Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate Conference
September 22-24, 2002
St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, California

Meeting Minutes

Following are notes I took during the conference - they aren't complete, and may have inaccuracies as my brain and fingers did not work as rapidly as the speakers spoke. Naturally they don't evoke the personalities that brought the remarks to life, and there was no way to capture all of the stories - sometimes I made obscure notes just to remind myself of a particular story. Nonetheless, I wanted to share them with you, whether you were there or not.
Sharon Simms, St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay), Florida
www.ssimms.com
sharon@ssimms.com

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Monday September 23rd
Brian Losh, opening remarks:
This is our 7th conference. Previous ones have been: New Orleans, Hawaii, Quebec City, Lanai, & Washington, DC.
Introduced current Who's Who staff in attendance:
Matthew Haber - Director (Emily's previous position)
Meghan Barry - Events Coordinator
Jon Mendoza - Creative Director
Scott Rudolph - Director of Business Development

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Featured Speaker:
Robbie Briggs, Briggs-Freeman Dallas, TX
Partner is Charles Freeman. Journey has been good and bad. He was an architect, married right out of school, had a baby. Making $10,000 a year. Those around him who had been working for10 years were making 30K. Father in oil and gas, parents died at 16. Then father went into real estate. Got 6 socialite ladies who waited for the phone to ring. Robbie wanted to make more money, went to work there until he figured out what to do. Father was an alcoholic. When Robbie came into business, Dad came in only 10-11 am. The ladies didn't know about real estate, but they knew people. Now Robbie was it. Ellen Terry was rising star in business. "I'm new in this town and I'm going to take it on" and she pointed to Robby and said, and he's my competition. Real estate has been his training ground for life - how to deal with people, issues, goals, fear. He started out dealing/competing with her, finally realized he should concentrate on what HE does best. Has 100 agents now. Philosophy: we're not going after the greatest guns, we want good people, good ethics, and we'll make them top guns. Thus the whole company, not just one star. When required CF came, Dad went out of business. Back in 80s all was great, had 35 agents. '85 article, Bloom is off the Rose. Investments well down under. Hit all of Dallas. His growing up years. Learned humility, good business sense, perseverance. Game out with better agents, company and position. Turtle and the hare race. Competitor Charles Freeman's wife died of aneurism, then CF wanted to merge companies. RB said no. A year later CF asked again, and RB said ok. Neither list or sell. CF likes computers. 50/50 split when comes through RELO or company. Top agents go to 80/20. Competitors doing 95%. Dallas is still a strong market. Far North Dallas, Plano, Richardson suffering due to high tech. Last year sold a $17 Mill prop, this year $11 Mill; just listed $45 Mil (55,000 sq ft, going to be on cover of Winter LRE.com Magazine). All the mergers are the greatest thing that's happened to him. Only 2 independents left. CB huge. He has 2/3 women, 1/3 men. More men are coming from commercial brokers, now seeing they can do residential as well. He's handpicked all his agents, so likes them all. Have fun together. His agents are pleasant, sensible, easy to work with. Quoted comic in this morning's newspaper:

Not just selling real estate, it's meeting peoples needs. Agents do more than real estate. Helping kids find jobs after college. You're going to get paid for doing what you like in life - i.e., riding horses. Don't hang around the office, get out among the people, doing what you like. Success will follow. They don't list and sell.
Robby then answered questions from the group:
Answer - Internet is great tool - but can't figure out how to sell the house with mold, or the one on the interstate highway. Clients can't tell neighborhood from the internet. We need to be involved in the internet, but it's not going to replace us. Be kind to people and they'll want to do business with you. People may like your internet site, but you'd better be able to back it up.
Answer - In house training. Don't go looking for new agents. When they do take on one, they mentor with a more experienced agent. Partners train, also use vendors - title agents, mortgage lenders, etc. That builds loyalty for the vendors. Top agent this year 30 Mil started brand new 4 years ago.

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Brian: Each one of us has a story to tell. Mentioned WSJ article last week about mega homes. We have so many people this year, so we'll introduce in halves. West coast today.

Patricia Choi, Choi International Hawaii: Works Oahu and the other islands. Honolulu is a unique market. I've been in business since 78, up and down. We follow what the mainland does, about a year behind California. Since 9/11 a little different. More fear of buying in Hawaii. She's been #1 agent last 10 years. 6 agents in office. Concierge service. Caring about the clients.

Trinkie Watson, Chase International, Lake Tahoe. Sherry Chase started company 10 years ago, now in London. 4 offices in Lake Tahoe. Some agents work in both states, some only in CA or NV. Market good over last couple years. Fortunate to be at top of heap, competing with CB and Pru, who are successful in lower prices. Chase controls $5 Mill plus. Upper end soft now. Most of these are 2nd homes, NEPs, Non Essential Purchases. Prudent, won't overspend. Personally best year ever. Company doing well, busy, Beautiful area. (also Cindy Humphrey, Elaine Castelyn, John Krolick)

Marilyn Oberbeck, Sixes River Land Company, Oregon; gorgeous area, lots of wide open space and opportunity. Area prime for development. (and Eric Oberbeck)

Sherry Daech, Sun Valley, ID. In valley 33 years, in real estate 25 years. Now works only 6 days a week. Big house, alone, in Sun Valley, welcomes us as guests. 2 partners, 2 offices. Started out living in a trailer with $2,000. We must all deal with the same clientele. Market 2.5 Mil+ slow. Sellers not desperate. Sold $12 Mill listing of her own. Tough in upper end. Asked how many in room had many $5 Mill+ buyers right now - only Nancy locally raised her hand. Sherry introduced new member…

Charles Salisbury went to high school with Sherry Daech, new member as of conference. Small, independent people. Created homefinders.net.

