I have many times. So has everyone else, I’m sure.

Now get this: You will dramatically increase the number of leads you get from any direct marketing campaign by eliminating this fear factor.

A Good Call Capture System Is The Answer!!

Look…here’s an example:

WARNING:  DO NOT SELL YOUR HOME WITHOUT READING THIS FREE REPORT

Free report reveals how you can save thousands of dollars when you sell your home.  Call 1-800-555-1212 ext. 540, 24 hours, for a FREE Recorded message and copy of this report.  After all…it's your money!

Call 1-800-555-1212 ext 540 Now!!!

As every good marketer knows, everything we send out or hand out should ask for some type of action—a call to action—from the recipient, right? (After all, the saying goes… Ask, and you shall receive… not, hope and pray they’ll pick up the phone without being asked!)

In this case, we want our prospects to take the action of requesting a FREE REPORT. This will clue us into the fact they are at least looking to buy or sell a home sometime in the near future.

Now, if you listed your office number or even your direct line for these wonderfully shy prospects to call—you will receive fewer calls. Not because they aren’t prospects, mind you, but simply because they didn’t want to have to deal with a salesperson right now—they didn’t want the hassle. Or, perhaps, they are just considering the possibilities at this point in time… simply seeking more information… and they are not, at this time, ready to make a commitment to their dreams.

Realizing this, and also realizing our goal in prospecting is to create a funnel of incoming leads from which we can pick and choose… we use a voice mail response system, a 24 hour recorded message, to effectively remove their worries and concerns about having to talk to a high pressure salesperson.

In their minds, the worst thing that could happen is they call your toll-free 1-800 number, listen to a message they really didn’t walk to hear, and hang up. No worries, no hassles. Absolutely, positively, 100% pain-free, risk-free.

Because of your risk-free, pain-free method of contact… there is absolutely no logical or emotional reason preventing them from calling you and responding to your action solicitation. None whatsoever.

Does this make sense?

I hope so, because this one strategy can put more leads in your lead bank than you ever imagined. You can, quite literally, create a stream of incoming prospects flooding your phone lines within hours of initiating this type of lead-generation campaign.

Listen. If you need leads… then you need to begin using these 6 magic words:

24 HOURS FOR A FREE RECORDED MESSAGE!

Don’t underestimate the power of these six words. They can increase the "pulling power" of your advertising 10-fold or more!

Really!

You have to remember that we are in the age of skepticism. No one trusts anyone. No one believes anybody anymore. Everyone is fearful of being pressured and ripped off.

Realizing this pervasive fear and trepidation does exist, the key to massive, wallet-busting lead generation is to recognize, address, and eliminate this fear from the onset. Give your prospect what they want—first! Then you’ll find yourself in a position to lead them into what they need.

Now one of the questions I’m always asked is: "Why use an 800 # when I only want local calls? Why should I have to pay for it?" Okay. I’ll grant you that. Maybe you can don’t need to use an 800 #… that’s a function of testing. Test. Test both scenarios. Only testing can answer the question: "Does my advertising campaigns pull better using a local number with the phrase "24 hours for a free recorded message" or using a 800# with the phrase "24 hours for a free recorded message"?

Test. Test. Test. If the local number works fine for you—great! Use it. The key isn’t the number, IF THE CALLER IS MAKING A FREE CALL—it’s the non-threatening nature of the call. However, if there is a chance a number of your respondents might incur a toll charge by calling then, by all mean, use an 800 # and your responses will see a dramatic improvement.

Make it FREE, make it easy, and you’ll begin to make a fortune…

Now promise me…

You will immediately start

1.      asking for an action to be taken on everything you hand out or mail out or in your ads and

2.      use the 6 magic words to give them an absolutely painless way to respond.

