Riding Out the Storm

ProspectsPLUS! marketing system helps New Orleans firm get the word out after Katrina
ProspectsPLUS! marketing system helps New Orleans firm get the word out after Katrina

On the day Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Latter & Blum Realtors had nearly 1,000 associates running 28 neighborhood offices throughout the greater New Orleans metropolis and in Baton Rouge.

Within 24 hours, Latter & Blum was down to four offices, and the agents and support staff who didn?t evacuate, choosing instead to ride the storm out, were dealing with a dismal set of circumstances that were well documented in the subsequent days and months.

Today, company President Arthur Sterbcow says his staff is back to nearly full force, and although he was forced to abandon several office sites permanently, Latter & Blum has since reopened 28 offices serving the region once again.

While many of the aspects of the business have radically changed as a result of the hurricane disaster, Sterbcow insists that many other aspects of his operation weathered the storm and have settled back into a renewed sense of normalcy.

?New Orleans is still New Orleans,? he says. It’s the same culture; the things that drove people here are still here. We are still in transition?some areas still horrible?other areas doing so well it defies imagination. And the areas where power and utilities are back, where schools and other facilities are operating again, those areas are having record sales.

The situation is bittersweet for many who are returning to the area after protracted evacuations. ?We’re not seeing a lot of typically happy sales,? he says. These people are still under significant duress. But the upside is that we have lots of jobs here. We’ve got to be the largest construction market in the U.S. There are lots of opportunities here driving the local economy right now.?

According to Sterbcow, his company?s sales are rebounding in a healthy way, in part, due to a marketing system that was in place long before Katrina hit. We’ve been using products from ProspectsPLUS! for so long, it’s like they are a part of the firm,? he says. It’s very valuable, and our agents love it. Latter & Blum Realtors derives a great deal of business thanks to ProspectsPLUS!?s Just Listed and Just Sold marketing system.

?Today, the marketing is done so automatically and seamlessly?we almost don’t notice it,? he says. As soon as the property is listed, 100 postcards go out in the neighborhood reminding neighbors about the value they have in their own homes. It’s the least expensive and most effective system you can find. As soon as a property comes under contract, 100 more reminders go out.

?It’s a great system because it frees up agents who don’t have personal assistants to do these things,? Sterbcow says. And it’s a nice product, less expensive than any other?customized to our company,? he says. You know, I?d probably have a revolt if I said we weren?t going to use this product anymore.

Sterbcow says once the original postcard mailing hits in a neighborhood, it is, ?very often a domino effect. We are so active in the market, some homeowners may be getting 10-20 cards a year,? he says. We get a lot of cold calls into the office or straight to the agents in the days after the cards hit.?

Latter & Blum is also using RecruitingPLUS! to help attract new agents to the fold. We asked ProspectsPLUS! for another product for our managers to use to recruit new agents, and they really delivered for us,? he says. The RecruitingPLUS! program really stimulates people in neighborhoods where we want representation.?

This marketing has been consistent in attracting targeted people to identify with Latter & Blum as the place to go if they are looking for a career in the future, reminding people that the local company is always in the market for good Realtors.

?Most of the cards identify our company as the largest and most successful, locally owned real estate firm,? Sterbcow says. Our company culture is consistent with the Gulf culture. The marketing also focuses on our range of support services?we want people to know all Realtors are not alike, and that we’ve really evolved into a much more progressive firm.

With their new agents producing more transactions per agent than any other company in the south, Latter & Blum is back, taking on the needs of home sellers and buyers throughout the greater Baton Rouge and New Orleans region by storm.

?John Voket

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