Insight from 5 Top Producing Canadian Realtors - Part 2

Interviews with five top producing Realtors^® from across Canada, from five national brokerages, all with very different styles, strategies and markets have provided awesome insights which will inspire change in any professional.  These Realtors^® include a 17 year consummate professional with a large sales group and lethal marketing team from Re/Max in Vancouver; a Realtor^® licensed in the early 70's with endless energy from Coldwell Banker in Ottawa; a solo act with a passion for country living and community from Sutton in Calgary; an introverted condo and downtown specialist with focus second to-none from Royal LePage in Toronto; and a team led by two equal partners with a laid back educated approach from Prudential in the Toronto suburb of Oakville.

These interviews consisted of twelve key questions, that lead us through their business structure, mentors, brand identity, marketing strategy, building a top producing business, maintaining a top producing business and the challenges that go along with it, how technology impacts their success, advice to new Realtors^® and those trying to move their business to the next level.  Ultimately, the interviews ended with wanting to know what the key differentiator was between them and the rest of the pack.  This four-part story will be filed away under "educational" for professionals in any sales context, but especially for those in real estate.  Part one was a huge success, and part two looks at the next 3 questions asked of the panel, and what the key commonalities and differences are between these 5 interviews.

Again, allow me to re-introduce the panel to you:

Faith Wilson: Re/Max Vancouver B.C. Real Estate Services from Vancouver www.faithwilson.com 

Shayna Shuster: Sarazen Realty Coldwell Banker from Ottawa www.shaynashuster.com

Debbie Ashcroft: Sutton Partners Realty Group from Calgary www.debbieashcroft.com

Brian Elder: Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. from Toronto www.be-at-home.com

Bill Schiavone and Steve Diamond: Prudential Town Centre Realty from GTA suburb Oakville www.schiavonediamond.com

What was the turning point in your real estate career and marketing strategy that moved you to top producer status?

Royal LePage's Brian Elder found that in his 9 year career, about 4 years in he started feeling security about his top producing status, but in 2001 on his first day at the office Brian told his manager "in year 7 I am going to be in Chairman's club".  He mapped out his strategy and then executed the plan and built on it each year.  Brian was mistaken in his 7-year projection; he reached Chairman's Top 1% of Canada in year six.  There was no secret shift in what Brian was doing, he just worked on one thing at a time until he mastered it, and kept building on that until he became a recognizable brand for which people were asking.

Sutton Group's Debbie Ashcroft believes that her turning point in her 6 years came a few years in after gaining a reputation, trust and a strong referral system.  Debbie shared with me that "when people start coming back to you, your confidence builds and your sphere of influence starts to grow".  The keys to developing this reputation and trust were education and knowledge, technology, consistency with follow up, and putting everything together.  Debbie started selling real estate in this community shortly after moving there, not knowing anybody, so she prioritized getting involved in the community.  She did it all: "volunteering, getting to know people, putting my signs everywhere, getting my name out, and most of all keeping a good reputation".

Prudential's partnership of Steve Diamond and Bill Schiavone found it was continuing to repeat the same, right things over and over again.  "We track, almost to a fault, all of our business.  We know where all business is coming from, so if we see that 80% of our business is referrals, we concentrate on our database rather than sending out flyers."  And in fact, that is what they found.  Two major events a year keep their repeat and referral clients feeling attended to and cared for.  An annual movie morning where they team rents a movie theatre and shows a current in-theatre children's movie for their clients, with activities, loot bags and balloons.  Additionally they allow a few client businesses to showcase their company at a booth during the event at no charge.  The 2^nd event Steve and Bill host annually is "The White Party", for adults only, which is a catered cocktail event where everyone dresses in white. Steve shared with me that "after four years of hosting The White Party, people are calling to find out when it is.  It's a lot of fun, but a fairly big expense, which goes a long way to showing our clients how much we appreciate their business."  Bill also reminded me that his real turning point was the day he got his license "it was the same day my daughter was born, so with my wife on maternity leave, I had to work hard and smart because we had no income unless I produced."

Re/Max's Faith Wilson concurred that there was no specific turning point for her.  Her focus had "always been on helping people and that has translated well in residential real estate."  As Faith fervently speaks about her business she shared "my goal is always to do the best for my clients: in advice and service." Clearly her approach has been effective, given her significant success in the marketplace.

Coldwell Banker's Shayna Shuster felt her turning point started on day one.  "It just suited" Shayna said in her direct, perky way "I picked an area and specialized.  It so happens for me it was a geographical area, but it doesn't have to be that - just pick any kind of niche and specialize in it and you will move up in this business."  Always at the ready to make mentoring recommendations to anyone who asks, Shayna was ahead of the questions knowing full well the interest in her success is for others to be able to apply what she has learned and achieved.

Each of our five top producers is firm on consistent, hard work - that is the bad news for anyone hoping to take a short cut.  As is typical in life, consistency, working hard and paying attention so you can learn and improve is the secret formula to success.  Even though it is not a revolutionary insight, it is worth re-reading the comments from our five interviewees and truly absorbing their passion, drive and work ethic.

What did you do to build your top producing business?

Shayna Shuster, our Ottawa success story did it all to take her business to the top.  "I did everything - I used the telephone, I knocked on doors, I introduced myself to everyone, I sent out flyers for listed and solds.  I communicated."  Exposing her compelling personality to her geographic target area allowed Shayna to build a reputation of passion and quality representation and it has been highly effective.

