Michael Saunders & Company’s Relocation Division was honored at the LeadingRE Awards Gala with the Award of Excellence for Outgoing Referral Production.
I recently returned from my first LeadingRE Annual Conference. LeadingRE is the short name for one of our affiliations, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. And for our customers, or those who aren’t sure what this is, I’ll explain.
Imagine a forest of lush trees. One tree by itself manages well enough, but together, the entire forest creates a strong ecosystem for life to prosper. So, Michael Saunders & Company is one of the trees while LeadingRE is the soil that connects us to all the other independent brokerage ‘trees’. And speaking as a leaf, I have to say our collective forest is pretty spectacular. We’re talking some serious Sequoias here.
And there was a lot to take in during the conference – multiple summits, dozens of seminars, inspiring speakers, and networking galore. So I’m sharing my top five takeaways from our forest fete and have asked several MS&C Managers to lend their perspective as well.
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Leading Real Estate Companies of the World is the cream of the crop.
I came back from the LeadingRE Annual conference with a better understanding of just how impressive this network is. Leading RE includes 14 of the top 25 U.S. real estate companies and accounts for over one million property transactions and over $321 billion in closed sales volume. And only 20% of the brokerages that apply to join this elite ‘forest’ are accepted. The standards LeadingRE holds for quality are really high.
“For our clients and customers, it’s another service that we offer,” explained Susie Rosario, Director of Business Development at MSC, “It provides the ability to help make an introduction to a LeadingRE member in another area of the country or around the world to assist in their real estate needs. We actively practice ‘the art of introduction’ to connect our valued clients to our world-class LeadingRE colleagues.”
LeadingRE maintains the strongest referral system in the industry. It helps our customers to find their perfect place, whether across counties or countries. Within this network, nearly 100 referrals per day are made between brokerages around the world.
Paul Boomsma, President, Luxury Portfolio International® and COO, LeadingRE speaks to a full house at the Fontainebleau where the LeadingRE Annual Conference was held.
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Real estate is all about relationships
Agent to agent relationships. Roger Morris, Manager of the Punta Gorda Burnt Store and Taylor Street offices gave a few good examples of how and why relationships matter:
“The business relationships fostered with real estate professionals from other companies during LeadingRE Conferences can last the lifetime of a career, and translate into many opportunities, not only for referral business, but for marketing our area and listings across the state, country, and globe. Another benefit to our customers is the opportunity to introduce them to professionals we know personally in other geographical areas where they may have a real estate need. At one networking event alone, I spoke with agents from as nearby as Bonita Springs to as far away as Iceland. This gave me the opportunity to learn about their market areas and also promote ours.”
Krista Potthast-Haynes, Realtor from the MSC Boca Grande office, and I get to know Gary Zalepa Jr., Broker with Johnston & Daniel, one of our Toronto affiliate brokerages.
Brokerage to brokerage relationships. Susie Rosario shed some light to how our whole company benefits from this relationship:
“LeadingRE provides its affiliates with an extensive range of brokerage services, which include lead generation, brand support, luxury marketing, global online exposure, technology systems, and other industry-leading professional development programs.
“The conferences and networking opportunities provide us with the opportunity to gain candid, first-hand understanding of the successes and challenges of other LeadingRE brokerages. With a free exchange of questions, ideas and explanations, we are able to learn lessons that we can immediately apply to our business.”
It’s these relationships we’ve cultivated, this network already in place, that helps us to find a buyer; place a family that’s moving away; tune us into the global marketplace; and learn best practices in our industry.
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Deliver the unexpected
All throughout the conference, this was a common theme we heard from speakers, panels, and sessions. As a luxury brokerage, it’s our job to deliver the best quality and service we can. So, taking that out of the equation, it’s going above and beyond that really sets us apart. George Blankenship, who was integral in building the retail experience for both Apple and Tesla, offered a series of questions to ask ourselves with every customer.
- What do your customers really want?
- What could they get they don’t know to ask for?
- What can you give them that others can’t?
- What can you do that would be unexpected?
George Blankenship shared the secrets to Apple’s success.
James Kane, a researcher, speaker, author, and expert in the science of loyalty, shared insights on human relationships. He explained that no one is loyal to a brand, they are loyal to a person that represents a brand. And in order to create a sense of loyalty, you have to figure out what you can do to make another person’s life safer, easier, or better. And then do it.
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Authenticity of brand. Or, why it’s important to share the stories, talent, and values of the people working behind a name.
Jen Horvat, Chief Marketing Officer at Michael Saunders & Company, chimed in on this:
“Brand is more than a tagline and logo. It’s really about who you are as a company and what you stand for. Being authentic to your brand is so important because the minute you lose authenticity, your business suffers. Our brand has always been about our people and the exceptional service they offer to their customers. When you surround yourself with amazing people who all have similar values it makes it easy to articulate your brand. It just comes out in everything you do.”
Jen Horvat attending the LeadingRE Annual Conference
Speaker Mickey Khan of Luxury Daily shared an example of brand authenticity from the world of fashion. Bottega Veneta, an Italian luxury goods house known for its unsurpassed craftsmanship, gave this glimpse through video of the process that goes into creating their product.
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Michael Saunders & Company is right where it should be.
If you read about our real estate affiliations, like LeadingRE, in one of our marketing flyers or on our website, then you have a sense that there’s something happening behind-the-scenes – in other states and countries – that is helping to sell your home. But like anything in life, you can’t always see the forest for the trees.
Taking part in this conference illustrated to me that not only are our relationships purposeful, beneficial, and tangible but Michael Saunders & Company is a leader among this impressive network of over 500 firms. Our company’s management is highly involved, taking action to stay ontop of emerging trends, innovative technologies, and tools to make life better for both our customers and our agents.
MSC Managers, Debbie Judge, Roger Morris, and Linda Formella pose for a shot with Michael Saunders after receiving their Maestro Leadership Certification in it’s inaugural year from LeadingRE.
MSC’s Saunders in 60, the weekly video about Sarasota real estate and lifestyle and shared via social media, won first place in video marketing.
Jen Horvat, CMO, with David Gumpper, Chief Technology Officer of MSC, led a panel on creating the ideal relationship between Marketing and Technology alongside our Sacramento-based affiliate, Lyon Real Estate. And kudos to the Technology division who was recognized as a recipient of the LeadingRE Website Quality Certification (WQC).
See more pictures from the conference week on our Facebook page album!
Take another look at George Blankenship’s questions above, or James Kanes’ definition of loyalty, and our affiliation with LeadingRE starts to look like a pretty solid answer. Michael Saunders & Company has carefully selected this forest as the best environment for our customers to make a better life for themselves, whether it’s finding their perfect branch, burrow, or bungalow. And while a caterpillar on the trunk of tree may not be aware of all the roots in place and how deep they go, a butterfly emerges nonetheless.
Visit the LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio International website to learn more about them. Were you one of the sixty Michael Saunders & Company agents who attended the LeadingRE annual conference? Leave a comment with your own top takeaways.