Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Lambros Demos, Local Real Estate Agent & Expert in Mississauga, Ontario, recently wrote an international best selling book, Referral Secrets, to teach agents how to grow their business through relationships and referrals in their community.
Click here to get the ebook for FREE
Best quote from his story: “What many people don’t realize is that this business is not about houses, it is about people, so building relationships is the key to success.”
Lambros’ business philosophy: “Going the extra mile” is my motto but it’s more than just a tagline. It is how I run my business. In fact, it’s the only way I know how to do business.”
Testimonials.
We highly recommend Lambros. He was able to help educate us throughout the entire process from listing our home to helping us find our dream home without us having to compromise our wants and needs. Lambros is very professional and takes the extra steps to ensure you are protected with the biggest investment of your life, his honesty is very refreshing in today’s world. ~ Heather & Tony N.
Lambros came highly recommended by family friends for his professionalism and honesty. Lambros helped us buy the home of our dreams and sell our home under challenging circumstances. The buying process was stressful and competitive, but Lambros helped us stay grounded, calm, and stand out among other buyers. Lambros also did the same while selling our home with the added challenge of a stay-at-home order. Within two weeks we had bought a house and sold our home and, while anxiety-inducing, was as smooth as can be with Lambros’s guidance and calm demeanor. He knows what he is doing and is so great at his job. We would recommend him to anyone! ~Rick & Roberta P.
After listening to testimonials and seeing the results from friends and neighbors we asked Lambros to sell our home. This guy was amazing! Communication was key. He heard us when we were describing our needs and goals. He was hands-on and assisted us with supplies to pack and declutter. Lambros then arranged a home inspection to list the repairs required and supply a Certified Resale Home Warranty. He then arranged a stager to suggest improvements that would maximize the value in our house. With a little effort, we listed our home. Six days later we had over 60 viewings, resulting in multiple offers and selling over asking price. I would highly recommend Lambros to sell your home and like us, help fulfill your retirement dreams. ~ Dan & Sue C.
More about Lambros
Lambros Bryan Demos is a seasoned and award-winning Real Estate Broker who helps his clients navigate through the noise and frenzy of the current real estate market so they can win every time they buy or sell a home.
Lambros regularly creates relevant content for social media, and hosts live shows and seminars (both in-person and virtual) targeting investors, first-time home buyers, and downsizing seniors. He is a top producer in his organization, consistently ranking among the top 10% in the country (out of 20,000+ agents).
Passionate about his community and giving back. Lambros is among the top donors of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, organizes an annual charity soccer tournament for ALS Canada, and regularly spotlights and supports local businesses on social media.
For his expertise, Lambros has appeared on-air as a guest speaker on CHTO AM 1690 and CHIN FM 91.9 in Toronto, been interviewed on local television, quoted and interviewed in Authority Magazine, MSN.com, several podcasts, and been a repeat guest on Ticker | NEWS, a premier international news streaming network viewed over 2.2 million times per month.
Interview with Lambros Demos in the Greater Toronto Area
What’s up everyone!
Welcome to another episode of Become A Local Leader!
On today’s show, we have Lambros Demos, one of the authors in the new real estate business book Referral Secrets.
A book that features stories of 23 top-producing agents who describe how they built their businesses through relationships and referrals. And how they have become more than just a realtor in their community.
Lambros shares how he combines his passions into his real estate business to make it more fun and he also talks about going above and beyond to get people to know you and trust you. He likes to create a “Wow” memorable experience in a competitive market.
He has to figure out how to stand out, how to differentiate, and how to connect with people better than his competition as he is in one of the most competitive markets in North America.
What is your main message to agents out there on how to be successful in this business and have a great career what would it be?
I can sum it down to three words – Talk to People. Get out there and start talking to people, face to face or on the phone. Social media has its benefits, texting is great but if you really want to build relationships you have to actually talk to people.
What is your preferred way of starting a conversation and what to talk about?
That’s a great question. I grew up as an introvert. Shy by nature. Everyone used to say that Lambros is so quiet. So I really had to work at getting out there and talking to people and opening myself up to that. What I found was that the more I listened and interested in the other party, the better the conversation went and the more interested they became in chatting with me. One of my coaches said this to me “Be the most interested person in the room not the most interesting person in the room.” Introduce yourself and ask the other person genuine questions about themselves and people love talking about themselves. That’s how you start the conversations.
Do you use the phone a lot, do you text a lot, do you go to events? What’s the method by which you get to talk to a lot of people?
Early on in my career, I was using the phone and I was making a lot of cold calls. Then I started door-knocking in person, that was a lot easier. It’s more natural face-to-face. I prefer in-person, whether it’s at an event or somebody in the elevator, where ever you are meeting somebody, just start a conversation. It’s not as hard as you think. A lot of people are intimidated by it. As long as you find something interesting about that person, ask them about it, you don’t know where it might lead.
What are your suggestions to spark a conversation?
Keep it simple. Introduce yourself. Depending on the event, I go up to somebody and say “Hi, I’m Lambros, what’s your name?”. Depending on their answers, you keep asking them questions like “What brings you here? What do you do?”
How and why did you get into real estate?
My mother was in real estate back in the late 80s and 90s. It was a tough time, interest rates were sky-high, and prices were going down. I was old enough to appreciate what she was doing. Because I saw how hard she worked and sometimes she would take me out with her to look at houses, so I was always interested in real estate from that perspective. Then I veered off in another direction, I went into health care. After 15 years in health care, I was ready for something else. Real estate was a natural transition for me. I took the courses. At that time there were three courses to take, and I completed all of them within 4 months. I got my license right away and hit the ground running.
