
has with that photographer and thereforethe perception of your company.
And it makes them feel a part of thatand a very good part of that business.
If you're giving them business skills,you're taking the time to invest in them.
They're not just expendable,expendable commodity, right?
(40:47):
We talk to realtors about photographybeing a commodity.
You know, it's
they want the best picturesof the cheapest price
and that that's all they think about.
But if you show your value as not just aphotographer, you're not just a commodity.
The relationship goes deeper.
It's the same thing with yourwith your contractors.
Don't view them just as photographersview them is a vital part of your company
(41:11):
in helpingyou grow and value them as people. So
am I getting to the point of this?
yeah,
it hurtswhen you lose photographers on your team.
It just does.
Yeah, some.
And we're hiring six
and one of them is transitioningon to a different career and that's great.
We know that 2 to 5years is kind of the limit
(41:36):
for photographers unless they move up,and that's not conclusive.
But on average
and this individual happened to be going
he was going to school,it's the next step for him.
So we're happy.
There's just a whole there.
But it's going to take time, money.
We're going to have unhappy clientsbecause of it.
We're going to have to train.
So there is a cost.
(41:56):
So if you're doing this, do it correctly.
Invest the time to build a relationshipwith your photographer.
Educate them on this, even what to say.
Don't assume that
those words that Craig used there
Giving compliments
about the agent tothe homeowner is very smart.
But I'll tell you what, to
A 20 something year old or maybe evento an introverted individual, that's like,
(42:21):
you want me to say that again?That goes back to feelings.
I got my feelings clock here.
It's difficult to say feelings out loud.
Just do that with your team.
Write those things down.
If you know something about an agent,put it in their Spiro
notes on their agent record.
If you have that in your head,be generous.
Put that information to your team members,type it in,
(42:42):
go to the agent,put it on photographer notes.
Then when your photographer's
at the house of that agent,
they'll click the red button and they'llview your brain dump about the agent.
Then that photographer can walk inand talk from a perspective
that seems like they're just pickingright up where you left off.
You know,what kind of customer service that is that
(43:05):
it feels like to that agent be like, Well,wait a minute,
how did this person likethe communication?
Like Craig took time to talk,tell this other photographer
about what I likeand what's important to me.
Like I think that's just a simple thingthat you can type in those notes.
Craig is not somethingthat we can do on a consistent basis.
We have notes in there, buttaking that information and sharing that
(43:27):
I think can be huge.
And again, it just ties back to the ideaof what you focus on
will expandand focusing on your biggest asset
being the photographersand taking time to ask them questions.
Don't assume you know everything.
You might have shot ten timesmore houses than they have,
but they're doing it today.
Right now, as a photographer of yourcompany, don't assume you know everything.
(43:49):
Ask them for their information.
I think you will find so much value in itand at the same time,
they will feel good that you askand they will feel good for helping out.
Can I share one thing that kind of impacted me
in a in a really good waythat that Wow has done.
And this isn't too to
kiss up to Todd or anything like thatbecause Todd didn't even
(44:11):
ask me about this,
but something small like, okay,so Todd, you had you had a photographer
come in just this week and talk abouthow cold it was in their fingers.
I remember just a couple of months ago,it was kind of a similar cold snap.
And in the mail I got a cardfrom the office just thanking me
for the work that I do out in the fieldand a gift card to Starbucks,
(44:33):
you know, hey, you know, grab yourselfa warm drink as you're headed out.
Very small thing.
I think it was a $5maybe maybe a $10 gift card.
So not a huge investment.
But just the thought that my officewas thinking about me out in the field
knowing that it was cold out, man,you know, it just gave me a really good
feeling.
(44:53):
as part of the team ofthey're thinking about me.
Think you have to be intentionalwith your realtors. Yes.
With,you know, make marking down the notes,
but do thatfor your photographers as well.
The impact will be huge.
It builds great culture.
It shows that the company caresabout the human being.
This is, again, covering our assets,our assets for for lack of
(45:15):
we don't want it to bea cold business term
because these are human beings
that you're working with that are helpingyou build your business.
But the buy in thatyou'll get from your team when you just do
take the time to be intentional in caringfor the human beings on your team.
Massive.
an easy thing to doand that is I'm so happy
that the team did that and,and that really comes from,
(45:38):
you know, setting those expectationsat a company
level of core values.
And, you know,I didn't even know that happened.
Craig That was exciting to hear happened.You know, that's fabulous.
Kudos to Jess and the team and maybeBrittany wrote they wrote the the card.
But getting that feedback is so importantand allowing people and a word
(46:00):
we use all the time.
And again, this is a business term,but we try to empower our employees.
You know,we let. Jess knows what's important.
Let Brittany know that photographer hoursare important to us.
We empowered her to be able to somethingas simple as write a card and give a
I think it was probably $5.
Craig, I think is probably what it is.
The amount doesn't matter.
It really does.
(46:21):
And this is an Austin Cheviron thing
he's a realtor at an adjacent market doesand he does coaching.
He really just does coaching nowbut that's your reticular activator
in your brain.
That's what it's called our rememberthat brain function,
your reticular activator iswhat is triggered when you open that card
and you and you get that gift card.
It's just that thingthat makes you feel warm.
(46:43):
And this goes back to what we
kind of opened the episodewith, Todd. Time management.
As an owner,I would encourage you take the time
and I did this for my clients backwhen I had my own business,
take the time to write outthank you cards for your team,
manage your timeand start to scroll through the videos or,
you know, whatever else it is,block out a block of time
(47:06):
to invest in your team,get creative, start brainstorming some.
How can I show this personI care about them and I'm telling you it,
it will build huge dividendsfor your business, but also just
the relationshipsyou're able to build with your team.
And that just makes for a very healthy,nontoxic workplace.
y'all, if you're listeningand you're still with us.
(47:27):
Thank you.
Hey, there's probably a million ideasthat we didn't cover.
Can you share them?
Can you be generous with what you're doingwith your team or ideas?
share them inthe comments below, email them to us.
This isn't just a ployto get comments on this video.
We just care that we serve you.
So if we can get comments going down there
to help us all would be great.
(47:47):
What ideas do you do?
Do you have a cool little thingthat you've stumbled upon or you've
you've nurturedand it's really great for your team?
Let us know what it is generally,I want to know.
I want to collect this feedbackbecause I want to do it for our team
and I want the whole communityto understand how to build these teams.
