As one of the most elite agents at Howard Hanna Coach Realtors, Barbara Chmil is constantly finding new ways to serve her clients, use technology to her advantage, and create great content for her followers.

For much of her adult life, Barbara Chmil worked in the financial services industry, starting out as a marketing analyst and then transitioning to a media director position. She balanced it all while raising four children. However, in 2014, when her youngest son got recruited to play lacrosse at Duke University, she decided it was time for a change. Barbara wanted more flexibility in her schedule to be able to fly down to watch his games, and becoming a real estate agent offered her that flexibility. Given her many years of marketing and business experience, it seemed like the perfect fit, so she got her real estate license that same year.

Barbara currently works for Howard Hanna Coach Realtors, a family-owned brokerage in Long Island. She is a Certified Buyer Representative, Negotiation Expert, Probate Real Estate Specialist, and Military on the Move Specialist. She assists local buyers and sellers as well as those relocating to the Long Island area from all over the world.

Due to her experience, Barbara is extremely adept at reading and analyzing charts and she loves a good spreadsheet. This is extremely valuable to her clients as she can interpret market data and trends easily and break them down for them. She is also highly creative and is comfortable in front of a camera, which has enabled her to start a YouTube channel and grow a following on numerous social media platforms.

Having lived in Garden City for 32 years with her family, Barbara is well-versed in everything the community has to offer and is an avid contributor to many local organizations. She is also a philanthropist serving many causes, such as providing resources for underprivileged children in the area. 

Barbara has achieved so much in the nine years she has been in the real estate business. Her hard work has surely paid off, earning her the 2022 Pinnacle Award at Howard Hanna Coach Realtors for being in the top 2.5% of companywide sales in volume in 2022. She received a Platinum Level Achievement in 2022 and a Gold Level Achievement in 2021. In 2021 she also was granted the Office Elite Award, two years after winning the Relocation Agent of the Year Award.

One characteristic that sets Barbara apart from her peers in the industry is that she is always brainstorming new ideas for better marketing and customer service. Whether it's joining the latest social media platform, trying out the latest technology, or starting a new project, Barbara is always busy exploring ways to expand her business. 

Technology at the Forefront

Barbara has always been interested in technology and is quick to jump on board with new products as they become available. 

She says, "I'm a self-professed tech person, and as a result, I'm not afraid of trying anything new. I'm the first person to test anything out, and I feel I'm very comfortable around a computer."

She has been using Delta Media Group® marketing technology ever since Delta partnered with Howard Hanna Coach Realtors about five years ago. Barbara believes this partnership has been a key factor in growing her business to where it is today. 

"I was from day one on board with my company using it," says Barbara." It has helped me grow my business because I absolutely love the website interface and the CRM is the best thing of all. I use it; I put everybody I meet in my CRM. Every person that goes to an open house gets my market watches and My Customer for Life (MCFL)."

Aside from sending out an abundance of emails and other content through the DeltaNET®, Barbara's website and social media channels are filled with fresh content as well. She has a blog on her website and her "Barbara Says" column, which includes more content and resources to benefit her customers. She feels that without the help of Delta, she wouldn't be able to post as regularly on her blog and social media accounts, which are a huge part of her marketing strategy. 

"I think it's imperative to have something like Delta Media Group," says Barbara. "There's no way that I could be posting all of my daily posts or weekly posts or blogging posts without you."

Howard Hanna Coach Realtors will soon be upgrading their system to the latest DeltaNET version, DeltaNET® 7. Barbara is looking forward to seeing the improvements made to the platform and is especially excited about the new automations.

"I did hear we were getting an upgrade, which I am super excited about," says Barbara. "Anytime the platform improves its functionality, it's a good thing. It sounds like there will be more automation, which is always a good thing."

A Powerful Real Estate Website

Before working with Delta Media Group, Barbara was using a basic, pre-made website. Once she got her new website, powered by Delta, she saw a world of difference. She was in awe of its capabilities and what it could do for a brand.

She says, "I was so green when I started; I had no idea what I was doing. I got my domain name, which is barbarachmil.com, and then I used some pre-made, very bad website. DeltaNET blows it away!"

When working with Delta, there are so many different features available to add to a website. Barbara loves that she can add links so customers can view materials such as buyer and seller guides, sign up for market watch reports, learn about the neighborhood, and more. She also has customer reviews and the latest property listings right there on her home page. 

"The links that are available for us to put on our websites are so important," says Barbara. "I use the buyer-seller links, but I also have market watch links. I have links about the community, links about elegant homes, I have my listings on there or activities that I've done."

She sees great value in many of the features on her website, such as the mortgage calculator, property search, and interactive map. Of all the features on her real estate website, Barbara believes that "What's Your Home Worth?" is the most valuable. 

"People go on there, they put in their address, and now I know that they're looking or at least interested in knowing what their home is worth," says Barbara.

Barbara also relies on Delta Media Group for her website's search engine optimization (SEO). This aspect is important to her because having strong SEO enables prospects to find her in search, which is key to getting their business. 

"SEO is way, way above my pay grade, so I depend on you guys to do your part of it and to get out there in the searches and everything," says Barbara. "So I am not even going to try to understand how those algorithms work. I just depend on you guys to do it."

Communicating Through Video and Social Media

Barbara is extremely active on social media and finds this has helped significantly with expanding her client base. She uses almost every social media platform from Linkedin and Facebook to Twitter and Instagram. She has even tried TikTok, although she is not a huge fan. Barbara has the biggest following on Linkedin, with over 2,000 followers on her page. 

"I think getting on social media is really important," says Barbara. "It has definitely grown my business."

