Building Trust Online – A Real Strategy With Anya Ettinger, REALTOR®

Social media doesn’t build trust by accident, it builds it through intention.

In this episode, Anya shares how her approach to social media has evolved over time and why she doesn’t see herself as a “creator” first, but as a trusted REALTOR. By showing up online with authenticity she’s been able to attract the right clients, shape expectations before the first meeting, and cut through the noise in an increasingly crowded space.

Anya Ettinger | Realtor®

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anyaettinger/

https://www.facebook.com/aserealty

https://www.instagram.com/aserealty/

https://www.tiktok.com/@aserealty

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Transcript

Intro to Anya

Christan Bosley 0:00

Building trust online, not as a trend, not as a tactic, but as a real business strategy. My guest today, Anya Ettinger, has built her real estate business by showing up online as a realtor first and a creator second. While many shy away from social media, Anya leaned in, and today she's sharing how it all started. For nearly a century, Bosley has been helping to shape the landscape of Canadian real estate. This podcast is an extension of that legacy, our way of staying connected to what matters most to you. Join us as we sit down with leading voices from across the industry and beyond to explore the ideas, trends, and stories that move real estate forward. Whether you're an agent, investor, homeowner, or just curious about the market, there's something here for you. Hey everyone, and welcome to Like a Bos, the podcast where we bring you real conversations with people shaping the real estate industry. I'm your host, Christan Bosley, president and broker of record of Bosley Real Estate. Hello, Anya. Hi. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me. I'm truly thrilled to be having this conversation with you. Me too. So you have your own podcast, your own TikTok, everything in between. I want to hear it all, but tell me, how do you maintain such amazing authenticity online? Everything I look at, it's like that's on you. It doesn't change a beat.

Anya Ettinger 1:31

I don't know what it is. I've had this like weird complex since I was young where it's just it is what it is. Like I can't not be me. Uh it's the Leo in you. It it probably is, yeah. And so I just I have to. There's nothing worse to me than lying. I just have to gotta be you.

Christan Bosley 1:49

Okay. Well, listen, I've gotta get this one out of the way. Okay. You've been at Bosley since 2021. Yeah, September. Came to us from a team. Lots of different experience before you joined us. Yes. Can you please tell me what attracted you to coming to Bosley?

Anya Ettinger 2:08

You. Oh that's so nice. Thank you. Well, I was introduced to you by someone that was at the brokerage. And when I met you for the first time, it was a very stark difference from conversations I had had in the past. When I got my license, I interviewed with two brokerages and then obviously moved to a team. And when the time came to again kind of shift gears, and I interviewed with you, I had interviewed with two other brokerages, and you had really stood out to me. There was a lot about you know the community that existed at Bosley that I could see just from coming in here the first day because we were in the middle of one of the waves of COVID. And so coming in and seeing how many people were in the office and still engaging with each other after over a year of no human interaction with colleagues was something that I really liked. And also a female leader who was really strong and you had a lot of really great things to say.

Christan Bosley 3:18

Thank you.

Anya Ettinger 3:19

Just tossing some compliments, but everything is true.

Christan Bosley 3:22

I really appreciate it. That's not why I asked you the question, but I do hope that everything that you were expecting has come through, uh come through for you. Yeah, and more. Okay. Beautiful. And so tell me, just for my curiosity, a lot of agents, when they're new to the business, think about joining a team. Obviously, you made this decision out the gate. We were in a global pandemic. I'm sure there were a variety of different reasons why. But it seems to me that you're one of the people that I've met that quickly recognized the difference between contributing to team growth and actually building your own business. How did that play out for you?

Anya Ettinger 3:59

So interestingly, I actually started not on a team. I started solo at a brokerage, and I want to say it was there maybe eight months before I joined the team, and there was no support. I was doing my first few deals and had many questions because I was new and confused, and no one was there to support or answer. When I ran into an issue, getting a hold of a manager was nearly impossible. Whereas here, anytime I've ever needed to get in touch with a manager because I've had an issue, doesn't matter what time of day it is, what day of the week it is, there's always someone who's available to help. Somewhere early on in my real estate career, I started looking to buy my own house. And that experience led me to meet my future team leader. So joined the team. And at the time, I mean, I got my license when I was 20. So I didn't really have any prospects of my own. And I really needed help with lead generation, but also mentorship and support. I quickly pivoted into social media for lead generation. And as that started growing, and it was a pretty quick growth, I started realizing that the team I was on was still prioritizing more of their own growth and, you know, anything that was kind of going towards them as opposed to supporting me in my own individual growth. And that was kind of where I stopped, stepped back and said, okay, well, I have X amount of business that's from me, from my experience on social media and all of that. And then I have this amount of business coming from the team. Is it worth it to stay, or is it time for me to branch out and have I grown as much as I can grow here? And that was what led me here.

