How one agent leverages star power to build a brand

Frank Leo and Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran/contributed

When someone says something nice about you, it carries a lot more weight than if you talk about yourself. And when that someone is a high-profile individual, it adds even more credibility, says broker Frank Leo of Frank Leo and Associates Remax West Realty Inc. in Toronto.

Endorsements can get you where you want to go faster, says the agent of 37 years, by letting people know about you and the good job you do.  A good word from “a celebrity in an industry or organization is a feather in your cap.”

So when his marketing agency suggested an endorsement from real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group, podcaster and executive producer and star of ABC’s Shark Tank, it seemed the perfect fit. 

“Barbara is a real estate celebrity who knows the real estate business,” Leo says of the woman who is also author of Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business.

After both sides were vetted by the marketing agency – a crucial step in any endorsement process, Leo says – the work began.

“We have Barbara on our TV ads, on our website and on social media,” Leo says. “The ads run all the time because we never stop advertising, as this is what real estate firms are supposed to do.”

Star-powered advertising

Leo and Corcoran have worked together since 2015. They appear together in slick television ads in which Corcoran sings his praises. As part of the endorsement deal, Leo is listed as her favourite broker in the GTA. Her program for real estate agents endorses one agent per geographic area.

Corcoran’s paid endorsement is part of a multi-million dollar marketing plan Leo has developed and refined over his decades in the business. It was designed to create maximum exposure and awareness to reach potential buyers and sellers, and to get the most eyeballs on every property.

The all-encompassing marketing campaign includes television, radio, online, print and billboard/bus shelters. “It’s not one-dimensional,” Leo says, adding that he “has tentacles everywhere.”

Far-reaching impact hard to quantify

Leo says it’s difficult to say how much of a return the endorsement makes for the business. It’s integrated into a broader strategy, he said.

“It is not possible to provide a specific dollar amount. Our organization operates at a substantial scale and allocates marketing resources across a wide range of channels and platforms,” he said. “These efforts are strategically designed to reach millions of prospective buyers and sellers all over Ontario, to build broad awareness of our properties and services.”

Corcoran isn’t the only celebrity endorsing him. Former Maple Leafs defenseman and current TSN1050 radio host Carlo Colaiacovo is featured in Leo’s radio ads. “I am very fortunate to also work with Jerry Agar (talk radio personality), Alex Pierson (broadcaster), Greg Brady (radio host), John Moore (radio broadcaster/film critic), Jim Richards (radio personality) Deb Hutton (podcaster) plus many other special people,” Leo says.

Think carefully about who you align with

He says his overnight success took 37 years. “I confess. I don’t sell real estate. Sellers sign a contract to sell. Buyers sign a contract to buy. The Realtor markets the property.”

His market is primarily the Greater Toronto Area, but since the pandemic, his reach has expanded. As his clients moved north, east and west during COVID-19 times, he says he followed them. His brokerage now covers a large part of southern Ontario, and he says his agents live and work in those areas.

Getting a new endorsement looks easy, but Leo says it’s anything but. His tips include researching people to see how they fit with your business and to investigate the integrity of the person. You have a reputation to protect, he says.

He suggests agents may want to start small, looking at local endorsements first.

“Marketing costs money,” he says. “Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Go work and learn the ropes, then do it for yourself. There is a cost to marketing. You have to be able to find a way to make it work.”

Leo says his wife says he spends too much on marketing, but he reasons that he makes less per sale but makes more sales.

“Change is constant,” Leo says

He offers some encouragement for agents who may be thinking of leaving the business in these tough times. “Change is constant. Talk to people and see what other people are doing,” says Leo, who has been through a bad market before. He started his real estate career in 1990. “It’s not that good agents are not doing well because they are not good agents.”

Although he says he feels bad saying it, his business is doing well. “It is busy and growing,” Leo says. He’s hiring now because he needs more help.