HOW WE’RE NAVIGATING THROUGH TODAY’S CHALLENGES
We focused on our
STRENGTHS Stability, security strength, Experience and Action we've been busy these last few months!
what we did. 1. Timely Updates on Managing the Stay at Home Order Cares Act loans, etc. 2. Top National Speakers Webinars
3. Market Updates From Our Research Team 4. Panel of Peers Video Conference: Best Practices 5. Financial Assistance for Our Agents - boost commission payments, deferred accounts receivable, commission advances
6. Real Estate Market Virtual Public Townhall
19. Do-It-Yourself Home Photography Tips
40. Virtual Tour Marketing
20. Community Activism
41. Virtual Tours Slideshow for every listing
21. Weekly Education Programs
42. How to Host a Virtual Open House
22. HomeSuite One-Stop Shop Marketing
43. Virtual Open House Marketing
23. HomeSuite One-Stop Shop Mortgage discounts
44. Safe Showings Buyer Safety Kits
24. Online Ad Program Discounts
45. Safe Showings Client Checklists
25. Automated Client Survey 26. Farming Postcard Program Discount
27. Local Community-Themed Farming Postcards
46. Safe Showings Client Emails
47. Safe Showings Video 48. Safe Branch Protocol 49. Branch Virtual Happy Hours
7. Mortgage Virtual Public Townhall
28. TheWeekender .online Blog, Email & Social Posts
8. Insurance Virtual Public Townhall
29. The Weekender Newsletter Mailer
9. “The Stories of Our Home” brand culture video
30. No Cost and Low Cost Web Leads - Homes.com, Realtor.com, Michigan’s top broker sites
51. Company-wide Virtual Meetings
10. Assisting Agents with Unemployment
31. “I have a Buyer” Marketing
11. Electronic Earnest Money Deposit
12. Curbside Closings 13. Enhanced Transaction Management
14. Listing Alerts Program 15. Weekly Marketing Tips + Tools Emails 16. Social Media Educational Videos
17. Branded Social Media Library 18. Facebook Group for Agents
32. Pandemic-related Facebook Covers 33. Customized Agent Digital Buyer Brochures 34. Customized Agent Digital Seller Brochures 35. Buyer Field Guide ebook 36. Seller Field Guide ebook
37. Coloring Pages Contests 38. Digital Brochure featuring Listing Video
39. How to Host a Virtual Tour
50. Branch Weekly Virtual Connections
52. Accountability Groups 53. New Agent Coaching Programs
54. “Coming Soon” Listings Promotions for Our Buyers 55. Remote Transaction Training ZIPTMS, Docusign 56. Digital Listing Presentations
57. Branch Contests for Getting Listings 58. Special Team Admin and Buyer Agent Training (Workman Systems)
59. Nation’s Top Educational Platform (of any industry) 60. Virtual Book Clubs
2020 defined a home in ways we could have never anticipated. Our daily transactions held more meaning than ever. With quick and decisive action, we met the crisis head-on and not only succeeded but positioned ourselves to emerge even stronger.
? a home what is
Greatly appreciate REO and all you do!
- Renee, Traverse city I ha ve c i onti m pres nue sed. e d to h w t C h f a a o be t n t is n 't im r o p s p e a agin xt! T e so m The su compan y h he c o u n c h ap tent prec entire omenal . iate n e d! h Lisa p k a n o e e , l b Tro ya o r , y h c t
-mi
, u o Y k n a h Thanks for all your T ! M A E T O E R support Real Estate One!
- Jon, Beulah
These panel of peers meetings are helpful ever y week. O nce we are al l back t o wor k maybe REO could do it 1x a mont h..er. -C hr istina, Rochest
! l oo c so evoix - Sheri, charl
s i ff u t s s i h t all of
e t n i o P e ss ro G , y - Am
NICE! -Stacey, Troy
Thank yo Bonnie anu to Dan and managers d all of our really donbecause they’ve of keeping e a fantastic job us informe d. -Caron, R
ochester
Yes, We were at
HOME
OUR NUMBERS SAY IT ALL. Our schedules
may have slowed down, but our productivity kept up! We were taking on listings, attending virtual closings and even receiving a boost in commission percentage!