So share that with us belowthat thing that you do
that has just makes your teamfeel like you care.
(48:08):
And let's see if we can get a nice liston below and build this community.
I just have to commentreal time, real quick.
You mentioned we're not asking for comments to build a huge following or anything
quite that.
I get emails from social mediainfluencers and strategists on.
Hey, we've noticedyou only have such and such number of,
(48:29):
you know, subscribers or whatever
on your channel and we could help yougrow, blah, blah blah.
Yeah, and these ways of getting people,
you know, we do ask for you to give us alike sometimes to share.
But half the time I forget to ask that.
Todd because that'snot the important part.
We just,we want to build an authentic community
and yes, share ideason how to build strong businesses.
(48:51):
So I will because I'm rememberingI will ask if you found value in this,
give it a like share it with share itwith others that you've,
you know, other colleaguesand friends in the business.
If you found value in it.
And if you're just just now starting tolisten, we would love for you to subscribe
just so you get the notificationson when new episodes drop.
So there's there's the social media ask.
(49:14):
Yeah, but that's ultimately notwhy we're doing it.
It's not.
We could probably be tuned upat so many levels.
We're probably doing everythingby the book wrong to grow the channel.
But you know, it's a cool community.
It's great to hear from a lot of youand we like this tight knit community and
this is just like we've said before.
Craig and I are both are so appreciativethat some of you that like
(49:36):
more than one of you would tune inand a lot of you tune in weekly.
So, you know, just thank you for thatblessing that you've given to us.
Absolutely. All right.
Well, Todd, thanks for all you sharedthis week and
and you as well, Craig.
Thanks for that feedback about, you know,because you're doing it every day.
Yeah. Yeah.
(49:56):
Well, I love what I do.
And I've bragged to our clients what,you know, what a great culture we have.
And I love what I do.
And when you
when you love what you do, it showsand people pick up on that positivity.
So that's another benefitto really investing in your people is if,
if they love what they dobecause they've got a great culture
that they're working in, in your businessthat's going to, that's going to show
(50:18):
to the clientsthat they're working with or prospects.
There's there's just so many good things.
So anyway okay that how about we wrap up,Todd. Does that work?
Sounds good. That is great.That’s a great week.
All right, guys.
Thank so much. Again,we hope you found value in this.
And like Todd said, share some ideas ofhow do you invest in your team.
What are some things that you found havereally elicited a really good response
(50:41):
from your team that they show you thatthey appreciate what you've done for them?
We'd love to hear those ideas.
If you're watching on YouTube,leave a comment below.
If you're listening to the podcast,make sure you drop us a line.
hello@spiro.media because we'd loveto learn from you as well.
Guys, have a great week.
Take time out to
be thankful for the blessings in your lifeand make sure you take a breath.
(51:01):
Take care.
Thank you for joining usfor the Spiro Podcast,
managing your real estate photographyand videography business.
This is a production of Spiroand wow video tours.
You can find out more about Spiro
is real estate, media, business managementsoftware at our Web site.
spiro.media.
Coming up on this episodeof The Spiro podcast.
(00:04):
what is going to get your photographer
to walk across the yardor walk to the very back of the yard
when it's their last shoot.
They're cold or hot, they're hungry,and they have to use the bathroom,
but they know the bestangle is in the back corner of the yard.
What's going to get them to spendthe extra 10 minutes to do that?
(00:24):
Welcome to the Spiro podcast.
Managing your real estate photographyand videography business
with your hosts, Todd Kivimaki
and Craig Magrum
Hi, and welcome to the Spiro podcast.
Managing your real estate photographyand videography business.
Spiro is a software platform.
(00:46):
It's designedto help you run your day to day
real estate media business, butreally to help it grow and scale as well.
I'm Craig Magrum host of the podcast.
Welcome back to another week.
If you're a returning viewer or listener,if this is your first time welcome.
We're all about building communityin the real estate
media industry and helpingyou build a strong business.
So we hope you find this valuableand profitable for your business.
(01:11):
And we always love interaction with thosethat are listening and watching,
getting your input on topicsthat we discuss and ideas
for other business topicsthat we can discuss on this podcast.
So I'll just start off by inviting you.
Drop us a line if you have a topicright off the top here.
You can email us at hello@spiro.media
(01:31):
and we would love to hear your ideasfor topics that you'd like to learn more
about in running a real estatemedia business.
All right.
So with that aside,let me introduce the Spiro
founder and owner and our co-hostof the podcast, Todd Kivimaki
Hey, welcome back to another week,Todd
Crai, It's fabulous to be back.
What a fast start of the year this is.
(01:53):
Yeah, this has gone by really quick.
You know, one one activity.
I'll just dive right in here.
And this is not the topic of the podcast,but one thing that I am doing
and I have a postwith some more detail in it
on the Spiro Super User Facebook group.
And then also if you are a REPPcoaching student,
I have posted in the channeland there to your forward students.
(02:17):
I am time tracking CraigI am back on that.
We've talked about this a little bitand I'm doing it because I feel like
the year is going very fast alreadyand I don't like that feeling.
I want to make sureI know where my time is going.
It's the one thing I havethat I can get more of
(02:38):
No matter how much money I have,
you know, you know any, any type of asset,you know, tying along with this week
but you can't get moretime is what I'm trying to communicate.
And I want to go back to a quote that
I didn't come up with,but I learned from a coach.
(02:59):
He said, when you're young, you will trade
all of your time for money.
However, when you are old,
you will trade all of your money
to get more time.
And so I didn't like thisfeeling, Craig, of coming in,
(03:20):
and I felt like I was more reactive andI felt like we were getting things done.
We were super busy.
So the media business has been so busy,busy.
Spiro has been insanely busy,which is great.
I love that's what we work towards.
Craig, You said you had a great busy weekfor me though.
I was like, Ooh,I woke up in the middle of the night
three nights agoand I remember I didn't reply to Michael.
(03:43):
It was like, Oh crap.
Michael There was an emailfrom his assistant in my inbox.
I said, I responded right away, said, Hey,thank you so much for this.
Let me reviewand I'll get back to more detail.
And I didn't do that.
Two or three days went,I don't like that. What?
So I said, Todd, think of allthe other things
you've done that weren't that productive.
And we run a businesslike clients are our number one priority.
(04:07):
And that did not sit
well with me that Michael's assistantwas waiting on me.
