You are currently browsing the archive for the Running a Brokerage category.
Posted by Nicolai Kolding
I think it’s well past time for the layout of the “traditional” real estate office to change. As a customer, I see woefully little that is designed around my needs. As someone with a vested interest in the success of this industry, I see wasted costs galore that make my stomach churn. As I’ve written before, I believe we can do much more with much less. I can’t imagine a better time to move forward with revolutionary designs.
First thing this morning we issued a media advisory announcing the press conference and webcast of our formal launch, which will take place on July 23, 2008 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco!
To get all the details click here.
To kick off the summer driving season, we promoted a rideshare day at the Realogy headquarters on Friday, June 20. For weeks we revved up the internal communications machine to drive participation through stump speeches, email newsletters, plasma screen promos, executive emails, flyers, sign up tables and water cooler talk. We even held out the carrot of two $50 gas cards. It was a full court press. The result? Out of a building population of about 900, we had 88 register with Nuride.com (not bad), and on the big day itself, about 25 people took the leap and carpooled into work.
Whether speaking about a sales person, a manager or a company leader, the ability to embrace change is the primary personality trait for those individuals who maintain a ‘hip’ and progressive persona in our business. This is not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, but remains something that is easier said than done. The successful agent understands that as customer needs and wants evolve, so must our business vocabulary. Even more, the most successful agents that I have met actually learn to enjoy the changing business environment.
Posted by Wendy Forsythe
I’ve been hearing many people give agents advice that in order to prosper in today’s real estate market you need to get “back to basics.” Honestly, every time I hear this phrase the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
It’s not that I don’t absolutely believe that there are fundamentals that every agent needs to focus on in order to be successful. I do. However, I think to define these fundamentals as “basics” is misleading. There is nothing basic about our business. Those that are successful are so because they have adapted to the market, to consumers expectations and have worked hard at doing the right things along the way. The tasks they fill their days with today are different then they were 5 years, 10 years or 15 years ago.
Posted by Jason Steele
As you may know from my last blog post, my family and I are in the market for a new home. I began the research process of finding an agent both on the web via Active Rain and through local referrals from friends and family in our prospective neighborhoods. We chose the agent through active rain as they happened to be much more knowledgeable and in tune with our requirements for finding a new home. The agent set up an automated email from their local MLS that would send us listings as they hit the market. In addition I went to Realtor.com, Zillow & Trulia daily just to make sure I had all of the bases covered so that the perfect house wouldn’t fall through the cracks. About a week ago a very promising home hit the market in our price range and it just seemed too good to be true. The pictures on the MLS site were plentiful, good school system, taxes were in line with our expectations and most of the all the price seemed low for the amount of property/beds/baths. There wasn’t an address listed so I went off to Trulia to see if I could figure out where in the town this home was located and sure enough there was an address. The default view is “map” and the location appeared to be ideal as it bordered a large wooded area. I zoomed in a bit and then hit the “satellite” view and that’s when things really came into focus. There appeared to be a building with 4 large round towers no more than 50 yards behind the woods in the rear of the property.
Dear brokerage owners and managers:
I know times are awfully tough right now and, believe me, I’m not trying to kick you while you’re down. But I have a nagging question I need to ask: have you considered the possibility that you may never make more money than you are today? I’m not even thinking about what you made, say, in 2004 or 2005. I’m talking about never earning more than you are right at this very moment. Think about that possibility for a minute. What if this is as good as it gets?
Posted by Sherry Chris
It never fails … good things happen when you least expect them. When we were offered a 15-second spot twice every hour for 60 days’ rotation on the CBS Superscreen at Times Square, it was too exciting to pass up! 1.5M people look at the huge screen every day! It wasn’t originally part of our extensive launch plan, but we quickly incorporated it. Of course, the challenge became: how do you create a 15-second video announcing the launch of Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate when you can’t display the name or trademark until July?
 |
Sherry Chris |
 |
Nicolai Kolding |
 |
Wendy Forsythe |
 |
Scott Schubiger |
 |
Robert Albanese |
 |
Jason Steele |
 |
Kevin Doell |
 |
Paulette Costa |