BUT WE WERE
Busy!
Our Resilience
Deals continued to move forward throughout the stay-at-home order. We provided step-by-step guidance on how to maintain momentum within the transaction pipeline and advised on which contingencies to add within contracts. We also coached to hold virtual “Success Plan” consultations with each active client. Those who sold a home while our doors were closed received a “boost” in commissions. We all leaned on our mortgage, title and insurance companies as essential businesses to keep the ball rolling, too.
Our numbers through the Stay at Home order say a lot
209
AGENTS Sold $1 million+
1020 2926 2386 386 AGENTS
who had at least one pending sale
PENDING UNITS total number for the company
LISTINGS TAKEN Number of total listings taken
$361,600 BOOST commissions given out
paid to agents who sold a home through the Stay at Home order
AGENTS
received the boost commission
The COVID-19 crisis gave us all an obstacle, but we found a way through together. We developed the Team@2 series and gathered up to three times weekly to inspire, learn and keep our business thriving.
Up lift ing Top National Speakers on building D business and thriving during COVI
Inspiring Coaches. We were stuck at home, but so were leading speakers and trainers. We took advantage of an otherwise frustrating situation by coming together as a family. 2pm soon became a gathering hour for our Team@2 series held via Zoom. Even when the world seemed to stop, we found ways to start up better habits, stronger communication and new business practices.
OTHER SPEAKERS INCLUDED: Brian Buffini
Buffini & Company
Robert M. Campau, Esq RCE, CAE and CEO of Michigan Realtors
Greg Coyne
Sandler Training
Kurt David
“From Glory Days” Author & Emmy Award-winner
Sylvie di Guisto
“The Image of Leadership” Author
Andrew Flachner
Jared James
Realtor Magazine
Mike Staver
Leadership Coach
RealScout, Inman News Author
Steve Har ney
Founder of Keeping Current Matters
Steve Mur r ay Real Trends
Don Tenneson Ninja Selling
John Tenz a Flying Tigers
Verl Wor kman Workman Success Systems
We believe in collaboration over competition. We have more top producers than any other broker in Michigan. Many who will gladly share their success strategies with others in our family.
PANEL OF
Peers Best Practices
Sharing I deas.
Our culture is built on teamwork and caring. When the stay-at-home order went into effect, we organized the Panel of Peers series. This virtual collaboration gathered via Zoom on a weekly basis, providing a stage for us to share and engage with one another. From market updates to sales strategy to social media, our Panel of Peers came together to learn and teach about a range of topics.
we invited our past,
PUBLIC
present and potential clients to our virtual real estate, mortgage and insurance town halls. As Michigan’s largest + leading brokerage, we can lean on our hyperlocal expertise, especially during unpredictable times.
TOWN HALLS
INFORMATION SHARING
Engage and Inform. Dan Elsea
President, Brokerage Services Real Estate One Family of Companies This popular public townhall brought in almost 1,000 viewers and was highlighted on the local news. Dan hosted the event and provided data about our housing market pre- and during Covid-19, and what to expect in 2020.
Lar ry Bshar ah
President, John Adams Mortgage Company, Front Street Mortgage Company
Larry, the president of the mortgage companies within our family led a public town hall about how home financing was being impacted by the pandemic. He also advised on what’s ahead for Michigan mortgages in 2020.
Eric Chase
Sales Manager, Insurance One Agency
Insurance One is part of the Real Estate One Family of Companies. This insurance-focused public town hall discussed auto insurance premium refunds, home occupancy standards and what’s to come with this summer’s auto reform.
2020 quickly became the year to
deepen our relationships. Our agents and employees connected virtually and found we have much more in common than real estate‌ like crazy dogs, screaming kids and an appreciation for athleisure wear.
CON+NECT
zooming together.
We moved fast to get our staff set up at home, so our agents could continue utilizing the resources and people available to them. Every agent was provided with Zoom training to conduct video consultations with clients. While we won’t completely replace in-person face time with Facetime, we’ll continue to leverage the many advantages experienced when we were 100% virtual. Many meetings will continue to be held online in the future.