Christan Bosley 5:45

Interestingly enough, that happened for you really quickly, right? Really quickly, less than a year. Yeah, because when we look at other people who have been on Teams for, you know, three, five, 10 years, there does come a point where you actually can't leave, right? Where everything that you've built is contributed towards the team rather than to your point, your personal growth. So the fact that that came to you so quickly was probably quite an amazing realization.

Anya Ettinger 6:12

Yeah, I'm really happy that it happened when it did and that I made the move when I did, because I can't imagine how much more complicated it would have been if I had stayed two or three more years.

Christan Bosley 6:22

Yeah. And our team got the benefit, not to be, you know, outrageous about it, but you are one of the major contributors here, not just in terms of your sales volume, but also your participation and your belief in the community that you've referenced. So thank you for that.

Anya Ettinger 6:37

Thank you.

Christan Bosley 6:38

So when you are not working or thinking about real estate, which knowing you probably never happens, but you know, at a at a certain point, perhaps, what does a good grounded day look like for you at the moment? You know the answer to this. I do, but I don't think they do.

Anya Ettinger 6:58

Um my favorite thing to do when I'm not working is be at home and like do a puzzle or paint my numbers, or maybe watch a good show, spend time with my dog. Um and your fiance. Yeah, him too, I guess. You can't forget about Brandon. Um, but yeah, the I really just like to kind of take some time and relax at home because so much of our job is interacting with people. And while I love that part of the job, I also really like my quiet time. And when we had a snow day a couple of weeks ago, I found myself holding my laptop like in my lap because I was supposed to be working, but the puzzle was in front of me, and so I couldn't help myself. And so I was like holding the laptop and pretending that I was working on the computer that was half closed while doing the puzzle.

Christan Bosley 7:49

Right. Yeah, yeah. We share that that introverted extrovert thing. Yeah. Yeah. We've also shared some really great puzzles. So thank you. I don't want your most recent one though. What is it, 5,000 pieces? 4,000 pieces. You want the 2,000 one I just finished? It took me three days. No. No, I don't. Thank you. I mean, we do share that, that nice quiet kind of reset before you go back out.

Anya Ettinger 8:12

You have to recharge so that you can give everything to your clients when you're with them.

Social media: initial approach and evolution of strategy

Christan Bosley 8:17

So starting from the beginning, you did already indicate that you were 20 when you first got your license. You started on your own, you pivoted to a team, you're back on your own. At what point did you start using social media and what was the kind of main driver for that?

Anya Ettinger 8:33

I started using social media late 2020, early 2021. And the driver, honestly, was my fiance. Brandon was super into TikTok, like pre-COVID. And then when COVID came and TikTok was all the rage, he kept constantly, he was like, You need to get on this app. I'm telling you, this is gonna be a game changer. You need to get on. And I was like, I don't, I don't want to dance. I don't dance, I'm not doing that. And he just kept months he was telling me that I should try TikTok. And so finally I was like, All right, I'll do it, but you have to help me and you need to help me come up with ideas because I'm not that wasn't something that I was really strong at at the time. And so he would help me come up with weekly plans and we would have all these. I mean, we kind of started with the basics because it was still early ages of that kind of short form content too. And I was pumping out three videos a day, every day. And then I would do a live video almost every day as well for an hour, engage with followers, engage with the community. And I started generating business probably within four months.

Christan Bosley 9:45

That's a pretty quick turnaround. Huge. Yeah. Okay. What does when you say engage with my followers and my community, what does that mean?