So anyways, long story short,I just thought, Todd, you've got some time
bandits in thereand let's figure out what you're doing.
And again,even if you are very efficient with time,
looking at a daily timesheet of what you do is great.
(04:29):
Because if we want to grow, most of usin here, we're all overachievers.
in here, if you're listening to this,you're an overachiever.
You have started a business takingthe leap, thinking about taking the leap,
and you want to grow that businessthat you're not like everyone else.
True
So you are an overachiever.
If you are listening to this,if you want to grow,
(04:51):
you've got to protect your timeand you've got to put your time and energy
into the activitiesthat are going to move your business
the furthest along.
You know, again,this isn't the topic for this week,
but I can't helpbut think of a time waster.
One of the biggest ones forfor many of us is video shorts.
(05:13):
Okay. We're in the media business, right?
We're all about producing mediaand viral media and helping
agents, realtors get theiryou know, get their brand out there.
And we all do it through media.
And man it's so easy to scroll through,you know, TikTok videos.
Well, maybe TikTokthat might be getting banned
or you know, YouTube shortsor any of that.
(05:34):
I thinkthink of how much you could get done even
by just eliminating thethe mindless scroll.
And, Todd.
I'll admitI get sucked into that sometimes.
And I feel like I've developedlike adult onset A.D.D.
where it's hard to focus.
But yeah, by time tracking if youwrite down literally the number of minutes
that you spend doing an activityand then start creating time blocks,
(06:00):
I guess I'm trying to relate this
to the whole idea of multitaskingand trying to do it all at once.
And we're not.
Correct me if I'm wrong,
but we're not wired to multitask,at least not do it well.
Well, we're not.
There is no multitasking.
It is switch tasking.
It is not good for your brain.
Yeah, maybe that's a topic for next weekwe can dive into.
(06:21):
We've talked about it before,but it be good review that
You know Craig, this is so not on our topic.
So maybe we're going to renamethe darn thing.
Now we'll get back to our topic, but
I had a very similar experiencewith YouTube Facebook shorts.
So part of all of our businesses is
we actually need to be on social mediachannels.
(06:42):
And I get on I set time aside for Facebookbecause there are some groups
that I want to make surethat I participate in and I help
and attend, and I'mpart of the conversation when needed.
And I scroll those darn things too.
And you know what?
So what we're going to do,
this is going to be a confessionof what shorts you're going to give up.
(07:02):
I have not clicked onesince the beginning of this year.
I won't click them.
I don't watch them.They're a waste of time.
There's two that there's twothat I would watch and one I like.
And one was just stupid,just stupid, mindless time.
The first one is there's this
individualon I can't remember his name as,
but he's out of Austin, Texas,and he goes around and he interviews
millionaires and billionairesand successful people on the street.
(07:25):
And I'll ask them,what's the biggest thing
that you that led up to this?
And he just gets like
very quick and like really greatinformation from them.
And I would click on I liked it.
But the problem is, isI would watch one, two, three, ten
like, why am I doing this?
So I gave that up the second I gave upand I'm going to admit this to you all
because this is such this
(07:47):
it was created, thoughI want you all to know
and I'm going on a rant here,Those social media was created to
navigate to a part of your brain
and exploit it to continueto get you addicted to it.
So the dopamine hit that you get all.
So yeah, call me, call me crazy onor call me a conspiracist,
(08:08):
but I believe it's true.
And so the other one I would watch, I'mjust going to tell you and you tell me
what you're giving up in the commentsbelow.
Okay? Tell me what video you watch.
You're like,I can't believe I watch this thing, Todd,
Because I got to tell you what I watchedthere is this guy
who would act like he's like a gang memberand he would act.
He would have a really hard, like,mean face.
(08:29):
And he'd go off to peoplelike in big cities downtown
and he'd be like, Yo, homey,you want to slice, you want to get sliced.
And he would say, like, Have youseen that guy?
I’ve seen that guy
To the guy that is doing that.
I don't know his name,but I would watch these dumb things.
I'd be like, Oh my gosh, he'sso bold and like, look at where he's at.
(08:51):
And he would keep a straight faceand he would keep doing it.
And then some guy would walk upwith a pizza
box and like, Hey,you want a slice of pizza?
And sometimes they would likeand sometimes they would chase him.
So stupid.
You all right?
Like, stupid, like, why am I, like,Todd?
You're 42 years old.
You have a you have a wife,kids and businesses, and you're
(09:12):
watching this guy talking about,hey, homey, you want a slice?
So a full confession.
I've given that up.
I am just saying it out there.
Please tell me the mindless videothat you're giving up in the comments
below and we'll give them all up together.
I'm ashamed to admitI just watched too many in general.
I think I just.
I'm just need to go cold turkey.
(09:35):
- Let's do it together, Craig,- I've got a garage to clean.
It's been sitting therefor the last two years.
You know,
if I spend 10 minutes a dayinstead of scrolling
and go work on the garage,I'd have a great looking garage.
Simple, but not easy.
Right Right.
Okay. Okay.
Well, a great, great intro to the episodewhere we're going to be
(09:57):
we're introing a future episodetopic about time management.
But this week's topicwe're going to get to in just a second.
But first, we always like to let you knowwhat's going on
with the Spiro software updatesthat are coming through.
So, Todd, what what do we have this week?
Yeah, I will make it quick because
I didn't make the first part quick,but we just pushed some updates a week ago
(10:19):
and we're cognizant and put your brandingfirst and we put in many other things.
We've talked about that,so I won't take the time.
A couple of points I want to make to youas we are creating what we're calling
and Shannon's calling.
It's her brainchild, the Spiro Academy.
So this is going to be learning foryou time that you learn, not only Spiro,
(10:39):
but we want to give you market insight.
We got such great
feedback from the broker dealerpresentation from the market update,
and we want to be generouswith that information.
Share that all to you.
So there's 21 years from meand Shannon has a ton of knowledge
that is like,
(10:59):
Oh, there's different types of brokerages,traditional, you know, capping,
transactional, all of those thingsall matter when you are running
and navigating a business.
So we're creating the Spiro Academy togive back to you to spend time with you.
These are going to be sessionswhere some of the team, myself, Shannon,
are going to be online with youin a webinar based fashion
(11:23):
to help you, to help you hit your goals,to help you better understand Spiro
But also the bigger reason of whywe created Spiro, how it fits into
growing and scaling your business.
So excited for that to come,
you will see those start to hit,those schedules start to hit.