WEEKLY CONNECTIONS
It’s much more convenient to click a link instead of commuting. Offices moved to holding virtual meetings with visits from our leaders and corporate staff. From marketing and tech support to our one-stop shop consultants, all of our support teams are remotely accessible.
COMPANY WIDE MEETINGS
It used to be quite tricky to fit our 2,000+ agents and 500+ employees in a single room, but we found it was quite easy to gather in a Zoom.
Zoom Fun!
We also stayed in touch with activities at a distance.
Yoga • book clubs happy hour s • dog shows trivia nights
As a family-owned company,
family is incredibly important to us. Our priority is to ensure our agents and employees are able to keep themselves, their families and their clients’ families as safe as possible.
KEEPING OUR EXTENDED FAMILY
IS OUR PRIORITY.
protecting our family. We quickly adapted to implement all precautions and procedures within our offices, closing locations and for showings and open houses. The key was consistent communication, so we provided scripts, emails and social media posts to better inform our clients. We covered all of the recommended sanitization practices and social distancing protocols, but we also went beyond the physical. We understood the extreme stress our family members were experiencing, so we hosted digital mindfulness seminars, virtual yoga classes and more. It has always been important to us that the people within our organization are not only physically safe, but in a healthy mental state, too. We are continuously keeping our family up-to-date with industry and government advisories.
KEEPING OUR EXTENDED FAMILY
IS OUR PRIORITY.
SHOWING CH ECKLIST FOR BUYE RS Meet Realt
or at the showing and GREET WITH “HELLO” instea A d of handshake. IF YOU ARE SICK , please do not enter or if someone in your home is sick, this home. Follow the Seller ’s SHOWING PROCEDURES home. for that Wear a MASK AND GLOVES (and/or sanitize after entering the prior to and property). WEAR SHOE COVERS, if requir ed, prior to entering home.
Maintain the requir ed 6-FOOT DIST the Michigan/C ANCING and DC Social Dista abide by ncing Guidelines. AVOID TOUC HING any surfac e in the home. FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSIONS should continue home, via email outside the , or phone.
G KEEPIN OUR ED EXTEND FAMILY
thank you! IS OUR Y. PRIORIT
OME’S THIS THOCOL eone in your home PRO U ARE SICK, oruleif.som
ed IF YO itize ase resch d/or san is sick, ple OVES (an ). rty AND GL MASK the prope Wear a CING entering er AN aft ST d DI OT prior an ed 6-FO Social the requir n/CDC Maintain by the Michiga me. and abide Guidelines. in the ho ing surface Distanc y an NG to ed, prior TOUCHI AVOID , if requir COVERS OE SH WEAR KEEPIN home. OUR G entering
EXTEND FAMILY ED
thank you! IS OUR PRIORIT Y.
SHOW ING FOR S ELLERCSHECKLIST IF YOU ARE SIC
SAFE SHOWINGS VIDEO FOR CLIENTS BRANDED SAFETY KITS
CLICK HERE!
Including: a mask, gloves, sanitizer and booties. It took many volunteers (fueled with doughnuts) to put them together for our sales team!
is sick, ple K, ase resch or if someone in your edule sho home Figure ou wing. t pet(s) to a SAFE PLAC E for yo go. u and yo ur DISINFE CT and before an CLEAN all main d after the surfaces showing TURN ON occurs. ALL LIG light sw HTS to itches. avoid tou ching of OPEN ALL int eri access, along wit or doors, blinds, h some cabinets. drapes, garage REDUCE from as CLUTTER to ma many ite ms in yo intain a safe dis ur home tance as possi ble.
thank you!
SAFE SHOWING CHECKLISTS
Our marketing department created
targeted content available in all mediums from email to social media to print. We also provided training, so you could produce quality marketing with confidence and competence.
reaching our sphere. Unprecedented times call for thoughtful and authentic marketing. Our marketing department provided templated scripts, materials and videos that you could use to be a visible and helpful resource to their clients. Weekly emails were sent providing checklists and tips, so you could continue marketing, organize your operations and exit quarantine with a business that was stronger and more connected. Every office, staffed with marketing support personnel, was prepared to assist with the new materials and an agent’s personal marketing.
