Brian Wilson
By Toby Welch
There’s no better time to ensure that 2011 is your best year ever.
Anne Ireland
How will the changes to the MLS rules affect Realtors’ game plans? Anne Ireland, broker at Century 21 Market Realty in Truro, N.S., says, “I believe the changes reflected with competition law and the access of MLS (means) that Realtors will need to embrace the evolution of our industry and accept private sellers as an opportunity rather than a threat. The Realtors who make gains in 2011 will be the ones who direct their energies into tapping this new market opportunity rather than trying to fight it or continuing to practice real estate using the old model.”
To make 2011 a more successful real estate year than 2010, Uta Marshall of Team Powerhouse Realty in Prince George, B.C., has established a few goals:
“I recently read somewhere that 80 per cent of business comes from following up, so I will be diligently following up on every lead and inquiry that I receive. I have just begun implementing the Exclusive Buyer’s Agency into my business and will continue to do so in 2011 to make sure that buyer leads are serious. To strike a good balance between home and business life (as we all know this business can be all-consuming), I will schedule clients into my calendar around my other appointments, be it business or personal.”
Linda Loftus
Linda Loftus, broker of Sutton Group Incentive Realty (Squarefoot.ca Team) in Barrie, Ont., shares her plan: “We are and continue to be more than an MLS service provider. We investigate market statistics and governmental roles and how they contribute to development costs/delays/savings. We evaluate the time and space versus cost or savings and what that means to a particular client and then based on our investigations/evaluations, we recommend a series of five choices to a client. The model works well for clients because we look well beyond the immediate real estate requirement. The real estate deal is only 10 per cent of what we do and it comes at the end of the 90 per cent time invested to get to know the client and their business requirements.”
Shirley Powell
Shirley Powell, the owner and manager of Let’s Deal Real Estate Ltd. in Moncton, N.B., has been in real estate for 27 years and plans to have her best year ever in 2011.
“Recently I hired a young, smart multi-media tech who will revamp my web presence and deliver better advertising to the public, reaching a target audience. I will take the time to really pay attention to all the opportunities in marketing being offered to the private sale sellers by unlicensed ‘wanna be’ Realtors because this kind of marketing will become more aggressive in 2011. I am ready for a change in how I will do business and welcome it with open arms. The time is right and it is the consumers and the competitors that lead me to this approach in doing business the new way.”
Janet Bossert
Janet Bossert of Re/Max Real Estate in Edmonton sees the bigger picture for 2011. “When the market slows down, rather than panicking or getting down in the dumps, look at the big picture. Look at real estate history; ups and downs – but in the end, the straight line is UP. Take advantage of the extra time you have. Look at it as a gift you rarely give yourself: time. Use a lull or downward shift in the market to do all the things you were too busy to do before, such as spending real time with your friends and family, reading or viewing inspirational material, catching up with the less exciting aspects of our business (paperwork, checking out new ideas for marketing), and doing whatever you have been neglecting – you know, the things that are always sent to the bottom of your to-do list.”
Terra and Chris Suffel
Will 2011 be more even-keeled? “After a tumultuous 2010, we’re anticipating a more stable marketplace in 2011. Our approach in this more traditional market is actually to maintain the status quo,” says Chris Suffel, sales rep for Re/Max Hallmark Realty in Toronto. “My partner Terra and I plan to continue what our clients say sets us apart – providing exceptional service at every step in the sales cycle. Real estate is no longer simply a transactional business. In 2011, it’s all about demonstrating value.”
Dan Keeley
Dan Keeley, a Realtor with Re/Max Little Oak Realty in Abbotsford, B.C., says he’ll have a year of positive changes. “2010 was the first year that I had an unlicensed assistant so learning how to utilize that in my business was a great thing for me. Looking forward to 2011, I plan to continue to change how I do things so that I am more organized and more effective with my time. I will be bringing another associate or two alongside this year so it will be another year of change, but am totally looking forward to it. You can’t be waiting for the phone to ring like it did in 2006 or 2007, you have to get out there and make it ring.”
Do what it takes to make 2011 your best year ever in real estate.