She acknowledges that posting video content is a big part of social media these days and therefore makes an effort to post a ton of video content to her feeds. Luckily, Howard Hanna Coach Realtors recently set up their very own video studio with a professional videographer for their agents to use. Barbara has certainly taken advantage of this unique opportunity.

"Videos are a big part of it, and no one is comfortable doing video, certainly in the beginning anyway," says Barbara. "My company has a really great studio that will bring in a videographer to help you crank out videos."

Along with regularly accessing her organization's video studio, Barbara uses a third-party platform in which she can quickly and easily make a video to post. She finds this particularly useful for making shorter videos.

"I wish I could say I came up with the content, but I don't," she says. "They have a really cool platform to pump out these 59-second videos that literally take 59 seconds to make. You press a button and then off it goes to all platforms. It's super simple."

The Future of Technology

As someone with a strong interest in technology, Barabra is fascinated by the progression of virtual reality. While virtual reality has been a concept for a while now, with the introduction to the Metaverse and more, Barbara has been thinking about virtual home tours. She knows that the technology is out there but would love to see it take another step forward to where buyers can enter a world of virtual reality where they can truly immerse themselves in the home and interact with it further.

Barbara explains, "Something like a virtual reality where the buyer could actually experience the inside of a house, walking the rooms, turning the lights on, something like that. I don't know if that's even possible, but I just think that'd be pretty cool because then they can really do some research before they actually go out and see a house."

Barbara has also been following the latest news surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). She gave platforms like ChatGPT a try when they first came out but hasn't found them to be as useful as she would like them to be. She feels that while AI has its uses, it can't completely replicate the work of humans — especially in the real estate industry — due to the limitations it has. 

She says, "Some people might say 'pricing a house, AI could do that,' but I don't know how AI's ever going to know if you want a pool, which side of the street the house is going to be on, or if you're two houses from a corner, is that good or bad? So the jury's out on that one."

A New Project on the Horizon

Barbara has an exciting new project in the works, with the working title "By Players 4 Players," where she will be working with former athletes to assist both current and former professional athletes in football, baseball, and hockey with relocating to Garden City. Due to the location, it is a popular area for many pros to settle in.

"In my area of Garden City, NY, and Nassau County, many athletes seem to be attracted to the area as it is in close proximity to their stadiums/arenas and provides a good work-life balance," says Barbara. 

Given her husband is a former professional baseball player himself, Barbara is very much aware of the challenges professional athletes face in terms of relocation. They are often required to move to a new city every few years and uproot their families to an entirely new neighborhood and community. 

"I have a good perspective of their needs when relocating from my husband who is a former professional baseball player," she says. "He learned firsthand what it was like to get a call one day and have to be in the new city the next day. It is a tremendous upheaval for players and oftentimes their families to move to a new location and have to hit the ground running."

Tapping into her wide network of athletes and real estate professionals and years of experience assisting customers who are relocating from other cities, Barbara has built an entire team that shares the mutual goal of making the moving process far easier for these clients. 

"The goal of 'By Players 4 Players' is to make that a more seamless, less stressful process," says Barbara. "My team includes a former NFL player who is a contractor that also works closely with an architect. They are prepared to prioritize any client coming through this program."

While she may not be the first agent to assist athletes with relocation, Barbara is bringing something new to the business by enabling the MLB, NFL, and NHL players to work with other athletes. She also brings a unique perspective as she has a personal connection to the cause.

Barbara says, "I know the concept of targeting sports professionals isn't new, but my former professional athletes HAVE lived that life and know the world of being relocated and in most cases with very little notice."

Overcoming Market Challenges

Like most agents these days, Barbara is being faced with the task of navigating a tough real estate market with particularly low inventory. She notes that although inventory has been low for quite a while now, it has hit a whole new level recently.

"In my area of the Village of Garden City, there is literally nothing on the market!" she says. "To put that into perspective, in 2019, prior to the pandemic, there was a low of 120 houses on the market. During the pandemic, there was a low of 60 houses on the market. Today there are 27 houses on the market."

Barbara also points to the fact that the lack of inventory is continuing to drive home prices up even further as there is increased competition among buyers. 

"The low inventory is the catalyst and biggest insulating factor that keeps pushing home prices higher." Barbara continues, "Back in full force are bidding wars, all-cash deals, and no contingencies. It defies economic logic, yet here we are!"

Considering this is an extremely difficult time for buyers, knowledgeable and hard-working real estate agents like Barbara are needed more than ever to assist them in the process. 

An Agent Her Clients Can Depend On

A true example of a top performer, Barbara has earned a reputation in Garden City as someone who buyers and sellers can depend on. Through adopting the latest marketing technology, Barbara is constantly pushing out new content to educate and engage with her customers. She is extremely dedicated to her clients and is always learning new tools and using her creativity to generate fresh, innovative ideas to better serve them. She is an excellent communicator and an even better businesswoman. 

Here are some things Barbara's clients have said about working with her:

"Barbara is the best agent in the area!!! She is smart, personable, knowledgeable, and street savvy, and will do the best job getting you the best price for your home expeditiously. Barbara works constantly and will be at your side every step of the way."

"Barbara was terrific to work with. She is very professional and an expert in all matters regarding the marketing and sale of our home. We especially appreciated her ongoing communication with us and regular status updates."

"Barbara was excellent to work with. Her local knowledge of our community and exceptional service and availability made the process a breeze."

Having a technology partner like Delta Media Group that gives her everything she needs to effectively communicate with and market to her clients — from an all-in-one CRM to a high-quality real estate website with great features — allows her to stay on top and be a dependable resource for those in her community, which they need now more than ever.

You can contact Barbara Chmil at 516-524-7087 or bchmil@coachrealtors.com, or visit her website at bchmil.coachrealtors.com.