With nearly 20 years in the industry, Randy Durham–broker/team leader of Keller Williams Realty in Chattanooga, Tenn.–knows his way around the real estate market. In the following interview, he gives tips and tricks for what leads to a successful career in real estate, as well as useful market insight that you can utilize to stay on top.
Randy Durham
Broker/Team Leader, CRS, ePro, CDPE
Keller Williams Realty, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Years in real estate: 19
Number of offices: 1
Number of agents: 115
Team members: 8
Regions served: Greater Chattanooga, Tenn., and Northwest Georgia
According to NAR research, 42 percent of all homes purchased in the U.S. were found by the buyer searching online. But when it comes to Internet leads, some agents say they are too difficult to convert, while others rely heavily on them. What’s your take?
Agents get a lot of different calls, emails and Internet leads. They tend to cherry pick who they will respond to and have a preconceived idea that an Internet lead is not as important as a person who is asking to go look at a house. But I got a million-dollar deal because I answered an Internet lead right away—a guy in his car, driving up from Florida on his way to Chattanooga. If you’re dealing with a high caliber lead-generation program, you’ll find more serious and savvy buyers that are ready to react.
