They are the visionaries, the forward-thinking, the stubborn, the obsessed, the tech-savvy, the creative minds always pushing boundaries. They are entrepreneurs pushing the old ways aside, data scientists discovering new ways to examine behavior, marketers inventing new ways to showcase properties, agents developing new ways to reach clients, companies building new technologies, brokerages creating whole new ways of doing business. They are the Inman Innovator Finalists, and theyâre leading us into the future of real estate.
Heâs an entrepreneur who made himself into a media brand. Sheâs an agent who landed a $20 million listing after just a year in the business. Itâs a company that developed an augmented-reality tool to show prospective buyers what an interior-decorated home might look like — during a showing, on their phones. Theyâre all finalists.
âWe are honored to celebrate so much creativity and invention,â said Inman publisher Brad Inman. âNever in the history of the Innovator Awards has there been so much innovation and, therefore, never has our list of finalists been so large — these are exciting times.â
This is our 4th nomination for an Inman Innovator Award and we are truly thrilled, said, “Raj Qsar,” Founder & Owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group. What we are doing is truly impacting real estate on a global scale and helping our agents and clients succeed.
Who will win? The 2017 Inman Innovators will be revealed at Inman Connect in San Francisco the week of August 7-11, 2017, followed by the not-to-be-missed party thatâll wrap up Inman Connect San Francisco and celebrate the Inman Innovators.
June 6th, 2017 â Raj Qsar, owner/principal of The Boutique Real Estate Group in Orange County, California shares his unique journey into the real estate profession. Unique is an appropriate term, as no other guest has traveled the path Raj details. I donât want to spoil the surprise, so tune into Episode 97 of The Real Estate Sessions and enjoy.
Raj Qsar is the principal/owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group and spends much of his time traveling to far flung destinations educating those in the real estate industry on the finer points of effectively using technology and social media.
The Southern California-based influencer will take the stage during Inmanâs Indie Broker Summit on Monday, August 7 to address brokers from across the country on how to strategically think about their technology choices in their own practices.
We caught up with Raj to get his take on the advantages of being an independent broker and what other indies should watch out for in the coming year.
What do you see as the biggest benefit to being an independent broker?
Ability to adapt, change and execute quickly and the freedom to create & curate stories from the ground up.
What are your best tips and tricks for building your client base?
Real life networking and using technology to become more efficient.
What do you see as the most important trends (good or bad) that independent brokers should be keeping an eye on in the coming year?
Good: The merging of multiple techs into one platform.
Bad: So much âcopyingâ and not enough creation.
Always doing it right, thinking downstream and focusing on connections are the keys to success
Be prepared for and willing to hustle 24/7 for your clients.
Make decisions with your future in mind. Think about how taking a listing you don’t want now can benefit you later.
Success in real estate comes down to the personal connections you make, so get out and network.
Recently, Raj Qsar â the principal/owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group â composed an intriguing and inspirational post on the Facebook group Lab Coat Agents about how a listing for a leased property, which he made no initial profit from, snowballed into at least 11 subsequent sales, countless connections and increased visibility over the course of the past three years.
So, how can agents replicate the success that Qsar gained from an âundesirableâ listing? He says itâs all about hustling and âdoing it right.â Here are some of his tips on how to get your hustle on:
Be prepared and willing to hustle 24/7
Qsar said one of the first questions he asks potential hires is âWhat is your hustle like?â He looks for agents who have the natural drive to build face-to-face connections rather than those who prefer to stay cooped up in an office all day.
These type of agents are harder to find, Qsar said, because many professionals in the business think that becoming a top producer is an overnight process.
âMost people think they can show up, do some social media posts and all of a sudden theyâre going to be a top agent in their area,â he says. âItâs not like that. You have to meet people where they are.â
âWeâre able to look the tenant and the tenantâs agent in the eye, weâre able to open the door for them, make sure the beds are made, the lights are on, the music is playing, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming.â â Raj Qsar
Qsar says agents must realize that real estate is a total hustle. âYou wake up hustling, during the day youâre hustling and you go to bed hustling, and then you dream about hustling,â he says.
So, what is the hustle? Qsar says it comes down to never saying âno,â executing each listing the right way and always putting your best foot forward.
