Realty World Northern California & Nevada

I have attended more meetings and events than I can count over the past 25 years in the real estate franchise industry. Trust me, I get it… we all have days when we can come up with a number of reasons why we don’t have the time to attend a meeting or an event. I remain convinced, however, that the broker or agent who invests the time to attend company meetings has an advantage since they always seem to have the ability to remain focused, even in the most challenging markets. These individuals are on top of their game, knowledgeable about what tools are available and, most importantly, which ones to implement into their business. They reap the benefits of establishing rapport with their fellow brokers and agents and capitalize on the business opportunities that occur as a result.

But something’s different now. Where past trade group meetings were broker focused, they are now open to agents. I have been to three different trade group meetings over the past two weeks and have found that agents were astounded at the value the meetings brought to them. I saw many who began to immediately make changes in how and where they invest their marketing dollars, saving money while expanding their market exposure.

The trade group meetings have been designed to bring time-sensitive, valuable information and education to you. Find out the date and location of your next local area trade group meeting and schedule your calendar to attend. You won’t be disappointed!

Terri Adamo
Franchise Sales Director
Terri.Adamo@rwnc.net

Let’s face it… EVERYTHING seems to be changing constantly and rapidly these days. From a real estate industry perspective, this means that most of what we thought we knew in terms of real estate brokerages, brokerage business models, vendor services, mortgage lenders, mortgage products and guidelines, disclosures, technology, marketing, franchise affiliations, etc., is perhaps markedly different then it was from only six months ago.

To give you an example, I engage with licensed brokers and real estate salespeople on a daily basis with the intent to educate them about our new Realty World network. Most often, before I am able to utter the next sentence after introductions are made, I’ll hear something like, “Oh yea, I know all about Realty World,” abruptly shutting down the conversation. Although this might have to do with a restriction on time or simply that they are overwhelmed, shutting down the conversation short changes them on vital information they may not have. While it’s convenient and all too easy, being curious can many times pay big dividends.

The next time a vendor or competitor approaches you with “something new” give them the gift of 10 or 15 minutes of your time and be attentive. Who knows… you just might learn about something you weren’t previously aware of that can greatly impact you, your clients or your business.

Scott Gill
Senior Vice President
Scott.Gill@rwnc.net

An analogy taught many years ago by a very successful football coach applies to the commitment of real estate professionals today. 

If an individual takes a 2 x 4 that is ten feet long and lays it on the floor with the 4 inch side facing up, it takes nothing to per se ‘walk the plank.’ I would venture to say that the reason it is so easy to walk the 2 x 4 is more the fact that it is on the floor which many interpret as ‘being safe.’ Confidence in our abilities, knowledge, and attitude allows us to see beyond the challenge.

Texas Tech Coach, Mike Leach, uses this board during warm-ups, expecting his team to walk the length of the board without losing their balance. But what if this plank was suspended 10 stories high? Would you still have that same confidence walking the plank? In Mike’s words, “If you eliminate distractions, you can still walk the board if it’s suspended. The board doesn’t change. Anybody can still walk the board if you develop the ability to eliminate distractions.”

I know… now we’re going to compare a board to real estate? 

Every moment real estate professionals need to understand their market. A suggested way of accomplishing this would be to develop a regimented schedule of obtaining information that gives the following information: average days on market of homes; number of new listings for the week; number of new sales for the week; ratio of new listings to sales; average listing price of homes; and average sales price of homes at close of escrow will allow clients to see the trends, many times before the true shift in the market takes hold.

Maintaining a working knowledge should be defined to up to five or six areas, neighborhoods, in the real estate professional’s area of service. Armed with this, you will have the improved confidence and abilities to educate your clients, better able to help them make defined decisions in a transaction.

As we further develop our knowledge and our mindset, gain the confidence in our abilities and eliminate outside distractions that hinder us from improvement, we can suspend that 2 x 4 ten feet high and, with steady balance, ‘walk the plank’ of our profession each day.

Dennis O. Stewart, GRI
Vice President & Regional Director
Dennis.Stewart@rwnc.net