Hi new decade dwellers!!!
It is 6 am on Saturday morning, my husband and the two grandbabies are still sleeping after the night of fun last night. The sun isn’t up yet, but these days it often doesn’t come up for days on end! I find myself longing for a 
good book and the parking lot at Callahan’s Restaurant where I can sit and bask in the sun if it is foggy here. I might need to make a trip up there this week and work on my Vitamin D deficiency!!! Looking forward to spring!
I am often asked the question as to how a small independent real estate company such as mine can compete with the ‘big boys’ in town. Lucky for me, there is the internet. With the advent of on-line listings the playing field was leveled. I can provide exactly the same sort of exposure as the ‘big guys’ without all of the overhead!
In the past few months I have really seen a move of brokers out of big offices and into smaller ones or even as sole practitioners. They have the same mindset I do. I can do business my way, on my terms, while I determine the cost and fees to do so. It allows me to help more people long term also. I give back 10% of my income from every commission to the community. Because I no longer have to pay 30% of each commission to a franchise it allows me to return more money to the community!
I have been working on putting together a new broker meeting for the ‘little guys’ in which we can spend some very specialized time on our listings with a group of like-minded brokers. Currently we are planning our first meeting for February and we are looking forward to targeting one of my listings. I am bringing in other brokers to take a hard look at this particular listing to help me problem solve what might help it to sell. It is a great listing and priced well enough to sell so I think we just need a fresh approach. I can’t wait to have some new ideas!
As a small brokerage I am more limited in how much business I can take in and still service. The advantage of that is that It allows me to know all my listings personally and service them personally. When someone calls in on a listing the person answering the phone is me. I can give the caller detailed, accurate information regarding the listing and really tell them the high points of the property. I believe that it helps increase the ability to get a showing on the property from the call.
With over 80% of people searching for property on the web it is necessary to have an IDX feed on my website. Under my ‘Search Listings’ tab on my website a prospective buyer or seller can search all the listings that are currently active on the MLS. What you see on the IDX search is what I see (with less detail) when I am searching. Some major franchises feature only their listings on their websites. That exposes your home to fewer lookers if they have to access a particular website.
I recently re-designed my signs and will be changing them out on listings here in the near future. My new signs have a white background with lots of white space on the sign. I realized that the ability to see the sign while you are driving is greatly increased with the white sign. It is amazing at night how the white sign stands out in headlights! So, as the year progresses I will continue to do my best to increase my ability to get your property to stand out in a crowd so that it can get sold!
If anyone has any ideas or thoughts regarding making real estate stand out; what might work, something you have seen in the past, or have wondered about, just drop me an email at jan@valleysavvy.com or give me a call at 541.944.6040. I am totally open to new ideas and suggestions!
About Jan Garcia
