If you’ve spent any time with us, you know that we whole-heartedly believe that real estate is best conducted as a community-based business. As agents, our job is to pour into our communities, give back where we can, and connect people together. And when you put your community first, your business will follow. This is a theory that Atlanta-area agent Cynthia Baer has put into practice – and where her business thrives.

As a solo agent with administrative help, Cynthia sells the equivalent of almost a house a week in a hyper-focused part of Atlanta, specifically the Decatur and Intown areas. The heart of her business is where she lives and it shows – as she runs a 100% referral, community, and sphere-based business.

How does she do this?

She’s built her business around her community. Immersing yourself in your community is something we recommend everyone does. When you find ways you can actively show up in your community to make it better and give back, it goes a long way in others’ eyes.

Cynthia’s top two must-dos for appealing to the community:

1. Come from a genuine place. 

If you are giving back just to help your business, people will see through it. Instead, really try to make your community better. This doesn’t mean you have to personally take on large expenses or big events. Think of ways that you can enhance existing events, make them better, and give back to your home town.

2. Volunteer. 

Get involved and while noble, do more than donate money to a cause. When you figure out what’s important in your area, you can determine how to make a greater impact. Cynthia, for example, volunteered at a school fundraiser and asked “what can I do that will be beneficial?” She found that she was able to learn about the school’s challenges and talk through ways she could help. Ultimately, she provided a coffee stand for the teachers and volunteers that had arrived at the event very early in the morning. While this doesn’t sound complicated, it was immensely helpful to the school and filled an unmet need they had. And not only did providing this simple “ask” show she was willing to do what it takes to help her community, it also enabled her to have more personal conversations and make more connections face-to-face at the school.

One of the ways that Cynthia consistently shows up and gives back to her community is through the events she hosts. For a decade now, her gingerbread house event has been the biggest event she’s known for. And for good reason. This event “sells out” every year with 150 children in attendance. And while it’s a fun way to help gather people and provides the means to do something festive (while keeping the mess out of their own house!), every aspect of the event cleverly ties back to real estate in some way. For example, the pre-assembled gingerbread homes the children choose sport “for sale” signs with Cynthia’s name on them, the area where they pick the candy for the homes is labeled “construction materials,” and of course, the place where they decorate their gingerbread home is called the “construction area.”

Whether running a huge gingerbread house event or hosting a pie day, Cynthia’s events all include the same 3 key traits. These patterns are worth duplicating in your own hyperlocal events:

1. Involve your community through including a charitable piece. 

Because she feels that it is important to show you care for others, every event Cynthia hosts has a charity component. Equally important is positioning the charity aspect in a way that enables others to feel involved. After all, most people are grateful to be given opportunities to give back. For example, while Cynthia’s gingerbread house event is free to register for and attend, participants must bring an unwrapped toy to attend. The same rules stand for her pie day event – she hosts a blanket drive for the homeless simultaneously.

2. Utilize vendor partners.

Cynthia typically brings in sponsors to help offset the costs of her events. These sponsors can be as involved as they want to be and in return, they have signage and she promotes them at the event. Cynthia also encourages her sponsors to volunteer at her events so that they get to interact and talk to attendees too. For example, at the gingerbread event, they help as her “elves.”

3. Offer guests something exciting.

When guests attend Cynthia’s events, they register with their contact information and to be in the running for a big prize. During registration, she collects valuable information in addition to their contact information. For example, she asks them what they think of her and to provide the names and details of three people they know who will be looking to buy or sell a property.

4. Be hyperlocal.

The more you involve yourself in your community, the more it will be involved with you. When you are ready to take the first step toward community involvement ask yourself how you can get connected with people and make a difference. Is there something you can do to benefit a school, an organization, or a business? Remember, what you do doesn’t have to be big or expensive. And more than likely, your allied resources would love to help you and contribute. And finally, how can you add a charity component to everything you do in order to make an even bigger impact in your community?

When you’re ready to make the move from a transactional-based business to a relationship-based business, Cynthia Baer has keyed in on how community involvement and events can have a huge trickle-down impact on your business. What do you do to give back and make your presence known in your own community?