Michelle Turnquist, Turnquist Partners, Austin, Texas. Amazing, these big numbers. Austin wonderful, beautiful city. High end market is slumping, slowing down. $10 Mill property now on market for $3 Mill (no, was never worth 10 Mil). They're trying to copy Dallas. Million dollar homes are about it. Michael Dell's home worth a lot but not on the market. Boom in 99. (also Steve Turnquist)

Ann Chiasson, Sea to Sky Real Estate Whistler, British Columbia. Whistler is popular. 56 agents. Americans are their big buyers. Most of your agents are leaving referrals on the table, because we get lots of buyers from US. High end market has stalled. $10 Mill Can (about $7.7 Mill US) was their top sale. $2.5-3Mill is stall point. Maggi Thornhill top agent, Gerry Hallstrom, Mike Wintemute)

Kent Nelson, The Mitchell Group, Carmel, CA. Had 5 offices and prop mgt. High end is soft, but they have a $20 Mill and $40 Mill sale so far this year. Infrastructure problems - water and traffic. Lower markets have sustained them, company has ability to do that.

Keith Berry, Santa Barbara, CA Montecito, Hope Ranch. Market is no growth, set supply of homes, so prices rise all the time. Excellent year, closed $40 Mill so far. Will probably level off some day, but doesn't know when.

Clay Brants, Brants Realtors, Fort Worth, TX Friendly rivalry with Dallas. Business started 26 years ago. Was in insurance business, and clients wanted them to find homes. 50 agents today. High end slow. Middle keeps them alive. Wants help with internet sites. How to convert lookers to leads. Talk to me.

Claudia Klawe, Claudia Klawe and Associates, Salt Lake City, UT. Was with CB, 2 years ago started on her own. Now 10 agents. Hosted Olympics this year. Welcome to come and stay with us. Greatest snow on earth. Started career in Hawaii 20 years ago. (and Laura Christiansen)

Marjorie Arroyo, Arroyo Real Estate, St Helena, CA. Napa Valley. most in the wine industry. Residential (country homes, not mansions) and vineyards. Wine industry slow due to newly planted vineyards. ( also Rianne Pasquariello)

Keith Marshall, Desert Mountain, Scottsdale, AZ. Represents golf course community. All lot sales include country club memberships. A Lot 750K, home 1.3 Mil. Love to pay referrals, 5% on gross homesite purchase, Has packages here. They can sell resale homes in community.

Denise Andres ERA Landmank, Bozeman, MT. Hour from Yellowstone. Office Bozeman and Big Sky. Mostly 2nd homes. Montana State Univ there - lower prices. 2-3 years inventory of high end, which has slowed. Skiing and trout fishing.

Nancy Lavigne, CB, southern CA, Boating, swimming, surfing, hiking. Fun place to live and work. Small fish in big company CB. 15 yrs in business. San Clemente to Newport Beach. Office in Corona del Mar. Lots of new product . Tract homes by ocean reselling after 1 year for 2 Mil. Condos in San Clemente much lower price. Pacific Reflections estate, buyer $17 Mill 2 blocks away.

Joe Jelley, Jelley Properties, southern CA. he works mid range market, 750K-2.5 Mil. San Diego market. Del Mar, Carmel Valley, La Jolla. Telecommunications and biotech industries. 4% unemployment. Small company 20 people. Was big, but more fun when you're small. 40% 2nd, 3rd & 4th home. Stop by and let us entertain you. (and Patty Jelley)

Ron Gilles, Professional Real Estate, Sequim, WA 80 miles from Seattle. small office. That's nice, you can enjoy working with your clients. New to luxury real estate. Wants to network. 1/3 of Seattle's rain. High end, 3 homes over $1 Mill on market. Can get nice home 500-700K with nice views.

Anita Head, Pacific Union, San Francisco, CA . High end is pretty soft, $2-5 Mil more active, not above. Not much high end inventory either. $4 Mill highest sale this year. (also Betty Brachman, Mary Lou Castellanos, Elizabeth Anne Kivlan)

Julie Larson, Pat Taylor, Morgan Lane Napa Valley, CA. $2 Mill+ soft. Best year ever, despite summer off with kids. Vineyard land still available. Wine market depressed.

Whit and Cathy Miskell, Sonnenalp Realty Vail, CO. Vail and Vail Valley. Recently joined Sonnenalp Real Estate, a Bavarian real estate resort in Vail. Does primarily high end. Whit's a little sluggish but high end is doing very well. $5-15 Mill homes.