Anya Ettinger 9:55

Actually engaging. There's a lot of accounts on social media that will post and that's it. You post and you forget about it. But a huge driver of my business earlier on was responding to people in the comments, having conversations with people if I was doing like a live video. And I would often follow those comments or messages up with a private message. And I would send them a note and say, Hey, I saw your comment asking if I service this neighborhood. I do, is there, are you looking to buy or sell? Like, how can I help? And the fact that I was actively engaging with them showed them, A, I'm a person and B, I'm behind my own account. It's not like I have a whole team of people doing everything. Like, my account is me, it is my child. I will never let anyone like overhaul it. So people would reply and be like, yeah, I'm looking to buy in Lesleville. And that was really how things started. Cause I, some people don't want to make that first step and reach out, but because I was actively communicating with them, whether comments or messages, it helped with the kind of turnover.

Christan Bosley 11:03

Amazing. Was there a moment where you realized, you know, as you first entered into it, you're struggling with lead gen, you're struggling with support, knowledge, all of that kind of fun stuff. At what point did you look at yourself and say, this isn't working? I need to try something different. And how many things did you try before that?

Anya Ettinger 11:25

Before social media or before my strategy on social media?

Christan Bosley 11:29

Um let's say before social media.

Anya Ettinger 11:33

I tried maybe three things. Okay. First was I cold, message, email, called everyone on my contact list to be like, hey, I got my real estate license. If you know anyone thinking of buying, selling, renting, let me know. Please send them my way. Um, I then did the same thing on LinkedIn because I did a brief stint in recruiting while I was getting my real estate license and I had grown a very big LinkedIn network. So I literally messaged everyone on LinkedIn. Same thing. Hey, I'm wondering if you know anyone that's looking to buy or sell. Message kind of like that. And then the last thing I did was paying for leads. So I hired a company to run like Facebook ads for a listing, some sort of like a listing home evaluation ad. And that was the last thing I tried, which honestly did end up yielding a couple of transactions, but it didn't feel like it was going to work long term.

Christan Bosley 12:38

Okay. And that was when I took the step to do social media. And then was there a point in time? I mean, I know we're gonna get to how you developed your strategy, but was there a point in time when you started posting, started posting, and then all of a sudden you were like, okay, this is gonna work. And at what point did you feel that?

Anya Ettinger 13:00

I would say maybe six months in when I got my first real legitimate buyer from social media and met them, and they were because I I had lots of people reaching out to me who weren't real clients, people who maybe just wanted to look at houses for fun or, you know, kind of tire kickers, not real active clients. And when I did my first deal from someone who came off social media and they were just such a lovely couple and we had a great experience, that was when I kind of realized, okay, this could work. And I slowly started looking at what videos and what types of content were getting the most interest or the most engagement, or I guess you could say the best type of engagement where people are asking real questions about real estate and started pivoting from when I first started on social media, I posted everything and anything, including content targeted to realtors, like how to get your real estate license, what does it cost to be a realtor? I did everything until I found what stuck, and what stuck was when I was sharing information of value to consumers.

Creating content that converts as a REALTOR® first

Christan Bosley 14:14

Okay, amazing. So you've said very clearly that you do not see yourself as a creator first and foremost. Yes. So how has that identity shaped the type of content you make and the trust that you've built?

Anya Ettinger 14:32

I think it's because my focus always remains on trying to convey a message to the consumer and treating it as if it's I'm speaking to my own clients. And that notion has really helped because I continue providing content that has value to the consumer. And that has always been a big focus of mine. So I'm not here to make the prettiest content, I'm not here to produce the highest value or what's the right word. Production value. Yes, highest production value. A lot of my videos are me just talking in my car. And that has resonated very well.

Christan Bosley 15:15

Is it fair to say that a lot of your competitors, because I know when you first started here, uh, you did have a few competitors online in the TikTok space. Is it fair to say that that's one of the ways that you really differentiated yourself? And perhaps is why you're sitting with like the top engagement and follower at the moment?

Anya Ettinger 15:32

Yeah, I think that's a big, big piece of it. I always had an emphasis on giving something. And a lot of it is goes back to the first question you asked me of why is everything so authentic? Because I refuse to be a hypocrite and I don't want to make content that I wouldn't want to consume. And so you look at house tour videos, for example, and I don't know why I'd want to reach out to an agent who's walking through a house with a camera, because anyone can do that. I would want to work with a professional who is showing me, demonstrating to me that they are competent or they are able to do their job above and beyond. And I really wanted to be able to convey that to prospective clients. And I actually take a lot of pride in that quite a few people who reach out to me nowadays will say, you know, it's so weird, you came up on my page and no real estate accounts ever come up on my page, but you keep coming up. And I take a lot of pride in that.