Exten$ion$

Imagine purchasing a lottery ticket only to never look at the numbers to see if you have the winning combination…

… Or playing BINGO without the aid of markers to document the numbers called…

… Or simultaneously running a direct response ad, property ads, mailing a series of ‘just-listed’ postcards, offering a free comprehensive market analysis within the context of your newsletter, and doing a radio spot—without the systems in place to measure each campaign individually and distinctly apart from the others.

You might have won the lottery—but you would never know it if you ignore your numbers. You might have a winning BINGO card—but who’s to know unless you track the numbers called.

And you might have designed a winning marketing campaign, have created the perfect lead-generation system—but you’ll never know unless you have the systems in place which enable you to track the results of each and every campaign you design independently and distinctly from every other campaign you have going.

Enter voice mail telephone extensions. You know, 1-800-000-0000 ext. 222.

Voice mail telephone extension numbers are a perfect, low-cost way to separate and measure all of your various marketing campaigns to determine what is and what is not working for you.

Every ad you design, every postcard you mail, every letter you write, and every Pre-Sell Pack you deliver should be keyed with its own distinctive voice mail extension number. Why? Tracking.

The day will come when you hit pay dirt, when you hit upon just the right emotional combination which speaks to your market and prompts your prospects to pick up the phone and call. But if you don’t have a tracking system in place, if you don’t have the means to measure what is and what isn’t working for you… it’s like knowing you have rights to claim a vast treasure chest of riches only you don’t have a map available to find it. And what good is that?

One of the most costly mistakes you can make is to not test and measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. If you don’t test, if you are not operating from a foundation of quantification… then you are just guessing—which can be disastrous—or, at best, wasteful.

For instance, let’s say you are currently spending $600 a month on a full-page ad in Harmon Homes or some similar style magazine. You are also forking out a couple hundred in radio spots. $500 in newsletter mailings and another $100 stuffing your brochure boxes full of flyers. You’re getting results… but since you don’t have any way of determining which campaign is generating what… you just keep on doing the same thing month after month and writing the same expense checks month after month.

Okay. Now let’s assign extension numbers to each of our campaigns and track where our results are coming from. Let’s say the Harmon Home campaign, extension #101 generates 14 calls in the course of the month and you convert 3 of these calls into good, solid prospects. Each "prospect" then cost you approximately $200.00.

Your newsletter, extension #102, generates only 4 calls… but they all convert. You cost per qualified prospect = $125.

The radio spot (which you thought to be really, really good) didn’t produce one single call! Not one. And since Power Marketing Rule #1 is to always expect and demand your marketing efforts to produce a tangible, cash-in-the-pants result… the radio show either has to go… or it has to be redesigned… aired to a different market at a different time… something! Every marketing campaign must be held accountable to produce a result. If not (and you’ll only know by testing)—get rid of it or tweak it.

And, much to your surprise, your lowly brochures… extension #104… have pulled a whopping 3 calls also. Why "whopping?!" Think about your costs. If you invested $100 to print and distribute these flyers… your cost per qualified prospect equals only $33!

Now, let me ask you. With these figures in mind, what would be your game plan next month? Repeat as usual and quite literally throw away a couple hundred bucks? OR would you be better served dumping the radio campaign and increasing your brochure campaigns to the tune of $300 instead of $100? If the numbers played out… you’d have an additional 6 qualified leads for the same amount of money! USE voice mail extensions… they pay HUGE dividends.

Speaking of Voice Mail

As we’ve discussed, voice mail services are an invaluable addition to your marketing arsenal. A good voice mail system can be used as a non-threatening method of first contact as well as providing the means of tracking, testing, and measuring the effectiveness of your various campaigns—after all, what you don’t know can hurt you…

But the value of voice mail doesn’t end there.

Consider sign riders.

Your signs are really miniature billboards. And, being billboards, their purpose is to market. So… use them accordingly. For instance, every property you have listed should be assigned a distinctive voice mail extension number and this number should be prominently displayed on your sign.

When prospects call in they hear information not only about that particular listing, but also any additional listings you have available in that particular price range and neighborhood. You can also provide a voice capture option wherein your prospects can leave their names and request additional information and/or take you up on an free offer you made.

