Posted by Michelle Smith/Director of Knowledge Services
Wed, 23 May 2007 14:53:00 GMT
Can brokers reverse the damage done?
By Desiree French
RISMEDIA, May 23, 2007-Turmoil in the subprime mortgage market, what some call a correction or natural adjustment, has cast an air of caution over the lending industry.
Gone are the go-go days of excessively "layering risks," a practice that has contributed to recent spikes in defaults and foreclosures. Today, tighter credit standards are increasingly becoming the norm at a time when falling home prices, a glut of properties, and higher mortgage interest rates have already combined to dampen home sales. The confluence points to a dip in the revenue streams of mortgage lenders, including realty affiliates.
"Overall loan production is going to be way down this year. How much it will be down depends on what market segment a company was in," says Thomas Lawler, a housing economist in Vienna, Virginia. "Any institution that doesn’t have state-of-the-art procedures and that doesn’t dot the i’s and cross the t’s, is going to have real problems. The industry went wild for a couple of years, but the old way of underwriting mortgages now makes more sense."
What Lenders, Brokers and Consumers Can Do
Mortgage executives at realty affiliates offer the following advice in light of the latest flap surrounding subprime loans and other risky mortgage products:
• First and foremost, owner/brokers should be involved in their mortgage companies; if engaged in a joint venture, they should sit down with the venture partner and discuss the lending model being used.
• Lenders should educate agents in their realty firms about the consequences of putting people in homes they really cannot afford; now is a good time to also talk about mortgage insurance as an option.
• Consumers should be made fully aware of what they’re doing. If customers have no doc loans, they should be given separate disclosure statements that identify the loans and reveal that a lower mortgage interest rate loan could be obtained if more documentation is provided.
• Agents and lenders should talk to customers about getting qualified under the new standards and also discuss the pitfalls of subprime loans.
• Agents and lenders can also talk to customers about why they need to either improve their credit before trying to get a home loan or wait six months to build up enough money for an appropriate down payment.
The Subprime Situation
Subprime mortgages, offered to home buyers and homeowners with spotty credit who, for whatever reasons, can’t qualify under a securitized conforming product, carry higher interest rates and are basically short-term, high-risk loans. With home prices stabilizing and interest rates slightly higher, many of these loans, mainly the 2/28 adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM-the major subprime product-are hitting their adjustment period. Hence, the spike in delinquencies as mortgage interest rates climb.
But this latest debacle hasn’t just hit the subprime market. Lumped into the chaotic mix are some other nontraditional products such as Alt-A loans, where less documentation is required to qualify than with a conforming loan, option ARMs, which give borrowers the option to pay less than the monthly interest owed (resulting in negative amortization), no-money-down loans, and interest-only loan offerings, a favorite of speculative investors. There has been a tightening in underwriting standards across the board within many of these market segments.
How is all of this affecting the mortgage operations within real estate firms?
Gerry Griesser, principal at Prudential Fox & Roach and president of The Trident Group, the affiliated business of Prudential Fox & Roach in Pennsylvania, says the problems will impact profitability, although he cannot say by how much. The company is currently analyzing different loan alternatives that can help to fill the void caused by the correction in the subprime and Alt-A mortgage market.
Meanwhile, major underwriting changes have primarily affected the company’s alternative financing products. No substantial changes, however, have been made in the subprime arena, where plenty of time was spent early on carefully verifying those loan products, which account for a small percentage of the company’s business.
"The nontraditional group of loans have tightened up, which means that people in the past who used them won’t necessary be able to use them today under the old criteria," Griesser concedes. "Some of the products that were used heavily by investors will be unavailable in the future." Last year, the company closed about $300 million in subprime, Alt-A, and second mortgage loans out of a total of roughly $1.9 billion in settled loans.
Alternatives for Profitability
Long & Foster Companies expects to lose between 3-5% of its total production at Prosperity Mortgage, which has less than 10% of its business in the subprime market. To weather the storm, much like other lenders, it will look for products to replace existing offerings. One area of heightened interest: FHA-insured loans.
Many lenders are now turning to these loans that, ironically, they walked away from three or four years ago as growth in the subprime and Alt-A markets took off. With the subprime arena contracting, however, more companies are moving back to FHA. The National Association of Realtors supports legislation that will allow the Federal Housing Administration to better reflect consumer needs and demands. "A reformed FHA," it contends, "would be perfectly positioned to offer borrowers a safer mortgage alternative."