Bill Schiavone and Steve Diamond, the dynamic men of Oakville, both were highly pragmatic in their evaluation of the building process.  Steve shared that "we worked hard, we put in the hours, we studied the market, we talked about it all the time." And that approach has continued as they have built a team with an open concept office where everyone can talk and idea share to provide the most integrated service to their clients.  Bill reminds us that "our business is not rocket science, what you need to do is prospect.  Even when you are working on deals with existing clients you need to be always filling the hopper with people who may be buying or selling real estate; giving them true advice based on the right decision for the client, instead of trying to sell them something." Steve and Bill are building their business on trust - trust of their intentions, their knowledge and their abilities.

Debbie Ashcroft, the reigning rural top producer of Calgary is about education, follow up and marketing.  The ultimate for Debbie is "consistent follow up and working with every lead I've had", but taking advantage of speakers hosted by the Calgary Real Estate Board, marketing meetings, and lots of reading have added to Debbie's knowledge base.  Beyond that, sending out newsletters, using email on a monthly or quarterly basis to third party referral sources and keeping herself visible in the community are some practical ways her top producing business was built.

Brian Elder, downtown Toronto's highly recognized and respected REALTOR^® did "everything and anything that any other top agent was doing at the time...and then did what I thought would work for me."  Brian farms his one area, sending them materials constantly, even if the sales he was referencing were not in that area, to familiarize his target area with his name and success.  He took everything one step further than others - he didn't just host an open house, he brought brochures, listings, comparables, business cards and was there to educate every person that walked through the door.  Planning was key as well, according to Brian "at the beginning of the year I plan out everything I am going to do for marketing - every single marketing piece".  In addition, Brian started receiving coaching from Richard Robbins as soon as he started in real estate, so he had a means to funnel all his ideas into an action plan.  Brian shared "I think a coach makes sense.  It is important.  Now I do one-on-one coaching and have my buyer specialist do that too."

Faith Wilson, who is ranked in the top 0.1% of Vancouver REALTORS^® spoke to creating a business where she could no longer do it alone, and the "team concept" started to evolve.  Faith is passionate about the integration of her team into her brand, "so building the business also meant building a team that makes sense from a positive client experience."  Faith has taken her branding and image steps beyond what the typical real estate professional would typically consider by bringing on full service marketing agency as part of her team, and according to her, the benefit for her business is that the agency was able "to put our values forward, consolidated our concept and made it easy for potential clients to appreciate the value of having our team as a strategic partner."

Building a top producing business is a brick-by-brick process, and depending on each real estate professional's personality, skill set, and target market, the bricks seem to vary.  Whether it is marketing driven, relationship driven, a team focus, or information-oriented, it would seem that consistency and surrounding oneself with a solid support system are fundamentals.  For Faith Wilson, that means a team including a marketing agency.  For Brian Elder, Bill Schiavone and Steve Diamond; coaching was a key contributor to success.  Richard Robbins, a coach for real estate professionals, shared with me that "The greatest secret to success is not just knowing what to do, it is doing what we already know."  Again a great message to execute the learnings from these successful professionals as well as those you interact with personally in your local business community.

What do you do to maintain your top producing business?

Calgary's Debbie Ashcroft simply does the same thing to maintain that she did to build her business "I have to stay with it", she told me "I'm always looking for new work".  It Debbie receives an unsolicited email from a stager or builder or other third party referral source, rather than clicking the 'unsubscribe' button, she shared her unique approach "I always reply back and go for a coffee to meet them...I try to open as many doors as I can".  And the reason she keeps looking for new work is straightforward "I want to consistently grow - I don't want to stay where I am."

Vancouver's Faith Wilson stays on top "by continually pushing the envelope - always looking for ways to improve and perfect" which is achieved by "keeping on top of local market trends and global economic trends...as well as marketing trends like social media to utilize these tools to our best marketing advantage".  Faith claims her most important strategy for maintaining her team's success is simply "listening to our clients". 

Oakville's Bill Schiavone tells us they maintain their top producing business by "staying focused and continually doing the right things" instead of checking out after a highly lucrative month, then panicking months later when there are few closings on the horizon.  Steve Diamond conveyed that they "look at our business on a quarterly basis and look at the previous quarter with the intention to better it".  Steve further reflected that "coaching can be great - we did the Richard Robbins coaching and most of our team did that for a year which was really helpful."

Ottawa's Shayna Shuster wisely put everything in perspective saying "it's everything that's always been and always will be in real estate.  If you don't have your prior clients coming back to you you are out of business."  Also acknowledging the importance to change with the times, this veteran exclaimed with her unique passion "I feel like I go out every day and have fun and they pay me for it!  How can you not be successful like that?"

Toronto's Brian Elder still does his one-on-one coaching, does a lot of reading on the real estate industry and he maintains the relationships he's had for his almost 10 years in the industry.  "The most key thing about business is the whole referral side of things" Brian reflected, "I make sure I make my calls and make my contacts with the people who have helped me throughout the years."

Maintaining a top producing business is really about stepping up your game and doing an even better job of what you have already done.  Tyrone Davids, Managing Director of the executive and real estate coaching company EDI Coaching affirms much of what these top producers are doing by conveying his company's message that "in order to be successful, you must first analyze your current situation, then identify your goals and destination.  With our clients, we map out the plan, strategically, operationally and financially, on exactly how you will get there." Tyrone continued, "Then your personal Achievement Coach ensures you successfully implement your planned deliverables." Knowing that the top producers and the coaches that lead them believe in creating a plan and implementing that plan, with relationship as a key aspect of the journey should be encouragement to pause and start a plan today - one that is customized to you, the business you have and the business you aspire to acquire.