If you are not part of the SpiroSuper User group and you are Spiro user,
please jump in there.
We give great information.
(11:44):
You typically hear about itfirst in there.
Also, we hint to new releases as well.
So join the group if you’re Spiro User.
We'd love to have you in there.
Absolutely. Good deal. That's exciting.
Yeah, I'm excited about it.
Well, let's dive in this week. Todd.
No guest this week,but we are going to be working
on having some more guestsjoin us here on the Spiro podcast.
(12:07):
But Todd, this morningwe record this on Friday mornings
and we have our staff meeting on Fridaymornings as well.
And you shared a little bit about
what's the word.
I'm looking for a venture that we have in
recruiting some new photographersfor Wow video tours.
And you talked a little bit about,you know, how to how to build culture
(12:30):
with our photographers and let them knowthat they're cared for their, you know,
the the
your photographer is for your businessis really your biggest asset.
And we want to talk aboutcovering your assets this week.
And so
this is very much business
(12:51):
related because you mayor may not have heard this before.
And I'll just open with this, Todd, andthen you can you can dive in and comment.
But the cost of retaining an employee
or a contractor, you know, 1099s,
retaining them inand continuing to invest in them and grow
them is much, much smaller
(13:13):
than the cost of recruiting and training.
A new team member.
I did a quick searchand now the number is escaping.
But how much I think it's the costof losing a veteran team member
is something like their salaryor salary and a half
is the expense of losing somebodyand having to hire new a new one.
(13:37):
Yeah. And I was like, Whoa.
I mean, I knew it was more,but I didn't realize how much.
So do you want to kind of dive in, Todd,
and talk with us a little bit about
the business impactof caring for your photographers?
For sure there.
(13:57):
So let's think about this.
If you have a photographer right now
on your team or if you're thinkingabout hiring a photographer
or if you are the only photographer,you will resonate more with this.
I will tell you the further awayyou get from
being that sole photographer
and put yourself into the business ownerjust naturally.
(14:19):
You know, it's the law of elasticity.
The more naturally you forget about
being in the trenches every dayas a photographer.
So, for example, in our area,many areas throughout the U.S.
and the world that are in winter, it was
dangerously cold
this week for us and our markets,like dangerously
(14:40):
a couple of days, like -10to 20 Fahrenheit with the wind chill.
And I had one of our most seasoned
photographers come in and just spenda little time with him this week.
And we'll get to some strategy of thingsthat you should be doing with your team.
But just small talk.
Before we got into a few questionsI had for him
(15:02):
talking about was so bad on Tuesday.
That was the day that it was that cold.
He was outside for 10 minutesand couldn't feel his hands, didn't know
that he was really pushing the buttonsbecause he was so frozen.
And think about this, you know,and those those you
that are shooting,you're like, Yeah, I'm doing it.
And those are you there in Florida?
Like, yeah, it's worse in the summerbecause it's like I'm in an oven.
(15:22):
But you are asking someone on your teamto go out there on your behalf,
wear your polo shirt with your logo,your hat or whatever it is,
and you really need them to replace you,
right?
I mean, this is this is business.
But for those youthat forgot about that transition,
I think Craig will have a storyto tell with this.
(15:45):
But remember the first timethat you sent another photographer
and how nervous and any feedbackand remember
anyone you sent onyour behalf is not going to be you.
A good goal is they're 70 or 80% of youand that's great.
No need to get them anymore.
So that's just one thing to remember,
(16:08):
is that your face,the face of your company
is in the hands
daily with your photographers.
at Wow we have a sales team.
Okay, so Craig is on the sales team.
He does a hybrid role.
We have four other salespeople
(16:29):
and we have a team and we have a managerand we have a director.
That's a lot of peoplethat are selling, right?
They are a fraction
of the input that we have with our teamor with our clients.
Excuse me,
No matter how
much interactionthey have, you know, on a busy summer day,
if we shoot 80, that's 80 opportunitiesthat our photography team,
(16:52):
80 appointments can potentially see.
an agent say they're therehalf the time, an agent or a homeowner
because homeowners
are really your clients too rememberthey're your client's client.
That's about 40 timesNo matter how hard the team of five
or six worked,we would not see 40 clients in a day.
So I just say thatbecause there's times where you're going
(17:16):
to review your photographers mediaand you're like, Oh,
why did they do that?
Why did they angle down the camera?
Why did they stand inside the room?
Why did they shoot it at that angle?
Why did they say that thing to a homeowneror a client, or why were they late?
But remember,
(17:37):
they're not the owner of the business.
No one will ever care for itas much as you are.
And that's that's okay.
That's actually a good thing.
And they are out there
doing all the little things for youevery single day.
So I truly believe that they areyour largest asset in your business.
Right?
And so you want to cover themwell and invest in them well,
(18:02):
you know, one thingthat that we've talked about, Todd, before
in our in our staff meetings and elsewhere
is how easy it is for a photographerthat's serving
a particular market to feel likethey're out on an island by themselves.
And,
you know, you can get that lonely feelingand you shared a little bit
and I'm guilty of thiswhen you're out by yourself working,
(18:28):
it's kind of a nice thing.
There's a lot of aspectsI like about that being a photographer out
in my own market,but it's also somewhat alienating.
And you can start to have conversationsin your head
that may or may not be trueand a lot of times probably aren't true
where you start having perceptionsor thoughts about your company, you know,
(18:50):
the people that you're doing thiswork for, you know, say, as a contractor.
And if that business owneror management team
supervisoror whatever isn't making a vested
taking a vested interestin that photographer
and really engaging them purposefully,
they're going tothey're going to feel alone.
(19:10):
They're going to feel not a partof the culture, not a part of the company.
It's just a paycheck. They're just out.
There's a a disconnect.
So Todd, I would ask you,you know, from a from an owner’s standpoint
and even maybe what Wow is doing right nowto try and minimize that disconnect,
what what are some good practical tips
or strategies that say, Wow is working on
(19:34):
to to engage our photographersand build a just a cohesive unit
and make those photographers feel partof the part of the family, the company.
The family.
Yeah. I love to share.
So currently,and this is just what we're doing at Wow.
So currentlywe well, let me step back a few months ago
(19:54):
because there's some value in some thingswe've been doing.
So a couple of months ago,the team called every single photographer
and we asked them how things are going.
You know, what can we help with?
And this was informal.