At Prosperity Mortgage, FHA loans have doubled from a year ago, climbing from roughly 4.5% to 10% year-to-date. That trend is expected to continue. Meanwhile, in areas where the company has had a high percentage of business in the subprime sector, it has taken a variety of steps to reach out to the real estate community to ensure awareness of the changes and alternatives that exist.
"I believe when you’re an affiliated business of a real estate company, you have to live to a higher standard," explains Dave Stevens, President of Affiliated Business at Long & Foster Companies. "We can’t afford to make any mistakes because we service our real estate offices and our agents. If we make a mistake, we have no where to go."
Maintaining Standards
James Dinkel, board chairman of the Strategic Alliance of Mortgage Subsidiaries (SAMS), the business cooperative made up of 10 mortgage lenders affiliated with independent real estate companies, says the subprime predicament has not affected the group’s members to any great extent.
"We approach subprime lending much differently from what’s been happening in a lot of areas across the country. Because our independent members are owned by the real estate companies, those companies have direct affiliation and direct control over that market. As a group, we all pretty well agreed that some of the opportunities out there in subprime are not good for consumers. So we never jumped into it heavily, nor was it a focus of our business. Individually, we focused primarily on the best products for the consumer and have stuck with traditionally fixed-rate, conforming types of products. And, for the most part, most of the realtor affiliated businesses have not retained their subprime business. It’s all sold off."
Dinkel, who heads FM Lending Services in Raleigh-Durham, adds that his company didn’t offer all the mortgage products that were available in the market "because it just didn’t make sense. Option ARMS, for example, just are not good for the consumer because of negative amortization. I don’t think there’s any question that everybody who has experience in this business should have seen this trouble coming. You can’t continue to lower the lending standards simply because property values are going up. Sooner or later that bubble is going to burst," and it has.
FM Lending offers interest-only loans, but not for speculative investing and only to consumers with good credit, a good job history, and assets. Loans that would fall into the subprime category account for no more than 5% of the company’s total loan portfolio. Says Dinkel: "We do two things differently in the subprime business that has probably minimized their overall impact on our operations. One, our loan officers have a disincentive, commission wise, to do subprime loans, which means they will make every effort to do a conforming loan before they do a subprime loan. Secondly, when done, these loans are handled by a separate department within the company. We don’t allow pricing margins for borrowers that are higher than the standard margins for our business."
Like Stevens, Dinkel thinks realty affiliates are in a different league when it comes to interacting with consumers, even protecting them. An advantage to being associated with a real estate company, he says, "is that we have to protect the name and its reputation, as well as the buyers. You don’t look at a mortgage transaction as being independent. It’s part of a bigger piece because you also have the real estate transaction and, of course, from our standpoint, we need to protect the buyer during the entire transaction."
Not the End of Subprime, But a Trend Toward Quality
Despite the alarming stories about the subprime mortgage market-fueled primarily by major troubles at New Century, Ameriquest and Harbourton-this is not the end of the subprime market, just more of a flight to quality. Yet, Lawler predicts the subprime market, which accounted for more than half of all loans that entered foreclosure last year, could drop by 25-40% this year. Housing experts predict tighter underwriting guidelines could also result in 100,000 to 250,000 fewer home sales.
"There will be a way that everybody can get through this," reasons Griesser. "It’s gone way too far one way, and now it’s swinging back the other way. Somewhere in the not to distant future, they’ll be some alternative product. It’s the way the world works."
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Posted by Michelle Smith/Director of Knowledge Services
Tue, 22 May 2007 14:50:00 GMT
By Bob Corcoran
RISMEDIA, May 22, 2007-You know what a gas guzzler is - a big clunker that gulps gas like a thirsty old dog. And if you’ve been in real estate for more than a month you know what a time guzzler is too - a prospect that drinks up your time.
Can you imagine how much more productive (not to mention richer) you’d be if you could just convert more of those time guzzlers into buying clients?
The good news is that you can, and here’s how:
1. Track your conversion rate. Most agents have no idea what their conversion rate is. Can you picture Tiger Woods not knowing what par is on any given hole he’s playing? It’s the same for you as a professional in real estate. You have to get a baseline on paper. How many calls are you making to get appointments? How many of your appointments lead to closings?
