Team Work

Team work is a wonderful thing.  It is funny because we work in a business that is mostly about the success of the individual, however, it seems that it always takes a strong team surrounding those who excel.  As an avid bike rider and one of the only people in the world who actually watches the three week long Tour De France bike race on TV, I can tell you for sure that without a team the single individual winner would not have won. I have been watching this event ever since I was a kid and it is always the case the rider with the best supporting team will win.

This year was no exception and in fact it truly demonstrated the need for a team.  The eventual winner was the guy who had team support the entire 3 weeks and 2600 miles. He was the most consistent rider, never being to overly aggressive and yet never allowing his competitors to jump to far ahead.  He plugged away every day solid on his bike, allowing his team to do their jobs and ride for him and with him.  Every day when the end was near the team leader was able to have the strength remaining to finish off the stage.  If he did not have the support of his team for the entire stage and for each and every stage he could not have had the strength in the end to stay in contact with all the competitors. In fact he had finished second on two different occasions, both times his team was not strong enough to support his efforts and he knew it.

He is not the "best" climber or the "best" sprinter, in fact he might not even be considered the "best" rider overall, but he did have the "best" team support for the entire three weeks and thus finished in Paris on top of the podium as the winner, and in my mind as the"BEST" rider and the one who should have won and who deserved to win.  While he was overwhelmed with winning, this quiet Australian could not thank his team enough.  He was all smiles and proud of his own individual accomplishment of finally winning the tour after 10 years of trying, but he did not take the credit, he gave that to his TEAM. I am sure that he trained the hardest and worked the longest.  He studied the course the most and knew the competition the best but even with all that he knew if it were not for the other 8 riders on his team he would not have won.  

Real estate is no different. The top agents always have the top supporting cast, being a top agent is one thing but being the "Best" agent is quite another.  The best agents know that without the support of many many people on their respective teams they wouldn't be the best.  At the end of the year when the awards get handed out, it is interesting to see who thanks whom. It takes the truly best agents, the ones with true character to know that they have achieved such high heights only with the help of the other agents in their offices and on their teams.  Being in an office which is about TEAM WORK makes all the difference int he world.  

Coming to work every day and seeing my agents slap each other on the back, help each other out whenever needed, going out of the way to ensure everyone succeeds makes me proud to be part of the team. Each agent striving to reach their own individual success, yet knowing all along that without each other they can only climb so high.  With each other and with the team the sky is the limit. Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty is a fabulous team, we talk about team work, we practice team work and we are good at team work.  We strive to be the "BEST" team in order to have the "BEST agents. 

Work should be fun

I get great pleasure from seeing the people I work with enjoy their jobs.  It makes me want to come to work every day when the team around me wants to do the same.  I suppose it helps that we live and work in an area where real estate is still being bought and sold daily.  Regardless of the circumstances, my desire to come to work and be part of a team is enhanced by those who surround me.

It is like a breath of fresh air to have a team made up of people who are energetic and eager to learn, try new things and even try old things that they have forgotten about.  It is funny because even this old dog is learning new tricks.  I have found my time in Jacksonville has thus far been simply a blast. Prior to moving here I was a bit apprehensive after being in the Triad for 23 years. My apprehension has proven to be misplaced.

I am here to report it all worked out very well.  Our team is made up of agents and staff from all over the United States, all age groups, new agents and seasoned ones and a great knowledge base.  We seem to all learn from each other.  This is a fun environment to both lead in and to be part of.  I have not heard even once that someone wasn't at least going to try a new idea.

One of the best things about a real estate career is that you can learn something new each and every day. No two transactions are the same, once you think you have it figured something new pops its head up.  I encourage anyone to give real estate a try.  It is hard work, and it is a career which pays you totally by the amount of work you put into it.  It takes self motivation, self desire, a great attitude and the ability to hold yourself accountable.  If you have all those traits there is no reason you can not be a huge success.

We at CB Fountain don't have the largest team in town but we do have the best team in town.  It is a pleasure to work here and a joy to come to work every day. If you are thinking about a move give us a call.  Come talk to me about the many benefits of our team.  Come think out of the box with Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty.

