We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stacy Massar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stacy below.
Stacy, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?
They say in real estate when things get slow to plan vacation! It’s very true how it always seems to work out that when I have a trip planned suddenly people call me ready to sell or buy. I call these good problems! In 2022 our family traveled on 3 very different trips and we made it to 3 new countries and 6 new states with multiple types of trips.
My 14 year old daughter, Reagan is on a mission to see all 50 states before she graduates high school. We have 20 states to go and 4.5 years left to do it in. Our family had a motorhome as a kid and I always talked about how much fun we had so my husband, Ben and I thought it would be fun to rent one for this trip and see America on the road. It was an amazing 10 days and we even brought our 1 year old Bernedoodle Penny along for the ride. We started in Texas and went thru Oklahoma and Kansas where we spent the first night. Then we went thru Nebraska and made it to South Dakota to see the Badlands. We climbed and walked all over this beautiful state park. Then we did Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Deadwood before heading to Wyoming to see Devils Tower. Next we went north thru Montana and then headed east to North Dakota to Medora, which was a very cute town we’d go back again to see. I was disappointed we didn’t see Custer State Park in SD so we went back to South Dakota on the way home and it was my favorite place we stopped. We got to see buffalo roam and even did a Jeep tour and a traditional cowboy chuckwagon dinner. We had many instances of, “what were we thinking” and “are we there yet” along the way, but overall it was great family time with playing cards at night, cooking out for our meals, meeting people from all over the country and seeing our beautiful country! This was my husband’s favorite trip of the year.
Then in October our school district added a fall break. I decided to take advantage of it and check off another one of Reagan’s bucket list things to see. She wanted to see the Northern Lights. One sleepless night I was up doing research and in the morning I asked my husband what he thought of going to Iceland. He laughed, but is always supportive of my crazy ideas. The booking began and we wound up spending the first week of October in Iceland for an unforgettable time. We got to know the culture, the people, the language is impossible but intriguing and the food was unique too. I will be alright if I never eat fermented shark again! The waterfalls were incredible, the glaciers, volcanos, the black sand beach, the little churches in every town and the sheep were everywhere. I fell in love with Iceland and their culture and beliefs of “the little people”, Gnomes, fairies and elves are a big part of their culture and I now know way too much about about the topic. Iceland was my favorite trip of the year!
Christmas we vacationed again and this time I left it up to my family to decide. My husband loves to cruise and my daughter has never been. I get motion sickness so this was not my choice of transportation, but we went on a 6 night Celebrity Cruise to Key West, Cozumel Mexico and Grand Cayman. My husband was thrilled on the ship, my daughter settled in like she’s been cruising her life and I surprisingly did great. We got to see new places in a short period of time! In Key West we did Hemmingway’s House, Sloopy Joe’s Bar and took the trolly ride around the town. In Cozumel we did a cooking class with a local chef and made a 3 course authentic meal that was incredible. Then we went to the Mayan ruins and a local tequila ranch. In Grand Cayman we went snorkeling and to Sting Ray City to hold and meet sting rays. It was an incredible experience and this was my daughter’s favorite trip.
When we vacation we do get busier and thankfully I have a team of amazing real estate agents who can handle anything that comes up while I’m gone. We try to plan a trip each quarter of the year. This year we got 3 major trips in and I’m shooting for 4 in 2023. Travel is how we learn to understand people, how we learn more about ourselves and also how we learn compassion for others. I want my daughter to see the world, explore, learn, grow and never stop!
As a business owner traveling used to be stressful, but with the right team and setting the right expectations with clients its no longer as stressful as it once was. I have learned over the years how to prepare myself, my clients and my team for our trips. Travel is an escape from reality for short periods of time. Travel is necessary to me to unwind in a place without chores at home or good internet. The cruise was the best trip for actually “checking out” from work. I did work a lot on the road trip because I was so accessible. Iceland I barely worked because the team had it all handled and I easily said, “I’m out of the country.”
I feel that if we just work for the sake of working we will burn out. I work to save up to see the world and experience it with my family. The memories we make are truly priceless! Time to get to planning trip for 2023.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I fell into real estate when I moved from south Texas to southern California during the school year. I was a high school English teacher and when we moved in the fall I wasn’t able to find a job teaching so while looking for a home to purchase I wound up also finding a job and a calling. It was a twist in my life I wasn’t expecting and I recently hit 19 years in the industry and it still seems like it was meant to be!
Over my 19 years I’ve met hundreds of agents. I’ve learned from them what I want to emulate and what I want to avoid. I’ve never worked for the commission. I’ve always worked for the client and their best needs. I serve my clients-they don’t serve me. I feel this standard of service and mentality has helped make me successful. My clients know I’m there for them and once the transaction is over I don’t disappear. I am their real estate agent for life!
Over the years I’ve enjoyed so many types of buyers, but in the last few years I have been a part of many divorce situations. I have been able to successfully get divorcing couples on the same page and get the best outcomes for the lives moving forward. In 2012 I was divorced and this experience while difficult has truly helped me have empathy for my clients going through divorce. I can assist in an understanding way and bring more value to families and couples going down this path. I enjoy the difficult situations because I feel I can help with first hand knowledge.
Veterans have also been a very rewarding clientele. I was previously a military wife and I remember moving around a lot is this experience has helped me to connect and plug in my military families in our community. When these families come to me they are looking for a house, but I feel I can help them establish their family in community. I help connect these families to new friends, local churches, sports programs and make sure to say in touch and meet up for lunch throughout the year.
When the house is sold and my families move in I maintain a relationship over the years and continue to support them with advise, property taxes, renovations and repairs after closing. I believe my job goes well beyond the closing day and I feel extremely honored when chosen to work for a family!
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
My most effective strategy for growing my clientele is honestly just being myself, being involved in my community and a desire to help. I don’t do door knocking or cold calls and I don’t spend money buying leads. I meet new people and connect with them through groups or interests we have in common. I try to work off referrals and connections. When you genuinely are invested in a group and want to serve others you will make new friends and connections and it may turn into future business. If your main purpose of being in a particular group is business it doesn’t work. I have let groups go and added new ones that fit who I am and the type of people I’d like to serve and work with,
My past clients serve as a great way to grow through their referrals and truly serving them at the highest level often results in a referral and from there it just keeps going!
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
I think my favorite part of being in real estate is the client relationship. We have to work together as a team to accomplish their goal of either buying or selling a home. When the process is done there often times is a bit of a mourning process. When you’re so heavily involved with a family and then the transaction is over you miss them and the daily connections. I didn’t like that feeling.
I have created a group I call the Massar Real Estate Family and I host events throughout the year to see my past clients. I have done all kinds of events through the years but some of my favorites are our annual margarita party we host every February, holiday family photos, Thanksgiving pie event, Santa photos and a back to school branch for moms. I have so many more ideas for events and I hope to add a new one this year.
I also do “pop-bys” and leave little goodies on my client door step a few times a year. It might be pencils for back to school, beach balls for summer or just popcorn and candy, but I want my clients to know I always think of them even when our deals are over. Staying connected to past clients is one of my favorite parts-it lets me be creative and brings just a little bit of joy to our families throughout the year!
Contact Info:
- Website: MassarRealtyGroup.com
- Instagram: @massarrealtygroup
- Facebook: Massar Realty Group with Fathom Realty
- Twitter: @StacyMassar