One of the most important things I do with my clients is set them up with an online program that tracks their conversion rates - automatically. They always know the score, just like the pros.
The site, Corcoran Coaching, shows a four-year summary of clients’ prospecting you can use as a measuring stick to see how well you stack up. It features 21 categories of comparisons like commission per hour (the average is $1,812, yes, that’s per hour) or how much you can make every time you dial a phone number ($112).
2. Know (and practice) your scripts. When I was in grade school and missed a spelling word, I had to write it 25 times. Guess what? I became a better speller. It’s the same concept with your scripts. When you practice your scripts, you internalize them and they become a natural part of your sales arsenal.
I recommend role-playing as a way to practice. "Guidelines for Role Playing" has several real-life scenarios with both buyers and sellers.
And one more reference to Tiger Woods: Do you know how many practice shots he, the number one golfer in the world, takes in a day? 1,000. Do you want to be the number one agent in your area? Start practicing!
3. Know the goal. It’s easy to blame vacillating prospects for not converting more sales, but some Realtors® shoot themselves in the foot by not knowing the true goal of prospecting (to get the appointment). You can’t sell a house without an appointment.
But also know the five steps that lead you to the appointment:
1. Location - Where do they want to buy?
2. Price - What do they want to pay?
3. Motivation - What’s driving them to buy?
4. Other agents - Is there another agent involved?
5. Mortgage - Are they approved for a mortgage?
Then the goal: close for the appointment.
These steps are the absolute crux of selling real estate because they tell you exactly who you are dealing with: an A, B or C buyer.
You want to focus on A buyers, while keeping track of B and C buyers with a drip system and regular calls.
Knowing your conversion rates, practicing your scripts and understanding the goal will help you turn time guzzlers into buying clients.
Best of luck to you!
Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc.
For more information, visit www.CorcoranCoaching.com or call 800-957-8353.
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Posted by Michelle Smith/Director of Knowledge Services
Mon, 14 May 2007 13:08:00 GMT
Agent team leaders offer sales tips for today’s market
RISMEDIA, May 14, 2007-From presenting counter offers at 2 a.m. to planting trees in the dead of winter for staging a home, successful agents know how to get the job done. Recently RISMedia interviewed several agent team leaders from coast to coast to find out just how creative they are when it comes to making the sale in today’s changing market. Their answers may surprise you.
What’s the most creative thing you’ve ever done to sell a home?
"We presented counter offers at 2:00 in the morning. I don’t know how creative it is, but the bottom line is, Teri (wife and business partner) and I do whatever it takes to get the job done."
Rick Brenkus
The Brenkus Team
Keller Williams
Southern Nevada
Years as Team: 18
"I was into staging before staging was staging. I used to even put my own furniture into the house sometimes to get it done. I’ve gone in and cleaned houses on my own. My husband and I have planted pine trees in the dead of winter. We have done so many things. Whatever it takes to make the house look great and ultimately get it sold."
Barbara Wilson
The Wilson Team
Real Living, Medina, Ohio
Regions Served: Medina, Akron and Wayne counties
Years in Real Estate: 21
Started team: 14 years ago
"We just rented out a movie theatre to play a movie, serve popcorn…the works. Before the movie started, we had a slide show presentation of all of our listings. We figured we had them all in the theatre so we should maximize that. We had over 100 people there and they all loved it. We were going to rent out the theatre for our customers once a year but it went so well that we are now going to do it every four months."
Jackie Ellis
The Jackie Ellis Team
Keller Williams
Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Florida
Team age: 5 years old
Years in real estate: 18
"It’s not necessarily creative. I just do hard work. I get on the phone and just phone everyone in the area until I find a buyer. But that’s what I do every day. I get on the phone and I call till I find buyers."
Firm Name: Liz Carter & Team Realty
Agent team name: Liz Carter & Team
How many people on the team: 8
Area served: Katy, Houston & Sugarland, Texas.
How many years in Real Estate? Licensed in 1976
"We did the very first interactive kiosk at the local mall back in 1995. It worked really well."