Put a Smile on your face

Most of us have to go to work every day, so there are two ways to look at it.  1) "oh my god another day at work", or 2) "hey I get to go to work today".  In the real estate business we deal with the public every day. In addition we deal with them in a stressful time.  Moving can be both very stressful and very emotional for our clients, it seems to me that part of our job is to make the best effort we can to take the stress level down and raise the fun level in all our transactions. We need to go out of our way to have a HAPPY FACE :) :) on each and every day.

If it is fun at your office it will make our jobs much easier and certainly it will make the clients feel much more at ease with their decisions to either buy or sell a home.  Work should be the place we go every morning with a big smile on our face and with an attitude to have fun and to spread the joy. It might sound a little sappy, but to me it makes perfect sense.  Second only to family time we spend more time at work than any other thing we do, we might as well enjoy the time we spend there.

As Realtors we spend more time working than in most other occupations because we need to conform our schedules to those of our clients.  We work evenings, weekends, holidays etc.  The good news is we choose to do this so we should enjoy it.  No one forced us to become Realtors, as a matter of fact we spent a great deal of time, effort and money to become agents. No one to blame but ourselves. Even with the scheduling issues we run into from time to time, our job allows us to spend time with our families that others can not.  We can schedule time during the "normal work day" to spend as we choose. So make the most of the time we spend at work, be happy about your job.  Be proud that we help clients through stressful times.

Come to work and have a blast.  If you are having fun you will find that your clients will have more fun.  More fun for them means less headaches for you. It is well worth the effort to SMILE each and every day.

What a great team- Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty

Wow what a great team I am with in Jacksonville, NC.  Having been here for 3 weeks now I have had the chance to meet and work with everyone for a while. I am so impressed with the level of energy, knowledge and drive.  Every agent at Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty is positive, eager to learn and to do business.

We have agents who have been in the business for 20 plus years and agents who have come into the business less than a year ago, what is great is that they all are open to new ideas, as well as tweaking the old ideas. You do not always have to re-invent the wheel to get better, sometimes a simple little change or an addition to an old tried and proven idea will give it that extra little push that was needed.  I am proud of the way everyone here at Fountain Realty has been open to any and all suggestions.

In the past 2 weeks we have had 2 new additions to the team who have fit right into the group and have hit the ground running.  I like to see the go get em attitude, I like to see the high spirit and drive to succeed.  I have talked in the past about Attitude and how important it is to be in charge of your own attitude, well it seems that every agent at Coldwell Banker Fountain is in control of their attitudes.  This is sure a smiling and happy bunch. We like to have fun and like to get the job done!

Coldwell Banker is a great brand, it is nationally known.  So when you add a team like ours at Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty the consumer really can not go wrong, and additionally any agent who joins our team can't go wrong either.  Our management team cares about our team.  We support them in every way that we can.  We realize that keeping our agents happy is also keeping them productive.  Come on over and check us out.  I am happy to talk with any agent who is considering a change.

The new step

Well it has been a while since I posted last.  I have made a big move from the Triad of NC to the coast of NC.  I am now the sales manager with Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty in Jacksonville, NC.  It was a tough decision to leave the Winston-Salem/Kernersville area after almost 24 years, but the time was right the opportunity was right and I jumped to take advantage of it.

I have been here for a week now and have been meeting the Team at Coldwell Banker Fountain.  What a great team it is, we have 17 agents all of whom are productive, eager and ready to serve the community. It is refreshing to meet such great people with great attitudes and a desire to get the job done. Business in Jacksonville is hot.  New construction everywhere, resales are selling and rentals are flying.  I couldn't be happier to be part of the team.

It is essential for any team to have a go get em attitude. We at Fountain Realty want to help our clients find the perfect home. With the inventory of homes on the market we are able to find that perfect fit for any client. I had the pleasure of working with two of our agents prior to my move. I was able to find the perfect home for myself.  The job got done and got done quickly.  I was able to find a home and close in less than 20 days.  This might not be the norm but it is possible. Thanks to the team of Realtors, mortgage advisers, insurance people, builders etc. for making the move as easy as possible.

As I move into my new position I will be working with the agents on training, problem solving, new technology and out of the box thinking. I want to help enhance the already great job the agents at Coldwell Banker Fountain do. Anything that can be done to make the agents job easier will in turn make the buyers and sellers experience a better one.

Follow me on my blog and learn what is new and exciting in the Jacksonville real estate market. I will try to post thoughts and ideas which can help agents do their jobs more easily and more effectively. Feel free to comment and have discussions on anything real estate related.