This is just along the daywhen we knew that they weren’t in a property.
And the way we knowthey're not in a property
(20:14):
is because in Spiro they check inand check out a jobs are on site tracking.
We understand where they're at.
So just a fabulous toolthat, you know, when you're photographer
is done with the job, when they're in,you know, in route to the next property.
So we called them again.
And that's somewhat about knowingand understanding your photographers.
If you even have a great intentionsof calling
(20:35):
all your photographersand you call them when they are in a house
or their drones is in the air, first,they're like, why is Todd calling?
Right?
I mean, always, no matter,no matter how big or small you are,
when the owner calls, everybody goes,Why is the owner calling me?
Even if you think
you have a fabulous relationship
with each one of your photographersand you might no matter,
(20:58):
no matter
what, when you call them,they're like, Hey, the boss is calling.
Okay.
That was a that was a thoughtI used to have in my head.
I was like, Oh, I'm just friendly Todd
So understand
that there is a prioritywhen your number shows up on their phone,
then there's some stress of I'm
in a house, I'm with a client,I have the drone in the air
or even I'm driving.I can't answer right now.
(21:20):
So just something as littleas understanding
the right time to callyour photographers is important.
It you know, it it further confirmsthat you understand them.
That then gets them the buy in thatgets them to walk across the yard
when it's -20 out and take the best shot.
You know,that's what that's your that's your goal.
(21:42):
I've said that before
and I want to say it on this podcast,but what is going to get your photographer
to walk across the yardor walk to the very back of the yard
when it's their last shoot.
They're cold or hot, they're hungry,and they have to use the bathroom,
but they know the bestangle is in the back corner of the yard.
What's going to get them to spendthe extra 10 minutes to do that?
(22:05):
It’s your relationship.
We talk about relationshipsall the time, understanding them.
So we have called all of our photographersand I did not call them.
And specifically I did not call them
because I didn't want my nameto show up on their phone.
I don't have a lot of interactionwith the photographer, so
I'm very aware ofwhen I do have interaction
(22:26):
and it didn't feelit was necessary to have me call.
We had Brittany and Jess calledand that's normal for them
and we collected really great feedback.
We jotted it all down,we took it into consideration.
And so they heard from us and,you know, I'll tell you that.
I'll tell you that
a lot of them said, Hey, it's really greatthat you're asking these things
or they would Slack Brittanyor Jess afterwards.
(22:46):
And hey, thanks.
Thanks for checking in.
Like, I don't really have any feedbackright now, but it's good to hear from you.
I really appreciate that.
I'll let you know if anything comes up.
That's a simple thing that you can doto show people you care.
It's free, it's easy.
Just takes a little bit of your time.
Then from
there we we realize through projectionsthat our goals for 2025
(23:09):
that we were goingto need to hire more photographers.
I guess I think we're we'rewe're we're trying to hire
six right nowas what we're trying to hire.
And in thatwe realized that it was time to talk to
some of our most seasoned photographers,the ones that have the most experience.
And we'll review some of our trainingpractices and procedures.
(23:34):
Now we have a very, very detailedtraining guide.
So our previous trainer who was with me
for a very long time,he was fabulous of what he did.
He createda very detailed training guide, video
series, trainingguide, expectation. we have levels.
He's he's a schoolteacher.
(23:55):
In fact, he went back into the schoolsystem, which I'm happy I'm sad
that we don't have his expertise here,but I'm super happy for him.
He is back at the school his kids go to,but he created a curriculum
for our photographersand we felt very special.
We feel it's great, but we don't feel thatanything is ever perfect.
So we're now collecting feedback on thatprocess of how we train photographers.
(24:19):
That is, we have four pillars here at Wow.
With the way we train individuals,we feel that it contains four things,
and the first one is
finding and
onboarding new photographers,onboarding and training.
So that is pillar one and that's wherewe're focused on because we are trying
to hire six photographers right now.
(24:41):
Awesome. Well, with growth.
Yeah, we definitely need to addto the team, Todd.
So it is exciting.
It's also scary, you know, new groupof people coming in to, to get trained.
And again,there's a business expense to that,
but it's not always a bad thingIf you're in a growth mode
and you have to add people,you're not replacing necessarily.
(25:01):
So let's let's kind of go back to that.
So we're adding photographers
because we're growingand we're very thankful for that.
But we want to make sure that is iswe continue to take care of and in value.
Our current photographers, our veterans,those that have been with us,
whether it's a short timeor have been with us multiple years.
(25:24):
You you talked a little bit
about having some of the veteransin to to talk about
caring for the rest of the teamout in the field.
So what and why are we having the veteranscome in
to to talk with with youand in the leadership about that?
Yeah. Great question.
So there's there's
a lot of strategic decisionsaround this of why we've had them come in.
(25:47):
So when we were collecting feedback
it started some other discussionwith team members
and they came fromsome of our most seasoned
and we realize how much they cared,like they truly cared.
And they said things such as
I wantto make sure that everyone in my city
is trainedand has as many services as possible
(26:11):
because it looksbecause we look bad as a team.
If one photographer is not doing videothe right way,
not shooting the right angles, thingslike that, we went, Oh my goodness.
Like, wow, that thing.
Okay, so think about that for those of youthat that don't know our company makeup,
at Wow we have subcontractorsfor our photographers
(26:34):
and to have a subcontractor say, Hey,I want to make sure
that the team knows
how to do the servicesbecause collectively as a whole,
it might impact all of our jobsand impact my jobs.
I mean, think about that.
Like if if you send a new photographer outand a client is not happy
with that, they assume that that is thelook of your entire company
(27:00):
and they assumethat either your quality has gone down
or something different or they're going tomaybe try a competitor.
So we heard some really great thingsfrom our team and then we also heard
some ideas
from them for training and asking,
hey, can we, you know,can we help do this in the field?
(27:21):
Can we help?
So it got us thinking of like maybethere's positions here to make people
something that we in the pasthave called like a regional trainer or
and that is
the one of the most experienced personand one of the best teachers in the city.
And some of what they dois they spend time
helping correct issuesand gaps with photographers in the field.
(27:44):
And so things like that were said, Craig,
that we knowthey're so much more in their head
and we don't want to assume, even thoughthat we have a incredibly built out
process for training, onboardingand the progression of skills.
We don't want to assume it's perfectbecause we need to pivot
and adapt and changeas the mark in our business changes.
