#today i tried to give someone three free zebras to help them with a project

[roguemonsterfucker]

Me: *tries to give horses away for free in a video game*

The people I'm giving the horses to: Here, take my money!

[esthersnippe]

In Brussels? Here are my top picks on what to do, see, drink, and eat

I am not going to claim to be an expert, but this winter I will be celebrating my 7th year in Europe’s Captial City—and I adore this city. 

I have gone to hundreds of cities, I believe there is nothing quite like Brussels. 

But it took me years to get here, and many tourists don’t immediately find it charming. And that’s ok. Because Brussels is small and too many tourists is not super good...and I am only partially joking. 

It is a secret city. Non-obvious and full of delights.

Over the years, I have learned one or two things about Brussels, and today I present you with my list of top things to do, see, drink and eat. You can do all of this in 24hours. 

My 10 favourite things to do in Brussels

Here we go! 

1. Eat a waffle in the Grand Place. 

It is best to see the Grand Place at night first, then in the day after.

For my vegan friends: Go to The Sister’s Cafe for vegan waffles WITH vegan ice cream.

For my non-vegan friends: Go to Maison Dandoy—they are simply the best waffles in the city. There are two kinds Brussels (light and airy) and Leige (thick and cakey) so if you are with someone else, get one of each, and if you are alone, choose wisely! 

Once, Victor Hugo, who wrote Les Miserables, lived in an apartment in the place. He said it is “a dazzling fantasy dreamed up by a poet, and realized by an architect.”.  There is so much history I would love to share with you about it, but I’ll save that for another time. Just go an enjoy it. It is truly spectacular. 

2. Walk from Park Royal to Park Cinquantenaire. The whole walk takes about 35 minutes, and you will see three beautiful parks: Park Royal, Park Leopold, and Park Cinquantenaire, as well as the Royal Palace, the European Parliament, and the Triumphal Arch.

Its a much better way to spend your time than going to the Atomium—which will take 2-3 hours minimum and is ok, but really rather touristy. 

3. Go and see the Palace of Justice at sunset Or any time, but it is the best at sunset. You can go to the grocery store and buy some drinks and snacks and sit up there to watch the sunset, it is chill and has a great view of the city skyline.

4. Eat chocolate at the Grand Sablon: My top picks are

Frederic Blondeel

Wittamer

Pierre Marcolini

How it works: you buy the chocolate by weight, so choose 2-3 different pieces from each place. 3-4 chocolates should cost between €4-€7.  Usually, the people behind the counter are not very helpful, but I still ask for personal favourites and recommendations anyway. Either way, you should always try the “Grand Cru”, this is the best the chocolatier thinks they can do. Yum is usually the result. Plant-based buddies: most of the dark chocolate is vegan! But make sure you double check, because some of the other ingredients might not be, like caramel being made with butter, etc.

5. Go to the European History Museum in Park Leopold 

It is free. And amazing. One of the best and most interactive museums I have been to: it has great tech, tons of ways to get involved with the exhibits, and tells a fascinating story. 

6. Go see our national monument, the Manneken Pis Also... the Manneken Pis Museum. It is just up the street and guaranteed a right giggle.

7. Sit at the top of Mont des Art. Best in the early evening. then walk through the garden. There is always a lot of animation and things going on, but it is also very relaxed. 

Make sure you check out the architecture on Rue Montagne de la Cour, like the Musical Instruments Museum and the Old English Pharmacy. 

8. Do some unique shopping/browsing. I am not personally big on buying loads of stuff, but these little streets are jammed packed with the unique and wonderful. Here are my top picks:

Rue de Rollerbeek

Rue du Haute

the Royal Galleries (Actually, I have never bought anything here, but the buildings are amazing.)  

9. Eat some fries.

I might be plant-based but I make an exception for the occasional frites treats, because they are the best in the world. There is no contest.

For the sauce: you can go:

Traditional with a dollop of Mayonnaise

Spicy with the Pili-pili (less spicy) or my favourite Samurai (more spicy).

Not spicy, but with a burst of flavour go with the Andalouse (which is kind of mayonnaise with tomato and basil) or Curry Ketchup (which is exactly what it sounds like.) 

Aioli is another very popular sauce, but I find it too garlicky (but if you are into garlic, try it out. Just don’t try and kiss me after.)

Vegans + vegetarians: the frites definitely contain animal fat.

My top picks

Fritland right by the Grand Place

Friterie Saint-Josse

Frit Flagey

Which brings me to number 10! They are related. 

In Brussels, there is a local phrase which goes “faire du gras” which translates to something like “lay down the fat” and means “eat something heavy”—and is good advice before you start drinking in Brussels. 2 strong beers on an empty stomach is almost a guarantee you will end up tripping on one of our many uneven, cobblestone roads. 

10. Drink beer. 

Also—the best in the world (Yes Germany, I have tried your beers, and I am sticking to what I said.) God, this needs a whole other post. But you are only here for a short time, so let’s get into it.

