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Tiffany McQuaid, president of McQuaid and Firm, is among the most progressive and prolific entrepreneurs in the actual property business. Her new e book, The Inth Diploma, which was rated No. 6 on Inman’s must-reads for 2025, is full of inspirational ideas that will help you differentiate your self from the competitors, construct an efficient model, and overcome life’s hardest enterprise and private challenges.
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I first met McQuaid talking on the 2021 NAR NXT convention. Her session was full of progressive advertising and marketing concepts that McQuaid had already put to work in her brokerage, McQuaid and Firm. McQuaid subsequently shared quite a lot of these methods in an Inman article known as “How to upgrade your marketing in 2022.” The ideas in that article are simply as essential in the present day as they had been three years in the past.
A artistic legacy: notebooks stuffed with concepts
McQuaid described how her thoughts is a “ticker tape” of continually streaming artistic ideas. Since she first began capturing these concepts in writing over 15 years in the past, she has created an enormous assortment of notebooks to doc, refine and launch lots of these concepts.
“My notebooks represent my legacy in business. If someone found them, they’d have a blueprint for growth, innovation and success in real estate,” McQuaid stated.
McQuaid’s notebooks aren’t only a testomony to her artistic course of; they’re additionally reminders to brokers about how essential it’s to seize buyer suggestions after which customise their advertising and marketing strategy to finest serve their particular database of shoppers.
Construct your corporation on authenticity
In relation to branding, in the present day’s customers need greater than only a polished emblem and advertising and marketing slogans — they need authenticity. “Authenticity forms the foundation of a strong brand, especially in an industry as competitive as real estate,” McQuaid stated.
“What buyers and sellers really want to know is how you’re going to make their transaction better, how you’re going to be a resource and benefit to them, but most importantly, are you bringing your authentic, absolute best self to help them with the contracts and to negotiate on their behalf.”
3 essential takeaways from The Inth Diploma
In relation to succeeding in in the present day’s market, McQuaid believes information is energy, that authenticity is crucial, and that you could persistently be advertising and marketing regardless of how good or dangerous your market is.
1. Educate your self, after which re-educate
Steady studying is crucial, particularly now with the dearth of stock, excessive rates of interest and modifications as a result of fee litigation.
“Educate, educate and reeducate yourself, because we’ve all heard the analogy or the saying, knowledge is power. That is not only your power, but it’s your value, especially to your buyers and sellers.”
2. Construct an genuine model and keep true to it
“The power of your brand is a combination of who you put yourself out there to be along with your marketing. Please don’t put yourself in a small box,” she urged. “You’re not connectable in a box.”
As an alternative, just be sure you are constant when it comes to each ingredient of your branding. “Remember that your photo and your logo combined with your authenticity, who you are, and what you share, that’s your brand,” McQuaid stated. “It’s important to always stay true to your brand.”
3. The largest mistake brokers make
McQuaid stated that the largest mistake she sees brokers making is their failure to persistently market. “You don’t have to spend a lot of money to market yourself, but you must be present. The biggest mistake I see agents make is that they advertise and put themselves out there when things are good, but then pull back when things are bad,” McQuaid stated.
“It really should be the reverse. Put your intentions and money out there even when things are bad. Do whatever is necessary because when the market shifts and things become good again, everything changes. Whoever is out there will get the business. It’s important for you to get in front of it.”
Going all-in: the right way to push past your consolation zone
McQuaid describes her strategy as “going all-in.” For her, down markets signify one of the best alternative to distinguish her enterprise, whether or not by increasing her location, experimenting with new advertising and marketing avenues, or rebranding to resonate higher with purchasers.
She additionally believes most brokers accept the “status quo” moderately than pushing by way of their consolation zone, which frequently can result in surprising successes. As McQuaid defined:
“When you’re riding the status quo wave and are afraid to upset the apple cart, my ‘fairy godmother,’ Barbara Corcoran once told me, “Tiffany, ignore the naysayers. Anything fresh and innovative makes them uncomfortable, and their intentional job is to clip your wings.”
This strategy has helped McQuaid tune out critics and keep centered on her distinctive imaginative and prescient. She advises brokers:
“When you push through the fear and the status quo and go “all in” on something you do, there’s at all times one thing good on the market for you,” McQuaid stated.
7 keys to success: McQuaid’s ‘in’ ideas
In The Inth Diploma, McQuaid outlines seven ideas that she calls the “In” components. Her seven keys all start with “In” and canopy every part from mindset to motion. These seven parts are
INtrepidness
INvigoration
INtention
INspiration
INgenuity
INcentive
INfluence
they usually can function your private information to a extra purpose-driven profession.
Every key contains numerous facets of our lives, how one can make a distinction on this planet by being a fantastic affect, how one can overcome challenges and difficulties with intrepidness, how one can take heed to your interior information and align your interior being with intention and the right way to do it with just a little little bit of hope, vim, and vigor, with invigoration,” McQuaid stated.
The e book contains thought-provoking questions, prompting brokers to replicate on their objectives, habits, and values. McQuaid views these questions as important checkpoints for brokers who wish to keep centered, motivated, and aligned with their mission.
“The keys help you unlock potential by understanding your motivations and pushing through comfort zones,” McQuaid explains. “They encourage you to operate from a place of intention rather than just following the crowd.”
3 magical mentorship moments
All through her journey, McQuaid has met influential figures who’ve formed her profession, supplied invaluable insights and impressed resilience. Here’s what she has discovered from the three girls who made a significant impression on her life.
McQuaid’s mom
McQuaid’s father died when she was solely 10, and her mom died 21 years in the past. As her mother was battling most cancers, she began conserving a journal for each McQuaid and her sister. Her mom’s journaling resulted within the journaling that McQuaid began doing over 15 years in the past.
“The journals not only brought me comfort but also provided life lessons that shaped my approach to business,” McQuaid stated, “and I incorporated that into my book.”
From McQauid’s perspective, journaling is a strong software that may assist brokers as nicely.
Barbara Corcoran
Along with turning into her “fairy godmother” and serving to McQuaid to grow to be extra resilient, Corcoran “saw something in me that made me want to pay forward the goodness she gave over all this time,” McQuaid stated. “In my book, I share some of the most powerful tips and thoughts that she has shared with me over the years.”
Katy Perry’s ‘firework’ second
Each time McQuaid wished to get motivated, she would play Katy Perry’s track “Firework.” It was her private theme every time she was heading into a gathering or wanted an additional increase.
“I had a magical thing happen at a very, very low moment in my life, and it immediately tied back to that song,” McQuaid defined. “Once I truly had an opportunity to fulfill Katy Perry, we had this unimaginable dynamic. Within the story I share within the e book, I speak about how essential it may be to achieve for the celebs, to only give up, and belief.
Embracing emotional intelligence: Connecting with purchasers on a deeper degree
A key focus in McQuaid’s e book is on emotional intelligence. A key piece of recommendation that she provides her workforce is, “Instead of asking clients what they think about a property, ask how they feel.”
This strategy fosters deeper connections, prompts extra genuine responses about their motivations, and helps brokers to have extra significant and insightful conversations with their purchasers versus asking them solely what they suppose.
McQuaid’s closing piece of recommendation
By no means accept the established order. The trail to true success lies in difficult your consolation zones, nurturing your creativity, and studying from each expertise. All the time bear in mind, McQuaid stated, “Every challenge represents an opportunity for you to go all-in, breakthrough and deliver your personal best.”
Bernice Ross, president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, and the founding father of RealEstateWealthForWomen.com is a nationwide speaker, writer and coach with over 1,500 revealed articles.
