#20 Thoughts on Leadership: All About Omaha

By Gino Blefari

This week, my travels took me to Omaha, NE, a city smack in the middle of the U.S.A. and home to an organization we all know well, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Before this year, I had only been to—or better yet, been through—Omaha twice before, years ago as a child on a family road trip from California to my home state of Massachusetts. I remember even then, as we drove along Interstate 80, Omaha was a study in contrast, a small, urban skyline surrounded by the quintessential Midwestern scape of flat, open land.

Now I’m a seasoned Omaha visitor, with three trips to the city in the past year, most recently to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting and then, just this week, to visit Vince Leisey and his team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate. Each time I return I’m struck by the distinctiveness of the city and I get the recurring feeling that this place is unlike any other; it’s easy to understand why Berkshire Hathaway would be stationed here. 

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A Network Salute to New Jackson Hole, WY Affiliate

By Kevin Ostler

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices raised its flag in Jackson Hole, WY May 21 with the affiliation of independent Brokers of Jackson Hole LLC, now operating as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Brokers of Jackson Hole Real Estate.

Responsible Broker Courtney Campbell, who with Associate Broker Kurt Harland, leads the company, will have a busy Memorial Day weekend. It started last night with a ribbon-cutting and open house celebration for agents and guests, followed today by training and orientation on network systems and resources. Campbell will change hats tomorrow as part a military color guard that kicks off Jackson Hole’s Old West Days parade.

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#19 Thoughts on Leadership: A Message for Memorial Day

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels took me to the Great State of Texas for a visit with the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty Texas team in Dallas and the HSF Affiliates LLC IT group in Houston. Usually, this would be the time during “Thoughts on Leadership” when I would describe what happened over the course of the past few days. But for this post, in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday and its spirit of remembrance and reverence, I want to tell a tale that isn’t my own.

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What’s the ROI of Using Social Media in Real Estate?

By Victor Quiroz

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and more recently, SnapChat, are all social media platforms that can capture the attention of potential millennial clients. Why? Because most, if not all, of these platforms are now part of millennials’ daily life. Social media sites and apps are their preferred tool to stay connected to the world.

Let’s examine this trend by the numbers: Entrepreneur Magazine found that millennials check their social media platforms via a mobile device an average of 43 times per day! A January 2015 Forbes survey revealed 87% of millennials use between two and three tech devices for social media on a daily basis. The American Press Institute said 88% of all millennials get their daily news from Facebook or some other social media platform.

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Managers as Leaders: How to Spot the Best

By Darrin Friedman

For most real estate agents out there, having a strong manager is crucial to their success. After all, many would suggest it is this relationship that most likely determines the day-to-day advancement of an agent’s business and career.

But what are the factors that the typical agent should look for when considering this kind of partnership? What attributes should managers exhibit to encourage you to choose them as your leader?

Here are some examples of true leadership abilities that some of the best managers demonstrate:

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#18 Thoughts on Leadership: The Power in Vulnerability

By Gino Blefari

This week my travels took me from San Francisco to Boulder to Washington, D.C. to Southern California but I’d like to talk a little more about my experience in Denver almost two weeks ago. I was there attending REAL Trend’s Gathering of Eagles, an exclusive opportunity to mingle with our industry’s most innovative minds, absorbing their managerial wisdom and insight. This year, Patrick Lencioni, founder and president of The Table Group, was keynote speaker at the event and delivered an impactful speech on leadership and what it takes to succeed.

In a word: vulnerability. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “the capacity to be physically or emotionally wounded,” it’s the one concept often overlooked in a society focused on resiliency and strength. However, vulnerability and mental fortitude are not mutually exclusive. In fact, according to Lencioni, vulnerability isn’t just a nice compliment to strength; it’s the very thing that can make us stronger, wiser and more connected to our clients.

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New Affiliate Is Good to Know in Wellfleet, MA

By Kevin Ostler

Broker Mandy Robinson’s Prudential Cape Shores Real Estate brokerage becomes Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Cape Shores Real Estate May 19. The broker this week received an early transition present while on a listing presentation in her Cape Cod, MA market.

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#17 Thoughts on Leadership: The Coincidence of Connection

By Gino Blefari

This week, my travels took me from Denver to Omaha to St. Louis but our story begins west of the Gateway City, in Irvine, CA at the HSF Affiliates headquarters …

Each morning in Irvine, I try to follow the same routine: I wake before sunrise and walk to the hotel coffee shop near our offices for some quiet, meditative moments to prepare for the day ahead.

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Managing Expectations

By Carrie Foley

I always strive to keep a positive attitude, see the potential in everything and remain optimistic in all my dealings, professionally and personally. I recently came to the conclusion that it is not always in our clients’ best interest to be perpetually optimistic, particularly with homesellers.

Previously, I would tour a client’s home, praising their gorgeous kitchen counters, cooing over the natural light and becoming giddy about some other upgrade. But with these reactions, I was artificially stroking the ego of the seller and setting them up to expect this same warm feedback from picky homebuyers. They would love my enthusiasm for their home, but when the first few showings resulted in no offers and less than flattering feedback, the sellers were dismayed – and angry with me.

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