Dex Lipovic is a leading Manhattan real estate broker, better known as Dex and the City. He’s been featured on Million Dollar Listing New York and on the cover of the Wall Street Journal Real Estate section. Social media is one of the biggest drivers of his business, because he’s learned to truly embody his brand.

Today on Stay Paid, Dex joins hosts Luke and Josh to discuss the strategies that have propelled him to success in one of the country’s most competitive markets.

Key Points:

• It’s important to post a variety of content on social media—not just your listings.
• Rentals are a great way to start in real estate, because renters later become buyers.
• Social media interactions should be leveraged into text messaging and in-person interactions as soon as possible.

Q: Introduce yourself to our audience.

I was born and raised in Orange County, California, where I lived for about 19 years. I grew up in a pretty competitive sports environment, so competition has always been a pretty big part of my life. I played basketball and volleyball, but my dream of playing in the NBA died with injuries I suffered in high school and college.

It was always my dream to move to New York, and when I get fixed on a topic, that’s all I focus on. So, I moved to New York City at age 19 to attend Fordham University. When I graduated, there was no question about whether I was going to stay.

In order to stay here, I worked at Xerox for nine months, selling software. After watching Million Dollar Listing, I thought, “I want to do that.” I come from a real estate background. So, the passion was always there. I met my future vice president, who recruited me into real estate, when I was walking my dog through Central Park. I went to get my license and haven’t looked back since.

Q: How did you start building your business in such a competitive environment?

I was very fortunate to have met the vice president of Platinvm Property Group, based out of Milan and Barcelona. The first year was a lot of rentals. That’s what I recommend for anyone trying to get into real estate. You need to spend the first 2 or 3 years trying to get down rentals, because renters are going to be buyers, at the end of the day.

Q: How did you get those leads?

I’m very grateful to have joined that company, because I’ve only had to get on the phones recently. So far, my business has come from my sphere of influence and social media. That’s how people get to know me and know that I’m trustworthy. That kind of sets me apart.

Q: How did you turn social media into your brand?

My passion has always been touring people around New York, whether it was my friends coming into town or international buyers. I had to be their neighborhood guide. When we would go on these tours, it wouldn’t just be about the property—I literally had to take them around the city. And then, one day, one of my friends said, “Dex and the City,” and a lightbulb went on.

Instagram was always the bread and butter of what I was going after. Real estate is all about nice pictures, and who doesn’t like looking at nice houses? If you glance at my profile, you can tell I’m obsessed with real estate.

Q: Has Instagram translated into business for you?

Absolutely. It has been the biggest driver of sales for me, even before ads came out. Rather than collecting people’s business cards, the one thing that I always go after is somebody’s Instagram. That is the golden nugget. That is the transformative factor of my career, over the past two years. You’re going to see me every day on my Instagram Story, touring a new property. People have learned to associate real estate with my name.

Q: What do you post on social media, and how do you turn those relationships into sales?

I post once a day. For me, a lot of times I’m not just posting my listings. I’m always trying to brand myself into the lifestyle, the photography, and the videography. When it comes to engagement, I prefer DMs, hands down. I’m getting far more engagement through Instagram Stories, rather than comments.

I also like to take conversations into WhatsApp or iMessage as quickly as possible. It’s a lot more personal. And then, from there, I’m sending information about listings and making arrangements to meet up in person.

Q: What have you done consistently that has driven success for you?

It really changed when I started meditating a year ago. That’s the one habit that changed my life—five minutes of visualization and five minutes of extreme gratitude in the morning. And then, from there, you can’t really experience anger. When I’m healthy, I like to hit the pool and get my laps in. I always try to make my first business exercise an outbound lead generation technique. But I try to not make it anything reactive, like answering other people’s phone calls or texts, until about 11 a.m. Because, when you start the day in a reactive mind-set, it sort of blows up on you.

Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you tell younger Dex?

Get on the phones the second you get into real estate. Get a mentor once you get into the industry. Have them guide you throughout your career.

Action Items:

• You are the company. Put yourself in your listing marketing.

Connect with Dex:

Instagram: @Dexandthecity_

LinkedIn: dexandthecity

Resources:

Facebook Live Checklist