Margaret Morgan, Alain Pinel Realtors Walnut Creek, CA. Large, independent firm, SF to Carmel. 1000 agents. Above 5 Mil market is fairly soft. Some areas quite brisk. Outside of city can still get a house for 200K.;

Tobias Hildebrand, Prudential California Montecito, CA. Introduced to WW by Nick with Unique Homes. 2 yr pocket listing now on the market. Santa Barbara market stronger and stronger. From cottages to castles (2/2.5 1500 sf now 750K) to 50 MIL. Helps those he went to school with.

Sean Emmerton, Villas del Mar Los Cabos, Mexico. development. $2.5 Mill to $7.5 Mill. 2 hrs south of Dana Point, at tip of Baja. Lots of golf courses. Market way down. Primary source has been owner referrals, few Latin Americans, mostly US. Usually 40-60 Mil/yr - last year sold only 4. exclusive, gated community. 1300-5000 nt rentals. Butlers, chefs, staff of 100. Full service ownership. Most owners spend 4-5 weeks a year there.

Dan Byers, Manhattan Beach, CA 35x40' property $600,000. 10,000 sq ft lot the highest. Up to $4.5 Mill

John Rygiol, buyer's broker, southern CA Malibu to La Jolla. By referral only.

Randy Roy, Hillton and Hyland Beverly Hills, CA. Market good in LA but higher end stalling. Up to 5 Mil market is normal. Buyers savvy and looking longer. 5-30 Mil has inventory, people slower to make decisions. Couple of homes every couple months.

Steve Turnquist, Turnquist Partners, Austin, TX. We have politics, 50K students at UT, limestone outcroppings. (also Michelle Turnquist, Bob Kenney)

Bill Cote, Cote Realty Group Newport Beach, CA. Boutique broker. 6 agents. Specialize in high end. High end slowing down. Last year 2001 sold 39 homes in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach over 3 Mil. This year YTD 9-15 sold 39 homes. But 172 homes on the market, 400% more inventory. No explanation, it just is. Real estate driving market in Orange County. Starting to see a slow-up, but prices up 28% from last year. Not difficult to sell waterfront homes if they're good ones. Only 2 reasons homes don't sell - overpriced, or it's a dog. Steals marketing ideas, especially from NY. Want to go boating or drinking instead of golfing? I'm just up the coast.

Brian: We've talked about 9/11, security,. Gated communities. Security a major concern of almost all of our clients.

David Hubbard- Intro, AIG Private Client Group. (Steve Loccascio) insurance for high end clients. Costello & Sons insurance brokers, 3rd generation. Technology, nonprofit, personal lines for high net worth individuals. Mold, water damage. 100 Mil umbrella. Kidnapping, extortion. Top end may be slowing down, but it's certainly there.

Featured Speaker:
Gregory Boles, Kroll Security.
We can all remember what we were doing on September 11th. Every fiber of society has been touched by it. How do we protect ourselves? I'm an old cop and have lots of stories. Protecting our families, our homes, our selves, our businesses, ourselves when we travel, our information, our assets. How many here have ever been a victim? Most raised their hands. Why a victim? Sometimes just your profile. Company you work for. Live close to power plant or embassy. High income. Location (wrong place at wrong time). Book Gift of Fear . Our sixth sense, giving uneasy feeling. Listen to your instincts. No paranoia, but awareness. Anyone can be stalked. 30% of his cases were entertainment related, so 70% weren't. If you see/feel something, document it. All 50 states and federal have stalking laws. Have cell phone, keep battery charges. Keep car doors locked during travel. Be aware of your surroundings. Take varying routes. Have a security audit on your home. Travel: check advisories on high risk areas, political assessment. Airport security. In last year 5 regular engineers in companies were kidnapped and murdered. Know where the embassies and hospitals are and how you can access them. Don't look like a tourist. Who's watching you? (the guy selling hats?) Background checks on domestic help. Due diligence on investment transactions. Be careful about internet - security. Shred your trash. CAP study of crime in neighborhood. Due diligence investigation will tell if any public funds used on roads so illegal to keep public out.
In Dallas 3 realtors attacked, one nearly raped. Open houses stopped. Their company is hiring security guards to accompany agents at Open House. A newspaper article quoted that one agent was wearing over $100,000 of jewelry.

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Brian: Homes being built with plans to barricade themselves in (much like bomb shelters of 1950s).

Presentation:
Jason Reynolds, Iceberg Marketing Solutions
Not just the tip of the iceberg, but the whole solution. 2 parts: Marketing & Consulting (including Who's Who); and Marketing Presentations. Not a CD business card company or media company - we're marketing company and marketing solutions. What are your goal presentations? Custom designs to fit your image. Your customers' goals. Started 12/01 at end of assignment with homestore.com Sold 300K units in first 3 months, template style. We felt CDs needed to be customized, at roughly the same price. We create market-full insightful presentations. Determine Marketing ROI. You can track everything on it. Have tracking system. How many are looked at? What pages? 1,000 CDs at $2/ea. , including consultation, design, and follow-up. Reorders 20% less if few changes. We help you create your personal commercial. Who's Who members Erin Pohl & Bob Pearson in Westlake Village referred them to Who's Who. Scott says they work quickly and they're brilliant. Giovanni is partner. Leave your card: one will get free presentation and 100 free cards. When it auto-plays, there is nothing else on the screen. About a 4 minute presentation. Options: background music, voiceovers. Can use in tray style or clip on - not in car CDs. If their internet connection is open, tracking takes place immediately - if not live, it will connect in your internet history and be sent when it is turned on. NAR says 38% viewing of direct mail CD. Mediametrics says 1 viewer of CD will pass on to 4 others. You can have links to many websites. Testimonials. One person will work with you exclusively. Have 10 on staff. Goiceberg.com/yourname will take you to your stats.