You can even further optimize your voice mail system by having your service bureau provide you with a fax-back option. Then, upon request, your callers can immediately obtain a fact sheet on that particular listing, information on all of your listings, your scheduled open houses, and any other information you deem important.

For instance, I’ve concluded that many people calling in off a yard sign are potential sellers in the same neighborhood seeking additional information. Consequently, I make it a point to actively market this segment of callers by always providing a copy of my "Easy Exit Listing Agreement" and other information pertinent to sellers.

You also want to obtain an Automatic Number Identification service for your 1-800 voice mail number if available. Why?

Two reasons. First, it lends for a more accurate measurement of inbound calls. Every caller is identified for you… even in the event they hang up without leaving a voice mail or exercising a fax-back option. And accurate measurement is the back-bone of testing.

Secondly, when a prospect does call into your voice mail system in response to one of your advertisements, signs, or other marketing campaigns… statistics show that 87% of them will eventually utilize the service that peaked their interest and prompted the call.

These folks are hot, Hot, HOT leads. People who will, 87% of the time, eventually do business with somebody… and it might as well be you, right?

After all, they noticed your advertisement, read it, took the time to jot down the number, and expended whatever calories were necessary to pick up the phone and call. These folks are gold…

You already appealed to some emotional need, want, or desire in them… they’ve already made an effort to identify themselves as someone you were talking to… they’ve already raised their hands and said, "Yeah, you’re talking to me. Tell me more! I might be interested." So call them! These folks, by virtue of their involvement, have initiated a relationship. They are no longer cold calls by any stretch of the term. These wonderfully shy people are warm calls… eager to be lead into the vast unknown by you, Paradigm Pioneer, marketing maestro extraordinaire.

And if they get offended in some way or come right out and ask you how you got their phone number… your answer is simple and generally accepted without question (after all, big brother is watching):

"It’s in the computer." Pretty simple, really. And it works! We’ve called literally thousands of people who didn’t leave a name, number or address and less than a dozen times have we ever been asked, ‘Where did you get my number.’ And it pays huge dividends to call. We have consummated many, many deals with people who didn’t have the personal fortitude to leave their contact information and earned thousands upon thousand of dollars in commission.

Don’t leave this valuable lead source untapped. Don’t.

At the very least… you should strive to use your Criss-Cross directory to determine their address and put them into your data-base for monthly mailings!

Remember… Automatic Number Identification.

Automatic Seller Updates

Your listing inventory is getting huge, and the demands your sellers are placing upon your time and that of your assistants are ever increasing. Your phone is ringing off the hook—everyone wants to know what’s going on with their property…

Your plan to call each and every seller on a weekly basis is getting tougher and tougher. Why… between the fact your inventory is getting bigger, your evenings are tied up with presentations, your weekends with buyers, and telephone tag seems to have become the rule… it is virtually impossible.

Enter your voice mail service again! (And you thought we were through with the benefits of having a voice mail system in place!!)

Here’s what you do:

1.      Assign every seller a unique voice mail extension number of their own

2.      Set aside a specific time each week to update all of your sellers at one sitting.

3.      Call each of your seller’s voice mail extensions and record your weekly update as well as any announcements you’d like to make at that time.

Inform you seller’s of their assigned number and let them know they are free to call at their convenience to retrieve your ‘what’s going on’ messages!

No more telephone tag. No more headaches or hassles. No more wasted time and energy individually explaining your weekly results…

Why, thanks to the technology of voice mail, you can now update all of prospects in a matter of minutes instead of hours…

AND this "service" will also make a wonderful addition to your listing presentation repertoire.

Proven Ad Copy Which Pulls Big!!

Selling Your Home?  FREE REPORT reveals 7 steps to selling your home for the most money, fast — with or without a real estate agent.  Call now for a 24 hr FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.