First: where to drink.

These are my favourite watering holes and their locations.

Le Coq in front of Beurs: Classic Belgian pub, and very fairly priced. (ie. cheap) 

Zebra in St.Gery: This old island is the best spot to drink and people watch after work and on the weekend. 

Bar Llanes or Café Charbon on Marche du Charbon in front of the Notre-Dame de Bon Secours. They are beside each other. 

Monks in Saint Catharine: a bit overpriced, but great selection and cool ambience. 

The Brussels Beer Project Brewery by the canal: They are constantly creating new brews, and you can test out the new flavours, then vote on them, which is fun. 

Le Barboteur Bierothèque in St.Josse: Amazing selection and very unpretentious. (But only good if you are in the neighbourhood, because it is pretty far from the city centre.)

Le Verschueren in St.Gilles: Sit with the cool, Belgian artists. Great people and good prices, but also only good if you are in the neighbourhood.) 

Café Belga and L'Amère à Boire in Place Flagey: Really different atmospheres, but both are fun, although a little hipstery. Don’t make a special trip out to see them, but if you are in Flagey, they are great. 

If you want to see some breathtaking architecture from the turn of the century and drink some rather overpriced beer, visit:

Le Cirio

Cafe Metropole

Mort Subite

There are 1150 Belgian beers, which is an overwhelming number. Even if I had drank a new beer every other day since arriving, I still wouldn’t have tried them all. So don’t feel bad if you don’t know where to start. Here is a quick and dirty guide to some of my favourites. For something heavy that will get you drunk almost immediately, try the Trappist beers. There are only 6 breweries in the world, and the beer is brewed in the traditional style by monks! (Note: Proceed with caution) 

Rochefort 10: Hold on to your hats, you are heading to drunk town on a smooth chocolate river.

Westmalle Tripel: This is a very good, bitter, mega strong beer.

Chimay Bleu: A sweet, dark, internationally-known bestseller! Stop at one though, it gives a vicious hangover after you’ve had 3. 

For something unique only to Belgium, and is stupidly delicious, like a refreshing beer-lemonade, try the gueuze:

Gueuze Boon: This is my all time favourite drink in Belgium. Possibly the world.

Oud Beersel: Also a hella delicious gueuze, but brewed in the old style, without wheat. 

Mort Subite Kriek: a gueuze sweetened with cherries. I can only have one of these at a time because they are intense, but a good occasional treat.

If you are not even sure you like beer, but are in Brussels so what the hell:

Faro Lambic: light and sweet and way too drinkable. Like juice.

Tripel Karmeliet: a delicious, well-balanced crowd pleaser

Chouffe: very light tasting, but watch out! Strong in effect. 

Saison Dupont: a very popular, classic Belgian beer. 

You are not a fan of stong or heavy beers, and really want a pils (once again Germans, I am looking at you.) we have three very popular pilsner brands that you’ll be able to get just about anywhere. 

Jupiler: mildly sweet, and the most popular beer in Belgium (especially with sports fans). 

Maes: a little closer to a lager than a pils, but if I am going to drink a pils, I choose this one. 

Stella Artois: This is Belgian, not Italian beer! It is a pretty easy drinking beer and also available just about everywhere....including the country you are coming from.

Like Stella Artois, I have a tendency to tell guests to avoid Duvel and Leffe—while they are fine beer brands, they are available around the world, and you will probably be able to find them in your home country, although perhaps for a much higher price. 

There is a lot more I could say about Brussels, but I hope this is enough to get you started! See you soon. 

Want to read stuff I’ve written about Belgium? 

Here are a few other posts about life in Europe’s Capital. 

21 Reasons to love Belgium

20 Canadian/British Habits I Lost When I Moved To Brussels

An Adult Tour of the Beaux Art Museum Part 1: The history of Belgium Part 2: Because art is awesome

I am safe: A post about what it felt like to be in Brussels after the Brussels Attacks. 

[thelonesgroup]

4 Letters to Revolutionize Your Listing Lead Gen Strategy

Tired of tech and want an easy-to-execute listing lead strategy? If you think it sounds too good to be true, it's not.

I developed my Letters for Listings series more than two decades ago. Although the series has been updated, the mechanics are as basic as they were more than 20 years ago, and perhaps even more effective!

More effective? How can that be?

More than 20 years ago, Zillow didn't exist. Redfin didn't exist. Even Facebook was still just a glimmer in Mark Zuckerberg's eye. Online lead generation was in its infancy. The best ways to generate leads at the time included mailing, calling, open houses, and some agents even resorted to door knocking (not for me - but that is a whole different Zebra Report). Fast forward to today and most agents are looking to technology to generate leads. That is GREAT news for those agents who prefer to generate leads using some of the older tried-and-true methods - like sending letters.

According to the United States Postal Service, the average American household received 454 pieces of marketing mail per year - or about 1.5 pieces per day excluding Sundays. It doesn't take much to be noticed these days and with much of your competition focusing on online marketing methods, the mailbox can become your most lucrative lead generation platform!