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Brian: Every year new products and availability. We expose you to them and negotiate good prices.

Featured Speaker:
Jeffrey Tadder, Merrill Lynch, La Jolla, CA.
Financing options. High end= liquid assets of $10 Mill plus, not including residence and multiple homes. Our clients are your clients. Financing in high net work individuals. HNWI tripled over last 10 year.
Mass affluent: $1-5 Mill
High Net Worth: $5-25 Mill
Ultra High Net Worth: $25+ Mill approx 62,000 households. Projected growth to be 18% for next 5 years.
Over 80% of America's wealthiest individuals have become millionaire in one generation. Women growing in numbers. Created by employer equity participation, investment returns, earned income, entrepreneurial business, inheritance 1%
Equity 43% alternative 35% (real estate), residence 12%, cash 7%
They ARE internet users.
While others play, affluent search for information on line
Ultimate goal is to get your clients to target YOU as an information source.
Most of their clients are entrepreneurs and complex.
LIBOR 3.25% up to 2 Mil loans
Working outside the box is sometimes financially prudent.
Jeffrey_tadder@ml.com: contact about anything…

Brian: structure, goals, etc of Who's Who changes with the times
Tire company - we give better service - joined marketing network for joint marketing, lower buying costs
Ewing & Clark in Seattle…member Sotheby's, was member of Christie's…
Commonality of our members - we are all in the luxury real estate business
Can't protect territories…lots of mergers
Used to be he and Emily Burns - Emily retired - now to Matthew and Scott - now have 8 on staff

Matthew Haber: (intro for Jon Mendoza)

Jon Mendoza the creator of WW web site as well as various agents' sites
I'm the IT guy, but more than that I'm the Creative Director, and the internet.
Worth says WW best website to look for luxury homes
KE Software (also do Army and Smithsonian) in Canada worked with them on website.
Utilize what they've learned to pass on to their members.
Lots of cookie cutter solutions.
We're selling the area and lifestyle as well as the property.
Character of firm and agent.
Background in graphic design. 12 yrs, 5 yrs in web design.
Sakamoto Properties, Maui, Hawaii….their web style fell short in describing area and firm...is a prototype, not launched yet. Plumeria blossoms. About Us. News & Events.
TC Group, Sarasota FL, custom builders and realtors.
Moore's Corner new luxury community no photos, just ground…seeded with lifestyle…pictures on left of 1st page change with each access…check it out

Debbie Goldberg, National Homefinders, Long Island, NY
Signature Luxury Homes, a National Homefinders company
Different business model than Daniel Gayle, a good competitor
Jon built site with her in 4 weeks
Serviced by two in-house, 5 minutes training, one inputs text, the other inputs photos
Signatureluxuryhomes.com, Info not bells and whistles

Can now input directly by form to Who's Who.
Every time we do a site, we learn from you.

Somerset Hills Real Estate Group wanted to link to Who's Who but didn't want to lose the clients. Global Search.
One of most technologically advanced sites with useful tools. Data base on site but only within his.

McGuigan & Pepin…when you advertise in WSJ or other…place to enter property number, can search on front page. Joan McGuigan in Montreal. Link to separate website for property. Enhance with PhotoShop.
For every click, you lose half the viewers.

Custom Design. Knowledge of Luxury Market. Know how to do it. Commitments to you as Who's Who members. (particularly Broker Reciprocity, adding LRE.com listings to you website, for you clients to view, do not leave your site, you as contact, receive referral fee) Can just add some of these features to an existing web sites.

Matthew: 5TH edition of Who's Who magazine will be partnered with Unique Homes: to UH subscribers, Luxury Hotels, and Who's Who members. 3 times a year poly-bagged with UH.

Tuesday September 24th

Featured Speaker:
Cora Bett Thomas, Savannah, GA

Savannah is southern city - gave wonderful description…very resistant to change. Great to live, challenge to make a living. Charleston 3 times the price for same property. Other WW members helped her create the market in Savannah. 18 years with same broker. 1994 started her office. Broker told her he sold the business, she thought she had the right of first refusal, asked him how much. He said, no, he'd already sold it. So she opened her own office in 4 story townhouse. 2 bald heads, rest blondes - retired trust officer, etc. Yellow lab "greeted" all guests. Opened office in 10 days - agents came, and every client/listing came. The current broker in charge was with Christie's - offered to work for 2 weeks for free to see if I need him. The 2 men who hadn't made over 10K, made 100K first year, and had fun. CBT then sold every property over 1 Mil. (John Mulharen owns 40 Wall St Bldg - Hawker airplane. Are you trying to qualify me?) Have fun. Then he tried to help her sell it. If I kill this deal, don't worry about the money, I'm going to buy a plantation. Won't work with Greek because he won't resell - will only work with him if he does 2 transactions a year. He did. Team is a family. Clients become their selling force. Now expanding to Hilton Head. From historic to golf course. Bella, her basset hound.

