Scott Nelson, CEO of Comey & Shepherd REALTORS® in Cincinnati recently sat down with RISMedia to discuss his company’s use of technology in business, best strategies for coaching and training and overcoming today’s challenges. Read on to gain some valuable insight.
Scott Nelson
CEO
Comey & Shepherd REALTORS®, a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®
Cincinnati, Ohio
Region served: Cincinnati, Ohio
Years in real estate: 30+
Number of offices: 12
Number of agents: 500
Favorite part of your job: Doing new things or finding new and creative ways to do old things better.
Best advice for new agents: Follow some very specific systems to build your book of business. Success comes from disciplining yourself to perform the right basics over and over again.
How do you use technology to better your business?
Communication has really been enhanced by technology. At both the consumer and agent levels, the Internet has allowed us to do things that we have long wanted to do when it comes to improving efficiency and service.
How are you helping your agents traverse the mobile aspect of your business?
We have implemented effective mobile versions of back office tools for agents and consumer-facing tools for their clients.
What are your best strategies when it comes to coaching, mentoring and training agents?
When it comes to coaching, mentoring and training agents, we’ve begun looking at these areas as separate entities. Therefore, we’ve started to separate coaching, which comes from branch managers, and field training, which comes from agent mentors.
What current trends are you seeing in your market right now?
The biggest trend in our market right now revolves around “Coming Soon” listings. While these “Coming Soon” tactics are fraught with liability, they still seem to have a following among some listing agents.
What demographics are driving your business these days?
At the moment, we’re seeing a lot of younger people (those 30 years and younger) who entertain the idea of a real estate career. But they’ve been conditioned to see a career in real estate as a cross between HGTV and Facebook. They aren’t prepared for the discipline that it takes to build a business.
What is one challenge your market currently faces and what are you doing to overcome it?
Our biggest challenge today is combatting the “all about commission” attitude that new agents have. Many fail to see the much more important environmental issues. Starting out at the right brokerage, one that will thoroughly train and continually coach, has never been more important.
For more information, visit www.comey.com.