(28:07):
You knowwhat you said about one photographer
having a skill set versus anotherthat might not be doing it quite the same.
And so our clients are wondering,yeah, what has a quality gone down?
I mean, that's that's a real thing.
Let me give you a personal example.
So I've got one other photographerin my market that we shoot.
You know, we both shoot.
(28:28):
I do a majority of them,but I felt really bad.
Todd,
because this photographershared a comment with me
just in the last day or twothat they feel like
the client is disappointedwhen they show up and it's not me
and my heart sank because,I mean, I, I care about people
and I don't want this photographerto feel that way.
I mean, I value the relationshipsI've built,
(28:50):
you know, over over the multiple years.
But I want them to be successful andfeel like they're valued by our clients.
And that just not just by the company,
but there is an experience difference.
I've been doing this a lot longerand so clients have gotten used to
a certain look and a certain way,you know, that I shoot,
which is mostly mostly the training thatI've gotten, you know, from Wow.
(29:13):
But clients can noticeeven small differences
that I don't even necessarily see myself.
So taking the time to investin that photographer,
to really replicate resultswill go a long way.
And I tried to encourage this person,hey, you know,
they're they're used to mebecause I've been doing this since 2017.
(29:35):
I've built relationships.
So I want to encourage you, don't give up,
you know, go back to your training,review things, look at things that
I've shot that other photographersin other markets have shot
and just try and replicate what you can,you know, minimize
any differences that you might have.
And look at it is building relationshipsthat you're part of that realtor's team.
(29:57):
You're not just a photographer,you're part of their sales force.
You're part of that,helping them win new listings
and really try and bracket yourselfthat way and think of yourself that way
so that when you're interacting with them,they sense that from you, that you're
not just there to shoot some pictures,but you're there.
Part of their marketing team
and as you do that,as you communicate to them your desire
(30:18):
to help them grow their business, you'regoing to develop the same relationship
that I have with thembecause that's how I position myself
in, in the market that I serve.
So if if our messaging and our our tactics
in ways we shoot are are constant,
they're going to start to trustyou more as well.
So don't give up.
(30:38):
So all yeah all of that to say consistency
and taking the timeto invest in your photographers
and help them to see thewhy of what they're doing.
Yeah, I love that. Craig.
Craig, I'm asking you a question and, and,and I'll ask you this question on Monday
when you're for
you all, Craig is going to be part
of that group, too that's coming inon Monday for our company.
(31:00):
But I'm going to ask this nowbecause I think this is something that
I'm very curious about.
Oh, boy, no pressure.
And this is the reason whywe ask questions, because it's like I just
I simply don't Yeah, there is no pressurebecause I don't know this.
Do you think that consistency
do you think it's more technical
(31:22):
or do you think it's more client service
of where
that photographer has or do
they show upbecause it's not warm, friendly Craig
that knows about their family,that knows about
has a history with themor are they disappointed?
Because when they get that link,they go, Oh,
(31:44):
Craig's reflections not in the mirror.
And it's How do you know what to say?
Sorry,
Is that theis it like, oh, this these angles
are just that much better,
You know, That's a hard one.
That's a hard one to answer, Todd,Because I think it's a little bit of both.
(32:05):
Okay.
So back when I was on my ownand had my own business,
I had another photographerthat was shooting quite a bit for me.
And I would get comments where
they're not they're just not takingquite the right same angles.
And I would go back through their mediaand look at like, I'm happy
with these these angles and composition.
(32:28):
And I would I remember one clientspecifically that complained
about showing I think it waswas it too much ceiling or too much floor.
Okay, a common.
yeah and and I told this realtor,I said,
I'm going to confessI would shoot this the exact same way.
I just
I have to be honest with people.
(32:52):
So I do hear feedback from clients
that they'll firstgo to the technical part of it.
Well, it's just not the anglesthat you take, you know?
And sometimes that is true.
I have seen picturesthat I would not have taken
or compositions that I wouldn't haveformed because that's not part of our training.
So therethere is a legitimate aspect of that.
(33:15):
So it's definitely part of that.
But the other part of it is
the other photographersthat I've worked with in my market,
there is an age difference.
Let me let me start there.There's an age difference.
Okay. I'm going to leave that onealone. Craig.
I'm just gonna.
that I thinkthis is a legitimate part of it, though.
Okay?
(33:35):
For those of you watching,you see the gray in the goatee, right? Go.
You can't see it.
Well, maybe you can see a little straightstraight there.
I'm 48 years old.
Okay.
I'm I'm closing in on the half centurymark and I'm getting very introspective
about that.
But I think with age comes
some built in trust because people don't see youas the kid, right?
(33:57):
Is the inexperienced.
It doesn't matter how good you might be.
Sometimes people will look down on youbecause of your age
and not have any faith in you.
Now, you can'tyou can't let that get you down.
You just you have to workall that much harder to earn their trust.
Right.
For those that are older, that have beenaround the market for a little while,
you've got kind of built in trust and hey,this this is,
(34:20):
you know, a kid coming upjust coming out of college.
And there is things that you learnwith time and how to interact with people,
how to interact with clients confidencethat is built with time.
Todd If if you had taken meeven just ten years ago,
I would not have the confidence levelto speak with people about the business
that I'm in that I have now.
(34:42):
It's a good point
and it only comesbecause of experience and time.
You know,I've gotten to learn this industry
and so there's some things I can nowpretty comfortably talk about.
So when
when you have, say, a younger personthat is on your team out there shooting
the realtors that they're dealing with
might just not have the trust in thembecause they're
(35:05):
because of the age differenceand because of the
of experience in building businessrelationships, how to communicate.
There are differences.
So that part of what I try and
teach the photographers
that I'm working with in my marketis one little, one little.
I don't want to call it a trick becauseI mean it, but I'll say to a seller, Hey,
(35:26):
you made a great choicein choosing so-and-so as your realtor.
They're really investing in their mediaand marketing for you.
And not everyone does that.
Not all the realtors that I seein the market do this.
So you've got a greatrealtor.
it’s a great line
It's a line, but it isn't.
But it's part of yeah, I mean, yeah, no,I know what you mean,
(35:47):
but it's part of positioning ourselvesas a company and as a, as a photographer,
but as a marketing specialistis part of that Realtor’s team.
So there's an added valuethat they didn't just hire a photographer,
they hired a marketing consultant.