Principals: Kurt & Darla Buehler
Team: The Buehlers and Associates of Keller Williams
Brokerage: Keller Williams
Area Served: Northwest Dallas suburbs
Team age: 20
Years in real estate: 20
Team members: 14: 9 licensed agents, 5 Administrative
"I just sold a townhouse. We had a situation where we had a buyer who was making lots of renovations to the townhouse and decided not to move forward leaving the house looking like a construction site. So there were a lot of challenges. I teamed up with an artist who uses metal in her work and she created a gallery in the house and we invited clients to a catered gallery event and ended up on the 11:00 PM news. The townhouse sold!"
Jackie Teplitzky
The Jackie Teplitzky Team
Prudential Douglas Elliman
Number of Team Members: 7
Region Served: Manhattan
Years in real estate: 11
"My mindset is such that you don’t have to be creative to sell a house. Price it right because that’s the only thing that’s going to sell the house."
Jeff Quintin
Jeff Quntin Real Estate Super Team
Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors
Ocean City, New Jersey
Years in Real Estate: 14
Number of Team Members: 6
"We have some of Michigan’s major athletes as clients. We flew first to North Carolina to meet with financial planners for the athletes and then to New York City to show local sports figures how serious we were about selling their houses. We learned early on that the wealth is in the relationship and not in the one-time deal."
Jason Abrams
The Abrams Team
Keller Williams
Region Served: Oakland County, Michigan
Years in real estate? 5
Reports compiled by Leslie Geary for RISMedia’s Power Team Report. For more information on how to subscribe to the Power Team Report, the definitive source for Agent Teams, visit http://www.rismedia.com/products/power-team-report/
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Posted by Michelle Smith/Director of Knowledge Services
Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:24:00 GMT
By Paul Rutter
RISMEDIA, April 26, 2007-Whether you work in a large company with thousands of employees or a small office with only two staff members, teamwork is vital for your organization’s success. Without teamwork, people drift off following their own agendas, allowing the company’s goals to stagnate. But when effective teamwork is in place, everyone directs their energies towards a single focus, and they typically achieve amazing results.
But for many managers, the question is, how do you build a solid team of people who work well together and move the company forward? Even though a horde of business books preach teamwork principles, many managers still find themselves directing individuals and playing referee rather than leading one cohesive unit-one winning team.
Fortunately, building a winning team isn’t as complicated as it often seems. If you’re ready to build a true team that’s geared for success, then all you need to do is follow the five C’s of teamwork.
1. Build Community - As a manager, you need to make sure everyone feels that they’re a part of the team. Realize that this process starts before a new person joins your team. For example, during the interview process, you can introduce qualified candidates to the other team members so they can get an idea of their potential new co-workers. When you hire someone, rather than just make an offer of employment, you can also explain what they can expect to encounter at your company-its culture, its values, its guiding principles. Once someone accepts an offer of employment, you can give him or her a welcome packet that details everything about the work environment and team expectations. Then, on the person’s first day, hook the new employee up with a "buddy" who can show the newbie around and help the person adapt. The more you can "bring someone into the fold," the better he or she will adjust and feel a part of the group. Realize that the first two to four weeks of someone’s employment are critical for instilling that team spirit. If someone feels that they’re not a part of the team after the first four weeks, the person will likely leave.
2. Encourage Cooperation - To encourage a sense of teamwork, make sure everyone knows both the short- and long-term goals of the department and the company. Those people who have been at the company a long time may even have a say in the goals. At the very least, people need to have a say in the approach to meeting the goals. Even if you don’t enact someone’s suggestion, let people voice their opinions and really listen to what they have to say. When people know that they’re being heard (even if their suggestions cannot be enacted) they feel a greater sense of involvement in the company’s direction.
3. Support Coordination - Let each person know how he or she fits in to the company’s big picture. Detail what each person is responsible for and how that person’s actions and duties impact the company as a whole. Be sure that each person accepts the needed responsibilities of his or her job and is accountable for his or her actions. Everyone is there to do a particular job, so remind people of that fact and what their particular job is. A big part of coordination is making sure everyone is actually present to do his or her needed job. So in order to not hear excuses for why something didn’t get done, make sure you define to your team the unacceptable excuses for poor performance upfront. Obviously we all make mistakes and are human, but we can’t allow people to repeat the same mistakes over and over and use the same excuses continually.
4. Promote Communication - If you want people to feel that they’re part of a team, then they need to be informed. Therefore, make sure everyone knows what’s going on that week, that month, or for that next project. Proper communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and working for the same goals. To encourage communication, have short meetings to bring everyone up to date. If possible, keep meetings to no longer than twenty minutes. Long meetings drain everyone’s energy and tax their attention spans. During these short meetings, make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak. This does not mean that you force everyone to speak; simply make it known that everyone has the opportunity to offer their perspective or voice their concerns.
