From unique ways to market a listing to streamlining your organization, Bill Flemming of HomeSmart Connect Real Estate offers industry insights in the following interview.
Bill Flemming
President/CEO
HomeSmart Connect Real Estate
Arlington Heights, Ill.
Region served: Chicagoland
Years in real estate: 30
Number of offices: 2
Number of agents: 151
Favorite part of your job: Growth (designing/opening/growing offices), meeting new agents and leading the company.
What is the most unique way you have marketed a new listing?
We recently had a number of properties in the same area and wanted to service all of the sellers with an open house on the same weekend, but we didn’t have enough agents to service seven or eight listings. So, three of us each selected a home to sit and made signs for the others that read: “Agent on Call – Dial 847-454-1700. We will be onsite within 10 minutes to open the property for you to view.” We ended up selling two of the homes that weekend.
What is your favorite time-saving tool that you use on a weekly basis?
DocuSign. I even sign agents up to our company using this tool. It’s my favorite by far.
What strategies do you have in place to successfully reach out to first-time buyers?
Social media is by far the best tool to hook buyers and sellers today. I consistently mix my personal postings with fun and unusual real estate pictures on Facebook because I want my friends and family to look at something I’ve posted, and show it to others or repost it themselves.
How does your company stay flexible and current?
Staying flexible and current begins with our online services. With our online platform, there is truly nothing that an agent is required to come into the office for. In addition to all contract documentation being processed online, agents can make remote deposits on their own for earnest money, and commissions are paid via ACH. We also have the lowest fees in our marketplace. This means our agents’ personal income per sale is substantially higher than they see at most local franchise competitors. Our basic plan for an agent is just $39 monthly with a $395 transaction—no splits, no annual fees, etc. It’s like they’re running their own business. We simply oversee everything to make sure it’s all done in accordance with local laws and traditions. I love the HomeSmart System. It really is “real estate made easy.”
For more information, visit www.homesmart.com.