In closing today, I want to thank all my friends at Coldwell Banker Triad Realtors for the many great years I had there, and thanks for the wonderful training you gave me.  I will take everything I have learned over the years and put it to use as I venture into this new phase.  I also want to say how happy I am to be part of my new Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty team in Jacksonville. The SKY is the LIMIT.

Let's get it going

Well this past weekend was the Home sweet home weekend in Kernersville.  It is an open house event which is put on by the Chamber of Commerce in Kernersville.  We had over 100 homes open for viewing from 2-5 pm on Sunday.  Not sure of the count yet but in past years we have had over 1500 people come through.  I had 3 very interested buyers come into the home I was in and have heard reports of homes which had up to 70 visitors.  I wish I was in the house with 70!  Either way I think realtor participation was high as was the participation from the buyers.

These are all a good signs to me that the market is getting a bit stronger. Over the past few years we have seen a decrease of over 30% in home values, and have had a huge inventory of homes on the market with days on the market averages between 13 and 36 months depending on the price category. From what I am seeing in the local market over the past month or so is that things may just be turning a bit as buyers are back on the street.

The Triad is still struggling with unemployment over 10% so as the market does strengthen it will be a gradual improvement.  That being said, I will take it. Any push in a positive direction is a good push for me. A large part of any improvement in the market will be based on peoples perception of the market so on a daily basis I try to find the good things to focus on rather than the doom and gloom.  I am sure we are about to turn things around.

Over the past 3 months I have visited many properties which are for sale, I can tell you that there are plenty of homes out there which are priced right and in really really good condition.  As I have said before in prior post, NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY!  Low interest rates, lots of inventory to select from, prices as good as they can get.  Buyers need to know all about it and it is our job to let them know.

Spend some time connecting with your sphere of influence.  Call that client who bought a home 5 to 10 years ago. Who knows, tell them it's time to buy, drum up some business. It will have a ripple effect on everything.  If you get a new client to buy a home and maybe sell one as well, you have helped the market improve.  Maybe they have a friend to refer to you as well.  Every little bit counts, let's all get out there and make the connections today and get this thing back on track. We are almost there I will try to do my part in kick starting it again, will you do the same?

Gas is high find out the real needs of your clients

It has been a while since I have posted anything so I figured it was time. February is gone and it is starting to get nice out.  People are back looking for homes, interest rates are still low as are housing prices.  The time is right for buyers to make a move.  In fact I am showing houses to two people coming from New York tomorrow.  Being the transplanted New Yorker (24 Years) that I am, I will put on my best ex New York face and accent and get out there and show them around. It is always fun to show houses here to people from up north because they seem amazed at what they can buy as compared to in NY.

My fingers are crossed and my thinking cap is on as I look for appropriate homes to show them. I just love all the tools we have which make the process of finding homes to show simple.  Listing book is a great tool but I find a lot of agents use it as a crutch rather than a tool to help find the right house. You can not just tell someone to use listing book and find some houses to see.  If you do that you will end up with a list a mile long with houses stretched out over miles and miles of roads. With gas at $3.40 a gallon that does not make any sense. We agents need to dig deep to find out the needs of our clients and then lead the search for homes. Now more than ever we need to have serious conversations with clients to find the true needs of our clients and the true benefits that they are looking for in a house. Remembering all the time that features do not equal benefits. Once we have done a good job in discovery we can come up with a handful of homes to show the buyers.  If we have done a good job up front we should be able to narrow the search quite a bit.

If everything works according to plan there will be at least one offer written by Monday afternoon. With zipforms on line and docusign I will be able to write the offer and have it signed electronically even with my clients back in NY.  Wow technology is great.

On another note I wanted to let everyone know about an event in Kernersville on March 20th.  The Kernersville Chamber is sponsoring the Home Sweet Homes for all real estate companies on 3/20.  This is a huge open house event where there will be well over 100 homes being held open. Last year we had more than 1500 buyers come through and look at houses and this year the event is even bigger.  I am sure we will have a lot of our listing go under contract. Please let your buyers know about it and send them out to look in the Kernersville area on the 20th.  All of the Coldwell Banker listings will be in the Winston Paper that day and there will be a map and list of all the open houses in the Kernersville paper the week of the event.  I hope to see you out and about on the 20th.