Linda's Southeastern CT Real Estate Blog

This is a two part blog in the same blog.   A double blog, duo blog, twin blog.  A sign/sign blog.

Political Signs - Besides all the annoying TV ads, the political signs in my area have reached epic proportions.  it is downright stupid.  Last year I was running for Town Council and my party proposed that we limit signs to just a few locations.  Since small town politics requires that you pretty much fund your own campaign, we thought that would reduce costs for each candidate.  Many of the signs end up getting stolen anyway, so we thought we were proposing something good.  Unfortunately the other party didn't agree...you know.... freedom of expression, the right to litter if you want to, blah blah blah.  But the very best reason they could come up with?   "Linda Davis has an unfair advantage because her real estate signs are all over town all year round!!! "  I do not make these things up.

Actual Sign (poor quality) of a street corner during the Crazy Season in Ledyard:  

Speaking of Real Estate Signs and unfair advantage - I'm always fascinated by the different real estate sign restrictions in different towns and cities.  In Ledyard, CT we have a sign ordinance that doesn't allow for directional signs except temporarily... such as for an open house.  Of course, that doesn't stop For Sale by Owner signs, since they aren't always aware of the sign ordinance...Or agents outside the area.  But I really don't want to become the Ledyard Sign Nazi.  <sigh>

Most of you are probably younger than me.  You probably weren't in the real estate business in the 70's.  Heck, some of you weren't even born yet.  But I fondly remember the adventures of selling real estate in the late 70's.

Interest Rates:  The highest interest rate on a house I sold was 17 1/4!!   I remember the house and the buyers very clearly almost 30 years later.  The nice folks refinanced later at a much better rate of 14%.  Seriously.

Gas/Oil:   We'd have been happy to pay high prices for gas and oil.  Unfortunately there wasn't enough of it and gas lines were a way of life.  And you could only buy gas on certain days of the week depending on whether your license plate ended in an even or odd number.  Here in New England oil shortages were a major concern since most of our homes were heated by oil.  Homes with wood stoves and solar power were in demand and builders started to build with electric.  When oil shortages ended, homes with electric heat became hard to sell and still are.

Qualifying Buyers:   I'm not sure how it was where you live, but here we did our own qualifying of buyers.  The age of the mortgage officer hadn't arrived yet.  You set your buyers down, got all their financial information and did your own qualifying.  You wrote the contract and the buyers to the local banker. This tended to eliminate agents who couldn't do math. 

Dress:  Men agents wore suits.  Woman agents wore....yep, suits.

I'm sure there is more to remember but I'm getting older now.  What was I saying?

Hey, I didn't say it!   I blogged a few days ago about a panel I was on this week called "How to Create a Winning Team".   The morning session was conducted by Steve Friedman, who spoke about creating success by building a team.  Steve has researched over 450 teams (from 150 national and independent companies). He has written a book on the subject.

In the afternoon, he served as Oprah Winfrey and interviewed the 5 members of the panel and took questions from the audience.  One of the members of the audience directed a question at me. She asked, who on my team takes care of the technology (blogs, websites, lead generation).  I mentioned that since that is the stuff I really love to do, I do most of it myself.  I did suggest that if those are the things you are not good at, you could consider a Virtual Assistant.  The next question was directed to the whole panel.  How much do you pay to your assistants?   We all answered and then Steve said that the average in the industry was between $15-20 an hour.  And then he said IT....."You have to be crazy to hire a virtual assistant.  I was a little stunned by that comment.  I didn't have an opportunity to respond since it was the Steve Friedman aka Oprah Winfrey show.  Since he interviewed 450 teams prior this session I'd have to ask...  Is the industry trending away from utilizing virtual assistants?   It certainly doesn't appear that way but I sure am curious about his response.

You have to love a small town!!   Rabid Skunk Found in Ledyard was the big Ledyard, CT  news in our local newspaper this week.  Yes, rabies is a deadly disease so I'm not making fun of the subject.  But how refreshing to read about a skunk rather than a bank robbery or a murder.  As it relates to real estate, a small town really gives you the opportunity to make a mark, find a niche (the whole town) and have a positive influence. On the other hand, you are also asked to support every ball team, high school event, and local charity.  I give happily. 

I was born and raised in the City of Pittsburgh and I love the city life too!   But there is just something about small towns, especially in New England.  And especially in Autumn!

 I've been asked to be on a panel on Tuesday in Natick, MA entitled "How to create a winning team".  I've been given a list of possible questions for discussion.  Today is my prep day so I thought perhaps those with teams might have additional insight and those that are thinking of building a team might appreciate the discussion.

Why did you choose the team concept?  In 2000 when I turned 50, I decided to take golf lessons and build a team.  I figured I needed a team to back me when I was out on the golf course.  Seriously, I was blessed with a great business and needed the ability to handle increased volumn.  I was working way too hard to continue doing it myself with a part time assistant. I needed to delegate more.  I currently have 2 buyer specialists, a full time "Client Care Manager" and a part time admin person who primarily sets up and follows up on showings.   

