RISMEDIA, December 29, 2010—2010 was a year marked with numerous changes, and as real estate professionals prepare for 2011, that change is probably not going away. Here, Alicia Trevino, president and CEO of Alicia Trevino Realtors in Dallas, Texas discusses how her company stays profitable by accepting change and staying up-to-date with market realities.
Alicia Trevino
President & CEO
Alicia Trevino Realtors
Dallas, Texas
Region served: Dallas, Texas
Years in real estate: 20
Number of offices: 2
Number of agents: 59
Average time on market: 45 days
Average sales price: $110,000
Key to staying profitable: Be open to change and remain up-to-date with current market realities.
How are you training your agents about the reality of today’s market?
We train our agents extensively about foreclosures, short sales and REOs. Not only do we encourage them to obtain certifications that will help them find success in these fields, but we offer classes that cover these topics every week.
What tools and resources are most critical to your company’s ongoing success?
The follow-up system that our agents use is a great way for them to stay in touch with their past and present clients. Once an agent has entered all of their clients into the database, the system prompts them to follow-up and offers drip e-mail campaigns for agents to use. This enables our agents to reach out to clients through the mediums in which they want to be contacted.
How do you incorporate local print advertising into your marketing strategy?
It is important that we have a presence in all forms of advertising, especially since every consumer wants to receive information in a different way. We have had a lot of success in cultivating Internet-based leads in addition to leads through The Real Estate Book. The Real Estate Book has been with us since the beginning and is a great way for us to create brand awareness and get more exposure on a company-wide level. The team at The Real Estate Book does a good job of distribution and makes sure the books are located in the right places. The way that it is packaged makes it easy for someone to slip a copy into their bag, and the full-color ads have been beneficial in generating interest in our listings.
How does your marketing break down between print and online?
We focus our advertising dollars across the board, so we