âEven on million-dollar listings, if agents can take a reduced commission or they feel like itâs overpriced or whatever, theyâre not going to put their best foot forward,â he said. âThatâs just too bad that theyâre not thinking downstream. âCause the world is able to see anything that we drop on the Internet, and who knows what opportunity that will bring. Itâs all downstream.â
Always do it right
Qsar says he knew he wasnât going to make any money from the initial lease listing, but he decided to take the opportunity anyway.
He invested in professional photos and brochures, staging, a single-property website and even ordered custom signs that were up to the neighborhoodâs code.
In addition to stellar marketing strategies, Qsar provided five-star customer service through appointment-only showings.
âWeâre able to look the tenant and the tenantâs agent in the eye; weâre able to open the door for them, make sure the beds are made, the lights are on, the music is playing, the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming,â he says with a laugh. âWeâre driving, taking time out of our day to make sure we can open the door for someone we donât even know. Thatâs doing it right.â
Think downstream
Qsar says he treated the leased property like a million-dollar listing to âgive the client the best chance of success.â Plus, he knew that his current efforts would lead to future rewards.
âWhat we preach at our brokerage is that itâs all about downstream. Youâre not taking a listing for this listing, youâre taking it for the next listing,â he says. âYouâre taking a listing for the digital content youâre going to produce, and youâre taking it for the online leads youâre going to generate from that one listing.â
Furthermore, Qsar says most agents are transactionally trained, which means they are trained for âthis one and only transaction.â Basically, agents are playing a game of checkers when they should be playing chess, which puts them behind in the long run.
â[Agents are]Â not trained digitally, theyâre not trained for content, theyâre not trained to meet real people in real life,â he says.
Focus on making personal connections
Out of all the aspects of being a successful real estate agent, itâs clear that Qsar treasures his ability to make personal connections the most.
âSomething that everyone seems to forget is that youâre going to meet real, live human beings from this listing,â he says. âThatâs an opportunity for you to connect with people in real life, and when you connect with people in real life your chance of success is much greater.â
Qsar says that personal connections not only make it easier on the agent but also the client, which is what the work of real estate is all about.
Join The Boutique Real Estate Group this Saturday April 22nd from 2-5pm for the 1 Year Anniversary Celebration of La Floresta in Brea.
The event will consist of live music, a DJ, fashion shows, fitness exhibitions, a photo booth and kids activities. Stop by and say hi to your favorite Boutique Agent and bring the whole family!
Meet us at The Oasis Plaza at La Floresta. Corner of Imperial Hwy & Valencia Ave. 3301 E Imperial Hwy, Brea, Ca 92823.
The inspiration for this new position came from Raj Qsar’s father-in-law, a savvy business owner
The Boutique Real Estate Group has added a “Goodwill Ambassador” to its team.
Ambassador’s “sole purpose is to spread goodwill to everyone he meets.”
The Boutique Real Estate Group has added another person to its team, and itâs not another agent, marketing guru or office management whiz â instead, owner Raj Qsar opted to hire a âGoodwill Ambassador,â a person whose only job is to spread positivity wherever he goes.
The inspiration for this new position came from Qsarâs father-in-law, who has owned a commercial cleaning company for more than 35 years.
âThe idea came from him and his good friend,â Qsar said. âThey are in the soap business where they sell soap to restaurants.â
âHis friend would always eat at restaurants and comment on how beautiful the silverware and stemware looked,â he added. âSo after some time, he designated him as his goodwill ambassador.â
When thinking of the perfect person to take on this role, Qsar says he immediately thought of Chuck Underwood, a close family friend who recently listed his home through The Boutique.
âWe recently sold his home in Orange County and found him a gorgeous new home,â he says. âThroughout the process, he fell in love with The Boutique and was so impressed by how we operated our brokerage and the way we marketed his home.â
Beyond his newfound passion for the brokerage, Qsar says Underwoodâs experience as a business owner along with his wide network of friends, associates and colleagues make him the perfect person to extend The Boutiqueâs reach beyond the immediate community.
âI canât think of a more qualified person for the job,â wrote one commenter. âCongrats, Chuck!â
Underwood will take on a number of projects, the first of which is attending a build day with Giveback Homes on June 3, and taking on the hosting duties for the brokerageâs new office opening in Brea, California, and all of the festivities surrounding that event.
Underwood says he was âa bit intimidatedâ when Qsar came to him with the idea, but he knew he had the chops to take on ambassador duties.
âThe Boutique is such a powerhouse brand in the Orange County real estate market, but I knew that with my outgoing personality, dedication, drive and true enthusiasm I could get the job done for The Boutique,â he says.