What was the best business approach you developed because you were a team?  Because I have more time to work "on my business" instead of "in my business", I have developed systems including checklists and communications, which allow the whole team to work more efficiently and which give each customer, whether a buyer or a seller, the same level of service and professional experience. 

What has been most rewarding about your team experience?  Empowering team members to reach their full potential.  Also, since I work with the people I hire, I can choose to only work with positive people. No negative agents allowed.  And lastly, I can do the things I enjoy and am best at and delegate the rest.

What have you found to be the biggest challenge?  Learning to delegate.  Letting go of things that I did myself, my way, for the past 30 years.  Also, accountability and managing the varying strengths and capabilities of team members.

What has been your biggest success because you lead a team?   Besides getting back my life, the team is able to have the biggest market share of listings and sales in the market place we work in. 

What are you doing differently now because you have a team?  I no longer work with buyers. I rarely work evenings or weekends.  I have 3 jobs:  generating leads, marketing and listing properties.  This year, I started listing properties only of past clients or in my immediate market area. I am now allowing team members to take listings. 

What has been the best business approach you developed because you were a team?  Having team members allows me to select an agent who is the best "fit" for a particular client.  We use the Disc approach to assigning team members to a client.

What would you reinvent about your team experience?   I would clearly define roles, responsibilities and expectations from the beginning rather than making it up as I went along.  6 years ago there were not as many resources available to learn from.  Now Howard Brinton has Star Power Team Training and other trainers and coaches deal with the topic of teams.

If you could wave a magic wand, what would you reinvent about the team experience?  I would follow Steven Covey's suggestion in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, "To Begin with the end in mind."  I wasn't clear on where I was heading so I didn't establish clear or minimum expectations, or allocate space wisely. 

What surprised you most about the team concept after you became involved?  I didn't expect to have to be so involved in accountability and lead management, assuming that others had the same level of drive and commitment that I did. 

Ok...I think I'm ready.  But I'm sure there will be lots more questions for the panel.

My community Website I Love Ledyard is now three years old.  Considering that Ledyard is a small town of 15,000, I'm amazed at the amount of visitors the website receives.  I started this website as a way of giving back to the community, which didn't have a hometown newspaper or a very good town website of its own.  After a rush of promotion, it was up and running with groups like the Ledyard Women's Club, PTO's, Parks and Recreation Commission and even the Town Library contributing. I was really fortunate that a senior citizen found me and loved posting neighborhood photos!   I really didn't start it to generate business - you'll notice that the real estate section is very subtle and not prominently displayed.    I add a few announcements every week but mostly the site is built by the contributions of the townspeople.  Soon the site will be undergoing a major renovation, as it is looking a little low tech after 3 years.

Sometimes you do things in this business because it is a nice way to pay back the community that has been so supportive.  Or just because it is a nice thing to do!   In my case, it was because I really do love Ledyard!

I'm going through that phase in my life where I want to get rid of clutter. If you are not middle aged, you won't understand this quite yet.  Anyhoo.... I've been sorting throught the obvious first - books and clothing (I'm never going to fit into that size again anyway.).   Then I realized I have a lot of "stuff" that arrives via email that I need to make some decisions on.  Specifically - "Online newsletters" - I don't want to stop receiving my Inman Newsletter or my Kim Komando Newsletter...but I have several others that I need to opt out of.   I mean how many can I actually read?   So, I was wondering, if you had some favorite newsletters that you couldn't live without.? Of course, the purpose of this blog is to actually opt-out of newsletters and not add to my long list... but I'll try to be strong!!

 Who is Ledyard's BEST Pet?

There has been lots of blogging lately about newsletters.  One of my best ideas came in the form of a pet photo contest.   In one issue I announced the contest, which would award the winner a feature article in my next newsletter.  I had over 30 entries which people either posted on my neighborhood website or dropped off at my office.  The winner was the photo above of Berlin and Moochie. (Berlin is the dog, Moochie is his pillow.)  Besides a great photo, it came with a nice story of pets that were adopted from the local animal shelter.

No, this has nothing to do with the 2000 presidential election.  My cyberpro friend Les Sulgrove, from Des Moines, Iowa found this little online tool.  Many of you are already using snag-it.  Well, SNIPPY is like son of snag-it. ok...maybe grandson of snag-it.  Not all the bells and whistles but quick and easy to use.  This is a utility that loads in your system tray and looks like a pair of scissors....click the scissors, draw and copy. I especially like it for a very quick capture for an email.  This is one time that snippy can be a good thing. Snip away mates!

P.S.  The best part of all - it's free!

Linda

Eastern CT Real Estate Blog