Keeping the Client, Team Educated

By John Voket

RISMEDIA, April 5, 2008-When they’re not spending time helping the community, Sudler Sotheby’s International Realty is devoting a significant amount of time developing not only top talent, but educated consumers. For President and CEO Janice Corey, the most important task in developing top talent in the Chicago region is making sure the individuals who come to work with the company understand the brand and the importance of commitment to the brand.

Janice Corley
President & CEO
Sudler Sotheby’s International Realty
Chicago, Illinois

In real estate: 18 years
Number of offices: 5
Number of agents: 385
Average sales price: $475,000
Average listing time: 128 days
Most creative thing you’ve done to market a home: “I put a property on the market but only allowed it to be shown once a week. By doing this, anyone interested would have to come at the same time. I received several offers and the property sold in one week.”
Chicago is great: “I love the cultural diversity of our population and the different types of properties we can market-from lakeside estates to urban and industrial conversions.”
Best professional advice ever received: “Always surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.”

What’s on the minds of home buyers and sellers in your region?

Our buyers are feeling like they should get a great deal. They believe that no matter what the property is listed for, they should go in with an initial offer 30% below the list price, and should proceed with the expectation that for that price they can obtain the property. Our sellers, on the other hand, have not yet realized that it’s no longer a flip-for-big-profit market, no matter what they hear or see on TV. You can’t expect to sell your property, after owning it for only two years, and receive a fortune in profit. Those days are over.

How are you helping your clients through the maze of obtaining financing?

Our clients are well educated-both in home shopping and financing. However, we still are dealing with a few PR issues related to finance. Our challenge in recent months has been the media, and the bad reputation the press is placing on Chicago by comparing it to some of the suburbs.

What do you look for-or look to develop-in members of your team?

The most important task in developing top talent in our region is making sure the individuals who come to work with us understand the brand and the importance of commitment to our brand. They need to understand coming in the door that since we are the only company in Chicago with global marketing potential, we cannot and will not be the right company for all clients. But for the right clients, we can deliver exposure like no other company. That exposure includes our international marketplace.

What is your company doing to support the community?

We support Jobs for Youth/Chicago, an organization that helps young men and women from low-income families become a part of the economic mainstream; in the process, it provides the business community with motivated, job-ready workers. We also support PAWS Chicago (Pets Are Worth Saving), which is the city’s largest, no-kill, humane organization. We are also big supporters of the annual Toys for Tots campaign.