5. Offer Continuous Coaching - When you coach people, either within departmental guidelines or within their particular job duties, you send a message that says, "You’re important." Additionally, if someone has been at the company for a long time, you could coach that person for the future position he or she wants. Your team needs to know that coaching is available and that you promote from within. Why? Because people are willing to do more when they know training opportunities are available and that there’s room for advancement. Coaching creates a positive outlook for the team and your guidance helps your team meet goals. The more you train or coach people, the more they’ll meet goals and seek out more challenging assignments.
Team Success Starts with You
No matter how large or small your team is, realize that teamwork rarely happens overnight. That’s why you need to consistently lead by example. That is, if you want to instill teamwork, you need to be willing to do whatever task you’re asking your staff to do. You also need to focus on the positive things people do to encourage more of it. So do the right things and acknowledge when others do things right. Before you know it, you’ll have a winning team that seamlessly works together, achieving amazing results that propel the company forward.
About the Author:
Paul Rutter is the founder and owner of Smooth Sailing Communication, Inc.,
a unique consultancy focusing on corporate training and executive coaching.
After 15 years as a cruise director on some of the world’s largest cruise ships, Paul now lends his knowledge and insight to companies across the nation and helps them to apply creative solutions to everyday problems. For more information about Paul’s consulting, please visit www.SmoothSailingCommunication.com or email:
paul@smoothsailingcommunication.com.
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Posted by Michelle Smith/Director of Knowledge Services
Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:56:00 GMT
By Barbara Pronin
RISMEDIA, April 23, 2007-A funny thing happened as the real estate market shifted from frenzied to flat. Many agents found that a passion for the business, good basic skills and a commitment to excellent customer service are the keys to success in any market…and that a slight shift in strategy may be all it takes to put a slump behind you for good.
For Russell Nolting, who switched his business focus from commercial land development to residential real estate only three years ago, the experience has been a great adventure, a rude awakening, and a valuable object lesson.
"I joined the National Association of Realtors in 2004, just as the residential market was heating up," said Nolting, broker and president of Nolting Real Estate in Chesterfield, Mo. "It was good timing, and in my first year I did a respectable amount of residential business."
Like many of his colleagues, Nolting subscribed to the basics of real estate marketing; aggressive prospecting, local advertising, and building a sizable contact database. "Everything was working, the phones were ringing, and I was feeling pretty good," he recalled.
But last year, as the sizzling market slowed and the phones rang less often, Nolting decided to make a fundamental shift in the way he conducted his business. In a move that may have seemed counterproductive, he slashed his extensive contacts database from more than 5,000 names to 60.
"Referrals seemed more important than ever, and you’re not likely to get a referral from someone who doesn’t really know you," Nolting said. "So I looked at each name in my database and I asked myself, can I have a 10-minute conversation with this person? If the answer was no, out they went. I wanted to talk to people who knew me, and knew I would do a good job for anyone they referred to me."
Working the phones with people he knew made all the difference for Nolting, whose business last year grew to five times his first year’s production - and it’s working for the agents he has subsequently hired and trained to use a similar approach.
Nolting also looked at his marketing methods and made another important change. "I really take a personal approach to client appreciation," he said.
Last November, as a thank-you for referrals, he hired a photographer to take professional family holiday portraits. He frequently loans out his carpet-cleaning machine to save clients the cost of renting one. Recently, he made a deal with a local gardener to offer discounted spring gardening service - and sent a basketful of flower bulbs to every person who has referred business since January.
On the East Coast, which early on felt the brunt of last year’s slowdown, Michael Dolan was not prepared for the steep fall-off of business. Dolan, a Realtor with Century 21 Ed Nugent Realtors in Piscataway, N.J., came into the industry in 1999.
"Prices were going up every year, and there were always plenty of buyers," Dolan said. "Business was good and I guess I assumed it would always be that way. But when things slowed down last year, everything dried up and I really had to hunt for business. It was months before I found my niche, but I finally found what worked for me."
What worked for Dolan was a focus on the expired market; sharing practical advice and market savvy with previously discouraged sellers.