The Letters for Listings plan is super-simple, but it does work best if you have a listing. If you don't have a listing, you can modify this plan as allowed by your local MLs and real estate standards of practice. Here's how it works.

Determine Your Target

Depending on the neighborhood, select around 50-100 homes to send the letter to. These are folks who will see your listing and for whom the selling of the listing will most likely impact their home value.

Send a Listing Letter

Have this letter prepared ahead of time, ready for when your listing goes live. Then drop the prepared mailing in the mailbox immediately. The contents simply:

Introduce you as the listing agent.

Let the target neighbors know that you have listed the property and they can expect increased traffic.

Indicate if the neighbor is concerned about this traffic, perhaps due to small children or pets, that you would be happy to put a slow down or caution sign in their yard (THIS IS KEY!).

Invite them to a neighbors-only open house that might be an hour or so before your scheduled open house.

Indicate you will let the neighbors know when the house pends and sells.

When agents send out this first letter, it is amazing how many neighbors stop by that open house. Rarely do I hear of agents needing to supply a slow down or caution sign, but neighbors are impressed by the tone of the first letter. Why? This letter is about service, not sales. Those neighbors are potential sellers and this is step one in cultivating that relationship.

Here is a link for the slow down signs which you should have on hand if you are sending these letters.

Send a Pending Letter

Once the property pends, send the pending letter. The contents are as follows:

Indicate the home is now under contract and traffic should slow down.

In the event the final price is not to be shared until after closing, let them know that you will be sending that information as soon as the property closes.

If it sold quickly, indicate the days on market so there is a sense of urgency.

Send a Sold Letter

When the property closes, send the sold letter. The contents should indicate:

The property is now closed. The sellers will be moving out and the new buyers will take possession (or whatever the parameters are that you are allowed to share).

The final sales price.

Anything notable about the sale - low days on market, sold above list price, multiple offers, etc.

You can also include some neighborhood statistics here if that is relevant.

Indicate that you are happy to be of service if there are any questions. If you have a local neighborhood market report or something like that, this would be an appropriate time to offer it.

That's it! No hard sale. This is all about you being of service to the neighborhood.

Now enter - the Other Buyers Missed Out letter. This can be sent a week or two after the property closes and should only be sent in the event the property you had listed went for multiple offers.

The "Other Buyers Missed Out" Letter

There can only be one winning buyer on a property. But when there are multiple offers, other buyers have raised their hands and indicated they wanted to buy in that neighborhood, at that price point. This could be a GREAT opportunity for someone who had been thinking of selling. You don't necessarily have a buyer, but you do have the contact information for all those agents who brought their buyers to buy your listing. If the recipient is thinking of selling or just getting additional information, they should reach out.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I determine the area and get the addresses?

Each neighborhood will be a little different. In some cases, you might choose specific streets to target who might drive by your listing. In other neighborhoods, an entire section of houses may be suitable. In more-rural areas, you may only have a dozen or so homes that fit the bill. Once you determine what is most appropriate for your area, you can work with a direct mail company to get the addresses or perhaps a title or escrow company, or even a lender.

Are we talking letterhead and envelopes?

Yes! Letterhead and envelopes. Branded letterhead and envelopes if possible.

Can I just address them all as "Dear Homeowner" or do I need to get more-specific than that?

If possible, I suggest a mail merge that includes names and addresses. As I was researching for this article, I read time and time again that people like getting personalized mail. Doing a mail merge is certainly not as easy as having 100 of the same thing copied, but the bang for the buck is unparalleled.

This market is moving so fast, I don't have time to send a letter, let alone schedule an open house!

I am here to tell you that some of my clients are making a lot of money following this formula. If you list and send the letters Monday, that should be enough time for a Saturday open house and offer review on Sunday or Monday. I suggest you look at what is common timing in your market and adjust your listing schedule to allow time for the letter and the open house. Plus, that gives more buyers more time to see the property. Of course, this is up to the seller, but I encourage you to remove the barriers to getting this done and add this simple letter series to your listing to do checklist.

Look, you can make excuses or you can make it happen. I prefer to make things happen.

Denise, can I get YOUR letters?

You can! There are two ways that you can get your hands on these letters:

OPTION ONE: These letters are available to all Club Zebra members. Learn about Club Zebra and join for free before July 15th. Once you are a member you can get your letters here.

OPTION TWO: Come to my Search for Sellers and Find Success class!

This July 21st I am going to be doing a deep dive on lead generation specifically for listings live in Lynnwood, WA. All attendees will receive these four Letters for Listings. In fact, if you become a Club Zebra member first, you will also get a $50 discount when you register for this class!

Interested in learning more about open houses and presentations? Need more sellers in your pipeline? Want to learn how to manage conflict, speak your truth, and make more money?

We are very excited to announce our summer and fall class lineup! Most classes are LIVE and in-person.

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By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings nearly three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.