Interview With a Winner:
Carolyn Wheeler
Rector Hayden Realtors, Lexington, KY |
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2005 transaction volume: $49 million
2005 average home price: $600,000
Software: Software program developed by my assistant, Top Producer, Palm Treo, Outlook
Referral Source Mix: 50-60% repeat business and past client referrals, 20-25% builders, 10-15% organizations (such as church, community boards, etc.)
In Touch Today: How did you get started in the real estate business?
Carolyn: I’ve been in real estate for 26 years. I come from a family of custom home builders, and I’ve always been interested in building. I love houses, so I thought that real estate could be the right arena for me. I got into real estate in the 80s and drew upon my friends and colleagues as a client base. I later decided to add the subdivision I was living in to my database of contacts. I started representing a local builder as well. I think I’ve sold over 360 homes in the subdivision.
As far as my current advertising, I try to put a lot of diversity into it. I’ll do something different every year. I may send refrigerator placards one year, or write a personal letter the next. I’ve sent University of Kentucky football schedule magnets, and cookbooks.
In Touch Today: What mistake do you think that new agents typically make?
Carolyn: I don’t think they invest in themselves enough. I was passionate about getting every designation I could possibly get. I believe in education, and I believe you should know your product. New agents should go out and study how a subdivision is built, even down to how the sewer lines are put in. Get to know houses from the ground up, in order to know what can, and will, go wrong with them.
Another mistake new agents make is taking any house on, just to get a listing. I am very choosy. I will not take a house that’s not well built because you’re going to eventually have problems. Those problems are transferred to you as a buyer’s agent and they’re associated with you as a seller’s agent.
Additionally, selling a house is a team effort. The homeowners need to work just as hard as the Realtor does. If they’re not maintaining the house, and they’re not making it easy to show, then you’re not going to be able to sell it. Then you’re going to be a loser. So be particular about what you take. If it’s too overpriced, don’t take it. If it’s dirty, don’t take it. If it isn’t well built and has a lot of structural issues, don’t take it. If you can’t represent it honestly, and you can’t be proud of it, how can you sell it?
In Touch Today: What mistake do you think veteran agents make?
Carolyn: They become complacent. In this industry, you have a new client every day. They’re not looking at what you’ve done; they’re looking at what you’re going to do for them. We get tired. Everybody does. I get tired. Nobody can do this job perfectly every day. But you have to be able to psyche yourself up and do your best each and every time. Don’t take on something you don’t have the energy to do, or that you don’t really want to do because it’s going to waste your time and your client’s time.
In Touch Today: If you had a son or a daughter entering this business, what advice would you give them?
Carolyn: Don’t get started in the business until you have enough money to do so. It’s hard to start as a pauper today and do well in real estate because it doesn’t sustain you immediately. If you decide to get into real estate, be prepared to invest in yourself. Opportunities in this business should be treated like the finest wine. They should be cuddled and savored. The opportunity may not be there again for that young person. Every job they do, that one task, that one client – learn from it. And always remember that real estate is sacrificial. You sacrifice family, you sacrifice your time, your energy, your money. The only way it’s going to be profitable is if you sacrifice at the beginning and spend money on yourself, develop yourself, become prominent. Buy the right things, look the right way, say the right things, and educate yourself.
In Touch Today: What has been one of your best marketing campaigns?
Carolyn: I have a billboard in the subdivision with my picture and the Wheeler team info. It cost about $4,000. Investing in this type of advertising was a big first. So I ordered some large refrigerator placards, and I sent them out to everyone in the subdivision. Then I sent the marketing statistics for their area to them as well. This includes which homes are selling, how many of them I listed, and how many of them I sold. I’ll also send postcards with some of the houses I’ve sold (or listed) on them. I try to hit it within a two year period at least eight or nine times. Then the next couple of years I may only do it twice. Or three times.
I have three builders and I advertise with all of them. I support them in sales and marketing council. We do a special black tie event in January and I’ve taken them in limousines to the black tie event. We have specialty dinners and I submit them for all the awards. Every year my builders have won awards. I become very active in the marketing of these builders’ properties, which gets me involved with other builders because they want the same kind of marketing expertise on their houses.
I’m on television 135 times a week advertising homes and I’m on three Internet sites. I buy specialty ads in the newspapers every two weeks and rotate my houses.
In Touch Today: What is your best turnkey sales or marketing idea?
Carolyn: One of my best investments is a billboard over a huge shopping center. It’s where everybody shops on that side of town. Everybody always says, “Carolyn, I see you every time I shop.”
In Touch Today: What do you think differentiates you from the average real estate agent?
Carolyn: I have a service heart. I’m driven to take care of people. I become very involved in my clients. If I really like somebody, I call them all the time. I want to be a friend to them, to support them and love them. It takes a lot more energy to do it this way, but for me it’s the joy of small town real estate.
In Touch Today: Who or what has been the biggest contributor to your success?
Carolyn: My mom and dad and my husband. He’s been awesome. My mom and dad developed property, built houses and worked so hard. They’ve been wonderful as far as teaching me this industry.
In Touch Today: If you had a magic wand what would you change about your business?
Carolyn: I would try to help my sellers sell their properties faster. There are a lot of people with homes sitting on the market right now. Their lives are totally affected by it because they’re trying to move on to other places. I wish I could magically make their houses sell.
In Touch Today: What are your current goals?
Carolyn: I never set a monetary goal because I’m extremely focused and extremely single-minded and when I go into any task, and my main task is not the numbers game. My main task is taking care of my clients and satisfying them. I think if you take care of that, you’ll have them for a lifetime. In my real estate career I’ve been very blessed and I’ve never sold fewer houses than I did the year before. I’ve always done better - for 26 straight years. I’m highly motivated to work, some people might call me a workaholic. I feel that if you have a service spirit, you view each client as a long-term friend entering your circle. You don’t think of them as a unit accomplished or sold. You think of them as a long-term investment in your community, and as part of your family.
In Touch Today: Is there anything else you’d like to say to other agents who aspire to the success that you’ve created?
Carolyn: If you partner with anyone, make sure you want them to succeed. We all have to live out of the same pot. If you want as good for the people who work for you as you do for yourself, and are as kind to them as you want others to be to you, you’ll be successful.
If you focus only on the money, you will never have the success. This is very much a relationship industry. Try to do the very best for every client and be proud of what you do, even if the house doesn’t sell. Your clients will understand that you did your best and that you care about them. If you’re just in it for the profit margin, they’re going to know that too.
And another important resource:
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Did You Know… If you make a habit of keeping in touch with your clients 12-18 times a year, you can increase your response rate by 400%? (Compared to mailing less frequently)
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Neighborhood Postcard Campaign
 
Make a name for yourself in YOUR neighborhood (and even your surrounding subdivisions). Let your neighbors know you are the go-to professional that can take care of all their home buying and selling needs with the Neighborhood Campaign.
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