Christan Bosley 16:31

Do you think that that circles back maybe to the strategy? Hugely, yeah. Okay. Yeah. At what point did you start really thinking seriously about strategy?

Anya Ettinger 16:42

When I went solo, I think, because now a hundred percent was on me to be able to bring in business. When I was on a team, I could rely on the team for business. But as soon as I stepped out on my own, it was all my responsibility. And I had to be bringing in leads because I was running my own business. So at that point, I really sat down and had to figure out what was working and what wasn't working. And I even went through cycles where I would get so busy with clients that I wasn't posting. And then a couple months later, I wouldn't have many clients because I stopped. And so then I had to sit down and really look at what kind of system would work so that I didn't slow down on what I was posting, but I was still able to put my focus, my main focus on the clients I was working with.

Christan Bosley 17:31

Right. And I would think that a lot of those kind of real life experiences gave you some great content for your social, right? Yes. Yeah.

Anya Ettinger 17:39

My most viewed video is about an experience I had with clients and how I advocated for them and how we solved a problem. And that is a video that's been cited to me by new clients coming in as the first thing they saw. And that was the reason why they put like jotted my name down or followed me because they were like, oh, this is someone who will fight for me if something goes wrong.

Christan Bosley 18:02

Right. Okay. So the real life stories work the best. Real life stories work the best. Absolutely. Okay. So that video is even more popular than the one the Toronto blog picked up. Yes. Blog TO.

Anya Ettinger 18:15

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 18:15

And I think it's because it because I mean that goes down in history as one of the most entertaining real.

Anya Ettinger 18:21

Snowfort will forever go down in history as the most iconic video I've ever made. Yes. But this video got like three and a half million views of me talking about a fireplace. Okay. It's what matters, right? It's what matters. And yeah, I mean the Snowfort, and this is another thing that goes into the not being a creator. I'm not focused on virality. It doesn't mat it's great if I get a ton of views, but that's not the focus. I would rather get 2,000 good quality views, views from my target audience, than 3 million views, where 70% of them are in America and not actually my target audience. So the Snowfort video, for example, while it did bring a ton of attention to me and a lot of people knew who I was and would recognize me in the street for it, didn't directly translate into business. Whereas a video of me advocating, talking about how I advocated for clients and how we got out of a sticky situation would directly bring me a client. Okay.

Christan Bosley 19:21

So I mean, we've talked about the content that converts the stories, the real life kind of learnings that you share, which is so critical. We've also talked kind of generally about social media, but I think it's fair to say that you got your start on TikTok. Yeah. Do you change the content for the different platforms that you're posting on, or are you still fairly kind of isolating in TikTok at the moment?

Anya Ettinger 19:47

I am not changing what I'm posting for different platforms, but I am posting on multiple platforms. So all of my videos now go out on TikTok and Instagram. Okay. Um, exact same video, exact same caption, nothing is different. And I noticed more recently, especially since I started the podcast in that form of content, um, my Instagram growth has gone up substantially. And Instagram's a really tough platform to get new viewers on. Okay.

Misconceptions about social media as a business tool

Christan Bosley 20:18

And your podcast is great too, because you have a whole bunch of people in that tell real life stories about all the different things that impact the transaction, right? Yeah. So well done there. Thank you. It's very exciting. There are still a lot of misconceptions about using social media as a business tool. Yeah. Right. With all of the different ways to generate leads these days. It is, you know, we find people really telling themselves a narrative about social media. So, what in your experience is the biggest lie that agents tell themselves that really holds them back from the opportunities on social that they may be missing?

Anya Ettinger 20:54

That they need to portray some sort of image of themselves that is not who they are. That is a number, that is a big one I see with a lot of agents posting things that are, you know, like when you post a listing that is not yours, but you make it seem like it's yours, or you're trying to convey a lifestyle that is not authentic to you. Consumers don't care about your lifestyle. You're not trying unless you're trying to be a content creator. Or like a luxury realtor. Yeah, they don't care. They want someone who they know will have their back and who will represent them as best as humanly possible.