East Coast Introductions:

Al Arostegui, Miami, CA, market is challenging. Started company a year ago, he's the main, only guy. Florida Luxury Realtor. Floridaluxuryrealtor.com Average sale 5 Mil. Sales went up since he went independent. Has sold all his listings.

Kirk Henckles, Stribling, NYC,NY. Deals with division that handles only 4 Mil and above. Sold more first 6 mo this year that all of best year. Represented more sellers & closed more over 4 Mil than any other broker. Rosita Sarnoff, Director of Marketing.
Private Brokerage Service started 6 yrs ago. Had 20 producers, needed to shore them up, establish authority. Quarterly reports, authority piece, much numeric research, don't name themselves or others. NY Times now goes to them because of academic honesty, factual stats. (also Rosita Sarnoff)

Eleanor Farnsworth, Prudential Gardner, New Orleans, LA. Pru. result of 2 mergers. New Orleans is a great place, don't believe that security man. Have new mayor, governor going to the pen. We're a decadent city with lots of charm. Lots of economic growth going on. Architecture. Best food. Don't have the best weather. Highest $2 Mill. We're a POOR city!

Susan Morcone, Randall H. Hagner & Co. Washington, DC. Oldest residential RE company in DC. Full service. Little bit of softening in upper brackets, but so many exceptions.

Mark Riley, Michael Saunders, Sarasota, FL. 2 markets daily, Cincinnati & Sarasota. Been in developing, commercial, residential, mostly latter. Great referral base. Visits Cincinnati 5 days a month. Michael works every day of the week, innovative, creative. Super city, healthy market, economically insulated. 11 in last day over 2 Mil closed. Luxury here over $2 Mill. Buyers not on hold any more after 9/11. Market up 20% in both places. Financing options important - Morgan Stanley with him. Don't assume high individuals know all their choices - give them options. Financial advisors don't want them to spend money. Know the intricacies of high end financing. Gets business away from your competitors. MS controls the marketplace. Since Ritz Carlton built last year, downtown up 38% in residential values. When he started moving to Sarasota, was new kid on block, went through tax roles for people who own in both cities. That's his base. High end 3 Mil. 750K-1.2 his prime market. He had 15 Arthur Anderson clients who lost their jobs, over 300K. Be creative - go after the market.

Susan Hunter, Lois Schneider Realtors, Summit NJ. Works for Lois Schneider. Summit area. Philanthropic in community. 21 agents in boutique office, all involved in community. 25 miles from NYC. Market largely Wall St driven. Market dynamite, however. Used to fast multiple offers over asking - now single, and under. (also Joanne Douds)

Julie Morse Mikrut, Proximity 3 Team, Lake Forest, IL. 55 min Chicago & Milwaukee. Works with 3 partners. 100 yr old company. 80 Mil last year. Market very good. Top listing 17 Mil. Specialize in top executives.

Joan and Don Bomann, Realty 3 Real Estate Rye, NY 30 min from NYC. Rye is a Norman Rockwell town. 26 realtors. Speak 16 different languages. High end area. 950K has door, window. 4 Mil is market, affected badly by 911. Bad 4Q 01, 1Q 02, but has turned and now going for best year ever. Must give back to community. We're on the water, but not as big as here. It's Long Island Sound. Town marinas. Town golf course.

Kevin McClarnon, Signature Properties, Long Island, NY 7 yrs ago, Long Island NY. Suffolk County, eastern one. 12 offices, 10 co & 2 affil. 6 in WF communities. Most luxury are wf. 400 agents. 80 there over 15 yrs from previous company. Landmark bldg. Market both north and south shore of LI. Agents and communities completely different. Very upper end consistent. Middle (750K-3Mil) slowed a little. ( and Debbie Goldberg)

Bill Sawyer, William Sawyer & Co, Washington, DC. Not as old as Woodrow Wilson, just Richard Nixon. Listings have stayed the same, prices haven't dropped. VA has become 2nd worst traffic after LA so people are moving back to DC. New mayor. NW DC a little like Santa Barbara, finite area. Given amount of property, but no dramatic price increases. Has now caught up with rest of the country. DC doing well, and real estate doing better.

Al Filippone, William Reavis, Greenwich, CT, 43 offices CT 1300 agents. He's from Greenwich, 45 min from city. 15 yrs listing and selling, stopped in May to run international division. Fairfield County bedroom on NY. Greenwich 2.5 Mil average - any over that is auto in international division. Take .2% of all listings over 2.5 Mil. Different perks for agents for this. Close 500 Mil from that division alone. Target in 3 yrs to $1 Bill. Greenwich a $6 Bill RE market. Suggested closing all other office to build Greenwich market share.

