SANDRA PIKE, HALIFAX REAL ESTATE, ROYAL LEPAGE ATLANTIC, THE PIKE GROUP #dealsinheels

SANDRA PIKE, FOUNDER, THE PIKE GROUP

Social media, PR savvy, REALTOR®  Sandra Pike began her entrepreneurial journey as owner of a health and wellness company. She had to hustle to get every sale. This valuable experience led to a successful sales and marketing career (and quite a few sales awards) from a number of Halifax print, public relations, and media companies. A career in Real Estate was the next logical step for the ambitious and well-connected sales and marketing professional. 

In 2010, Sandra joined a boutique Real Estate Brokerage and hit the ground running in her signature high heels. In 2011, she won the Rookie of the Year Award. She joined Royal LePage Atlantic in 2014. Three short years later, Sandra was one of the Top Selling Agents in Nova Scotia, and in the top 1% nationally. Her attention to detail and follow-up, networking and systems approach to home sales powered her sales successes. “I’m a hunter and a hard worker. I always had three jobs, when I was growing up. Those experiences define who I am today,” the Halifax REALTOR® says. 

One of the reasons Sandra is so successful is that her social media smarts are virtually unparalleled on the east coast, maybe even the rest of Canada. In 2017 BOMB BOMB chose Sandra as a Top 5 Video Influencer for Real Estate in Canada and the U.S. She was also an International Social Media Presenter at a real estate convention in Las Vegas attended by 6,000 realtors. As well, in 2017, Sandra was the first Real Estate Agent in the world to align with Facebook Messenger, by having the Messenger App on her websites. By 2018 she was one of the Top 3 users of this real-time communication through artificial intelligence of Chat Bots. 

Using digital magazines, which include live links to her current listings, Sandra is most excited about her most recent social media initiative - YouTube videos, highlighting her high-end listings. “It’s more of a lifestyle video than the typical virtual walk through. My YouTube channel allows me to put my advertising, PR and marketing skills to work for my clients, in a fun and innovative way. I challenged myself to move beyond boring, static, statistical information and to connect with my prospective purchasers in a truly emotional way before they even walk through the front door. Social media is a very important marketing tool, especially because many of today’s purchasers start their search online,” the Halifax REALTOR® says. 

Mike S., a satisfied client agrees. “Sandra is…a social marketing guru who will get your house sold in no time. She checks in weekly to give a status updates and is always there for any questions. We are on our third home sale/purchase with Sandra.” 

Sandra is also committed to transparency. This has led her to systematize her Real Estate service. In addition to staging her clients’ homes for sale, and professional photography, all of her vendors receive a schedule of advertising so that they know exactly what to expect, and when. 

Clients are also updated on the status of their listings, including viewings, through her weekly, “Stay in Touch Program.” Her “Market Report” keeps clients up to date on what’s happening in their neighbourhoods, including anything that is listed or sold. “I do everything I can think of to ensure my vendors always know exactly what I am doing for them, and when,” she adds.

Shawn and Crystal, two other satisfied clients, agree. “We strongly believe that Sandra’s creative marketing approaches, knowledge of the market and her enthusiasm is what helped sell our home within the first week of being listed…” As do clients Michael and Christina, “…(Sandra) was always available for discussion and she promoted open and consistent communication. You can tell that she is passionate about what she is doing, and it shows in her results. After just five days on the market our house was sold, and we feel that it was a seamless process with Sandra’s help.” 

Sandra understands the power of networking and has developed many close working relationships with Real Estate colleagues in other provinces - in the last few months alone she has sold property to two different clients from Toronto, Ontario. “In the last year I have received 31 referrals, the year before it was 27. This is a win/win/win for everyone, especially my vendors,” the Halifax REALTOR® says. 

According to Sandra, professional coaching has also made a difference in her business. “I don’t treat Real Estate like a hobby nor do I leave my business to chance. I invest in my business and myself. I’ve made changes since beginning my career and I expect to keep making them, because what worked yesterday may not work today. I’m constantly innovating to stay on top of my game,” Sandra says. 

“I love being an entrepreneur. I also love the fact that my clients trust me to do the right thing with what is often their biggest asset or their biggest purchase. I am also very close to, and enjoy spending quality time with, my parents. My mother worked in a fish plant and my father in a shipyard. I am very grateful that they instilled the values of hard work, honesty, and integrity, and that I have an opportunity to use these qualities every day,” adds Sandra. 

Not one to rest on her Jimmy Choo’s, Sandra also believes in giving back and contributes to Lady Balls, a fashionable evening in support of the only charity dedicated to overcoming ovarian cancer in Canada and fearless women everywhere (http://www.theladyball.ca/halifax.html) and Alice House. The organization provides opportunities for women and their children to create a life free from intimate partner violence with housing, counselling, and support services. (https://alicehouse.ca/about-us). 

When she is not working, or attending a networking or charitable event, Sandra posts pictures of shoes on Instagram – fun fact: her passion for shoes inspired her professional tagline “#dealsinheels.” Sandra also has a decent collection of fashionably hip boots and running shoes that she wears when she walks her fur kiddies Daisy, a Lhasa Apso/toy poodle mix, and Buttons, a puppy she adopted from Labrador. 

“Believe it or not, I originally wanted to be a cop. My law enforcement studies taught me discipline, how to think of my feet and to keep calm in the face of setbacks. But, I quickly realized that I was not as tough as I thought and did not want to spend my career wearing tactical boots or sensible shoes. Thanks to a healthy dose of self-awareness, I now have a career that I adore, that satisfies my desire to help, and that finances my not-so-secret shoe obsession. Life doesn’t get any better than that,” Sandra concludes with a smile.

Suzen Fromstein is the author of Suits and Ladders, Ten Proven Ways to Keep Your Job Safe - with a few jokes thrown in. Suits and Ladders was an Amazon Best Selling Book in the Career Guides Category.