by Michele Gillis, Staff Writer
In today’s fast-paced world, there are a lot of items that help us do our job better and more productive. We have gadgets, assistants, social media, smartphones, computers, family and more to help us organize, plan, interact and do our jobs on a daily basis.
But, say you had to pick just one (or maybe two) essentials that you just can’t do without. What?
Here’s what, as we discovered in surveying some of Northeast Florida’s top producers and industry executives.
Overall, many said their iPhone or Smartphone and with good reason. Those little gadgets help all real estate individuals to be able to do business wherever they are. You can’t beat that.
Others looked at the whole spectrum of essentials and chose the people in their life as their “essential.”
“I cannot do without my family,” said Sherry Davidson of Davidson Realty. “I get such love and support from my family, it would be impossible to live without them. Jim, Matt and Peyton work with me and Sam is finishing up at University of North Florida.”
A Realtor with a proven track record of success, Susan Kennedy of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty chose two things she just can’t do without.
“I can’t live without Debbie (Wirz), my trusted assistant.” said Kennedy. “Debbie has worked with me over 14 years. She understands my business and takes care of a million things each day while I am out with my customers. She also takes care of all my team in my absence. She is truly dependable and everyone loves her.”
Jan Shields, one of Watson Realty’s top producers, also chose a person.
“My assistant, Kathy Ritter, who handles all the details and schedules my exercise to keep me calm and energized,” said Shields.
Technology was a favorite among most polled. Kennedy’s second choice was her iPhone.
“I can’t live without my iPhone,” said Kennedy. “I got in the business when there were no cell phones so you carried quarters in your pocket. We had pagers and you had to stop at pay phones to call people back. When cell phones came out, they were the size of a shoe box and had terrible reception. Now we can do everything on our smart phones. I could not live without it. When my battery dies, I am so stressed, thinking about the many calls I will have when I finally get it charged again!”
Sharon Alters of Coastal Countryside Homes also cannot live without her iPhone.
“I would give up my computer and laptop if I had to before I would give it up,” said Alters. “If I wasn’t sure before, the upgraded camera and video capabilities in the iPhone 4 cinched the deal.”
Watson Realty CEO Bill Watson said he can’t live without the speed of communication and information on his iPhone and iPad.
“It’s unbelievable how you are able to tap into so much so quickly. Also, I love caller ID, so I can see who is calling me and have a record of who called me. Something else that I think is really neat is a Dragon app on my iPhone which allows me to dictate a letter. It will then take the verbal communication and turn it into an email which I can send to the person to type a letter or whatever I want to send in written form. It is such a tremendous improvement over what we had many years ago.”
Jon Singleton, also of Watson, said his essentials include the obvious tools such as a phone, car and debit cards, but what is really important above all else, though, is his reputation.
“I absolutely cannot be successful professionally without a great reputation,” said Singleton. “It’s something I work on daily, and don’t know that I achieve the reputation I seek. It is probably constantly changing, but if I always keep it in mind and work at improving it through my business and personal life, it delivers success.”
More “essentials” from our readers:
Debbie Clark, Victory Title of St. Johns County: “My iPhone. It is work, pleasure and a great baby sitter. My grandchildren love it. I have to have it for business as well. Can’t and don’t want to be without it.”
Gene Jones, ERA Dan Jones & Associates: “The one thing that I cannot live without is my iPhone. It is my second brain. I sync my calendar and all of my contacts. I can take pictures or videos and put them on Facebook. I can find where the best gas prices are. The best places to eat and it can tell me how to get there. There really is an app for everything!”
Karen Farah, First Atlantic Bank: “I cannot do without my faith in the Lord.”
Jan Osler-Walker, Prudential Network Realty: “Smartphone.”
Mark Dilworth, Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners: “My fellow staff members which include Nancy Freeman, Angela Bradley, Pat Sarver, Wilma Tucker and Connie Grubbs. Without these folks we would be dead in the water!”
Sally Suslak, Traditions Realty: “I can’t do without at least a half hour of peace and quiet every day. This means no phones, no television and no noise at all. The quiet helps me process all the thoughts and tasks to do I have running through my brain and keeps me from getting stressed out over them.”
Phillip White, Re/Max Specialists: “I could not be without my cell phone.”
Helen Salyer, A P Realty: “At the present time one thing I could not do without is my washing machine. I think it would almost come before my car.”
Amber Williams, David Weekley Homes: “Take my Starbucks, take my makeup, you can even take my high heels, just don’t take my iPhone! There is no doubt that the one thing I simply cannot do without is my iPhone. It has my calendar reminders for important meetings, special events and birthdays, emails from both personal and professional accounts, a notepad to take notes during meetings, instant access to the Internet, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, a camera and video camera to capture those special moments, hundreds of photos of friends and family to remind me just how blessed I am, my stress relieving music on Pandora and countless other apps to help with driving directions, shopping, workouts, running, weather forecasts and more. To top it all off, it even gives me my own personal assistant, Siri, to help me keep up with it all. I can’t think of a better tool to help me ‘dance backwards in high heels’ as a professional woman in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”
Hazel Shaw, Exit Real Estate Gallery: “My cell phone. I can do most of my business from wherever I am including calling, reviewing documents, and searches.”
Anita McCreary, Adams Homes: “One thing that I cannot do without is the support system that I have at Adams Homes. My sales manager is all ears if you have a problem and very understanding. If I need a little motivation I just give her a call. Same goes for the general manager, production manager, my superintendent, the girls in the office and my co-workers. We are a team and that is one thing I cannot live without.”