Now someone that's new in the businessthat's younger
might not think of positioning themselvesthat way or communicating that way
(36:08):
in front of a seller and or the realtorthat's standing right there
that gets a little grinwhen they hear them, you know, say that
so long answer to a short question.
Honestly, I think it's both,because I've I've run into both.
Yeah.
I think.
Such as you were saying all that, Craig,I agree 100%.
(36:29):
And the splitwhat it is we can all argue on,
but say it's 50, 50, 50%,you have to be above the level
of technicals to not raise red flags.
And then 50% you need to give
a higher level customer service.
(36:50):
It's again, we're a service business.
This is the feelings.
Some of the feelings that they get
at the appointmentare then reflected on the end product.
Just simply think about it.
Think about it both ways.
So if they have a bad feeling
after the appointmentbecause of the photographer,
(37:12):
we all know they're going to pick apartthose images like none other.
Yeah, I'm going to expand on that.
So but back when I was on my own,the photographer
I had shooting with meyounger guy, college age.
He's the one that was producing photosthat I was happy with.
I thought they were good composition,they were good angles, but I would hear
(37:33):
people pick those things apart,but they would also say
most of them, he's he's very nice,but he's just so quiet.
Yeah.
So they took that quietness as shy,awkward slash even.
I had one person that thought he was rude.
And this guy. he was not rude.
He was not rude at all.
He was the nicest guy you'll ever meet.
(37:54):
But because he was quiet,they took it as rude.
So, yeah, their perception of.
Of personalityand or communication will impact that.
Their technical pick a part of the media.
Yeah. Yeah.
And it goes opposite way tooas to where if you leave that appointment
and you have just wowed themyou know you put on your song
(38:15):
and dance, you walk out, they're like,Yeah, those people are great.
You could produce crapand they're never going to say it.
Okay, case in point.
So I never produce crap.
But you.
I've shot real estatephotography 21 years ago.
It was not great.
You know, Ryan, I.
Ryan is
our trainer at Wow.
(38:36):
Who built that So manysome of you know that name.
But anyways we shot a lot of houses like
thousand, 1500, a lot of year properties
and looking back overand some of this is just a migration
from my memories probably going,but I don't remember one complaint come in
like I just don'tnow they weren't as picky.
(38:58):
Remember 20 years agopeople were photos on a Sony maverick
three and a half inch floppy.
So I had lower expectations.
But you know what?
And this is me being conceited,but when I walked out of that house, man,
I wowed those people.
They were like, man, that this.
And they would just look at itand you would get by with things
(39:18):
that are like, yeah, that wasn't so great.
But the experience and their expectationsmentally were
that was such a great level service.
It's going to be the same with photos.
I don't know what that isfrom a mental standpoint.
Some of you that study the brain
let me know what that theory is calledbecause I'd love to know what that is.
But the same
happens and thenyou even set your photographer up to fail.
(39:41):
Because if you're giving thatreally high level customer service
and they're notand their photos aren't so great,
that's when you start to get intothe nitty gritty of painfulness.
Because now you're like, Oh,why do I even try to hire a photographer?
But that's not the case.
You should hire photographers, right?
And so part of covering themand investing in them
(40:02):
that there's a business ofprofitability to that,
of taking the timeto teach that photographer
everything that you know,and thinking through all aspects of it
from the technical partto the customer service part,
you know, they might just quote unquotejust be a photographer.
They might not have a hybrid role
of a business development specialist,but train them as one anyway
(40:26):
because that's going to that's goingto impact the experience that the realtor
has with that photographer and thereforethe perception of your company.
And it makes them feel a part of thatand a very good part of that business.
If you're giving them business skills,you're taking the time to invest in them.
They're not just expendable,expendable commodity, right?
(40:47):
We talk to realtors about photographybeing a commodity.
You know, it's
they want the best picturesof the cheapest price
and that that's all they think about.
But if you show your value as not just aphotographer, you're not just a commodity.
The relationship goes deeper.
It's the same thing with yourwith your contractors.
Don't view them just as photographersview them is a vital part of your company
(41:11):
in helpingyou grow and value them as people. So
am I getting to the point of this?
yeah,
it hurtswhen you lose photographers on your team.
It just does.
Yeah, some.
And we're hiring six
and one of them is transitioningon to a different career and that's great.
We know that 2 to 5years is kind of the limit
(41:36):
for photographers unless they move up,and that's not conclusive.
But on average
and this individual happened to be going
he was going to school,it's the next step for him.
So we're happy.
There's just a whole there.
But it's going to take time, money.
We're going to have unhappy clientsbecause of it.
We're going to have to train.
So there is a cost.
(41:56):
So if you're doing this, do it correctly.
Invest the time to build a relationshipwith your photographer.
Educate them on this, even what to say.
Don't assume that
those words that Craig used there
Giving compliments
about the agent tothe homeowner is very smart.
But I'll tell you what, to
A 20 something year old or maybe evento an introverted individual, that's like,
(42:21):
you want me to say that again?That goes back to feelings.
I got my feelings clock here.
It's difficult to say feelings out loud.
Just do that with your team.
Write those things down.
If you know something about an agent,put it in their Spiro
notes on their agent record.
If you have that in your head,be generous.
Put that information to your team members,type it in,
(42:42):
go to the agent,put it on photographer notes.
Then when your photographer's
at the house of that agent,
they'll click the red button and they'llview your brain dump about the agent.
Then that photographer can walk inand talk from a perspective
that seems like they're just pickingright up where you left off.
You know,what kind of customer service that is that
(43:05):
it feels like to that agent be like, Well,wait a minute,
how did this person likethe communication?
Like Craig took time to talk,tell this other photographer
about what I likeand what's important to me.
Like I think that's just a simple thingthat you can type in those notes.
Craig is not somethingthat we can do on a consistent basis.
We have notes in there, buttaking that information and sharing that
(43:27):
I think can be huge.
And again, it just ties back to the ideaof what you focus on
will expandand focusing on your biggest asset
being the photographersand taking time to ask them questions.
Don't assume you know everything.
You might have shot ten timesmore houses than they have,
but they're doing it today.
Right now, as a photographer of yourcompany, don't assume you know everything.
(43:49):
Ask them for their information.
I think you will find so much value in itand at the same time,
they will feel good that you askand they will feel good for helping out.
Can I share one thing that kind of impacted me
in a in a really good waythat that Wow has done.
