Pie Day: Our Way of Saying Thanks to Wilmington Clients

0:00Welcome to Real Stories with Buddy Blake. Today's episode features real estate insights from Buddy Blake. Let's dive in. So, Buddy, I got to ask you about this one right off the bat, because I heard your team spends an entire day making pies?

0:25Yep. Every year about this time, that's exactly what we do. We make pies, box them up, and hand them out to folks around Wilmington who've trusted us over the years.

0:36No sales pitch attached, just a pie and a thank you. I love that there's no catch to it. Like, no, oh, by the way, if you know anyone looking to sell, none of that. None of that.

0:48And look, I get asked sometimes why a real estate team spends a whole day on something that doesn't show up on a sign-up sheet or a spreadsheet. The answer's pretty simple, honestly. People let us into one of the biggest decisions of their lives when they sell a home with us.

1:03That's not something you just move past and forget about. Right. It's not just a transaction to you. It's not, and Pie Day is just how we remember that, you know?

1:13It's our way of saying it out loud once a year. Okay, so take me back a little bit. How'd this whole thing even start? So I've sold real estate in this area since 1998.

1:25In that time, I've sat at a lot of kitchen tables, signed a lot of closing documents, shaken a lot of hands on front porches from Wilmington to Leland and beyond. And those relationships, they don't end when the sign comes down off the yard. That's a lot of kitchen tables over the years.

1:43A lot of kitchen tables. And Pie Day kind of grew out of wanting a small, honest way to say thank you out loud once a year. It's not complicated.

1:54It's not fancy. It's pie delivered by people who genuinely mean the thank you that comes with it. I think that says a lot, actually, about how you approach the business overall. Is that fair to say?

2:06Yeah, I think about trust a lot in this business. Selling a house is personal. It touches family, finances, memories, sometimes some pretty hard decisions about timing and price.

2:18My team works with sellers across southeastern North Carolina, and the thing I tell every one of them is the same thing I believe about Pie Day. Show up, tell the truth, and treat people the way you'd want to be treated once the transaction is done.

2:33So it's the same mindset, whether you're talking pie or you're talking price. That's exactly it. That's the same approach we use when we sit down and talk about selling a home. No inflated promises.

2:45No pretty numbers that don't hold up. Just straight talk about what a home is actually worth, what it's going to take to sell it, and what the real timeline looks like. I think a lot of people have gotten burned by the opposite of that, honestly.

2:59Somebody telling them what they want to hear instead of what's true. Oh, all the time. And that's why we try to lead with honesty, even when it's not the easiest answer. It builds something that lasts a lot longer than one listing.

3:13So let me ask you this. Does the thank you stop at the closing table for most people in this business? Like, is that just kind of the natural finish line? It'd be easy to treat a closing as the finish line, right?

3:27Sign the papers, hand over the keys, move on to the next file. I just don't see it that way. The people we've helped sell homes in Wilmington, Leland, Southport, and other communities across the coast, they're part of the reason this team still gets to do this work.

3:42A day like Pi Day keeps that front and center. That's a nice way to put it. So what if somebody's listening and they're curious about what's actually happening with homes in their area right now?

3:53Where do they even start? Our market insights page is a good place to look. It's the same honest approach we try to bring to everything else, including a day like Pi Day.

4:04What about someone who's maybe thinking about selling, but hasn't made up their mind yet? Not ready to commit to anything? Just trying to understand the process? Yeah, take a look at our guide on what to consider before you list on the NC Coast.

4:19It covers the kind of questions that are worth asking early before you're in too deep to back out comfortably. And if they're just curious about a specific neighborhood? Not even ready to think about selling yet?

4:31We keep an eye on every neighborhood we work in through our communities page, so that's a good starting point too, even if you're just window shopping, so to speak. I love that there's no pressure built into any of this. So how do you want to wrap up this whole Pi Day conversation?

4:46I don't really have a big lesson to wrap it up with, honestly. Pi Day is just one small way my team tries to live out something we believe. People come before transactions. If you've worked with us before, thank you.

5:01And if you haven't yet, and you're thinking about selling, give me a call or text at 910-395-1000. We can talk through what it actually looks like. No pressure attached. I really love that, Buddy.

5:14Honestly, more businesses should think like this. Just Pi and a thank you. No strings. We'll link the full article in the show notes, so folks can check out everything Buddy mentioned.

5:26Thanks so much for coming on and sharing this one. Thanks for having me. And hey, if you see us handing out pies around Wilmington sometime, come say hi. Thanks for listening to Real Stories with Buddy Blake.

5:39For the full article and more, check the show notes.