WEEKLY SOCIAL MEDIA HOW-TO VIDEOS Launched to educate agents as the world turned to social media platforms
CLICK HERE!
SOCIAL MEDIA LIBRARY
Our marketing team built a library for you to access ready-to-post graphics and captions
FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND WEBSITE ADS We worked out a deal to get the best ad pricing for you
THE WEEKENDER SPECIAL EDITION NEWSLETTER ONLINE AND PRINT
PERSONALIZED BUYER AND SELLER BROCHURES
In a week’s time
f o e c n a t r o p m i
H C TE the
all of our offices went virtual! Our tech team offers full tech support to help get comfortable with video conferencing platforms, virtual tour creation and engaging existing tools.
Goin’ Virtual. To be honest, we have had the option to go virtual for years, but never really needed to. After all, agents are people-people! Fortunately, our tech department already had the platform in place to support virtual marketing. Our tech team hosts webinars that walk through all virtual activities from hosting open houses/showings to managing the entire transaction digitally via zipTMS. It’s so easy to use that our training sounded a bit like this, “See that button? Click it and you’re DONE!” We updated our websites for a better home shopper experience and highlighted the listing by adding a virtual tour/video filter.
RIS MEDIA’S
VIRTUAL SLIDESHOW FOR EVERY LISTING Automatically created and uploaded to YouTube
QUICK, ONE QUESTION SURVEY
Get more 5-star reviews and recommendations across websites
TECH TITAN AWARD WINNER for our technological achievements
Presented to individuals transforming the industry by integrating new forms of technology into their companies to improve and enhance overall consumer experience.
HOMES.COM
Preferred listing status, leads go directly to the agent +more!
We consistently update
our game plan to keep our competitive edge sharp and our approach fresh.
a t i h o t ys a w w Ne
e m n o u H R
Providing New Business Resources. We have the best of both worlds. Because we’re family-owned, we have a tight knit culture. But because we’re big, we provide an extensive network of teams and tools designed to help your businesses thrive. We like to say that we’re a startup that’s been around for almost a century. It’s our goal to offer our agents everything needed to succeed, whether it’s through technology, business coaching or the ability to offer every real estate service under one roof.
OUR ONE-STOP SHOP OF REAL ESTATE SERVICES
CLICK HERE! “I HAVE A BUYER” CAMPAIGN
To get listings, you can prospect for potential sellers with our targeted “I Have a Buyer” letters.
HomeSuite helps you win competition for listings and buyers. Our one-stop shop provides a better and more convenient real estate experience for our clients. Combining brokerage, mortgage, title and insurance is a rising trend, but we’ve offered every service under one roof for over 45 years. With our savings incentives, smooth transaction platform and our top-rated customer support, we get more happy customers HomeSuite home! DEPOSIT EXPRESS
st
1
ELECTRONIC EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT
TO OFFER
FREE, EASY & SECURE START REQUEST
SEND TRANSACTION INFORMATION
SEND TO BANK
ACCESS THROUGH
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is it?
Deposit Express is a way for buyers to make Earnest Money Deposits (EMD) electroni-
Company policy requires the client to sign the Earnest Money Receipt and Agreement form. Do we still need that form with Deposit Express?
What if the property does not close?
Refer to the Real Estate One Earnest Money Refund Policy. Here’s an abbreviated version
ELECTRONIC EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT
As the first company to offer electronic earnest money deposits, this contact-less system was already in place
Our HomeSuite businesses
were deemed essential during the stay-at-home order. Our teams made fast adjustments to put both safety and excellent service first.
g n i v l o Ev Times with the
One Team. All Service. Our HomeSuite Teams rocked through the stay-at-home order!
New! Michigan Mortgage Cast We are evolving with the times to bring our agents and customers current information and guidance. Follow our Facebook page to tune into our new LIVE Michigan Mortgage Cast series.
CLICK HERE!
WHAT’S NEXT FOR REAL ESTATE IN 2020? Tune into
MICHIGAN MORTGAGE CAST
$500 Fir st Responder & Healthcare Hero Credit To support those who were supporting us, we created a $500 lender credit incentive for healthcare heroes and first responders.
