Suzy French and Kate Baird are a mother and daughter team who decided to open their own business in real estate. They share their secrets for how they’ve been ranked Top 3 in Long & Foster’s Sterling office for the last few years by utilizing one another’s strengths.
French and Co is a wildly successful real estate agency in Northern Virginia that utilizes unique approach to client acquisition that has paid off in a big way. Despite their incredible success consistently ranking on top in Long & Foster’s Sterling, Virginia offices, Suzy French and Kate Baird have kept their focus on the day in, day out work it takes to make their clients happy and put keys in the hands of homebuyers.
“I’m native to the area, and my mom has lived here for almost 40 years,” Kate introduces French and Co. “We know the area like the back of our hand(s), and as a small team we have the flexibility and strength of being a team while giving clients the individual attention they would receive from an individual realtor.”
In fact, this dynamic duo has found that the small-team approach to assisting clients has been a key factor in their success. “As mother and daughter, we work really closely together and have an open line of communication that comes naturally to us,” Kate says. She goes on to explain that keeping the business in the family allows them to offer clients all the attention to detail and availability that individual real estate agents are desired for, while also being able to use their work as a team to benefit their clients bottom line.
In fact, using their unique partnership has been a great tool to relating to homebuyers of all ages.
A Multi-Generational Team For Homebuyers Of All Ages
Suzy French launched herself into real estate in 2002 after living in her community for over thirty years, utilizing her vast knowledge of the area as well as her relationships with local homebuyers to begin her business as a real estate agent. Due to this approach, her client base grew exponentially and it became clear to Suzy that it was time to bring on a partner. Who better to follow in her footsteps than her own daughter?
When Kate Baird graduated college, she originally began her professional career in web design, but she was never forgot how much she had loved helping with her mother’s business as a child. “I was really bit by the bug of entrepreneurship, and was really excited to apply some of the marketing techniques I had learned working for myself to my mom's business. It had grown to an unsustainable size for one person, and our complimentary skills made me joining her business a natural fit.”
Long before their partnership began, Kate helped her mother by attending open houses, doing her online and social media marketing, and designing brochures. “I knew most of her clients and she often told me stories from her current transactions,” Kate recalls.
Now as a team that features a representative from both millennial and baby boomer generations, Suzy and Kate have found that they are able to connect with a wide breadth of clients and homebuyers than ever before. Whether dealing with first-time homebuyers or those buying and selling their fourth or fifth home, French and Co. is able to relate with each and every client and develop friendships that will later turn in to referrals.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median age of all realtors is 53 years old. With over two million active real estate licensees in the US, skewing to a significantly younger market by bringing a twenty-something real estate agent on board is a perfect example of how to target your audience and increase relatability.
These generational differences don’t only extend to interacting with clients, however. Varying opinions on marketing strategies is a common roadblock to many real estate agents who are trying to attract new clients, which makes perfect sense since promotional efforts are absorbed differently by viewers in every age group.
French and Co. believes this gap can be bridged through compromise and embracing one another’s strengths. “For us, it comes naturally because we are in different age brackets,” Suzy explains. “However, becoming an expert in your market transcends different kinds of buyers and sellers, so that has worked really well for us.”
This mother/daughter duo describe each other as having complementary skills that not only make them a great fit in business, but allows them to reach and assist a wide range of homebuyers.
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Having A Passion for People Is Key
Now, Suzy and Kate have centered their business around one defining characteristic—clients. “We really focus on building a relationship with our clients,” Kate explains. “Many of our clients are people we have a preexisting relationship with, but if they come to us by way of referral or some other method, we try to connect with them in a personal way.”
In fact, the majority of their business and client base are solely from referrals—a practice this mother/daughter team has worked hard to cultivate.
“There are a ton of ways to get business in real estate, like farming a neighborhood, cold calling, getting buyers at open houses, etc. We work by referral, which we love because we find that there is already an existing level of trust with our clients since they know us or were recommended to us by someone they know,” Suzy states. “Having the clients’ trust is so important in our business.”
“We spend 90% of our marketing efforts on building relationships and providing value to our past clients and community so that they will continue to use us and spread the word to the people that they know,” Kate further explains, agreeing with her mother’s approach to prioritizing clients.
