Keller Williams Realty Combats Turbulent Real Estate Market

RISMEDIA, Nov. 21, 2007-Keller Williams Realty, Inc. has announced the kick-off of a wide-sweeping, action-focused, outreach program to bring tools and support as a response to the well-publicized turmoil within the real estate market. The effort is funded as a gift from the company’s leadership to its 77,000-plus associates across North America.

Coined Operation Heart to Heart 2, in the spirit of the company’s effort to support its Gulf States associates in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the company says the program includes Web sites, teleclasses, live seminars and new training courses, all tailored to the reality of the current real estate market and designed to support office profitability and agent productivity.

“At the heart of our Keller Williams culture is the inherent responsibility to protect those we care about and shore each other up in tough times. Coming from a place of love and true understanding of how the market is affecting our people, Keller Williams Realty is launching an unprecedented support effort for our associates,” says Mark Willis, CEO.

Operation Heart to Heart 2 offerings include a new Web site authored by Keller Williams Chairman Gary Keller, (www.agentmountain.com) featuring audio, video and other materials relevant in today’s market; a new nationwide, skills-based seminar tour, Thriving in a Shifting Market; a Web portal for scripts, training products and more (www.kellerwilliamsuniversity.com/h2h2); and regional courses to teach agents the do’s and don’ts of enhanced financing options for their clients.

In addition, the company’s annual convention, Family Reunion, has been refocused on an entirely new market-specific curriculum from Keller Williams’ training arm, Keller Williams University, including courses on:

Being an Opportunity Warrior: Role of the Agent as Lead Converter
Lead Generation in a Shifted Market
Seller Pricing Strategies
Seller Staging Strategies
Creating a Sense of Urgency in Buyers
Expense Management for Solo Agents and Teams
Cost Effective Leverage-Getting More Done with Less People
Lead Capture Conversion to Appointment
Internet Lead Capture Conversion to Appointment
Transaction Issues and Solutions
Creative Financing
Foreclosures, Short Sales and REOs

Office leadership teams also have new resources available to them including: lease negotiation and compensation specialists, regular brainstorming conference calls with top owners and brokers in the Keller Williams system and scholarships to training courses on how to maximize staff by hiring talent.

Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty says, “Our company was born out of an extremely tough real estate market, and so we have no doubt that our roots will help us weather the challenges of today.”

Tennant says the level of support and caring encapsulated in Operation Heart to Heart 2 will continue throughout 2008, and even increase, if needed.

She adds: “Never before have our Keller Williams culture and training opportunities been more critical for our associates’ success. And never before has it been more important for us to reach out – both to each other and to the opportunity that will be created for those who persevere during this market.”

For more information, visit www.kw.com.