by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Michele McManamon of Selling Solutions, Inc. educated the Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville last month at their meeting held at the Jacksonville Marriott with an energetic and interactive presentation titled, “Networking verses Not Working.”
McManamon explained that the group should be networking everywhere they go including informal and formal interactions with others.
Did You Know?
• More than half of real estate firms have been in in business for 15 years or more, and 80 percent of firms operate out of only one office with a median of five licensees. Only 10 percent of firms have three or more offices.
(The 2006 National Association of Realtors Profile of Real Estate Firms: An Industry Overview.)
“But, the networking has to be effective,” said McManamon. “Who is networking about? Them, not you!”
McManamon explained that many people leave and change service providers because they are frustrated, unhappy, disappointed, worried, annoyed, confused or angry.
She asked everyone in the room to think about why someone should switch from their current service provider to them.
What about them makes them different?
She explained that everyone should create a 30 second commercial to present when meeting a new person.
It should include your first name and company, problems the other person might be experiencing that you could help with, how to solve their problem and then ask them if they think they might need your services or know someone that would.
“The more you give, the more you will receive,” she said. “How can we think about how to help everyone else?”