Kindred Spirits

Bette Self
The Texas Stars
ERA Colonial Real Estate
Years in real estate: 30
Number of team members: 3
Region served: Georgetown, Round Rock and Austin, Texas with an emphasis on Sun City, Texas.When and why was the team formed?
In 2003 Renee Jantzen and I formed a team and then when Renee got married her husband joined us. Real estate can burn you out very quickly, but with a team we like to think we have lives.

What is key to making the team work?
We all know the area and we are all similar in age and background; we all get along really well. We split everything three ways so that no one feels anyone is doing more work than another.

What do you tell people on listing appointments about the value of hiring your team versus hiring a solo agent?
The way we sell our team is that you always have three people at your service. We also can offer versatility. I can go away for a week or so but someone is always there to continue helping clients and I know they are all being taken care of really well.

What’s your best tip for getting a listing at the right price?
With ERA our marketing is wonderful. So we have a beautiful color notebook to present our marketing materials in and we have extensive comps from ERA. We get very exact comps, so we pretty much always get our listings at the right price.

What advertising idea created the greatest return on investment?
Branding. We try to develop who we are and that is “The Texas Stars.” Our branding is very important and people recognize it; it is on everything that leaves the office. We wear star earrings and star pins. We also wear red, white and blue.

Do you rely on the broker or brand’s training programs?
When you are hired with ERA you go through extensive training and then we take many other ERA courses like Top Gun. The pros have figured this stuff out and it works. ERA has been wonderful.

What sort of business/financial arrangement do you have with your broker?
When I go on listing appointments I sell my ERA brokerage as well as my team. I have a great brokerage with 20 agents. Dennis DeWine our broker and he gives us excellent guidance and support. He has been instrumental in getting this company top notch.

Business philosophy: Always try to reach the level of your customer and understand them. I also like to spend a whole lot of time going into my presentation so they know exactly what is going on each step of the way. I will spend an extra hour so that there is no uncertainty. Many people do not really understand and may be afraid to ask questions so I try to answer the unspoken questions.

Lesley Geary

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