Alex & Amy Vastardis
The Vastardis Team
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
Team members: Four – husband and wife team with one transaction coordinator and one admin. Amy Vastardis handles all of the listings; Alex Vastardis handles all of the buyers.
Years in real estate: Amy: 10 ½ years; Alex: 9 ½ years.
Area Served: Greater Orlando, FloridaWhen and why was the team formed?
Amy: It actually started out as just me in South Florida. I was doing really well right from the start but then Alex got what we thought was a great job offer in Orlando, so we moved to Orlando. I had signed up with Mike Ferry and went to a retreat; I got a coach and started prospecting and within six months I was doing very well. I was really busy and then it turned out that Alex was unhappy with his job and he came and asked if he could join me so he got his license and we split up all of the work right from the beginning.
What do you tell people on listing appointments about the value of hiring your team versus hiring a solo agent?
Amy: I have a slide show presentation that shows what each of us does and it also shows them how much is involved with one transaction. So I explain to them the value of having one person dedicated to each aspect of the process. I probably get the listing 95% of the time.
What’s your best tip for getting a listing at the right price?
Amy: I have a huge part of my listing presentation that I save for last. I tell them about Coldwell Banker and who we are and let them know how experienced I am. By the time I hit them with pricing they are ready. I talk about the market first and show them how many months houses are on the market and how much inventory there is and how many price reductions there are. Then I show them the benefit of starting with the right price. I explain to them that it is extremely critical to price it right.
What advertising idea created the greatest return on investment?
Alex: Most of our business is geared to our past clients. We have done the, “We will buy your house if it isn’t sold in 99 days” ads and that has worked, but we find what works best is giving our clients great service and following up. At this point about 60 % of all of our business is referral, and we also do a lot of relocation work.
What’s your best idea for holding effective team meetings?
Alex: We used to do them every month but at this point we see each other all of the time and use e-mail constantly so meetings are saved for changes that we are making.
What works best in generating online leads?
Amy: Our listings are all over the Internet. We have “lead router” on Coldwell Banker, whicg allows us to get back in touch with the leads instantly.
Alex: We are not doing any pay-per-click or anything of that nature. We don’t want to make our team any bigger. Our goal is not to be a powerhouse team. We are set up to do about 100 transactions a year and that works for us very well.
Do you rely on internal or external training and for what specific areas?
Amy: I am part of By Referral Only and I have a coach through them.
How does your broker support you as team leader?
Alex: She’s awesome and she really gets in there with you because she has been in sales. She helps us grow our business.
Have you formed an LLC or incorporated?
Amy: We are incorporated. We have financial and tax liabilities and we have investments in a lot of rental properties. We have the corporation so that we are protected.
Do you have a succession plan in place?
Amy: We have just started setting up our succession plan through By Referral Only. It is a wonderful site and it actually builds it up so we can show how much each person is worth and that will help us sell it one day.
What are two of the most important things you do to ensure that your team is successful?
Alex: Being honest with them. The whole thing is communication so everybody is always in the loop.
Amy: We get along all four of us very well. We talk about everything. We are very fair with them.
Alex: It’s all about balance. And I think that’s what makes our team appealing for team members.
Lesley Geary