Educating clients before the consultation

Christan Bosley 21:36

Right. Couldn't agree more. So important. So I just got home from the Inman conference in New York, and uh there was a marketing expert, keynote speaker that was talking about social media. Okay. And at the end of his presentation, he went through and displayed uh the top 10 social media faux pas that really displayed. Inauthenticity, right? And what really turns the consumer off of realtors and social media. And I have to tell you that I have seen every single one of them a million times over. And his explanation for all of the different reasons why these things don't work was truly memorable in more ways than I can explain. So I can tell you that you don't do any of the top 10 things that he listed, which is really great. Perfect. And the bottom line to his discussion was that authenticity wins every day. Part of why I think it works for you is because you know that most people are digesting this content in their hoodie on their couch, right? So they're easily identifying with you, which is really great. So that kind of easy identification in tandem with the content that you're providing, how is that impacting your initial meeting with these customers? Do you find that they're coming in already educated on things that you would typically be talking about? How does that play out for you?

Anya Ettinger 23:04

My favorite part of this type of lead generation is that the clients that come to me already kind of know me and know my vibe. And usually that means that our vibes match very well. So usually off like off the cuff, it's very easy to communicate with them. And there is a lower burden to try and prove myself because they've already kind of gotten to know me. And so I still go through the consultation as if they have no understanding. It depends on, you know, what kind of a, but say it's a first-time buyer. I still would go through the consultation under the assumption that they have no knowledge of the process, even if they've been following me. And sometimes they'll be like, oh yeah, I remember you talked about this before, or I've seen this video. But I still take them through everything. And a big part of that initial call is demonstrating to them that the person you see online is the same person you're getting when we speak on the phone and when we meet in person. And so that usually translates well. And I've had a couple pretty funny consultations where it'll be a couple and one of them has been following me for a while, and the other one is like, I have, I don't have social media, I have no idea who you are, I have no idea what you're about, and will kind of grill me to see if I'm competent. Um, and it's it's always nice kind of having that because it is a little bit, gives me an opportunity to share a little bit more about myself and you know, get to know them. But it is really nice that I can go into it already knowing that they like my personality.

Christan Bosley 24:41

I think one of the funniest moments that I've had around you was at our holiday party this year. Oh, what did I do? When someone legitimately fangirled over you. I have, I don't think I've actually witnessed it before, but this person was like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, it's real. Did did you see Anya editor? She is, she's at the bar. And I was like, yeah, she's she's an agent here, right? Like, she legitimately fangirled. Does this happen to you often? And like, how do you navigate that?

Anya Ettinger 25:15

It it does happen. And I am, as you can tell by my reaction, it makes me quite uncomfortable in a good way. Like it's obviously really nice to know that I'm recognized and respected because it's hard to gain respect in this industry. There's a lot of agents, and just the fact that there are people who don't work with me and have never met me know who I am and respect me is is means a lot. But those interactions are often very uncomfortable for me because I don't love attention. Yeah, no, I watched it happen from across the room, and this call was like and like how can I crawl into my dress and hide and just and it happened two more times that night. Yeah. It's a big party. Yeah, well, it's it's happened at Treb before. And I mean, I just try to be nice and be myself, but it's always weird because sometimes sometimes people come about it normally and they're like, oh my gosh, I love your content. Like, but then there's other people that are like, oh my god, they're like telling me about my life because they know everything. One time someone was like, You're taller than I thought you'd be. So what a strange thing to say.

Christan Bosley 26:23

I get the complete reverse of that. It's like, wow, you're a lot shorter than I was expecting.

Anya Ettinger 26:27

Yeah. I get it all the time. Yeah. Well, I mean, we're sitting, no one would know which one of us is taller. I know. Could be you.

Christan Bosley 26:34

You're definitely taller. You tower over me. Let's be real.

Anya Ettinger 26:39

Um, but yeah, the the interactions are they're they're very nice. And I do, I do appreciate that people like what I'm doing, but I am very awkward when complimented.

Christan Bosley 26:53

Yeah, I think, you know, the thing that for me, on top of just knowing how truly uncomfortable you were in that moment, which brought me a lot of joy, weirdly. Um, the thing for me that I found amazing to watch is, you know, how hard you've worked, how quickly you've gotten as far as you have, how committed you are to continuing to grow that. But also actually seeing, like in real life, real time, somebody else's desire to have you like you were clearly a mentor. You're clearly an inspiration to what it is they're trying to do in their business. And it was so nice to see that kind of up front and center. So I'm sorry it made you uncomfortable, but it will stick with me.

