Top Real Estate Strategies Email Newsletter

Interview With a Winner:
Pat Fortin

Mel Foster Company, Davenport, IA

2005 Sales Volume: $7.1 million
2005 Transactions: 65
Average home price: $109,000
Software: MLS, Top Producer, email software, word processing
Referral Source Base: 50% referrals, 50% other (floor duty and open houses)

In Touch Today: How did you get started in real estate?

Pat Fortin: I worked for Bell Operating Company for 30 years. I retired because they wanted me to relocate to Minneapolis, and I didn’t want to live there. I decided that I still needed to be in the people business, and I’ve always thought, in the back of mind, that real estate might be a good fit for me. So I decided to get my license and just see how I did at it.

At the phone company, I learned to focus on the customer and follow through on my promises. It doesn’t matter what product you’re selling, you need to uncover the client’s needs and then find the proper solutions while building a relationship.

In Touch Today: How long have you been in real estate?

Pat Fortin: I quit my full-time job on February 15th of 2004. So I’ve only been in the business for two years. In 2004, I sold 52 transactions in about 10 months.

I’ve only been in the Davenport area for five years. So I got a lot of my transactions from floor duty, open houses and referrals from my clients. I don’t like to tie myself to any one lender or depend on them as a source of referrals. There are lenders I prefer, and I’ll refer my clients to them, but I don’t expect referrals from them. There is one lender I probably gave 3 million dollars in business to last year – and she gave me nothing. But I refer my clients to her because she believes the same as I do. She takes care of the clients; they close and have a good experience – so it’s good for my clients even if it isn’t good for me.

In Touch Today: Why do you stay in the real estate business?

Pat: For me, real estate is not about the transaction or the money. It’s really about the people I serve. I look at myself as a servant of these folks, helping them find the 3 P’s: The right price, the right place and the right property.

I enjoy the gratification I get from those folks when they sign at their closing for their house. I’ve had hugs, tears, and people shaking so badly they couldn’t even sign. The people I’m able to help are often people that others didn’t believe in. I serve a lot of single women with children and divorced women with children that really never thought enough about themselves to believe that they could be homeowners. The gratification I get means more to me than any check that they give me. I choose to stay in the market I’m in (even though there are higher-priced markets near by) because of the self-gratification.

In Touch Today: What mistakes do you think new agents typically make?

Pat: There are a lot of new agents at my office and they always want to know how I sell so much. I tell them that the real estate business is unique to every individual. It is not a business where you can look at me and copy what I’ve done. What I do is unique to me. I can give you some tips, but I can’t tell you how to build your business because your personality, who you are, and how you relate to people will determine how you build that business.

My niche is first time homebuyers because they make me feel good. But my office neighbor’s niche is repossessed houses. He likes working with those companies and repossessed houses because they are all listings, they’re all cheap, and he does a really good business at that. However, it’s not anything that I would want to do or have anything to do with. You have to find your niche. Other people in the company strictly focus on the higher end – the $250,000 and above houses. It’s a slimmer market, but you need to sell less to make as much money.

Ultimately, you need to carve out that piece of the market that fits who you are. I think a lot of agents don’t do that.

In Touch Today: How did you choose this niche market?

Pat: It kind of chose me. My Davenport office is surrounded by a lot of moderately priced houses. So a lot of my first leads were first time homebuyers. As I started to work with that market, I thought it was awesome. I was working with people who didn’t know anything about real estate. They really needed me and wanted me to help them. They relied on me and trusted me. I was able to build very close relationships with them.

I just closed for a very credit-challenged individual this morning. I put him and his family, his three kids in a house. It’s a little $105,000 house but they are so happy. Once I went to a few closings like that, I found out that it felt really good. Yes, there is a paycheck at the end of it -- but that feeling of accomplishment and the gratification is really important to me. I decided I wanted to stay in this kind of market.

In Touch Today: What mistake do you see veteran agents making?

Pat: I think that sometimes they become complacent and sit on their laurels. They have a lot of contacts, so they don’t feel a need to think “outside of the box.” They’ve developed a set pattern that works well for them. I’ve seen some agents who have been in the business a really long time and don’t even work. They don’t do many opens, they don’t do any floor duty and they just kind of work their base. That works for some folks, but I think that you have to continually be looking in a creative way to grab more business in your chosen market. If you’re short on first time homebuyers, maybe you should go to rental units and leave door hangers or mail to them to farm the first time homebuyer’s market in different ways.

In Touch Today: If you had a son or a daughter entering this business, what advice would you give him or her?