Jere Shahid, Allied Real Estate Destin, FL. Market going well. Toddler of Florida, just breaking $1 Mill, highest res. at 3.125 Mil. Those in teen millions haven't turned over. Ann Nunn her agent is along. (and Ann Nunn)

Vin Marcello, Bellevue Realtors Newport, RI. 25 yrs realtor, Bellevue Realtors. Avg price 280K. upper end top 10% begins 500K. couple years ago had 1 or 2 sales over 5 Mil, but not now. 8000 Sq. Ft. mansion Bellevue Ave for 2 Mil or less. We have a hell of a deal. 15 agents avg. 10 yrs in business. Strong competition in all prices ranges. Differentiates by offering rental services in all price ranges. Have re schools.

Sharon Simms, St. Petersburg, FL. Increasing inventory and slower sales in upper end luxury resales. Most homes in that price range are waterfront. Have 2 beaches always rated in top 10, Hawaii always has a couple as well. Diversified industry. Revitalization of downtown - 3 luxury condo projects completed, one sharing amenities with adjacent 4 star hotel, Renaissance Vinoy. Another project ready to come out of the ground. People returning to downtown so they can walk to restaurants, shops, entertainment and enjoy the waterfront parks and marinas. Gulffront luxury properties still being built (replacing old motels, etc.) both high-rise and townhomes. (also Tami Simms-Powel)

Diane Turton, Cheryl Vetovick, Diane Turton Realtors, Summit, NJ wanted her own company to use green and blue color. 4 yr degree in re. Opened in 86, has 20 offices, 2 in Fla. Market fabulous, up 30%. People want out of the city, want houses on the shore. No inventory, bidding wars on everything. Juno & Jupiter. Best adv in Continental Airlines magazine.

Rich Ellis, Ellis Realty, Nyack, NY, Riverfront Colonials, river views. Most buyers primary homebuyers. Market strong since early spring. Taking longer to sell, more coming on market. Prices still strong. Bohemian, eclectic small community.

Jack Shapiro, Robb Report. Sponsored breakfast. Strategic partnership. Goal is to make advertising more affordable and available to WW members. Authority on the luxury life style. Humble beginnings. Started as a newsletter for Rolls Royce owners. '99 split off homes and cars into Showcase, now Robb Report Collection. Direct response, shrink wrapped with Robb Report. 12 x yr. Just added new Waterfront Realty section. (in addition to re). Brought editor over from Architectural Digest. Alternate editorial features between re and auto. 105K pd circulation.

Lisa James Otto, Lisa James Otto Country Properties, Bucks County, PA 30 yrs in re, 3rd generation. Boutique broker. 25 agents, 8 staff. Sell more over 1 Mil than any other co. All agents licensed in PA & NY. Lots of referrals from FIABCI and Luxury RE. Privacy and discretion in living as well as re.

Camille Pisciotto, Great Neck Realty, Great Neck, NY. Everything's a knockdown. Send me clients with an accent! 10 mile peninsula. Closest to NY. Client had to see property on 911, since his office was closed. Diamond broker with QVC. Lots of WF. Large Jewish Iranian community. Boutique office. Negotiations very tough. Barbara Nunziata & Lynn Haskell from sales office here.

Inge Hiilivarta, Islandia Realty St John, USVI. (goes on all the skiing WW trips ) Orig from Denmark. 2/3 of St John is park. 5x9 miles. 4000 population. 38 homes on market, ½ over 1.5 Mil. Met Brian at FIABCI in Dublin.

Rick & Abby Weidel, The Weidel Group NJ & PA. rich in history and space. Multi-office. 1 stop shopping. Lois Schneider shared a lot - her 1 office sells more than all of his. Known for corp. relos. After Sothebys, Christies, went to Brian with what he wanted to do (boutique division) and got his chance. Somerset Hills. (NJ) WW a major part in its development.

Jay Schweppe, Schweppe & Company, Upper Montclair NJ 12 mi from NYC. Bought his parents firm. Denise Riordan is pres, Jay will be the pretty face. 40 sales, 10 staff. 40 Mil sales this year. 150K/agent/first 6 mo. Turned down 52 Mil prop in last 2 wks - have no listings - won't accept 17 Mil listing on 950K house. Wants his clients to make more money because of his efforts. Has 50% market share. The boom is booming. As long as they price properly, they will always have perception of value.

Bonnie Devendorf, Daniel Gale Co, Long Island, NY largest independent broker, Sotheby affiliate. Mortgage, training, title. Brain trust of women owned companies.

Brian Losh, Ewing & Clark, Seattle, WA He and Betsy are real estate brokers in Seattle. 1971 went to work for Ewing & Clark, purchased it in 1976. Started in commercial, developed residential over the years. We should sell only the best. Our Distinctive Home Shop would have the cream, rest of office would handle the rest. Had 5 offices, 2 good, 2 bad, 1 maybe…so sold all residential offices except the 500 Sq. Ft. Distinctive. Trying out how to survive, compete. He & Betsy, 6 salaried staff. Inventory 200 Mil, now have 40 listings over 1 Mil, consistently sell about 100 Mil/yr. Madison Park high concentration of luxury. They have more listings than other 5 office 300 agents combined. Concentrate luxury market. RE is a commodity, not as selective as Jay. He can't predict which of his listings are going to get realistic. Strong market despite Boeing, high tech. 4 Mil tear down sale on Lake Washington, several 5s, a 7 last week, highest price in city this year. In the 7, financial advisor and attorney useless, 50K, more work, but can't tell Seller not to use them. Market in Seattle is strong.

