RISMEDIA, August 24, 2010—Having the correct people and tools in place is just part of the foundation that helps support a successful real estate company. Here, Judy Moffett, manager/owner of ERA Moffett Realty, Inc. in Lake Charles, Louisiana discusses how she has all the right pieces in place to keep her company ahead of the competition.
Judy Moffett
Manager/Owner
ERA Moffett Realty, Inc.
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Number of offices: 1
Number of agents: 38
Region served: Southwest Louisiana
Best tip for dealing with difficult customers: Listening, being patient and understanding. Continue to always be courteous and professional.
Most effective way to motivate agents: Recognition and rewards. We make our weekly sales meeting fun, yet informative. They always walk away with some bit of knowledge or a useful tool.
Key to staying profitable: Use your budget wisely. Track techniques and advertising to determine what brings in the most sales.
What are some of your strategies for working with diverse markets?
Our market is primarily middle-class homes, with a mean property value of $145,000. The five-Parish area incorporates everything from coastal fishermen to high-end corporate executives. We are a primary broker for a number of relocation companies, so that represents about 25% of our business. As far as strategies, all our agents work the entire service area. As a result, we demand they be flexible and knowledgeable in each market they may be called to work in and adapt to it.
What is essential to your company’s continued success?
Maintaining a good listing inventory priced correctly. We offer training to our agents weekly, and it’s mandatory for agents with us a year or less. We also use part of our mandatory sales meetings to do training. When we hire agents, they have to make a commitment to a production goal; they cannot miss meetings and they must attend an annual ERA training session that we provide.
What strategies do your agents use to stand out to clients and achieve customer loyalty?
Follow up! Follow up! Follow up! Be honest and have integrity. Do what they say they will do. Independently, our agents are encouraged to use their own creativity in handling client outreach. They send greeting cards, watch the local paper and news for mentions of their clients or their families, and contact clients to acknowledge milestones; we make it easy for them to add that little personal touch by providing materials needed. And because of that, a lot of return clients are asking for their agents back by name.
How do you keep your company top of mind in the eyes of the communities you serve?
We attend social and civic events. We encourage our agents and staff to get involved with local charities and get others in our office involved with them as well. Most attend monthly Chamber-sponsored events where they network. Recently, we teamed up with a local mortgage company to provide a free clinic for first-time home buyers explaining the tax credit.
