by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Sometimes it’s about the little things that can lead to greater success, especially in a struggling market.
Some of those little things were related by Nikki Ubaldini to statewide Realtors during the recent Florida Association of Realtors convention in Orlando. The seminar was one many that touched on a variety of issues that affect today’s Realtor, but Ubaldini’s message was one of tips, tricks and motivation to help them become successful.
“I talk to you not as an expert but because I did everything wrong,” she admitted.
Wrong or not, Ubaldini learned the lessons that came with failure and today she is a successful Realtor with her husband, Gary, at The Gary and Nikki Team with Keller Williams in the Tampa area.
Her enthusiasm and energy were evident to the crowd that packed into room. Many Realtors took notes while sitting on the floor or propped up along the wall with pen and paper in hand. The handouts of Ubaldini’s presentation were gone in minutes.
“There are three steps to leads,” she said. “Get names. Contact them. Follow up calls.”
She suggests allotting three hours a day in the morning without any interruptions for lead generation.
“In the morning we’re freshest, clearest, most focused,” she said. “The same goes for your customers. They have their best attention spans then.”
Generating leads should have one of three goals, she said, with the end results being an appointment, a referral or to further build an existing relationship.
It’s the time spent to generate leads that makes the difference.
“Time on task beats talent anyday,” she said.
Another key to maintaining success in the real estate industry, said Ubaldini, comes with people skills that keep you in mind.
Ubaldini mentioned 8x8 note cards as reminders. Notes and thank-you cards to clients do wonders but Realtors should also stay in touch other ways.
“You’ve got to stay in constant contact with clients,” she said. “Twice a month minimum and 22 to 34 times a year. It’s all about the sphere of influence, the friends, the family. Keep your name out there.”
It’s not just the clients you should be paying attention to, either. Ubaldini said it’s vital to nurture other industry members because they can help you, too.
“It’s a two way street,” she said. “You never know when someone might think of you for a referral or you need help sometime.”
Another important factor in becoming successful, according to Ubaldini, is to always be prospecting and marketing. You can’t have one without the other and maintain success, she said, and one of the keys are listings.
“When you control your listing market, you control your destiny,” she said. “Get as many listings as you can and ‘list to last’.”
She noted that the market numbers toward the end of 2005 were telltale signs of a then-impending market downturn. Speculators, she said, were rampant in the market and as they weren’t able to sell the inventory numbers ballooned.
Her advice to counter?
“Get out there, get listings and get them priced right,” she said. “He who has the most listings wins.”
She then reminded Realtors to obey the numbers, stating that studies showed that one in 12 listings a month sold. If that’s the case, she said, then Realtors should have as many as they can.
“You have got to know and obey the numbers,” she said. “There’s not enough listening and too much doing.”
When she announced that the days of discount shopping for homebuyers was now over, the crowd responded with claps, cheers, “Amens” and high-fives from the packed room that was happy to hear that message.
Without one important action that every Realtor must follow, she said, the market will not matter.
“Customer service,” she said. “Customer service is critical. Without it, it doesn’t matter how good or bad the market is, you still won’t sell.”