âIt means I have a weight on my shoulders and am determined to spread goodwill to everyone I meet every single day,â Underwood added.
Although Underwood is barely a week into this new position, Qsar says theyâre planning to expand the program to include additional ambassadors.
âYes, of course,â he says excitedly of adding more ambassadors. âWe already have a waiting list of three prime individuals who have applied for the position.â
For more information the the Goodwill Ambassador program or to learn more about The Boutique please visit www.JoinTheBoutique.com
Social media has been a powerful tool for the real estate industry. Real estate social media accounts have sprouted up everywhere! Brokerages, publications, investment firms and realtors are all on social media.
Below is a list of amazing real estate social media accounts! Click on the buttons below to skip to your favourite platform!
Facebook –Â Real Estate Social Media
The Boutique Real Estate Group
It’s safe to say that you could follow The Boutique Real Estate Group on any of their social media accounts. But, with over 30,000 likes on their Facebook page, we saw it fit to include them in this section! However, it’s not just about likes, they also get hundreds of likes, loves and wows on every post!
As part of its âMeet The Internâ campaign, tech company HP filmed a series of commercials showcasing Fox Sports host and Extra co-host Charissa Thomson interning at four companies.
Two of them were Giveback Homes and The Boutique Real Estate Group â two hallmark brands within the real estate industry.
The campaign ads, which began airing on Super Bowl Sunday, show Thomson helping craft a travel packet for Giveback Homes and organize a swanky open house for The Boutique RE Group, all while showing off HPâs newest OfficeJet Pro printer.
Giveback Homes co-founder Caroline Pinal said HP found them through social media and noted Givebackâs âauthentic social media presence,â and that the company was captured by co-founder Blake Andrewsâ story and mission to spread the message of social responsibility to the real estate industry as a whole.
Pinal says the feedback on the ad has been positive, with supporters inside and outside of the industry giving their kudos.
âGiveback Homes Members are thrilled to see the Giveback Homes movement taking on a consumer-facing approach and proud to be part of it,â she said.
âGiveback Homes has also received online support from their friends like Toms Founder Blake Mycoskie, TV host Charissa Thompson, and animal conservationist Black Jaguar White Tiger.â
Raj Qsar, the principal and owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group â who is known for his vibrant digital presence and strategies â said HP reached out to him via social media as well.
âIt was a super fun project,â said Qsar, and the ads have brought amazing feedback and robust traffic to his brokerage.
The ad campaign is only the beginning for both companies.
Giveback Homes is taking their relationship with HP offline by hosting a âBuild Dayâ on April 21 in Los Angeles, with Thomson continuing her âinternshipâ by helping to build a home.
As for The Boutique Real Estate Group, Qsar says the brokerage will be working with other big name brands in the very near future.
When TV Host Charissa Thompson visited The Boutique Real Estate Group, a worldwide luxury real estate brokerage firm, her ideas and the lightning-fast HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 printer helped to make an open house a success! She easily printed from her smartphone and took advantage of two-sided printing for superb productivity. Get your OfficeJet Pro printer at Staples: http://hp.tl/60548Pox2
Trying to be a better realtor, investor, and business woman is tough. To keep on top of your game, you know the value of learning from the best.
So, I did some heavy lifting for you to find some of the most influential real estate agents and influencers to learn from online. Then, I curated some of the best resources they created, as a one-stop shop.
Rather than list these experts in random order (or choosing our favorites), we took the time to rank each person based on their influence across social media, using scores from FollowerWonk, Klout, and our own judgment.
While not a perfect science, by ranking each influencer by their social impact, you will have a better sense of who you want to learn from as you master your craft.
As the Principal/Owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group, Raj has invested heavily in bringing all aspects of the real estate experience completely in-house. From custom design, professional staging, architectural photography, cinematography and social media to technology, internet optimization, cloud based transaction management and global listing syndication. This design & tech-forward approach has earned The Boutique Real Estate Group accolades & awards worldwide.
In 2016 Raj was named to the prestigious SP200 Honoring The Most Powerful 200 People in Residential Real Estate. Raj was selected as Most Innovative Real Estate Agent in 2014. Raj was also selected as 33 People Changing The Real Estate Industry by Inman News and was also named Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders For 2013.
For more information the the Goodwill Ambassador program or to learn more about The Boutique please visit 
Trying to be a better realtor, investor, and business woman is tough. To keep on top of your game, you know the value of learning from the best.