Agent Profile - Joan Prout of Jersey City, New Jersey

Joan is a 15 year veteran. She holds a Master’s degree and more real estate designation than I can ever remember. She is an active CyberStar member and a firm believer in using a Virtual Marketing Service like RealSupport. In my observation of Joan over the last 4 years, I believe she is so successful because (among many other reasons) she has determined who her target market is and she doesn’t try to be all things to all people. Her target is simple. Internet savvy, urban sellers. Joan is a listing agent you see and focuses her attention on not only this group, but even digs deeper down and targets the internet savvy ones! There have been several instances where Joan has never met her seller face to face and that is just fine by her. We communicate to Joan’s seller’s via email, rarely needing to call or schedule a meeting for Joan to meet them at the property. She really takes full advantage of the internet, fax and overnight delivery to work so efficiently with her clients. This is not to say she won’t take a listing from someone that isn’t internet savvy, but the internet savvy clients are the people she focuses on. I think this is great for two reasons. The obvious reason is that Joan saves a lot of time utilizing technology. The second is that Joan has identified WHO she wants as a client and focuses her money and attention on THIS group. She doesn’t waste her budget or time trying to be all things to everyone.

Let’s hear from Joan:

What is your business philosophy?
[Joan Prout] My team is in business to help nice people buy and sell real estate with the fewest hassles in the shortest amount of time, and to charge fairly for providing cutting-edge service. We strive to attract enough business that we can be selective about who we work with. We don't work on business that won't be profitable to us. This means that, while we work on a percentage commission, we have set a minimum dollar fee for servicing lower priced properties. We consider our clients to be a part of our team, too. If they aren't happy with us, it's usually mutual. We won't hold our clients hostage. We will release them to go work with someone else if they want to. Life is too short to work for people who aren't happy to work with us. (We've even fired a couple of them when they don't live up to their side of the bargain.)

How has RealSupport supported you in this philosophy?
[Joan Prout] Four years ago, I realized that I needed to free myself from the administrative requirements of the job. The first questions I ask myself about any task are 1. does it require a NJ Real Estate License and 2. does it require a physical presence in NJ. RealSupport personnel cannot give out price and availability information about listings, so I record that information as a greeting on a separate extension of my team's 800#. Also, if the property needs a sign or lockbox installed, they can't help me. ( It's amazing how well we've made this work, and I hope RealSupport gets as much of a kick out of it as I do.)

What about the RealSupport team, and/or the services they provide for you, do you find most beneficial, and why?
[Joan Prout] RealSupport is a team within my team. It is my administrative, client service, and sometimes technical support staff. The expertise is there to handle website development and the coordination of post-contract details, as well as monthly letter campaigns and showing appointments. When I'm away, whether it is for a long lunch, a 2-day seminar, or a 2-week vacation, the ship stays afloat. I still have to have licensee-backup for those services that require them, but it is much easier to arrange for when that agent doesn't have to deal with administrative chores as well. In four years, I've traveled, attended conferences, and been able to turn off my cell phone for numerous business and personal reasons and not lose business. Real people are there to back me up, whether the contact comes in by phone or email.

I always feel that it is as important to RealSupport that my business succeed as it is to me. When they are working for me, that's where their focus is. On those rare occasions when I visit my broker's bricks-and-mortar real estate office, I'm acutely aware of the fact that I'm paying for down time as well as up time.

I know that my competition isn't going to woo them away. We have a non-compete clause in our contract. Also, it is to our mutual benefit to take advantage of advances in technology and its growing acceptance. Our systems are much more efficient today than 4 years ago, and, while the division of time spent on different tasks has changed, the amount of time RealSupport works for me each week has stayed remarkably constant. There are always new projects to implement.

What is your referral policy (for our clients that may have Jersey City and Central New Jersey referrals)?
[Joan Prout] I love referrals. I offer a referral of the equivalent of 25% of a 3% listing fee for seller referrals. For buyer referrals, I offer 25% of a 2.5% buyer side commission. At the moment, I don't have a buyer's agent on the team, so I'm taking on very few buyer referrals, but please, contact me and ask. If I can't personally take the referral, I'll happily steer you in the right direction (for free, or maybe lunch if I'm in your city.) I'm an avid networker and pride myself in knowing great agents all over the country.

Any additional comments?
[Joan Prout] Technology provides wonderful new opportunities every day in our business. It's an exciting time to be a REALTOR. Years ago, I heard about the acronym: C.A.N.I. Constant and Never-ending Improvement. It's fun to partner with a company like RealSupport that operates the same way.