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Featured Speaker:
Joann Douds, Lois Schneider Realtor, Summit, NJ
Math major. Jr year in Madrid- learned more there than all of college. Couldn't understand anything - committed to speaking no English while there. Left Spain a different person - now interested in cultures. Worked as insurance actuary. Dress code: black, blue & gray suits. No room for creative. Avon Products marketing. Whole team for a product was significant. Group always more powerful (baskets, South America). Met Lois Schneider at community event, hired as Marketing. There 14 years. Grew 25 Mil to 300 Mil. 22 agents, 9 with brokers licenses, 2 sec, 1 graphic designer, 1 actg, 1 relo director/financial analyst/web designer/me. Be authentic, consistent. People make the difference. Magical way of connecting with people vs knowledge. Speak their language, connect with them. Awards for creative marketing materials. No 1 person is more important than any other; honor and integrity are rare attributes. Praise. Success is a state of being.

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Brian introduced…
Featured Speaker:
Natasha Pearl, Aston-Pearl (she and Brian talked on marketing luxury homes on the internet) (Brian: internet is a tool. Go to internet first, look at your inventory, then choose a broker. Brian amazed at how many people talk to him about enjoying luxuryrealestate.com N sold 400K carpet over the internet. B has sold lots of homes through the internet, but hasn't had anyone click PURCHASE THIS. Natasha graduate of Harvard Business School…a private banker that provides everything but cash. Has worked at American Express. We all have the inventory, now we need the buyers.)

Natasha: you are sitting on a goldmine. And you may not even know it. Here are some ways to mine it. Sotheby's recruited her, was having difficulty getting art collections to sell...how do you find paintings to sell? Art not science. Stay in touch. Give parties. Know their children. Not proactive - wait for phones to ring. Her idea - lets see who purchased art. Took just 50. sent simple letter, we know that you bought…similar have been selling for extraordinary prices...let us know if you'd like to know a value. 3 clients offered 5 paintings for several million dollars. Were clients the painting department DIDN'T know.

4 gold nuggets:
Think about who your perfect client was, in the last couple years - good income, few problems.
#1 always keep in mind the perfect client. Research: Demographics. Schools. Occupation.
If you don't know what you're looking for, you're hardly likely to find it
#2 Find more clients like your perfect client.
Common sense is not common practice.
Do the right thing, not the easy thing.
How did the PC find you? Ad in publication where he was staying. Church/hospital board/community. Then you can probably find others. Go back and get more.
Typical one person has made lots of referrals.
What do you do for that person?
That's important to be really nice and follow-up. Always ask for more.
(Net weaving - find out what that persons needs - introductions, etc.)
#3 Make sure that the second these people even think about buying or selling that they think about you. Make sure your name is front and center.
Death, debt, divorce…..reasons generally for selling art.
Keep letters etc coming to always stay in front of them when one of these happens.
Regularly mail these people SOMETHING - ANYTHING!
Divide list into 3 groups - send it to each 1/3, Jan, Feb, Mar etc - evens out chain of leads
She likes memo cubes - there on desk, counter, name on edge, light logo on face of each page
When client has bought from you, be sure to send Thank You note. Ask for referrals.
#4 Willie Sutton rule: Go Where The Money Is. Why did he rob banks? That's where the money is.
Winston Jewelers, art dealers….find/make alliances. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Get your name on the invitations. See the new Bentley, be on the invitation & greeting people.
She works with clients with net worth over $10 Mill.
Have your photo on tent cards scattered around sponsored event.
Form your own networking group.
She started her own company 1-1/2 years ago. Groups solicited her, but they didn't offer enough reciprocal clients, so she started her own group.

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Brian:
Things WW has done
Breakout to include how to make the network better
Originally was just brokers, then expanded to agents since they control the inventory.
Happy to market your property but we're going to have to be partners….6% (3/3, 4/2 whatever). Seller to upfront $10 K or whatever else they want to spend on advertising, then we hope it sells. Rebates it, deduct from commission. I'll bring you a menu - you pick. Will reduce the commission 6 to 4 but you pick what to do. He spent over 20K. But we all know buyer is coming from around the corner. (Don't do that in California or you'll lose your license if not preapproved by Cal RE.)
Developed web, magazine. UH 25K subscribers 3x yr. Poly-bagged with UH. No more deadline delays!
6 million hits in August. 500K when Matthew started.
Web Featured Property now booked 3 mo in advance.
Now regional featured property
Make it easier for customer to find what he wants, suggest to him what he wants
Many members now do mass uploads
The more properties you have on our website, the stickier it is
Broker reciprocity. Brings whole luxury inventory to your site.