Anya Ettinger 27:38

I yes, I know it will. Um, it is I sometimes I get a little bit little bit of imposter syndrome because I don't realize how many people there are that actually look up to me and it's a lot of pressure, but it's also weird being in this position. I'm sure you have the same thing.

Benefits of long form with podcasting

Christan Bosley 27:57

Yes. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, I know Tom and Ann. Cool, great. That's so fun. Yeah. I know them too. Maybe a little differently than you. Um, yeah, no, it's, you know, it comes with a lot of responsibility, but you handle it well. Thank you. We did talk about how you recently just started your own podcast. What was the impetus for you starting that? And how does your approach differ from the short form content that we're typically accustomed to seeing?

Anya Ettinger 28:29

So, interestingly enough, the podcast for me is kind of like reverse-engineered short form content. So as I mentioned before, when I get busy, sometimes it's hard for me to create content. Okay. And, you know, that requires me sitting down, thinking about what I want to talk about, filming it. And one of the solutions to that was if I can sit down and film a podcast episode and then take that back and clip it and use those clips as my short form videos, then that will allow me more time to spend with my clients because I'm not needing to come constantly come up with new ideas. Um, and also helps me get an interesting perspective from kind of different people within the industry and with jobs that impact the industry. So that was kind of the motivation to start the podcast. And frankly, the views I get on YouTube or the downloads are not that high. But the views I get on the clips on TikTok and Instagram are very high. And that's because it's essentially crafted to be clipped down. And another part of that is because my favorite form of short form content are podcast clips. Sometimes I don't want to sit down and listen to the whole thing, but I like the little bites. And so again, like going back to I produce content that I would want to consume as a as a viewer, that was another motivator.

Christan Bosley 30:04

Okay, amazing. And it's working.

Anya Ettinger 30:06

Yeah. People seem to like it. I get good feedback.

Key lessons in building a brand

Christan Bosley 30:09

Love it. So here's a trick question for you if social media disappeared tomorrow, what part of your business would survive? And what has this particular thing taught you about how you build a brand?

Anya Ettinger 30:25

I think the I don't know if I I think I have to answer it backwards. Okay. So we're gonna try. All right. The new leads coming in, the new business would obviously disappear if social media was gone. But I make a point of keeping in touch with my clients and maintaining relationships and continuing to convey, you know, who I am, they know who I am. And so while social media was really helpful in getting me started, I've now started getting referred new clients from clients who found me on social media. And so again, new business would slow down, but I think because I remained authentic and continued being who I portrayed on social media when these people found me and continue to maintain those relationships, I would still hope that that would kind of be an area that would succeed.

Christan Bosley 31:23

Yeah, it's the consistency. Yeah. Thank you. That's what I was looking for because it took me a bit. Most realtors who build their businesses online in one capacity or another tend to be very transactional. Right. So I look at some agents who, you know, 90% of what they're doing is generating new business, new business, new business. And you can see it because their average price isn't climbing up, their repeat business isn't coming. And there's this churn of like new, new, new, new, new, new. And to me, that business is like five times more challenging to maintain consistency with as you grow year over year. What I've always admired about your business, and I do have a bit of an inside track to how you do things because we work together, which is great. But you have kind of the best of both worlds, right? Like when you're looking at your lead funnel and how you're building, yes, you have this content creation that's happening based on your real life experiences, but you're also doing all of the kind of back to basic things that we would tell an agent to do, right? So you're maintaining those relationships, you're growing that connectivity. And so you're getting that repeat and referral business in addition. Exactly.

Anya Ettinger 32:41

And I mean, you definitely are to blame for some of that because from the beginning of our of our meetings together, you would you always talked about the emphasis of maintaining relationships and how important repeat and referral business is. So that I mean, already naturally I was someone that wanted to maintain relationships and was not transactional, but that put a greater emphasis on my thinking of how I can continue to maintain these relationships and continue to provide value to people who maybe bought with me four years ago and don't necessarily have a need for my services, but I still want to be around, you know?

Christan Bosley 33:23

Yeah, it's it's really amazing. So last question on this topic. Okay. If I were a brand new agent and I was coming to you, like, what do I do? I don't know what to do. How do I build business? Where do I start? What's the first thing that you would tell them?