And this isn't too to
kiss up to Todd or anything like thatbecause Todd didn't even
(44:11):
ask me about this,
but something small like, okay,so Todd, you had you had a photographer
come in just this week and talk abouthow cold it was in their fingers.
I remember just a couple of months ago,it was kind of a similar cold snap.
And in the mail I got a cardfrom the office just thanking me
for the work that I do out in the fieldand a gift card to Starbucks,
(44:33):
you know, hey, you know, grab yourselfa warm drink as you're headed out.
Very small thing.
I think it was a $5maybe maybe a $10 gift card.
So not a huge investment.
But just the thought that my officewas thinking about me out in the field
knowing that it was cold out, man,you know, it just gave me a really good
feeling.
(44:53):
as part of the team ofthey're thinking about me.
Think you have to be intentionalwith your realtors. Yes.
With,you know, make marking down the notes,
but do thatfor your photographers as well.
The impact will be huge.
It builds great culture.
It shows that the company caresabout the human being.
This is, again, covering our assets,our assets for for lack of
(45:15):
we don't want it to bea cold business term
because these are human beings
that you're working with that are helpingyou build your business.
But the buy in thatyou'll get from your team when you just do
take the time to be intentional in caringfor the human beings on your team.
Massive.
an easy thing to doand that is I'm so happy
that the team did that and,and that really comes from,
(45:38):
you know, setting those expectationsat a company
level of core values.
And, you know,I didn't even know that happened.
Craig That was exciting to hear happened.You know, that's fabulous.
Kudos to Jess and the team and maybeBrittany wrote they wrote the the card.
But getting that feedback is so importantand allowing people and a word
(46:00):
we use all the time.
And again, this is a business term,but we try to empower our employees.
You know,we let. Jess knows what's important.
Let Brittany know that photographer hoursare important to us.
We empowered her to be able to somethingas simple as write a card and give a
I think it was probably $5.
Craig, I think is probably what it is.
The amount doesn't matter.
It really does.
(46:21):
And this is an Austin Cheviron thing
he's a realtor at an adjacent market doesand he does coaching.
He really just does coaching nowbut that's your reticular activator
in your brain.
That's what it's called our rememberthat brain function,
your reticular activator iswhat is triggered when you open that card
and you and you get that gift card.
It's just that thingthat makes you feel warm.
(46:43):
And this goes back to what we
kind of opened the episodewith, Todd. Time management.
As an owner,I would encourage you take the time
and I did this for my clients backwhen I had my own business,
take the time to write outthank you cards for your team,
manage your timeand start to scroll through the videos or,
you know, whatever else it is,block out a block of time
(47:06):
to invest in your team,get creative, start brainstorming some.
How can I show this personI care about them and I'm telling you it,
it will build huge dividendsfor your business, but also just
the relationshipsyou're able to build with your team.
And that just makes for a very healthy,nontoxic workplace.
y'all, if you're listeningand you're still with us.
(47:27):
Thank you.
Hey, there's probably a million ideasthat we didn't cover.
Can you share them?
Can you be generous with what you're doingwith your team or ideas?
share them inthe comments below, email them to us.
This isn't just a ployto get comments on this video.
We just care that we serve you.
So if we can get comments going down there
to help us all would be great.
(47:47):
What ideas do you do?
Do you have a cool little thingthat you've stumbled upon or you've
you've nurturedand it's really great for your team?
Let us know what it is generally,I want to know.
I want to collect this feedbackbecause I want to do it for our team
and I want the whole communityto understand how to build these teams.
So share that with us belowthat thing that you do
that has just makes your teamfeel like you care.
(48:08):
And let's see if we can get a nice liston below and build this community.
I just have to commentreal time, real quick.
You mentioned we're not asking for comments to build a huge following or anything
quite that.
I get emails from social mediainfluencers and strategists on.
Hey, we've noticedyou only have such and such number of,
(48:29):
you know, subscribers or whatever
on your channel and we could help yougrow, blah, blah blah.
Yeah, and these ways of getting people,
you know, we do ask for you to give us alike sometimes to share.
But half the time I forget to ask that.
Todd because that'snot the important part.
We just,we want to build an authentic community
and yes, share ideason how to build strong businesses.
(48:51):
So I will because I'm rememberingI will ask if you found value in this,
give it a like share it with share itwith others that you've,
you know, other colleaguesand friends in the business.
If you found value in it.
And if you're just just now starting tolisten, we would love for you to subscribe
just so you get the notificationson when new episodes drop.
So there's there's the social media ask.
(49:14):
Yeah, but that's ultimately notwhy we're doing it.
It's not.
We could probably be tuned upat so many levels.
We're probably doing everythingby the book wrong to grow the channel.
But you know, it's a cool community.
It's great to hear from a lot of youand we like this tight knit community and
this is just like we've said before.
Craig and I are both are so appreciativethat some of you that like
(49:36):
more than one of you would tune inand a lot of you tune in weekly.
So, you know, just thank you for thatblessing that you've given to us.
Absolutely. All right.
Well, Todd, thanks for all you sharedthis week and
and you as well, Craig.
Thanks for that feedback about, you know,because you're doing it every day.
Yeah. Yeah.
(49:56):
Well, I love what I do.
And I've bragged to our clients what,you know, what a great culture we have.
And I love what I do.
And when you
when you love what you do, it showsand people pick up on that positivity.
So that's another benefitto really investing in your people is if,
if they love what they dobecause they've got a great culture
that they're working in, in your businessthat's going to, that's going to show
(50:18):
to the clientsthat they're working with or prospects.
There's there's just so many good things.
So anyway okay that how about we wrap up,Todd. Does that work?
Sounds good. That is great.That’s a great week.
All right, guys.
Thank so much. Again,we hope you found value in this.
And like Todd said, share some ideas ofhow do you invest in your team.
What are some things that you found havereally elicited a really good response
(50:41):
from your team that they show you thatthey appreciate what you've done for them?
We'd love to hear those ideas.
If you're watching on YouTube,leave a comment below.
If you're listening to the podcast,make sure you drop us a line.
hello@spiro.media because we'd loveto learn from you as well.
Guys, have a great week.
Take time out to
be thankful for the blessings in your lifeand make sure you take a breath.
(51:01):
Take care.
Thank you for joining usfor the Spiro Podcast,
managing your real estate photographyand videography business.
This is a production of Spiroand wow video tours.
You can find out more about Spiro
is real estate, media, business managementsoftware at our Web site.
spiro.media.
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