Selling Your Home? Free Report Reveals 17 Costly Mistakes You Must Avoid!  Report also reveal how to save thousands!  Call Now for a 24 hr FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.

WARNING!  Paying Rent is Hazardous to Your Financial Health. FREE REPORT reveals how to stop throwing your money away renting and own your own home instead.  Call Now. 24 hr FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.

If you think it is expensive to hire a professional… wait until you hire an amateur!  FREE REPORT reveals 7 questions you must ask any real estate agent BEFORE you hire them.Call Now. 24 hr FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.

FREE COMPLETE EQUITY ANALYSIS BY PHONE.  Call Now. 24 hr FREE VOICE ACTIVATED MESSAGE will record your address and phone number… then we'll go to work.  You will receive your complete equity analysis by phone or by mail… your choice.  Call Now. 24 hr FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.

Buying a Home?   FREE REPORT Shows How You Can Save Thousands of Dollars! Call Now. 24 hr FREE RECORDED MESSAGE.  This report will ensure you do not pay one dollar more than any home is worth - potentially saving you thousands.

Are your juices flowing, yet?   Good!! Go for it!!

Happy Selling!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

You see, about few months ago I began a “free publicity” campaign for my real estate coaching practice. That is, using the same “model” and style of press release I advocate using in the Ultimate Publicity Kit, I mailed out 50 releases to various daily and weekly newspapers that I knew (via research at the public library) might be interested in running material addressed toward real estate agents and brokers. My total cost was $27 for postage and about $30 for printing my “free report”, envelopes, etc. $58 total investment.

The results?

My tiny little $58 dollar investment resulted in THREE front page feature articles in major metropolitan papers… a word-for-word placement in another weekly… and three other noteworthy blurbs.

Every placement included RPS contact information and my toll free phone number wherein the reader could contact me and request a copy of a free report titled: “No More Cold Calls. How to Get Buyers and Sellers to Call YOU for a Change."

As far as “placement” is concerned, it would be pretty hard to beat the results of this tiny campaign. You can’t buy front page coverage! So from a publicity standpoint, the campaign was a tremendous success.

However, my purpose in getting all this free press was, of course, to generate a number of “free” leads for Intervision Marketing Corp. Want to take a stab at how many “leads” were generated?

How many agents and brokers saw the articles and called in response?

Here’s a clue: One front page article was run in our local business paper… a huge daily “business” press.  Another in Memphis, in a “business” press with over 100,000 circulation. And another full page in a Knoxville “business” press.

What do ya think? Couple hundred? A thousand? Maybe a few thousand leads?

42! That’s right. Only 42!! Now, apart from the fact that this campaign wasn’t too wildly “successful” in generating leads (which, of course, was my goal), what is really disturbing here is the obvious conclusion one must reach…

MOST AGENTS AND BROKERS ARE NOT READING

THE “BUSINESS” PRESS WHICH IS ONE OF THE

GREATEST SOURCES OF LEADS OUT THERE

FOR YOU GUYS AND GALS!

I can live with the fact I didn’t make any money (well…I made some, that tiny $58 dollar investment eventually generated over $3,000 in business), but I have a very difficult time swallowing the fact that so few real estate professionals are taking advantage of the leads available in the local business press!

Somewhat disturbed (somewhat highly disturbed), I decided to conduct a little test… a little research. I went to the library and, using the microfiche records, copied the “People on the Move” section of the Nashville Business Journal all the way back into January of this year.

Then I began calling these “people on the move”—these lucky souls who have recently been promoted, transferred, or experienced some other significant “change” in their lives and/or careers—and I asked four simple questions:

• Did they receive a lot of calls upon having their “change” announced in the press?
• Were they ever contacted by any real estate agent or broker to either congratulate them, initiate a relationship, or to offer their professional services?
• Are they now or sometime in the near future looking to make a move in the real estate market as a direct result of their announced “change?”
• Had they, indeed, already made such a move or began the necessary steps to make such a move?

