Cold Call - Door Knocking: Safety Tips for Real Estate Agents

In this week's episode of Safe Realty, I talk about old school cold call and door knocking in real estate. 

As real estate agents, we employ a variety of marketing tools to grow our business. Most of us use online resources such as social media or Youtube videos to reach new clients.

Today we will talk about how to safety approach door knocking:

• who knows where you are going

• have a reason to be speaking with the owners, outside of selling them something

• how to deal with upset homeowners or tenants

Even the best plans can have pitfalls, so let's be prepared for the unexpected. 

Grow your business how you feel best suits your personality, goals, and strengths. 

Open House Safety - Part 2: Crimes of Distraction

In this week's episode of Safe Realty, I go further into open house safety as it pertains to the world of real estate. 

Remember the movie Home Alone, when the bad guys are casing a beautiful house just before a family goes away at the holidays, only to break into the home and steal all high end goods? 
This is what bad guys do at realtors® open houses, and not just here on Vancouver Island. 

We will talk about:

•  how casing and distraction crime occurs at a real estate agent's open house

•  how to prevent distraction crime 

•  how to recognize casing

•  how best to prepare your sellers in order to protect their homes for sale.

Listen while you prepare your open house or while showing opens. Share this episode with another real estate agent who you know is out doing business right now!

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Share this with 3 people! The more you share, the more we can help each other stay safe.

Connect with Shannon here:

Watch the podcast on YouTube
Follow Shannon on Instagram
Follow Shannon on LinkedIn
Share your stories on our Facebook Group

Email Shannon at islandscutler@gmail.com

Listen to this episode at your next office meeting. Let's get everyone involved.

Open House Safety: Part 1

How do we manage an open house safely? Outside plates of cookies and take home keychains, we need to ensure we run our open houses with a feeling of ease.

Today I share my top tips and best business practices for your real estate needs at an open house.  From partnering with your sellers, to enlisting neighbours invotlvement, and bringing along big shoes.

I look forward to our conversation today as you will get a ton of value. But I bet you have a tip to share on how you run an open house in your real estate practice... if so please share it with me and the rest of the realtor® community. 

Next time we will delve further into Open House Safety talking about casing, theft, and the distraction technique.

Survivor Mentality: Facing the Unexpected

In this episode of the Safe Realty Podcast, I am  joined by my husband, James Cutler, a retired police officer, to discuss his take on the highest risk situations.

You know when we go for a run, or show a remote property to a sketchy client, or find ourselves alone in a parkade at night with a stranger? What would you do if that person attacked you and the fight for your life was on?  

Today James gets honest and shares a harrowing personal story from his policing career that highlights the critical nature of decision-making in dangerous encounters. The conversation emphasizes the need for mental preparedness, the empowerment that comes from believing in one's ability to survive, and practical techniques for self-defense that anyone can use in a crisis.

We discuss violence and worst case scenarios, so please take care while listening today.

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Share this with 3 people! The more you share, the more we can help each other stay safe.

Connect with Shannon here:

Watch the podcast on YouTube
Follow Shannon on Instagram
Follow Shannon on LinkedIn
Share your stories on our Facebook Group

Email Shannon at islandscutler@gmail.com

Listen to this episode at your next office meeting. Let's get everyone involved.

Women versus Men: Gender Differences In Real Estate Safety

In this weeks' episode of Safe Realty, I discuss the difference of men and women in relation to how they view their own safety. 

Do you think men perceive the same risk to their safety as women? 

Join me today as we have a short conversation about gender differences in safety, and specifically real estate safety. 

You will also hear an alarming story where three male clients hid behind me during a showing. Tune in today to hear that real estate showing story. 

Be safe everyone!

NAR Safety Resources

Gender and Crime Stats

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Share this with 3 people! The more you share, the more we can help each other stay safe.