Are there any lessons you picked up from your mum being in the industry in the 80s, that you are thinking about now because we are in a world where interest rates are climbing, and prices are starting to soften? What are you thinking about for your business moving into the next 3 to 5 years?
How hard she worked. She was always on the phone or running about the office or in her car driving to appointments, she was nonstop. I learned from that. This business may appear easy on the outside, but the reality is unless you work hard, there is no easy money in real estate.
What has surprised you in real estate? What was harder than you thought, or easier than you thought?
I didn’t realize how competitive the industry is and I didn’t realize the perception of real estate agents by the general public. Growing up, I saw my mum as a real estate agent, obviously, I love my mum and respect her, so I always respected the profession from her perspective as well. I saw it as a service industry. I didn’t perceive it as a salesperson. When I was studying, they said you are going to be a salesperson. I said I don’t want to be a salesperson, I don’t like sales, why am doing this? I approach it from a service perspective. I decided to provide a service to my clients. All I wanted to do was help them sell and buy homes. As I got into the industry former acquaintances and clients from healthcare distanced themselves from me. It wasn’t the same after I left healthcare and told them that I was going into real estate. They got cold all of a sudden.
What did you do about that? I think a lot of agents experience something similar when they get into real estate and they reach out to people to let them know what they are doing now and how they can help and realize that their relationships are weaker. How did you turn them around or get over it so you still had success?
I didn’t necessarily turn them around. I respected their decision. Some of them ghosted me, which is crazy because I had a really good relationship with them, so when I reached out and they never replied, I reached out through a letter, email, and phone call and they wouldn’t get back to me. I was disappointed but I had to move on.
How do you segway into that real estate conversation?
I try not to talk about real estate right off the bat. I like to build a relationship first and if they bring up real estate, by all means, I’m jumping in. People are interested in the current market and home prices. Everybody has their own opinion. I discovered not to change someone’s mind or sell yourself right off the bat. Firstly build that relationship. If they want to do business with you, they will have to get to know you, like you, and trust you. My only goal is to build that relationship and have a second conversation with them. Maybe get their phone number, get their email and reach out to them at some point again.
You had this quote in your chapter “If they like you, they will listen to you, if they trust you they will buy from you, but if you give them a great experience they will never ever leave you” What are some ways you create experiences for people who have not been your customer yet and when they are your customer what are some things you do to amplify the experience?
I love in-person events. Prior to Covid, we were doing a lot of in-person events. I was having bowling parties, renting out a room, and having catered parties, live music, and photos with Santa, we were doing all kinds of things for our clients. It was called a client appreciation event. At that point, you get to interact with the people, and you ask them to bring their families. You give them a great experience. At the end of the season, regardless of how you did, give them a party at the end of the year. It’s about going the extra mile and doing things for the client will really endear yourself to them. How you do one thing is how people think you do everything. The idea is to give everybody a great experience because it will all come back to you.
One of the phrases I love is “Everything is marketing and marketing is everything”. The words, texts, the way you show up, and your energy is part of the marketing of yourself. You get this one opportunity to create an initial experience and it’s important they like it.
To give you another example, I sent out a monthly newsletter, and in that newsletter, I shoot a video. I make it a little bit funny or show graphs and gifs just to give them a better experience while watching the video and getting updated on the market at the same time.
What are some mistakes that you made that you learned from as you grew your business?
Not following up with people and taking things for granted. I assumed that people would work with me. It’s not that easy. If you don’t follow up with people, they may not even remember you a month later. A lot of agents make the mistake of not following up with people and staying in touch with them.
What other mistakes have you seen other people do that you want to bring up?
Maybe not being honest with a client. Especially in a market like we are in right now, where house prices are coming down month by month. It’s better, to be honest with them and be upfront with them about the market.
What are the things you invest your time and money into that help grow your business?
Since Covid, I have shifted to more online and really trying to have a presence on social media and online. I have invested in myself learning how to put out social media content, learning how to edit my videos so I can capture attention and give myself more presence online, and educating myself, that way in turn I can educate my client.
What have been some of the sources? Do you have any specific sources of great learning, skill development, and information?
Real estate magazines, online influences and I belong to an entrepreneur group. I go to masterminds as well, which helps with self-improvement not just real estate focus. I’m always taking online courses, with respect to social media.
Another thing you talked about in your chapter about spending your time is your involvement with schools, local businesses, and charities. Why do you spend with these groups and how has it helped your business?
I’m a big believer in giving back. I do love soccer. I have always been one to give to charity whether it’s money or time. Prior to Covid, I got together with one of my friends and colleagues who lost his dad to ALS and put together a soccer tournament to raise funds and awareness for ALS. It’s about giving back to the community and doing some good.
Does the involvement with the schools and charities help you get more clients?
I’ll rephrase the question for you. Have I got clients from doing this? The answer is yes.
I want to encourage agents to listen to have faith. These stories in the book show that if you go out there to serve, you go out there to contribute and to do good and that will make you feel good, which is what it is ultimately about. It will check the box and help you with the business.
Who can I help today is my goal, not how can I make money today.
Why do you think agents should pick up this book?
Because of the variety. Everybody has put out some great nuggets of information. I can’t wait to read it myself just to see what everyone else said.
Agents need to develop relationships with other agents potentially join other people’s teams, and get mentorship, and accountability. Referral-generating relationships are big in this industry. People to bounce ideas off of and connect with because you are in the trenches together. So if people resonate with you and the way you do business and your story, how can they get in contact with you?
The best way is through my website. Demosrealestate.ca and from there all my social medial links are available. I have Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I also have a YouTube channel, I am trying to grow my audience there. Or back to basics, just give me a call.
How to contact Lambros
Lambros B. Demos, SRES
Broker
Royal LePage Realty Plus
416-520-0222