Anya Ettinger 33:43

Think about who your target client, target audience is. What is if you could draw the perfect, the ideal client, who is that? And then take a step back. Where do you find that person? Where do those what do those people do with their time? How can you find a way to, you know, send a message to them and to communicate with them? So I was young when I, I mean, I still am young, but I was very young when I started. And so I was trying to relate to first-time buyers because they were in a similar position to me. I had just bought my first home. I went through it myself. And we were on very similar life paths. And so the people that I was trying to communicate with were people that consumed content on social media. I wouldn't sit here and tell a new agent that social media is the way to go because it's not for everyone. And if you choose to use social media as a lead-generating tool, you need to be prepared to commit a lot of time and energy into it. It is not something you can just do casually. It's not like you can go door knock a street and then not door knock again for another two weeks. It needs to be consistent if you really want to grow. And so don't listen to what everyone else is doing and try to copy it because you think that works. You need to really sit down and figure out who do I want to be communicating to, who do I want to be working with, and how can I find those people? And then you craft your strategy. Amazing.

Closing Questions

Christan Bosley 35:17

Be purposeful. Yeah. Intentional. You've never heard that before. Okay. Amazing. Well, listen, thank you so much. I have five minutes left to ask some closing questions, which in my opinion is my favorite part. Oh, great. Okay. I feel like I might know most of these answers. Are these like a is this like a wrap? It's kind of like a skill testing question for me, though. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So a few fun questions. Yes, rapid fire. Great. Ready? Ready. What's one lesson you learned in your career that you wish you had learned earlier? Oh, stand up for yourself and for your value. Amazing. Thank you. Jack, what brings you joy? Animals? Animals. I knew this.

Anya Ettinger 36:05

You sure did. Dog specifically. I mean, dog specifically, but you may recall for my birthday, Brandon took me to an alpaca farm to walk alpacas. And then last year we went to a goat farm to pet goats.

Christan Bosley 36:17

Okay.

Anya Ettinger 36:18

So really most animals are acceptable to me, but dogs are my favorite.

Christan Bosley 36:22

Okay. All right. What book is on your current reading list? Do you read? Do you read? You digest auditory-wise? What book are you listening to?

Anya Ettinger 36:34

No.

Christan Bosley 36:36

You don't read books? Anya, this is our next, this is our next goal for you. You're gonna join book club. You can do it. You can listen to the book. I listened.

Anya Ettinger 36:46

Chris had me listen to who was it? The the intense guy. Diary of a CEO? No, the ultra-marathon guy. What's his name? David Goggins. Yeah. That was intense. I listened to that. That would have been an intense book to digest audibly.

Christan Bosley 37:02

Audibly.

Anya Ettinger 37:03

Yeah. Yeah. I think also a part of it is because so much of our time is spent doing very serious things and having serious conversations. I like my non-work time to not be serious. So I do really enjoy Amy Polar's podcast. Okay. She's very funny.

Christan Bosley 37:20

She is very funny. I like her a lot. Yeah. Now I'm gonna have to go listen. Absolutely. Although I find that I don't have time to listen to things that make me laugh because I'm generally trying to learn something to teach you. Sorry. That's the that's your pressure. What? Yes, exactly. Um, okay, so Amy Poehler, I'll look into that. If you were asked to give a TED talk like tomorrow, what would your topic be?

Anya Ettinger 37:48

Probably how to stay authentic in a very unauthentic space.

Christan Bosley 37:52

Oh, good answer. Thank you. Yeah, that was an easy one for you. Most people really struggle with that question. Did they?

Anya Ettinger 37:58

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 37:59

Huh.

Anya Ettinger 37:59

Yeah. Or I mean, we did just spend the entire episode talking about it. Being authentic.

Credits

Christan Bosley 38:06

I know. It's true. Most of the time when I ask that question, people will say, like, how to sell real estate? No. No. No, that's not my TED Talk. Okay, well, listen. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. For sharing your story and all the highlights, ups and downs. It's incredibly valuable. Very much appreciate it. And to everyone else, thanks so much for listening. Bye for now. Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might find it valuable. We've got more conversations coming your way with incredible guests across design, finance, wellness, tech, and more. All through the lens of real estate. A special thank you to our set design sponsors, StayTrap.