Andrew Bell, Watson Realty: “My iPad. I use it for everything; checking and responding to email, searching MLS, writing listing agreements and contracts. I use it for all my real estate needs.”
Shawn Starr, Dreambuilder Custom Homes: “My ‘tech trio’ of laptop, iPad and iPhone. Since I spend much of my time out in the field, being accessible is a top priority and as the only employee in my business, it’s important to be able to take my office with me wherever I go and have all the tools I need to run my business whenever I need them.”
Raymond Rivera, Exit Real Estate Gallery: “The two things I cannot do without in my work life are my cell phone and my administrative assistant, Nanci Soriano. I do not know how I lived without a cell phone in the past and Nanci is the best and makes my life so much better.”
Debbie Tufts, Keller Williams Realty, Atlantic Partners: “Two things that I simply can’t do without in my work life are the Keller Williams culture and business cards.”
Mike Dolan, First American Home Warranty Corp: “Personally, I would say my son Sebastian Michael Dolan and happiness. For work, I would say all the amazing people in real estate. You are my extended family and without you, I would not have a career with First American. My vehicle because it is my mobile office. Without it, I am like a castaway on a lost island. My smart phone is an essential because it is my office. All my calls, emails and GPS are going all day long.”
Ann King, Prudential Network Realty: “My iPhone and iPad are my connection to everything work, family, friends. Things get done when you have the tools with you at all times!”
Brenda Ezell, Ezell Law Firm, PA: “I cannot live without the Outlook Exchange server for my Android device. As a solo practitioner, it is imperative that I stay connected and this device is a must have because having the exchange server means I never need to plug in to sync my calendar, emails and contacts. I’ve also become quite fond of having an office manager to handle the books and other administrative aspects of the practice.”
Don Mullinax, Commission Express of North Florida: “An essential for me is maintaining great relationships with our clients. Conducting our business and providing our service does not seem like a job when you truly enjoy interacting with your clients and they appreciate your focus in meeting their needs. Win/win always feels good to everyone.”
Daniel McCarthy, Lifestyles Realty Web: “Text messages. They are so much quicker and more efficient then emails and phone calls.”
Ross Fanti, Southern Lifestyle Homes/LMH Solutions: “A smile, because it lets the people you’re working with know that you are passionate about what you do and excited about helping them.”
Suzy Evans, Davidson Realty: “My iPhone. It carries my contacts, calendar, CRM, important documents and emails. I can do business anywhere with this one device including write up contracts, sign and deliver. I also couldn’t do without my husband because he motivates and inspires me to be the best.”
Jenet Cattar, Cattar Realty: “I can’t do without my iPhone, which really means email, phone, contacts, pictures, etc. and that oh so wonderful Fred, my husband.”
Peggie Wattron, Century 21 Lighthouse Realty: “My iPhone as I can always access my e-mails and my computer for the same reason, to stay in touch and keep on top of my business.”
Randy Wiggins, NuView Realty: “Two things that are essential for me are my ever-growing roster of amazing agents. Without them, we would not be where we are today. Also, my smartphone is very important. I can access the MLS, county records and much more wherever I go.”
Dianne Pittman, Watson Realty: “My iPad has become an essential element in communicating with my agents. I have to tell you that until I won my iPad through a sales contest with my company I never knew how much value it would add to what I do every day. I can review a contract from anywhere and give assistance to my agents on a timely basis without disrupting my personal time when I am away from my office. My iPad allows me to keep abreast of what’s going on in the industry and relay the information to my agents so they can be of greater service to their buyers and sellers. I now take notes from all of my committee meetings and board meetings on the iPad. I never lose them, always have them available to refer to and I can email them to other committee members with ease. I can’t say enough about how much more effective I am with my iPad. I keep my training materials on my iPad, so I can be ready at a moment’s notice to teach if needed. The iCloud makes managing files so easy. I always have my favorite photos of my great grandchildren at my fingertips; I even keep my favorite recipes and my grocery list on my iPad. I am prepared. My laptop, iPad and iPhone all talk to each other without my needing to do anything. They are really, really cool!”
Naomi Lumley, Palencia Realty, LLC: “I could not do what I do without my business partner, Pud English. Given that we have been friends for over 30 years, we understand each other completely. Having a good mate is the most important but having a best girlfriend who is also your business partner is the best.”
Dee Bumbarger, Buck & Buck: “I couldn’t begin to get it all done without my right arm, my husband. The tool that I cannot imagine being without is dual screens on all my computers.”
Pete Dalton, Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty: “Our exchange server because it keeps me together when I’m out of the office and our central answering system because they can always find me if I’m needed.”
Joyce Roberts, Your Choice Real Estate: “The one thing I cannot live without is my smartphone because I have to get emails on my phone and be very current with the latest Realtor apps that have access to the MLS. Things are changing so quickly now-a-days that you have to have instant access.”
John Sebree, Florida Realtors: “The one thing that I cannot do without is my technology. My iPad and iPhone help me stay connected no matter where I am.”
Selby Kaiser, The Legends of Real Estate: “The one thing I cannot live without is my sister, Linda McMorrow, because she has my back and I have hers.”
Melanie Green, Northeast Florida Association of Realtors: “I cannot live without my computer. I am in communications and everything I do is computer-based, so I couldn’t live without that.”
Dane Leslie, Watson Realty: “My essentials are the customers who are critical to the buying and selling of real estate. That’s what we do. We bring buyers and sellers together. The essentials are the methodologies that you use to track customers whether through the Internet, direct mail or face-to-face contact.”
Andie Patton, ICI Homes: “Two things I could not do without are my fellow real estate agents who follow me from community to community and my incredible loan officers who find the very best financing for my customers.”