Switch & Save Our team stepped in to help customers switch policies to save money with more affordable insurance bundles.
Industry Guidance for Gover nor’s Order s Our team sent out regular updates based on the everchanging government mandates.
OUR HOMESUITE TEAMS NET PROMOTER SCORE:
96% 93% OF OUR CUSTOMERS
would recommend our mortgage services to their family and friends - this puts us above 90% of the mortgage industry
OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND LENDERS
Curbside Signings Among our various closing options, a popular one was our curbside signings.
94%
OF OUR CUSTOMERS
would recommend our insurance who work with us would recommend services to their family and friends our title services to their friends based on customer feedback through: and business colleagues Staunton Financial, Inc. dba John Adams Mortgage NMLS# 140012
Our Culture of
COMPASSION
Caring for Our Community. As a way to give back to the communities that give so much to us, we founded the Real Estate One Charitable Foundation in 2004. Family members throughout our organization regularly volunteer and donate to local charities. Plus, our company matches the money raised by 50%. Although we’ve never experienced anything like the recent pandemic, our charitable foundation was eager to help our hometown healthcare heroes. We asked local hospitals what they needed most during the COVID-19 crisis. The answer was Gatorade and snacks, so our foundation donated 14,000 Gatorades and snacks over the course of 30 days. The Real Estate One Charitable Foundation allows our members to combine passions, funds and forces to make a positive difference within the communities we love, work and live in.
$
HELPING OUR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
From fundraising to mask making to pop-up food pantries, our family members got creative and made a difference for communities in Ann Arbor, Rochester, Milford, Traverse City and more!
CARING IS ONE OF OUR CORE VALUES
Our charity has worked to benefit our communities since 2004. Check out the Foundation’s annual report of what we did last year!
MILLION RAISED SINCE 2004
CLICK HERE!
OUR
90+ YEARS OF
s ucc e s s
ADAPTING
F uture is the result of
FOR THE
1 # #
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
70+ 2000+ OFFICES
13 #9
AGENTS & EMPLOYEES
TOP 50 SALES ASSOCIATES IN MICHIGAN REAL ESTATE ONE
IN MICHIGAN
Closing over 8,000 more transactions than our closest competitor.
IN NATION
Consistently ranked in the top 15 brokers in the nation.
INDEPENDENT We are also the 9th largest independent broker in the nation. RealTrends 2020
$5.86 BILLION
Sales volume in 2019*
24,331 properties Sold/Leased in 2019*
Broker #2
2.28 mILLION
Broker #3
Unique visits to our website in 2019*
Broker #4 Broker #5
*Including franchises
WE SELL OVER TWICE AS MANY LUXURY HOMES REAL ESTATE ONE Broker #2 Broker #3 Broker #4 Broker #5 Broker #6
Michigan home sales $1,000,000+ Broker Metrics, MLS Data
477
OF OUR AGENTS are in the top 10% in the nation – more than any broker in Michigan
We asked. We listened.
We Delivered.
Change is never easy, but adjusting our lives and businesses overnight is particularly challenging. COVID-19 has presented all of us with a number of challenges and opportunities and, as it has been throughout our history, we are emerging even stronger as a result of the hard work and focus of our entire organization while we were staying at home. We have been fortunate to have the experience of three generations of business, thriving in every type of adversity. The depth of any organization is shown during challenges and times of crisis. The good times tend to take care of themselves, the momentum of the market carries all boats. In challenging times, it is clear which individuals and companies acted with growth and opportunity in mind vs. caution and contraction. It will be very evident later in the year who spent their time focusing on preparing for the recovery. We are already seeing our collective efforts paying off in additional listings and increasing market share. We asked, we listened and we delivered on the information, education and support our team needed to keep their business momentum going.
Dan Elsea
President, Brokerage Services
Stuart Elsea
President, Financial Services
Proud winner for 9 consecutive years
Thank you for your support and all you do for each of your clients ÂŽ
Staunton Financial, Inc. dba John Adams Mortgage NMLS# 140012