Managing the Money

Michelle Cantrell
Michelle Cantrell & Associates
Carol Jones, Realtors
Years in real estate: 14
Years as a team: 10
Region Served: Springfield, Missouri

When and why was the team formed?
I specialize in new construction working on projects and development. I work on commercial and leasing as well. There are not many people in the market who work on both residential and commercial as I do, so I have team members who help me in the different areas that we cover. You have to remember that when you work on subdivisions there is a lot of work. Sometimes I’m involved from finding the land and getting zoning to the building and sales. On some developments I even help design the building. So the type of work that I do, I just literally could not do without a team.

How do you compensate team members?
I have two team members who are on salary with bonuses. The other wo team members are licensed agents who work on straight commission.

How do you handle special bonuses?
It’s pretty straightforward. My office manager, Tracy, makes a bonus per closing. As for the other team members, depending on what they have done, they get different bonuses. I have one team member who works on commercial projects who is on straight salary as well. Then if someone does an open house and extra work they get more money.

How do you make sure you remain profitable in the equation?
The main thing I do is keep the projects going. I try to make my budget from the beginning of the year as far as advertising because you can eat up your profits really quickly if you don’t stick to your budget. There are so many great ideas for new ways to advertise. And someone may have this great idea that I would love to try but I really have to be careful-it’s amazing how quickly you use up your money on those great, creative ideas.

Success Strategies
The one thing your team can’t live without: Enthusiasm. We are very upbeat. The group energy is just always positive.

What’s the best way to build a brand? I advertise all of my people in my ads and my brand. We stay consistent with our advertising. We are working on our Internet ads to make sure that we are at the top of the market. And we brand our different projects. But the main thing about building a brand is to always remain consistent with everything you put out there with your name on it. It all has to look the same and be of the same high quality.

Key to profitability: Make sure that I always have projects going, that there are always projects in the pipeline. I have projects five years out. So my key is that I am not thinking about the market today, I am making sure that I am working on the projects. I also make sure I keep my costs down. Then I make sure that everyone shows up everyday. This is a business. And last but not least pricing has to be correct. I make sure that our prices are the best in the market. I always say that when we price a house we have to make sure that we are the top five in that price.

Philosophy on success in real estate:
You have to set your priorities because real estate can be all consuming. The reason I got into real estate in the first place was to have flexible hours so that I could be home with my children. But now that my children are grown, I work more hours. I make sure I set my priorities. I also envision things as sold and stay positive about the market.

Lesley Geary

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