As the old saying goes, it takes an army, and running a successful real estate business is not immune to this sage idiom. In the following interview, Joe Frazzano with J. Rockcliff REALTORS® offers words of wisdom on profitability, technology and teamwork.
Region served: San Francisco’s East Bay area
Average market time: 20 days
What sort of support do you receive from your broker in terms of leadership and resources?
J. Rockcliff has an excellent management team and super admin staff in place. They are all amazing. I can’t say enough about the benefits of working with J. Rockcliff. The company allows me to run my business right alongside theirs. That means I keep their excellent branding, but my marketing message is definitely my own. And then, of course, the marketshare—I am the No. 1 agent with the No. 1 company in the East Bay.
How has having a team allowed profitability to increase?
Scales of economy are unbeatable. My team shares some of the expenses with me so I have much broader exposure and coverage. There is simply no way that I could make the money that I do without a team. As a solo practitioner, I would not be able to handle the work load to compete with a team.
What is the single best advantage of having a team?
The level of service we provide is super high. And after all, what I am really selling is service. As a team, we offer seamless coverage, 24/7.
How do you differentiate your team from others in the marketplace?
We do a great job with marketing. We have a huge budget and spend more money marketing homes than most.
What do your individual team members do?
My team is different from many other teams because I allow my team to also list properties. Everyone on my team is allowed to list and sell as I do. My role is to help. We are really involved in our transactions from the ground up. Once we have ownership of a client, we do it all. Then we have one person who does all the behind-the-scenes work. Presently, I have four selling agents, my assistant and myself. I have been approached to grow, but I have resisted. If I grow, I can’t be as involved. Right now, it is manageable. I go on listing appointments with each team member and am involved with each transaction.
What is the one piece of technology that you and your team can’t live without?
Two pieces are essential: Dropbox and DocuSign. The ability to go completely paperless is huge.
What are you most proud of when it comes to your team?
My team members have all been on my team for at least the past eight years. I have had zero turnover in that timeframe. I really take care of my people. It is very important. I don’t want to take time re-inventing the wheel. We have systems in place and we are a fantastic team.
What does it take to succeed in real estate?
Perseverance. You have to be able to have the door slammed in your face and overcome it and keep going. You have to put in the time and effort and you have to have a plan and implement your plan, never losing sight of your goals.
For more information, visit http://www.rockcliff.com/.
