Sometimes, when Elizabeth Moyer tells people she’s in real estate, they apologize and perhaps steer the conversation away from what they consider a current “downer” profession. Yet, Moyer says one of her big things is to keep positive and encourage others to be positive about the real estate profession.
“I think there is a lot of negative talk about what is going on with the real estate market, and I think the biggest thing you can do is to stay positive, stay focused and stay on track. Things will pick up, and you just have to have a positive attitude about it,” Moyer says.
In choosing this career path, Moyer has chosen to make this her job. This means reminding herself some days to get out of bed and get moving, even if there is no technical boss to report to. Moyer also meets with a consultant and Keller Williams coach twice a month who helps to guide Moyer through her work, keep her on track and help her figure out what is important. From this guidance, Moyer knows that this is an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, she’s the one she reports to, and she’s working for her and her family’s interests.
Moyer has lived in Chattanooga her entire life, graduating from Red Bank High school and then the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from the interior design program. After the birth of her son, she did part-time work from home with a company out of Atlanta and did loan processing and loan originating. Once Moyer got into doing this type of work, she began thinking that it made sence for her to go into real estate with her degree in design and her understanding of finance to back her up.
Using her past skills on her current profession is something Moyer enjoys. From making sure her clients are getting a good program and working with a good lender, to talking with clients in a home with atrocious wallpaper and carpet about their options to not be stuck with these features, she enjoys it all.
“The big thing, too, is that [real estate] allows me is to make my own schedule and to be flexible so I can do what is really important to me, and that’s to be involved at school and be a mommy,” Moyer says.
Moyer was on the Agent Leadership Council for Keller Williams and Chaired the Market Center Culture Committee last year, and is still involved in real estate volunteer work through her marketing role with the Women’s Council of Realtors.
She also volunteers at the Bright School, where her six-year-old son goes, as a room mom, helping out with teacher appreciation and other activities. Moyer is also working on next year’s activities at the school and plans even more involvement next year.
“It’s been a great way for me to get to know some of the other families and gently remind them of what I do, and that’s been nice this year to not be so consumed with real estate,” she says.
When Moyer finished real estate school, her husband told her that she should talk with Keller Williams because he saw them as being a good fit for her. Moyer soon agreed, and loves the family atmosphere of Keller Williams that affords her the help and support to call anyone in the office to take care of her business if she is unable to come in for the day. Moyer says the training is also top notch, and she appreciates the constant help for Realtors along their way.
Another big thing to staying positive and keeping focused is to maintain her sphere of influence, she says.
“It’s about that one-on-one communication and staying in contact with the people I know. Even if it’s just a small group that I keep in that constant communication of remembering them on their birthday and anniversary or if they have kids, calling and checking in on them, or inviting them to lunch or coffee. It’s about keeping that line of communication open and reminding them gently when you do that ‘I am still in real estate, and do you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell?’” Moyer says.
Facebook has also been a blessing for Moyer to keep in contact and reconnect with people from high school that still live in town or have moved away but are relocating back to the area.
“I’m actually meeting some people I went to junior high and high school with today to show houses to, and it’s because we’ve been friends on Facebook and kept in contact and they know I’m in real estate,” Moyer says. “Keeping that friendship, staying in touch and being sincere about it, and not in their face [saying] ‘I’m a Realtor,’ is a big thing to me.”
Learning Facebook was trial and error for Moyer, and at the past two annual Keller Williams conferences her focus, from the multitude of classes to pick from, has been social networking. She went to all the classes on social networking and tried to pull a few tidbits from each, and the basic classes that the Realtor’s association offers helps Realtors get started in learning how to use Facebook, Moyer says. The main thing to remember on soc-ial media is to remain consistent.
Moyer has committed to making three Facebook posts a day, and not just about real estate, but also about herself, her life and funny thing that happen to her. She says once a day she may post a comment about real estate, but not in a way that’s asking anyone to give her anything, she says.
One thing is for sure: when people ask Moyer her profession, she makes sure to give them a confident grin and proudly say she’s a Realtor.