Real Estate Business Magazine June 2008

MAY/JUNE 2008 • Vol 29

Published by the council of real estate brokerage managers

For Managers, Brokers and Owners

brokers

tune in to their network Plus ...

Marketing Evolves Home Staging

Ken Baris, CRB

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Turn on tune in to your and

network A strong reputation is built on much more than a house of business cards.

By Chris Ryan

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www.crb.com

Many of us treat business cards the same way we treat birthday cards: We read them once, and then throw them into a drawer where they age until the next batch joins them 12 months later.

As with birthday cards, though, meaningfully staying in touch with the people who gave you a business card can result in many years of receiving nice checks.

More than going through the tactical motions of handing your card out to random strangers who may or may not be worth the effort from a business perspective, networking is an art that through a targeted and strategic approach can create a lasting stream of business for brokers, owners and managers.

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ted ia c e r p p till a “Mail is s re than e-mails a lot mo an today.”

8 chairm f 0 0 2 , in it o v – M icheaeHl oLeuston Assocoiawtionenr of ker/ of th and bro Realtors alty.com. e HTownR

“A standout networker is someone who has ability to develop relationships with people without pretense,” says Ken Baris, CRB, CRS, president of Jordan Baris Inc. REALTORS® in West Orange, N.J. “They are going to meet you, you’re going to feel comfortable, and you’re not going to feel like they’re purely out for business from you.” That said, business cards are still important.

“If I give someone my card, I assume they’re going to lose it — and that’s a pretty safe assumption,” Baris says. He recommends forcing the other person to study your card when you first hand it over.

How do you politely pull that off?

“I’ll study your card for a few moments,” he explains.

“I want to capture the essence of what you do, where you work. I put you in the position of having to do the same thing. That’s the first aid to memory.”

The bigger step, Baris says, is to become memorable to the other person, who may get back to the office with a stack of other cards competing with yours for real estate in that person’s memory. Follow-up, therefore, becomes critical. Baris suggests sending an e-mail or, better yet, a handwritten thank-you note.

“Mail is still appreciated a lot more than e-mails today,” says Michael Levitin, 2008 chairman of the Houston Association of Realtors and broker/owner of HTownRealty.com. “Throughout his career, Former U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush has always written personal notes. I still use them. It shows you took some time. You wrote it, put it in an envelope, addressed it, licked the stamp and dropped 20

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it in the mail.” Baris is also a huge proponent of the handwritten note.

“We have beautiful letterhead and send out a lot of notes that simply say things like, ‘It was great meeting you,’” Baris says. “It doesn’t need to be long — it just needs to be.”

The capstone to a productive business card exchange, Baris added, is to take the time to look for a referral to send their way. Most people will return the favor at some point. Whether a foray into networking will be successful or not, he explained, also depends on one’s approach to making contacts before they ever meet someone.

“I don’t look for the opportunity of ‘What can you provide me?’ but rather ‘What can I do for you?’” he says. One way to do that, Baris says, is by associating with great people by aligning yourself with existing organizations — or creating new ones.

About 12 years ago, for example, through the West Orange Chamber of Commerce — of which both Ken and his father, Jordan, have served as president over the years — Jordan founded the West Orange Community Awards. Each year, these awards recognize a teacher, a police officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical technician and a “Business of the Year.”

“Creating that for our community has been an incredible opportunity for networking,” Ken says.

“Plus, we are associated with doing something really good and are involved with leaders of some of the most important organizations in the community.” www.crb.com

All of that, Baris says, goes back to the first premise: Don’t just network for the business; do it for the good.

“The business comes from the good you’ve done,” he says, not the other way around. “Because now, you have the mayor saying, ‘There are a lot of REALTORS® out there, but this is one I trust.’ Now, when the town sends out tax bills, the mayor, in his attached letter, includes data on the state of real estate locally — with data that we provided.”

Appearing in people’s mailboxes is nice, but appearing in person can be even better.

While we often hear that “showing up is half the battle,” for Baris, who has only missed one NAR convention since 1984, it’s much more than half.

“Make it a bit personal,” he says. As this year’s chairman of HAR, for example, Levitin has introduced a lot of different people at events, including judges and politicians. At a recent function, Levitin introduced a judge whom he found out — from Google — hailed from an obscure town and incorporated that into the introduction.

“He got a big kick out of it.” Levitin explains. “When you go in there and have something like, ‘Hey, I happen to notice you’re a dog lover,’ people appreciate the fact that you took time to find out about them.

It’s flattering— and it only takes two minutes of research.”

I’m a firm believer in using humor, but there’s a fine line between being funny and being a clown. You don’t want to be a clown.

“You need to be present,” he said. “That means knowing the right places to be and being there. My network is the brokerage community. By going to the conferences, I meet a lot of people who have given me a lot of great ideas. It gives me a chance to talk to them and have relaxed conversations.” In addition to knowing the right places to be, it’s important to know the right things to say, according to Levitin.

“I’m a firm believer in using humor, but there’s a fine line between being funny and being a clown. You don’t want to be a clown.” When possible, Levitin recommends researching individuals you hope to target before you meet them so that you don’t waste time trying to meet everyone — which is impossible anyway.