“I strive to create a personal relationship with each of my clients,” Suzy gushes with pride. “I love what I do!” This passion is not lost on her clients who praise French and Co. for their personable approach and knowledgeable expertise. “Suzy made the whole experience one that has been enjoyable and positive,” a former client exclaimed.
Another client lauded this real estate duo, stating “I not only call them lifetime family/friends, they are hands down the top in their profession with customer satisfaction and professionalism.” Such high acclaim can certainly only be found with real estate agents who exemplify their mottos of integrity, professionalism, and attention to deal, as French and Co. describe on their website.
With a target clientele of their own community, friends, and family, Suzy and Kate clearly have mastered the ability to network their way to the top of the pack.
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To continue bringing in referrals, marketing and social media is a must for any real estate agent and company.
Social Media Isn’t Only An Introduction, It’s a Reminder
Gaining a client doesn’t just start and end with buying and selling houses to referrals. In fact, social media and digital marketing are key building blocks in both gaining, keeping, and reacquiring home buyers, according to French and Co.
“Social media serves us really well by putting us in front of the people who already know us,” Kate admits. “One of the challenges of working by referral is simply getting past clients and friends to remember to recommend you, social media is a great way to remind them that you are out there, working for them.”
Being front and center in a client’s mind is key to bringing in future referrals and acquiring positive reviews.
Forbes describes many of the marketing methods Suzy and Kate use as bulletproof real estate marketing ideas, including building a website, being active on social media (especially Instagram), and building a network of referrals.
Posting on social media is a great way to remind previously happy clients to spread the word, but it’s also a way to gain new clients and give potential homebuyers a peek into who Suzy and Kate are. “We try to post on Facebook and Instagram regularly, and I’ve really enjoyed playing around with Instagram stories to show quick snippets of our day,” Kate exclaims excitedly, showcasing their carefully curated Instagram page.
Not only can digital marketing increase French and Co.’s presence in their local market, but it allows them to celebrate with their clients on one of the happiest days of their lives by featuring their sales and successes. Posting about recently sold properties, smiling homebuyers holding a new set of keys, or their work within the community allows Suzy and Kate a chance to celebrate with their clients and now, friends.
However, it’s not all smooth sailing and celebrations on social media for French and Co. “The only time we have discrepancies sometimes is when it comes to what to post on Facebook or not, which I think is due to our age difference,” Suzy admits. “Instead of having a team page, we just use our individual profiles and that comes in handy in those times because it gives us each the opportunity to have our own voice.”
Suzy’s enthusiasm for real estate is certainly evident on her Facebook page, as well as on their newly designed website and flyers.
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To Post or Not to Post? And Other Marketing Dilemmas
Like anything in life, there is a downside to digital, paper, and in-person marketing—saturation. As real estate agents, French and Co. finds themselves worrying about when it’s too much. “In hopes of not being too pushy, sometimes we air on the side of being too laid back,” Suzy admits, though that lax approach can also come with its own downside of potential lost sales.
Finding that balance between selling your business to potential clients—or deterring them—is an incredibly delicate line to walk. While they need to constantly promote online and encourage referrals, they always run the risk of angering or dissuading clients who don’t respond to the hard sell approach. Similarly, if they go for a softer approach, they might miss out on client’s who wanted that small push, or risk current clients feeling ignored.
“We’re always working on ways to let our client base know that we are always interested in working with them and asking for their referrals, in a way that feels natural for us,” Suzy explains the key to finding the balance between these two extremes.
This strategy can easily be seen on their separate Facebook profiles, which both highlight their personal styles, voices, and interests while still sharing similar values and goals.
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Staying True to Yourself Leads to Authentic Success
Despite their many differences, Suzy French and daughter Kate Baird have perfected pairing digital promotions with word-of-mouth marketing in order to create a strong, successful business that emphasizes a client-first approach in every transaction. Both women choose modes of advertising that comes naturally to who they are, and what they’d want to see and feel if they were in the client’s shoes. This authenticity then leads to developing rapport and trust with clients, as well as reducing the possible stress of working in a high stakes field like real estate.
Utilizing fantastic graphics, stunning photography, strong branding, and their unfailing reputation as loyal, attentive, and friendly real estate agents, French and Co. is truly a standard to follow for all real estate agents.
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