By Kayla O’Brien
RISMEDIA, March 29, 2008-When it came to creating a real estate team, the decision came naturally to Bob & Teresa Kroll. With a combined knowledge of 13 years on the job, the two have found that two individuals better help meet the needs of many. Here, meet the duo and discover the ways they’ve perfected their unique marketing approach and team work to keep customer satisfaction as their number-one goal in the Southwest Illinois suburbs.
Bob & Teresa Kroll
Managers
Century 21 Pride
Southwest Illinois Suburbs
Years in real estate: Bob, eight years; Teresa, five years
Number of offices: 2
Number of agents: 80
Average listing price: Mid-to-high $300,000s
Advantages to the team approach: “It makes it easier when it comes to our clients’ needs because one of us might relate better to particular clients.”
Signature marketing move: “We’re recognizable because of our husband/wife picture. We have the picture everywhere, whether it’s on our billboards, business cards, or in The Real Estate Book.”
Inspirational motto: “We love saying, ‘customer satisfaction is our number-one goal.’ We’re constantly in touch with past clients-referrals make up more than half of our business today.”
What’s one of the most creative things you’ve ever done for a listing? “Every single one of our listings ends in the number 808. It’s something we trademarked to our listings, because when you see something listed for $1,999,808, it’s an eye-catcher.”
Describe your market and what makes it unique.
The Southwest suburbs of Chicago are a growing community. More recently, we’re getting tons of retail shops, restaurants, and malls-it’s very up and coming, not to mention in a great location near Chicago.
How are you changing your marketing efforts in today’s marketplace?
We believe in keeping negativity out of our business. Last year was our best year in real estate and this year is looking better already. We’ve been consistent in our business by putting ourselves out there. There’s always going to be a buyer out there, so today, we’re just doing what we did in previous years: increasing our Internet exposure and still doing a ton of print advertising. We also handle every call ourselves and do not have assistants.
How has teaming up with The Real Estate Book helped set you apart from the competition?
We’ve done very well with it-not only getting homes sold but also getting listings. It’s such a recognizable magazine, and that’s helped us a lot. It’s a good magazine to publicize all over-consumers can just pick it up. We’ve been in other magazines and looked into other advertising, but The Real Estate Book-it’s the best.
How do you plan on growing your company in 2008 and beyond?
We’re going to keep on doing what we’re doing. We’ve been growing every year. We’re big into farming: sending mail to 5,000 homes; constantly sending “just listed” and “just sold” notices; and keeping our name out there. We’re going to continue doing what we’re doing-it has worked great. We love our job, and whatever it takes to get a home sold-that’s what we do.
