The Right Tools for Success

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By Kayla O’Brien

RISMEDIA, September 13, 2008-Ask any fellow agent how they stay competitive and you’re sure to hear the word “tool” in their reply. From smart phones to task managers, IDX and websites, there are many ways to utilize technology to stay competitive. Here, meet Mike Tavener, operating principal of Keller Williams Professionals Realty, and learn what best practices his company is employing in the Asheville, North Carolina, marketplace.

Mike Tavener
Operating Principal
Keller Williams Professionals Realty
Asheville, North Carolina

Years in the industry: 29
Number of offices: 1 main office, 3 satellite offices
Number of agents: 375
Region served: A four-county market in North Carolina, centered in Asheville
Average listing price: $260,000
Tips for time management: I feel that it is not necessarily a time management issue; rather, it’s a task management issue. If you manage by task and prioritize the tasks, it leads to time management.
Most creative ad campaign: Keller Williams doesn’t do national advertising, so you won’t see a commercial on TV or an ad in Newsweek. Our real focus is helping the agent develop effective marketing plans to brand themselves as the local expert, because real estate is a local business.
Ways to communicate with agents: Every morning, our team leader will do a “blast all” call that will center on attitude and activities. He’s upbeat and full of energy, so it wakes everybody up. We also have a company intranet that agents can use to blast a hot new listing, price reduction, etc.

What’s your best tip for getting the right listing price?

It’s very critical in today’s market to get that sellable market price right the first time out, so we have specific tools to help our agents. One of the tools we use is an Internet-based market analysis, which breaks down every price range that’s on the market, number of homes in that inventory and in that price range, and the number of pending homes, as well as the absorption rate for that inventory.

What have you found successful in motivating agents and making meetings productive?

That is a major focus of what we’re all about right now. Generally true of any market, our emphasis is currently on attitude and activities. You have to be doing the activities to maintain the attitude and maintain the attitude to accomplish the activities. It’s critical that we motivate through education and the right tools. Keller Williams has awesome tools.

What’s working with your company in terms of establishing an Internet presence?

As far as the Web goes, it is critical that every agent develops an ongoing and improved presence on the Internet. I always say “you are what you Web.” People are going to look at websites and select an agent by what they see as their virtual brochure on the Internet.

What strategies work best for you in terms of retention?

In retention, you have to truly understand and live what your agent base is going through. Understand the day-to-day trials that an agent is undergoing and as an owner, take the right steps to help them succeed.

Part two of retention is to maintain an awesome culture in your office. We have an interesting belief system-everyone that comes aboard sees that. We work as a team and as a result we’re heavily involved in the communities and do some fun stuff.

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For more real estate best practices, see:

• Making the Team Concept Work
  5 Best Practices to Profit from Blogs
  Best Practices – Preparing for a Balanced Market