"For me, it became more important than ever to really know the market," he said. "To keep sellers realistic, but even more than that, to keep buyers and sellers informed. It’s crucial to be competitive, but it’s also crucial for clients to trust your judgment - and they can only do that when you are totally honest, have your finger on the pulse and bring value to every negotiation."
That, Dolan said, is what brings referrals, which now make up the bulk of his business.
In Greenwich, Conn., Joann Mancuso took another approach. "I met my partner, Kathryn Clauss, in real estate school six years ago," Mancuso said. "We decided from the get-go to work as a team, and it’s worked wonderfully for us. Our clients get two hard workers for the price of one, and they get the best that each of us has to offer."
The team, based in the Greenwich office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, focuses on the high end market - a strategy, Mancuso said, that has kept them busy right through the recent downturn. (Among their current listings is a $3.9 million Greenwich property owned by a world-famous singer.)
"Luxury properties are bought and sold regardless of the state of market," Mancuso said. "But they may take a year or more to sell, and because we have a sophisticated clientele, we need to take a sophisticated approach. We bring an aggressive marketing plan to the table, front-loaded with property exposure in major publications worldwide - and we develop programs that promote their property in a manner that fits their lifestyle."
The pair may host charitable and/or promotional events right in the client’s home. For one client, a musician and patron of the arts, they staged a gala to raise funds for a young composer while showcasing the client’s elegant property to a select list of invited guests.
"When it comes to marketing, we have two sets of skills to help us think outside the box," Mancuso said. "We don’t promote ourselves. We don’t even have our photos on our stationery. Our goal is to promote the property, and our clients know we go above and beyond to do that."
In California, which saw inventory swell and prices fall throughout most of 2006, there is no shortage of high-end property - and at a median price hovering around $500,000, even the average home may be considered high-end. Home prices are rising even as sales lag, but for many West Coast Realtors, the trick to breaking out of a slump is doing what they always did - but more of it.
David Gruver, who came into the business as the market was heating up, still wonders at the ups and downs he has seen over the past couple of years.
"At first, my production zoomed so high, so fast, it was almost too good to be true," said Gruver, an agent with Prudential California Realty in Brea, Calif. "And I guess it was, because for several months last year, everything just suddenly stopped."
Gruver used the downtime to take additional sales training available through his company. Then he challenged himself to take a grueling approach to traditional farming methods. He made more calls. He sent more mail. He sat open houses for his colleagues - a practice he continues today because" it’s a great way to meet people." Most important, he said, he took a deep breath and started knocking on doors.
"It isn’t easy," Gruver admitted. "You get a lot of rejection. But you learn to get past it and move on."
Gruver stayed with it, and the steady cold-calling - and organized follow-up - began to pay hoped-for dividends. Today, he’s working hard to keep up with referrals and provide the best in service to every client.
None of the sales professionals we interviewed for this article resorted to discounting commissions. As Gruver noted, "When homes are moving slowly, sellers know they need quality representation. If you can prove you are the one to provide that, you don’t need to think about discounting."
As important, all of those interviewed reported an upswing in business this spring. "Once the holidays were over, the phones started ringing," Dolan said. "There’s good value out there, and buyers know that. I expect to be really busy."
Seven Strategies For Shaking A Slump
The agents we talked to agreed that great customer service leads the list of ‘must have’ slump-busters. But here are some tips for moving forward, even in uncharted waters:
• Shake it up - Change your routine, alter your schedule, try something new every day. Brainstorm with a colleague, take a rival to lunch. Be alert to new ideas.
• Put a toe in the water - Seek training from your broker or company on an area you haven’t tried. E-team sales? High-end marketing? The list goes on and on…
• Create a focus group - Chat up your closest circle of friends. Ask for help with prospecting. Sometimes, the best ideas come from people outside the business.
• Get into community - Sponsor a safety fair. Support a youth sports team. Mount a recycling event. Meet new people and do some good…what a winning combo.
• Partner up - Team with a colleague to offer clients the benefit of two sets of skills. Host a reception to introduce the team…or a seminar for first time buyers.
• Walk the beat - Knocking on doors takes resolve and persistence…but it can pay off big time. Put on your walking shoes, swallow your pride and hit the pavement.
• Say it like you mean it - Be creative in saying thanks for referrals with special gifts or events. Give your imagination free rein. One referral leads to another.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Please send them to realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
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