I called 15 individuals, whom I chose at random, for each month of six—for a total of 105 contacts. 87 of these folks said “yes” they received a lot of calls due the press announcement. Most of these calls were from friends and colleagues congratulating them. Of these 87… ONLY ONE received a call from a R/E agent!! Many had received calls from spa salespeople, financial planners, and insurance agents… but only one received a call from real estate.

Now get this. 92 of the 105 people I spoke with said “YES” they almost immediately had the urge to “upgrade” to fit their new image and position.

And of the 92… 26 had already sold and/or sold & purchased property as a direct result of their “change” and ALL the rest anticipated making a move within the next 6 to 12 months.

And only ONE received a call from a real estate agent!

Is there a window of opportunity here or what? In my neck of the woods, 26 legs equals to 5 million in volume on the low end of the scale! That’s at least a $150,000 in commissions… which nobody even ever asked for!!

So, being the sharp, capable, success-oriented marketing individuals we are, let’s “target” these folks and actively seek to establish a relationship with them.

Let’s create a simple little system of initial contact… follow up… follow up… and follow up some more until they either tell us to get lost or they eventually “upgrade” with our professional guidance and assistance.

Let’s make some easy money, shall we?

Personally, I would immediately get out some back issues of my local “business” press and begin making phone calls… conduct a brief, informal survey. In other words, II’d immediately begin cold calling these folks and attempt to get something in the works RIGHT NOW!

However, I realize not everyone is a glutton for punishment so, while this is certainly not an idea unique to me, it certainly is worth looking into since it appears hardly anyone else is doing it (though every agent and broker worth their salt should be doing at least this much):

Clip the “press release” or article announcing the “change” and either slip it into an envelope unadorned with a brief little note of introduction and perhaps your calling card… and mail it. Your note might be something as simple as “Congratulations on your promotion! Who says ‘good guys finish last?’ I’m sending this clipping along just in case you missed it in all the hub-bub.”

Even better, have the clipping laminated or mounted in some nice, yet inexpensive fashion and mail in a large business envelope. Same simple note.

Another idea (which is what I used to do) is to have a simple quote printed up on parchment which relates somehow to the “change” — for instance, if the change you’ve targeted is a promotion, a “success” quote might be nice. Make it suitable for framing. Send that, the clipping, and your brief note. The idea, of course, is to stand out above everybody and anybody that is contacting them.

Second step, 4 to 5 days after mailing… call and introduce yourself. Let the prospect know that it occurred to you that this promotion of theirs might have sparked an interest in purchasing a new home — upgrading their lifestyle. If so, or even if there is the slightest of possibilities… propose getting together and creating a buyer’s profile for them or some other type of immediate action. If they don’t express such an interest… perhaps they know of someone else who might be interested in making a change. Perhaps they might consider moving into investment properties.

Third step… continue to follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. Add this prospect to your data base and mail to the consistently — your newsletter, brief clippings you believe might be of interest specifically to them, your updated professional “resume”, letters of testimonials from others you’ve worked with within their industry or occupation. CALL these folks at least once every 60 days ”just to say hi!” Christmas cards. Birthdays. Anniversaries. You get the idea.

The hardest part of this “system” is starting it. Make the decision to commit yourself to this type program and, I promise you, your prospecting efforts will pay off big time. It is certainly worth whatever effort and creative juices you have to expend up front because the backside payoff will result in many, many, many commissions, lifetime clients, and referrals.

How to save $3,000 to $30,000

when you purchase your next home!  FREE report reveals how anybody can save $3,000 to $30,000 when they purchase their next home. Learn the inside secrets most people never learn. Visit http://www.yoursite.com or email me at successtips@yoursecondaryemailaddress.com to receive your copy of this FREE report.

2. Using the autoresponder feature of your email account, write a brief message thanking the prospect for responding to your ad and, again, encourage them to pay a visit to your site to pick up their free report, ask questions, and peruse your listings. For example:

     "Thank you for requesting the FREE report: "How to save $3,000 to $30,000 when you purchase your next home." You can view, print or download the report absolutely free from my award winning site at http://www.mysite.com. Stop by. Hang around. And let me know how I can best serve you."

