From newly implemented systems to top tech tools, in the following interview, real estate ace Ron Mintz shares insight into driving business and capturing marketshare.
Ron Mintz
Manager, REALTOR®, CDPE, SFR
Treasurer – CCAR Board of Directors
Director – CAR Board of Directors
People & Properties Sotheby’s International Realty
Danville, Calif.
Region served: Oakland, Berkeley, Lafayette and Danville, Calif.
Years in real estate: Since 1989
Number of offices: 6
Number of agents: 185
Best tip for dealing with difficult customers: Listen to what they have to say before you start speaking. Try to provide the best service that you can. Don’t be confrontational; try to provide a solid solution to the problem.
Favorite tech tool you can’t live without: My smartphone.
What is driving business for you today?
The real estate market is pretty hot right now, though we are seeing some slowing. I would say our experienced agents are continuing to provide excellent service, driving business to us. Our brand is also driving business to us. Our prime locations enable us to serve the population we’re looking to serve.
What new systems are you looking to implement into your business?
We are implementing a new CRM and lead aggregation all through realtor.com®. We’re hoping this will definitely assist us. We’re in the process of a name change as well , and we’re reopening our Lafayette facility, which has been completely reconstructed. We’re moving our Danville location to a new building that will portray the sophistication of the Sotheby’s image. We have quite a few things ahead of us.
What tools are currently provided to your sales associates?
We are introducing Top Producer as our CRM and FiveStreet for lead conversion, both products of realtor.com®. We’ve also introduced some other tools, including Rezora, a customizable email platform that allows you to send out mass emails and really beautiful pieces.
How are you helping your agents traverse the mobile aspect of the business?
We have a mobile app that is a Sotheby’s International Realty app. It allows our clients to receive listings, and it has a GPS locator where you can search by name or address. Plus, it’s customizable by each agent. When the consumer gets it from an agent, anything they pull up will be branded for the agent, which is a great thing.
Also, Top Producer, our new CRM we’ll be introducing has great mobile capability in that it provides a one-touch follow-up system for agents to use. We held meetings regarding Top Producer and talked about it on a number of occasions. We found that integration between FiveStreet and Top Producer was something we should take advantage of. We ultimately decided to go with both to really provide the best service. This will be rolling out to 150 of our agents in mid-November, and we’ll see how it grows from there.
What are you looking forward to as we get closer to the year’s end?
We’re looking forward to all the new opportunities coming toward us—the name change, the move, the relaunch of our Lafayette office. We are really pleased to start capturing a larger share of the market in the areas that we serve, and solidifying our presence in the Bay Area. We also look forward to working with other Sotheby’s offices, both local and on the Peninsula, to increase overall brand awareness. These are exciting times!
For more information visit www.realtor.com.