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Breakout Session: Agents

Margaret Morgan, Relocation
Diane Turton, Brokers
Kirk Henckles, Luxury Specialists/Top Agents discussion leader
How to prospect? (comments from various attendees)
Clients felt realtors getting too much money, in full pg ad a section for community service events, releases on first come, first served basis. Full page in private school charity events. HNW (high net worth individuals) don't want flowers - offer a charitable contribution to their choice. Network at local events offered by private banks to their customer. Some buildings will call after mailing solicitations to say that they'll never buy - so went to academic offerings. Lots of new construction, remodeling - full video of home builders, painters, and cross pollinate. Then the vendors offer his service also…low key. KH did resource guide, but you need to be careful of who you recommend. New big name jewelry co opening up - asked if they could host a breakfast there, invited cute invitation to those they know and don't know, like a breakfast at Tiffany. Come naked - i.e., without jewelry. Can try on lots. Now wives and husbands calling to get on the list. Another did similar thing at country club. Got jewelry company to pay for hosting it - they just paid for the invitations. San Diego did a Breakfast at Tiffany's (not real estate). Hair salon had plastic surgeon come in with Botox - raffle for free injection. We all work in different ways. It's what's different that brings them in. Cochrane successful in NY, just sold company. Bus stops in NY - well, Tiffany does it. Talk shows on radio.

Assistants?
Make your mailings look like an invitation with hand written envelope. HK had to use mailing house because they send out 10K. Make sure red print on ecru stationary with red paperclip. Be sure to use high quality envelope and stationery. We try to mimic what the private banks do. Heavier stock paper, tab closure, full color on outside, telling what's in. Lists long shelf life. Marketing quality constantly ups the bar. Now going from 4 color postcards, they are going to spot varnish. Square varnished photo in center, on matte background paper. Using on postcards and brochure. Marketing in so Cal now ferocious. Templates are out. Use Western Exposure. Some printers do it better than others. Has UV coat. More effective, pops out. (Nancy) Pictures of landscape, like ocean…4 blocks…her photo in just one of them…trying to do the 4 spots in spot varnish. Same with CD-ROM, agent as part of community, not whole focus. Point is to click through to web site - front page doesn't feature agent, inside does. We focus on lifestyle, not a house. Exposure to agent comes with house level.

Team of 3 created because they didn't really need an assistant, they needed a clone. They have a joint assistant and a joint marketing person. Gives them a life. Julie Mikrut. Doubled business to each after partnering. Power in advertising and networking. Went to top of NorthShore. Can serve people 24 hours, others equally committed to the team business. Since all business split 1/3, no competition between them. Have done this for 2 years, last year did 80 Mil in sales. They love coming to work. Lack of burnout.

In KH egalitarian sense, not a top star, but lots of top producers. Assistants didn't create a problem in the office. Pat has assistants in Honolulu, sec (correspondence), 2 lic pers asst, 1 marketing director…1 PA goes out to follow up on listing, and Pat comes back for negotiations. Pat does most showings but client are equally happy with PA. (Nancy P. must train assistants how to show…can always paint copper white when it starts to turn green). Pat sometimes 7 Japanese going in all directions, assistants open and close, clients like having agent and team. PA can be the clone you're looking for. Hire quality people, train them well, bring along to initial meeting with buyer/seller. Liberating. Best assistants are licensed, with couple years experience, but didn't like long hours or feelings of rejection. If clients don't have ongoing relationship with YOU, they won't refer to you afterwards. If KH not available, call goes up (Elizabeth Stribling) not down. With kids not getting job, quality of applicants going way up. Offers higher level assistant even if it's a 2 year stint of learning. I make sure someone is available to you if I'm not. Assistant is not a substitute for me, but makes better service available to you.

IRIS - of the 1000, 500 sent to Who's Who.
Utilize WW folder, has both info and your personal inserts…thought of personalizing the back cover. One agent tears out the things available because her clients won't advance $10,000.
They will send database of members on floppy disk. Just ask.
Mini website for property in Canada…done in a week with all the steps, get photos, proof, etc.
WW magazine now being produced by UH.
Web can now search by price, locations. Trying to develop an Ebay type property.
Membership needs to update status and price changes.
For title, don't use the address, be descriptive.

How can Who's Who make things better for you?
Offer marketing plan - I have x dollars for this X listing, what should be my marketing plan. (You can call them and say I have $X so what should I do?)

Membership section with password
Chat Room for members
Tear sheets for ads

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Overview:
KH - Agents
Clever ways to attract clients, CDs to Botox. Brochures. Who's Who.

Principals:
Trying to develop password section of the website
Tools available to members
Listing packages
Letters of explanation to clients, to send before listing
Help to get and maintain listings

Relo:
Password forum
Suggest: forum can see who's going to what other conferences…NAR, FIABCI, etc to meet for Dutch treat dinner, etc.
Suggest: List serve
Suggest: On forum or list serve, separate properties/buyers/trades from general topics

Brian
Matthew interview - ran a bus system at college
Updates website every day
Wanted a raise - then you have to make some sales
Emily left - Matthew and Scott ran the company
Matthew & Meghan's first attempt at running a conference

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Awards:
Somerset Hills for creative use of Luxury Homes on website - worked lion into their entire design
Chase for bringing 5 to conference
Pacific Union brought 4
BC brought 4

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Please keep me in mind for your Tampa Bay, Florida referrals…St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa, and a variety of smaller communities along Tampa Bay, the Intercoastal Waterway, and the Gulf of Mexico. Thanks.
Sharon Simms sharon@ssimms.com

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