by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
By bringing in top producing Realtors from surrounding areas, the St. Augustine Women’s Council of Realtors hoped to gain insight into what it really takes right now to make it in this market.
The panel - none from St. Johns County - produced a lively session of advice at the meeting at Carrabba’s Italian Grill in St. Augustine.
The panel: Sam Perkovich of Re/Max Oceanside in Flagler Beach, Gwen Templeton of Watson Realty in Jacksonville, Tom Draganza of Prime Real Estate in Debary, Pat Collado of Collado Real Estate in New Smyrna Beach and Joann Whitworth of Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realty in Gainesville.
Here are highlights:
The most effective tool or activity that has worked for them? Answers ranged from working longer hours to increasing face-to-face communication to using technology to going back to basics.
Collado: “I had to really fine tune my listing presentation. I like to take all my tools with me to a listing presentation and leave with a listed house. I also started following up more rigorously than I ever have. I also started opening the office a little bit earlier and staying open a little bit later. That has really helped, too.”
Templeton: “You have to have good communication skills. It doesn’t matter what is going on around you. If you can talk to people, remind them what you do and ask for referrals, you will have all the referrals you can handle.”
Whitworth: “I think the thing that has helped me the most has been my Web site and it’s amazing how people shop that (Realtor.com) to choose their Realtor.”
Perkovich said she focuses on going back to basics and finding out where her customers came from whether it was from an advertisement, her Web site or another customer and then continue to market to that group.
Draganza: “Treat your business as a business and be consistent at it. I do things a little different. I don’t walk into any listing appointment with listing paperwork. We are in more of a short sale market and I want to gain the trust to the client without them feeling pressured. They know they want to list by the time I leave. I explain to them why we are not and then they get an appointment for the next day. I get quite a lot of referral business that way.”
How about social networking?
Draganza, Perkovich and Collado said they really don’t use it because they rely more on contact management software and past clients to get clients.
Templeton, on the other hand, said she is really into Facebook.com.
“I have a large client list but they are spread out over eight states, so have really gravitated towards online networking sites because it has enabled me to touch base all the time with people I went to high school with in Pennsylvania, people I went to grade school with in Tennessee, friends in California, New York and all over the place. I made it very clear that they need to send me business or I was going to tell. It works. As well as that, having had raised three children, their friends are now all over the place and moving and having young families and I have now connected with them.”
Collado: “It’s important to be social in the community. But, remember to stop at one (alcoholic) drink. There is nothing worse than someone you do business with or who comes in your office to see them so trashed they can’t even talk. So, stop at one.”
How has their business changed over the last year?
There was one unanimous item: a lot more short sales.
“Also, you get to know your listing customers a whole lot better because you have them longer,” said Collado.
Templeton: “Not only did we go through the period of the high market where everyone was willing to sell anything and barely offer any service. I think a lot of us got a bad reputation during that time. There were a lot of people out there who didn’t give the service they should have. So automatically, they want to come at you because of that. I think it’s important to consistently show your value and be willing to do what no one else will do. I have a customer right now that I’m going to be packing boxes for and I’m sure that is something a lot of people would not consider doing, but it’s something that has to be done.”
Perkovich, who said she has always had more listings than buyers: “I’ve also found from what I’ve closed, 30 percent of them have been both sides. Customers who are shopping right now often just call the listing agent, so I’m finding I’m doing both sides more often.”
Whitworth, saying agents need to always have a list of at least 200 names in your center of influence: “Know what is going on with those people, stay in touch with them and you will build from there.”
Templeton: “If you don’t find the time to do it right the first time, how in the world will you ever find the time to do it right the second time? I always try to remember that and take a step back. I try to slow myself down and make sure I don’t forget anything. I think the one thing you need to stay away from is handling everyone on email and not ever communicating face-to-face or by written note. I think there has to be a happy medium in there. It’s wonderful to be able to touch that many people in the middle of the night, but I will say, they can ignore you. Make sure you put some personal communication in there as well every now and then.”
Collado: “In negotiating, ‘no’ does not mean ‘no’,” said Collado. “Make them go until they are exhausted and you have to revive them with a resuscitator. No does not mean no.”
Draganza: “You don’t know how many agents won’t answer their phone. The customer will just see another advertisement in a magazine or another listing on Realtor.com and they are now my client. It’s also important to utilize contact management software.”
How important is education?
“When a customer looks at your resume or business card, instead of saying ‘We are not going to’, they say ‘What do you think we should do?’ They look at my card and say ‘She must know what she is talking about because she has a bunch of initials (designations) behind her name. It’s helped me out a lot.”
Marketing was another topic that was very important to the panel members.
Perkovich: “Consistency is important. You have to find out what works and what doesn’t and stick with what does.”
Other tips they shared were to put your business on Facebook.com, use the enhanced listings features available on certain Web sites, have your email forwarded to your Blackberry to avoid delay in response, use agent/office software that sends automatic letters and emails to keep your name in front of the customers and volunteer in groups to get yourself in front of people.
Templeton: “Any opportunity to get in front of people is helpful.”