Kurt Thompson, CRS, Keller Williams Realty/North Central, Leominster, Massachusetts.
What is interesting or challenging about your market?
Here in North Central Massachusetts, our average home sale is around $200,000 to $225,000, so I would call that a mid- to lower-mid price-point market. We service sellers at price points between $100,000 and $400,000. We are suffering from a shortage of inventory right now, which makes it a seller’s market.
Our team supports both buyers and sellers—95 to 97 percent of my transactions are on the sell side, while my team does more than 80 percent of its business on the buy side.
How has being a CRS changed how you do business?
I became a CRS in 2011. I was attracted to CRS because I found that the agents who were at the top of their game across the country were CRS Designees. They had the best business models and were really committed to professional involvement.
I also picked up some great resources, like the CRS Your Home newsletter, which we use as a base template to mail to roughly 1,000 of our past clients, and it really translates into substantial conversions.
How do you stay involved with CRS?
I’m the team leader for the Northeast Region of CRS [MA, NH and VT], and right now we’re focusing on bringing education to our members. We just had a CRS 204 class with Chris Bird on agents making their own investments in real estate and using their profits to develop a retirement portfolio. I’m happy to report that the class sold out. A high percentage of attendees were not CRS Designees, and we are hoping that this will help to attract them to the CRS Designation.
How do you approach marketing your services?
Historically, our strongest business has been from past clients. We get great referrals from clients who know our reputation, and they are happy to recommend us to their friends and family. We stay anchored to these clients through ongoing communications, such as the CRS newsletters, as well as with calendars, sports schedules and so on. We touch base after each transaction to say congratulations and to make sure that everything went well, and we have a schedule for check-ins and anniversary cards. We want to be each client’s lifelong REALTOR® as they upsize, downsize or just buy a condo to get the kid out of their basement!
Is all contact through print and mail?
No, we have electronic touch points as well. Our administrative staff is responsible for our blog and Facebook feed, as well as delivering content through email. Our inside sales associates work with a third-party, lead-generation company, Commissions Inc., to bring leads into a central portal, which allows us to reach out within five minutes of receiving a lead. This third-party solution allows us to maximize response rates and positively affect profitability.
Are you moving more of your client interactions to electronic media?
I feel that our job is to mesh the high efficiency of tech with a high level of customer service. If you try to use only one way of working with clients, you risk breaking rapport with more traditional customers, for example, who aren’t using tech at all. Overlay just enough tech while honoring the comfort level of each client so that you can get the best result for them. For instance, it’s efficient for me to have all the listing data on my iPad, but that way of working might move too fast for a given client. It’s better to have a traditional hardcopy book for that person. One size does not fit all.
In what other ways are you responding to how buyers and sellers approach home sales these days?
The best new practice we’re seeing is a shift to a team system. It allows us to focus on real estate at a new level. We use licensed administrators for transaction management and back office support, and licensed showing assistants to walk clients through homes, which frees up our listing and buyer agents to spend more time concentrating on critical aspects of transactions for their clients.
We have to make the client experience perfect. They all have different needs and styles, and we strive to make that experience perfect consistently.
What advice would you share with your fellow CRSs?
It all comes back to the fact that there is no one best way to connect with a client. Agents need a multifaceted approach to client management, including a blend of live events, online deliveries and hard mailings. Print is making a resurgence, it feels new again—it’s “retro but new.” Sending a handwritten note through the USPS is now a great way to reach out.
My No. 1 hope for my fellow Designees is to realize that the CRS Designation is not static. It’s not a check box, it’s a lifestyle—a way to engage with like-minded professionals. The spirit and goal of CRS is to learn and grow, and expand personally and professionally.
Kurt Thompson achieved his CRS Designation in 2011. He can be reached at 978-860-3623 or kurt@homesjustforyou.com.