Pat: I would tell them not to treat real estate like a hobby. You need to treat it like a job. When I interviewed with the Mel Foster recruiting person, Ken, that’s one of the pieces of advice he gave me. He told me not to treat it like a hobby or something you dabble in part-time. Treat it like a job. Come in the morning and work all day at it. Sometimes you work into the night at it. But if you continually work it like a job, you’ll be successful.

I would give the same advice to anyone coming into the business. Sure, it’s not structured like working for corporate America because you are your own boss. But you still need to treat it like it’s a job and like you have a boss. It’s real easy, without someone watching over you, to say “I’m going to go golfing this afternoon.” I see a lot of this. But those of us in here every day, working the same hours unless we have appointments, are the top producers. If you’re in the office and you don’t have anything to do – find something. Pick up the phone and call up some past clients. Pick up the phone and do some follow-up work. Pick up the phone and make sure all your closings are going as they should. There is always something you can do, marketing or otherwise, to stay busy.

In Touch Today: What has been your most successful marketing campaign?

Pat: Everybody does farm mailings but I’ve never done one. I really can’t say that I have a marketing campaign at all other than selling myself.

In Touch Today: Then how do you stay in touch with your past clients?

Pat: I have a database and I mail out a news blurb about interest rates or something at least four times a year to my past client base. Every now and then I’ll look through the database and make calls on their birthdays, anniversaries or if they’re having a baby. I get to know these families pretty well, and I mark these kinds of things in my client database and try to give them a personal phone call. One of my past clients just had a baby, so I’m planning on calling her and stopping by to visit. She’s referred at least five clients to me. I’m actually listing her mom’s house today. I was invited to the baby shower. I was invited to another client’s wedding.

In Touch Today: Do you have a best turn-key sales or marketing idea you’d like to share?

Pat: I always ask my clients for referrals. One of the last things I do at closing is to make sure my client knows that I build my business through their referrals. I give them some cards and ask them to have anyone they know in need of a Realtor give me a call. They are always more than happy to do so. If you make the home buying experience memorable and good and enjoyable for them, they will remember and they’ll tell the world.

In Touch Today: Who or what has been the biggest contributor to your success?

Pat: I would have to say it’s my husband, Daryl. We’ve been soul-mates for 34 years. We got married when we were 19. He has always been very supportive and flexible in letting me choose what it is I want to do. And he always tells me how proud he is of me. He’s very loving. Our relationship has made it a lot easier for me because I’m not stressed out at home.

In Touch Today: If you had a magic wand, what would you change about your business?

Pat: If I could take “For Sale By Owner” off the face of the earth I would! FSBO’s are changing the face of real estate. I watched a repeat of a piece that 20/20 did on real estate in general. Part of it was on FSBO’s. A lot of people out there think that they can sell their home by themselves. They made it look so easy on TV. I really wish they would have interviewed one or two people who did it and got sued for thousands of dollars. There is one suit I know of in town over disclosures about a basement. The former owners are being sued for $60,000! But the reporters didn’t talk to anyone who had a negative experience selling their own house.

In Touch Today: What are your current goals?

Pat: I’m at the point in my life, approaching my mid-50’s, where my biggest goal is just to stay busy. I think that the key to longevity is getting up every day, planting your feet on the floor and saying “I have a purpose today. I have a reason to get up and go.” For me, that is probably one of the most important things that I do. I just want to be busy and have something in my life that excites me and gives me self gratification. This business does that for me.

In Touch Today: When do you think you’ll be at the point where you’ll seriously look at hiring an assistant?

Pat: I may take a look at it this next year. I’ve gone from $5.5 to $6.5 or $7 million this year, and it’s getting to a point where I need at least a little bit of help. I have met a woman who worked for Re/Max for quite awhile out of Chicago. She may be interested in doing some part-time work for me. She is very good at what she does and I could really use her help in managing my database and doing mailings. She has another part time job, so I’m only currently using her 3-4 hours a week. But she’s someone who I think I could trust.

In Touch Today: Is there anything else you’d like to share with others who aspire to the success that you’ve created in a very short amount of time?

Pat: I would say that real estate is not magic. Real estate is about people and about building relationships with people. It’s about communication and caring. It’s about making people’s dreams come true. I’d say to anyone getting into the business that this is what they really need to focus on. It’s not about what’s in it for you; it’s about what is in it for your client. Put yourself in their shoes. I always tell my clients that I will not let them buy a piece of property that I wouldn’t buy myself. That’s the kind of protection they want from their real estate agent.

And another important resource:

93% of purchasers are satisfied with the agent they used, but only 11% buy from them again. Why? Because they don't remember their name.

Ask And You Shall Receive

Always remember to ask for referrals any time you can - at initial consultation, closing, and after. Use Referral Request Postcards to approach this request with a light hearted feel but strong message reminding clients that referrals are vital to your business.