When Baris recently spoke at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Conference about Web strategies, he noticed that presidents of two of the largest real estate companies in the United States were in attendance.

“One of them gave me an incredible compliment, which I have obviously already followed up with a very appreciative thank-you note,” he says. “That’s an interesting example of being present and alert.”

After the conference, the e-mail exchange began.

“Have a general idea of who will be there and set a plan of action: who to make sure you don’t miss,” he says. “That’s really important as opposed to a random, sporadic approach.” He also suggests doing some homework to find out a little about the people you plan to target.

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ic but s a b o s s “It soundle know you let peopber them.” remem sident, “He sent me an e-mail to schedule a time to touch base this week,” Baris explained.

“I shot him an e-mail back that says, basically, ‘Thank you for your e-mail.

We have a company-wide meeting Wednesday morning where we are launching a number of new initiatives.

I would be thrilled to speak with you on Thursday.’” A short e-mail like that, Baris says, is packed with important information.

“I’ve told him that I’m very busy and that I’m doing something progressive in a challenging market,” he explained. “I’ve also says I’m thrilled to get to know him, which shows my enthusiasm. And I’ve thanked him — which very few people do in this world anymore.” That, Baris says, is the critical component to any networking tactic: making others feel important without coming off like an insincere “schmoozer.”

“It sounds so basic but let people know you remember them,” he says. “The key to networking is not the first meeting; it’s the second meeting. If I meet you today and then see you in three weeks and say, ‘I remember you; you’re Fred’ — before you get a chance to say my name — I have shown that I remember you.”

What networking really comes down to, according to Levitin, is creating a plan and having the discipline to stick to it, especially when attending a large event. He suggests identifying four or five specific people you want to attract and to be unselfish with their time.

“If you’re talking to someone of importance, there are other people there who want to meet that person,” he says. “If someone is standing right off to the side waiting to meet them, you don’t want to be commandeering their time. Make the short goal of meeting the person, getting contact information and setting up an appointment to talk at a future date.”

In that setting, he explains, a deal is just not going to happen anyway.

“With munchies on a plate and a cocktail, there are too many distractions,” Levitin says. “You’re going to 22

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S, pre CRB, CR ltors , is r a B Rea Ken aris Inc. Jordan B

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want to talk to them in a different atmosphere.”

Baris agrees.

“I don’t assume you remember my name from that first contact,” Baris says. “I say my name in the middle of my introduction so I don’t make you uncomfortable. That’s another subtlety.”

Though direct contact is obviously important, sophisticated networking goes further, according to Baris. It also requires putting yourself in people’s minds before they ever might need your services.

He cites one tool that many brokers, owners and managers don’t make use of as often as they should: the media.

“REALTORS® very often have the opportunity to be near the press,” he explained. “Whether it’s a groundbreaking, a ribbon cutting or a political event they might attend.” He cites the National Association of REALTORS® annual convention as a perfect example.

“I’ve seen the press at the convention,” Baris says.

“I’ve introduced myself and said, ‘If you need an excellent quote, I’m available.’ I was in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today because I spoke to a reporter and a photographer who were looking for comments about the show.

“Reporters are there for a reason: to get quotes,” he continued. “I make it as easy as possible for them.” Whether simply attending a trade show like the above example or working a booth, significant networking opportunities abound.

“We’ve all been to trade shows,” Baris explains. www.crb.com

“There are some booths you pass where the people behind the booth are sitting there and don’t provide eye contact, or address or speak to you.” The second type, he says, take the overly aggressive approach where as you walk by, they latch on — and don’t let go.

“Their goal is not to sell you the product but rather to not let you go,” he says. “The third type is what I like to be.” When Baris works a booth, he stands in front of the booth to remove the physical and psychological barrier it creates. Also important are eye contact, a nice, warm “hello” and some sort of genuine conversation starter.

“If there’s interest, there’s someone to talk to,” he explains. “If it’s the wrong time or they’re not interested, I’m not going to be a nuisance, but what I am going to do is make it extremely easy to have a conversation with me.”

While trade shows facilitate networking in a very intentional way, good networkers must also be

prepared for unexpected opportunities. That’s when, Baris says, the right “elevator speech” or becomes critical.

“It’s very important to be able to speak to someone and reach them quickly,” he explaines. “But do it in a way where they don’t think you’re in a race.” The answers you give to their questions, Baris says, should be concise but as specific as possible. “’I’m in real estate’ isn’t a very good answer when someone asks, ‘What do you do?’” he says, laughing. “Instead, I say, ‘I have a knack for helping people unlock more value out of their property than they expect that I’ll be able to.’” Without specifying residential or commercial real estate, Baris explains, he has kept all possibilities open and likely intrigued the other person into wanting to know more — which is the ultimate goal of networking.

“I think that the main thing is listening,” Levitin says. “So many people get in there and tell their story — people like to talk about themselves. They say God gave you two ears and one mouth, and it really is true. You always get more by listening than talking.”

Ken and Jordan Baris with Colin Dibley following the 2004 US Open Legends Doubles Event. Colin (who teamed with tennis great Stan Smith to win that event) and Ken of Jordan Baris, Inc. both use tennis to network with clients and those who are likely to refer them brokerage business

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