Connect with Shannon here:

Watch the podcast on YouTube
Follow Shannon on Instagram
Follow Shannon on LinkedIn
Share your stories on our Facebook Group

Email Shannon at islandscutler@gmail.com

Listen to this episode at your next office meeting. Let's get everyone involved.

Finding Your Voice in Self-Defense: This is Fighting Back

In this episode, I discuss the importance of self-defense, what we now call self-protection and that it can mean something different to everyone.

I emphasize the need to listen to your intuition, your spidey senses, and to fight back when necessary. 

We all didn't grow up knowing how to win a street fight, but guess what?! You don't need that to protect yourself.  

I will share some personal experiences that made me realize it was okay to stick up for myself. 

You will learn how to create a scene and make noise to deter potential attackers.

 The conversation aims to empower listeners to take their safety seriously and equip them with practical tools for self-protection.

Let's prevent true crime. That is what this is all about, preventing true crime. We find our voices - by listening to our gut instinct, our intuition, our “spidey sense.” Self-defense is not just for women, it is for men too. And this information is for everyone, not only real estate agents, but anyone who cares about their safety.

Take care when listening to this episode as we do discuss violence and assault. 

Self-Defense and Personal Protection Strategies - How to Fight Back

Meet Staff Sergeant Cathy Hill and Sergeant Heather Partridge of the Vancouver Police Department Women's Personal Safety Team. These two badass officers instruct hundreds of women on personal protection, self-defense, and how to set boundaries that help keep them safer.

Join us today as we discuss the top tips for women's personal safety. Whether you are a real estate agent, or a person who wants to be safer in the world, this episode if for you!

We will talk about how real estate agents keep themselves safe from a self-defence standpoint and situational awareness. We also learn how to change our perspective on self-defence from defending to self-protection. Be okay with setting boundaries, being loud, and empowering yourself to fight back!

Share with a person you care about!

We talk about true crime prevention. This is it.

On IG at VPDWPST:
https://www.instagram.com/vpdwpst/

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Share this with 3 people! The more you share, the more we can help each other stay safe.

Showing Homes - The Next Step. How Real Estate Agents Can Protect Themselves: Part II

Being trapped with intoxicated clients is not ideal. One agent disclosed a close encounter during a meeting he will never forget. 

In this episode of the Safe Realty Podcast, I discuss three essential safety tips for real estate agents during property showings. We take it one step further from last week as we enter the home or property and work through the situations that arise.

The episode also highlights the significance of strategic communication, such as 'little white lies,' to navigate uncomfortable scenarios.

Real estate agents, listen while you drive to your next client meeting or home showing today.

Join next week where we talk to two self-defense experts who specialize in training women to protect themselves.

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Share this with 3 people!

The more you share, the more we can help each other stay safe.

911 What is your emergency? A 911 Operator Insights into Real Estate Agent Safety

In this episode, I speak with Carolyn, a friend and seasoned 911 dispatcher. In fact, she was my emergency dispatcher at one point. Full circle moment. 

What happens when you are with a client, as a real estate agent, and find yourself in dangerous situation, but unable to speak. How do you tell the 911 operator how to help you? Find out today.

As a real estate agent in an emergency, what do we do? When do we call 911? And if we call 911 what happens next?  We also talk about what constitutes an emergency (not your dinner reservations that are cancelled), how to handle accidental calls, and the technology used in dispatching. Carolyn shares humorous anecdotes from her years of experience, emphasizing the human side of dispatching and the need for patience and kindness during emergencies.

Do not order pizza as a means of a 'code' for an emergency.

Carolyn says, "when in doubt, phone."  Be kind, be patient, be clear! 

Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Share this with 3 people! The more you share, the more we can help each other stay safe.

Connect with Shannon here:
Watch the podcast on YouTube
Follow Shannon on Instagram
Follow Shannon on LinkedIn
Share your stories on our Facebook Group
Email Shannon at islandscutler@gmail.com

Listen to this episode at your next office meeting. Let's get everyone involved.