     Okay, do you see what we have done? We write and post a nice classified ad or listing and we use our secondary email address for the contact. Also, by using the autoresponder… ALL inquires (including the spammers) will receive your brief note of introduction and giving them further instruction on how and where to receive their free report. The beauty of this system is twofold:

1.      It eliminates any work on your part in answering the mail, and

2.      It protects your real email address from getting into the hands of spammers.

     Now here's the really neat part of this entire campaign: Simply set up the incoming filter on your email program to automatically delete any and all mail you receive from this secondary email address!

     Think about it. The only mail you should be receiving from this address would be from spammers. That's it! Because the message you established on your autoresponder points all inquires to your home page. So, REAL prospects would send you an email from off your home page, using the address they found there… not your secondary address.

     Make sense? Of course! So go for it! Drive that traffic to your site and don't worry about the junk mail…

Happy Selling!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

I went to the owner of a full service car wash, one of those that have the guys with the towels at the very end hand drying every last drop of water off of your car. The kind you regularly see some of the nicest cars in the area pulling out of. Now, I went to the one in my market where I spend a lot of money and have met the owner on several occasions while my car was being washed, but you can do this with any car wash.

I asked the owner if he would be interested in doing a joint venture that would be a win-win for both of our businesses. If he would have his guys at the end of the car wash place my fliers on the dashboard as they were wiping it off, I would give away whatever he would like to my customers at closings, open houses, on website offers, etc. He quickly agreed to give me these wooden tokens for a free car wash, a whole bucket of them!

Not only did I hand them out, my customers and clients loved me for giving them a free car wash and my friend, the car wash owner loved me because he could see the influx of people choosing his car wash and a large percentage of them weren't taking the standard car wash but upgrading to a higher dollar wash for 3-6 more dollars.

And the icing on the cake, after doing this for less than 1 year, I have closed 3 transactions as a result for a total of $16,324 in commissions. Imagine if I had just 3 or 4 other car washes doing this as well which I am going to work on!!

Try it!!

NOW…here is the story behind this story:

DON'T LET CIRCUMSTANCES INTERFERE WITH SUCCESS!

There is always some reason why we cannot succeed today……always a circumstance.

I wanted to make those calls to my clients but my mother called, and it was important that I speak with her……I would have been there, but there was a last minute problem with a closing and I Had to miss a meeting……I lost my keys…..I am not worthy of that particular position or job……

Gang, there will always be things that come up.  The problem is that because you choose NOT to be at places, you miss out on business, and it is not only you that suffers, but it is your family that you cheat……Things will always come up.  Get over them. 

Other reasons not to succeed:

1. I don't want to find work until I loose 20 lbs.
2. Things cannot happen til I get my hair colored
3. I cannot do anything til I buy some new clothes
4. I am not college degreed
5. I'm not smart
6. I don't come from a privledged background
7. I cannot work because I have to watch my parents….kids…..grandparents….the neighbors……
8. I'm broke
9. you name it………

GET OVER IT!

Don't let circumstances get in your way!

Brandon Patrick

Dean of Students

Real Estate Toolbox University

I just finished reading a great book that sheds a lot of light on this subject and gives some great tips. The book was written by Jeffrey Landers and there is a nice forward from George Ross, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization.

You can pick it up at any bookstore or online, the title is "The Home Office From Hell Cure"

“Building a Family of Businesses”

Since Robb Campbell, owner/broker of RE/MAX Elite first arrived in Nashville in 1999, his company, affiliated businesses and the entire market has experienced incredible, even phenomenal growth. He says he recognized a great opportunity when he came to Middle Tennessee, but it can just as easily be said that many other agents, brokers and associates recognized an even greater opportunity to work with someone with endless energy and a real vision of where the industry is going.
Today, Robb is the head of a Middle Tennessee family of businesses including real estate, insurance, mortgage, title, appointment setting and sign and graphics. This comprehensive approach to all aspects of the industry has earned him the respect, and even better, the trust of hundreds of associates, partners and customers.

