Interview With a Winner:
Sandra Wortham
REMAX Wichita Falls, Texas |
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2005 transaction volume: $9.3 million
2005 average home price: $79,000
Software: Agent Office, PDA (which synchs to Agent Office)
Referral Source Mix: 40% past clients, 30% sign calls, 30% internet
In Touch Today: How did you get started in the real estate business?
Sandra Wortham: Pretty much out of desperation. My husband was in the oil business and when oil went down to about $10 a barrel, things got pretty tough. I was only working part time. I had to do something full time. I had checked around into several different things and my friend, who was a Realtor, pressed me to get into real estate. I entered the business about eight and a half years ago and have been going strong ever since.
In Touch Today: How do you stay in touch with your clients?
Sandra: I send out a newsletter every month (from In Touch Today) to about 200 people. Periodically, about once a month, I’ll sit down and make phone calls to past clients as well. I check in with them to see how things are going. If anything interesting has happened in the market I’ll always slip that into the conversation. Somewhere in the conversation I always squeeze in, “Who do you know that might be looking to buy or sell a home in the near future?” We’re always looking for referrals.
In Touch Today: What mistake do you think rookie real estate agents typically make?
Sandra: I think a lot of them tend to give up too quickly. This business is not something that builds overnight. If they’re looking to get in and make $100,000 the first year, it’s probably not going to happen. It takes time to develop.
In Touch Today: How long did it take you to get your business going?
Sandra: I was one of the very lucky ones. My business actually took off from the time I got in. I put in a tremendous amount of time. The first year of business, when that phone rang, it didn’t matter if I had other things scheduled - I went on those appointments. I worked nights; I worked weekends. I was determined that I was going to make it work.
In Touch Today: When you made the transition from your part time job to real estate, how did you let people know what you were doing and how did you build your base of business?
Sandra: I sent out postcards. I was on the phone a lot. I went to lots of functions that I probably would not have gone to otherwise. I made sure that everybody knew I was now a Realtor and that I wanted business.
In Touch Today: What mistakes do you think veteran agents typically make?
Sandra: I think they are resistant to change and not willing to keep up with technology.
In Touch Today: How have you kept up with technology?
Sandra: I’m constantly going to seminars and trade shows to learn the latest. Eight and a half years ago, before I got into real estate, I was scared to death of computers. Now I can do pretty much anything I need to do on them. I even have two websites. One of them, www.sandrawortham.com, has mortgage calculators and tips on buying and selling homes.
The other site, www.sandraworthamteam.com, allows clients to actually enter details on the type of home they’re looking for. It sends them an automatic email whenever that type of home comes on the market. And this does not have to be my listing. This is anyone’s listing.
I’m in the process of looking at my websites and everywhere else I’m spending money to see what’s working and what’s not. Some of them are going to go, and I’ll be implementing some new things.
I’ve recently implemented an 800 number hotline with recordings about all my listings.
Any time I advertise, the hotline number and the extension for the property is on there so people can call 24/7 to get information about that property. I also have a rider on each sign that has the hotline number and the extension number. The system captures where they call from and then I am able to call them back.
It’s a good way to make contact whether they’re ready to do something yet or not. They’ve raised their hand that they do have an interest in a home. It gives you a chance to get your foot in the door before any other agent knows that they’re looking.
Each day we pull a list from the hotline of who has called on what property. That also gives us a real good opportunity to keep our listings satisfied. They know how many calls are coming in on their property every month. We do send out a letter monthly for all of our properties that we have listed showing how many hits they got on the internet and how many hits they got on the 800 number.
The home sale cycle is around 94 days. So it is important to let your seller’s know what you’re doing to get their home out there.
After every showing, we email the agent that showed the home for a response. We get their feedback and it automatically goes to the seller. So the seller then is seeing all the feedback from the agents that have shown their home. If I’ve told them, when they’ve listed their home, that I think we may be a little high in asking price, the feedback from the agents who have shown the house is typically going to be, “Price is too high.” It helps me get the price where it should be.
Anytime I take a listing, I email all the other Realtors in MLS that the property is being listed and give them some details. This is before it hits the MLS so they can look for it. Anytime there’s a price change, or any kind of change to the property, I email all the Realtors letting them know that there’s been a change. This is important because the Realtors are the ones that normally pick the homes for the clients to view.
In Touch Today: If you had a son or daughter entering the business, what advice would you give them?
Sandra: I actually do have a daughter who worked with me for a while as my assistant. I think the best advice would be to put a team together from the beginning. I think that’s where real estate is headed. There are way too many details for one person to take care of. If they could partner up with someone and hire an assistant, I think that would be much better than trying to work alone.
In Touch Today: How long did you work alone before you hired an assistant?
Sandra: I worked alone about five years. My business got to the point where I could not handle it all. Then I hired an assistant and the buyer’s agent came next. I’d like to hire two more buyer’s agents in the future.
In Touch Today: What has been your most successful marketing campaign?
Sandra: My coach encouraged me to call all my past clients. She gave me 30 days to complete all the calls. I called every single one of my past clients and ended up with four listings. So about once a year I try to sit down and call all my past clients. I currently have 872 past clients in my database.
In Touch Today: Do you have any other turnkey sales or marketing ideas to share with our readers?
Sandra: Just be consistent in whatever you do. I send out the newsletter on a monthly basis. In my newsletter I recognize the people who have given me referrals. I’ve had several people tell me that they’re still trying to get me a referral because they want to see their name in that newsletter.
I also include the homes that we have listed and the homes that we’ve sold since the last newsletter to show that we’re active and we’re working.
I also send my past clients a greeting card at Thanksgiving and of course a card and a magnetic calendar at Christmas.
In Touch Today: Who or what has been the biggest contributor to your success?
Sandra: Alan Tappe is a motivational speaker. He works real closely with Sheila Garner who is my personal coach. I meet with her once a month and she tries to keep me on track. And I’d say that was where my big “Ah ha!” came from. I was kind of coasting until I went to one of Alan Tappe’s seminars. Production has been very good since then.
In Touch Today: What do you do differently now?
Sandra: I set goals and put them down in writing. I visit those goals every month.
In Touch Today: If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your current business?
Sandra: I’d like two more buyer’s agents and would also like to have two listing agents and a marketing person.
In Touch Today: What are your current goals?
Sandra: Usually October is my time to sit down and go over my goals, as well as make the goals for the next year. I’ve been kind of been toying with it but I don’t really have a figure yet ready to put out there.
In Touch Today: Is there anything else you’d like to share with other agents who aspire to the kind of success that you have created?
Sandra: It’s a lot of hard work. But the pay off is well worth it. It’s not something you can get in and get rich quick by any means. But if you’ve got the perseverance, if you like people, it’s a great business.
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