Editor’s note: This interview was conducted prior to the escalation of the coronavirus.
Vitals: The Lynn Reecer Team with Encore Sotheby’s International Realty
Years in business: 10
Region served: The entire state of Indiana
2019 sales volume: $39 million
2019 transactions: 88
www.encoresothebysrealty.com
A broker with 10 years of experience and leader of The Lynn Reecer Team with Encore Sotheby’s International Realty, Lynn C. Reecer has ranked No. 1 in the Indiana Regional Multiple Listing Service in sales production for five years in a row.
Falling into her real estate career by accident when she offered to help a relative who had a real estate license but was not very active start his own company, Reecer quickly fell in love with the industry and became a natural.
In 2010, Reecer co-founded Reecer Properties, Inc., a boutique real estate firm that saw more than $606 million in sales volume over 8.5 years. Encore Sotheby’s International Realty acquired the firm in early 2019 and brought Reecer on as a leader, where she has been bringing top service to her clients ever since.
What are you focused on this year as it pertains to your market?
Lynn Reecer: I enjoy the challenge of this low inventory market of 2019 and 2020. I have had to come up with new strategies to address this issue for both buyers and sellers. Having to stretch myself as the market changes to help my clients realize their best ROI as sellers and come out on top in competitive multi-offer situations for buyers is fun for me. I also love teaching these strategies to my awesome (young!) team. To me, the bigger the challenge, the better.
How do you maintain profitability as the market fluctuates?
LR: You have to stay on top by being the best at what you do in your world/market. There will always be properties being bought and sold, as well as people that must sell or need to sell—just fewer at times. I believe you have to be a full-time, professional real estate advisor with a great track record whom people know they can count on. I started my career in real estate in the down-market aftermath of 2007 – 2008, so that was good for me.
What are some of your most successful recruiting and retention strategies?
LR: I admit I did it the hard way. I hired people from scratch who were not agents yet, and took them through the whole process. I felt it was best to bring them up in the field, teaching them the way that took our small start-up company to the top so quickly: quality not quantity, white-glove service, treating clients like your treasured friends and family. This was very hard, and while it worked sometimes, other times it didn’t. Sometimes they were so well-trained that they were poached by other companies, and that was so hard on me. Loyalty is everything to me today, and that is my retention strategy. I look for people of character that love being part of a team like I do and value the help that I commit to giving them to make them successful in their careers and lives. And in return, they help me, too. My team has never been better than it is today.
How are you motivating and leading agents?
LR: I am a hands-on leader that loves to do contests for trips, prizes, etc., as well as provide bonuses for my awesome salaried staff. Surprise gifts and handwritten thank you notes and cards are also very important to me. I try to get my agents to make goals for the year and encourage them along the way by telling them I believe they can do it. My newest agent made over $110,000 her first year, and I was so proud of her. I knew she could do it.
Keith Loria is a contributing writer to RISMedia.