Robb’s start in business began when he was 12-years-old washing dishes at Campbell’s Restaurant in Smyrna, Georgia. His father had built up the family business over many years and Campbell’s was the place in town where business, political and community leaders would gather for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a cup of coffee. Robb gradually moved from dishes to busing tables, to making sandwiches and up to the grill as head line cook. By 16, he was running the entire business when his father had to be away.
When the restaurant burnt down one evening, the Campbell family came together to weigh the pros and cons of rebuilding the establishment. They decided the family tradition and what it meant to the community should continue and reconstruction soon began. This experience provided an incredible opportunity for a teenage Robb Campbell whose father negotiated with the general contractor on the reconstruction to allow Robb to work on all phases of the job.
That summer was the hardest Robb can recall working, but the experience was priceless. He learned firsthand about construction from framing, to electrical, plumbing, sheetrock and floor tiling. “I learned what it takes to build something. The planning, the supplies, labor and putting the finishing touches on every job.”

Robb found his way into real estate after college while working his way up as a manager for Budget Rent-A-Car, in Atlanta. After advancing to distribution director, he decided it was time for a new challenge and went to work on his real estate license. Many of his associates, friends and even family members were quite surprised when he told them he was planning to leave his salaried position, with an attractive bonus and car allowance, for full-commissioned sales in real estate.

“People who knew me understood that I was very driven and wanted new challenges in my life, but many of them were scratching their heads over my decision,” he recalls. He had saved up six months living expenses by the time he attained his real estate license. His first sales position came about with RE/MAX Town Center as an on-site sales agent. During his interview for the sales position, the broker took a phone call just as some potential buyers walked in to the sales center and without hesitation, Robb jumped up to help them. Helping others comes natural to him.

“When he got off the phone he asked me why I had helped the customers when I didn’t even have a job, yet. I just said I saw some people who needed help and got to work.” His attitude got him the position and the assignment to sell two homes just down street. After selling the second home within the first week, the broker came to Robb to let him know those two homes had been a thorn in his side, sitting vacant with no activity for more then six months. He knew he had found a real salesperson in Robb.

In three years of outside and onsite sales of new construction properties, Robb became one of the top-producing agents in the area. But ever-willing to take on a new challenge, he pulled together all of his savings and took out a second mortgage to buy into partnership of RE/MAX Town Center in Kennesaw, Georgia. The company had 16 agents and decent sales; yet three years after becoming a part owner of the business, Robb had grown the company to more than 150 agents and opened a mortgage company and in-house title company. He had also incorporated into the company’s operations a full-range of commission splits and offered full training which introduced agents with less experience than those who traditionally join RE/MAX. His success led to Robb being invited to conferences around the nation to talk about his comprehensive approach to business.

“We were definitely pushing the envelope as far as bringing together multiple companies under one roof. Many people I spoke with weren’t interested in shaking up their operations by bringing in new companies,” he says. “But others recognized that this is the future of our industry and offering one-stop solutions to our clients adds value and improves efficiencies. We had the RE/MAX brand behind us and the trust of thousands of customers, so I felt we couldn’t miss.”

Robb and his partners were looking to grow their business but competition, along with other factors, made expansion in the Atlanta area less than ideal. They sought out other opportunities and in 1998 settled in Memphis, Tennessee, becoming the largest RE/MAX office in Memphis in just over a year.

Still based out of Atlanta, Robb was looking for a permanent home and a company to grow on his own in Tennessee, and found what he was looking for in Nashville when, in 1999, he purchased the RE/MAX offices of Otey Walker. “I found everything I was looking for, and then some, here in Nashville,” he adds. “I just fell in love with everything Nashville and Middle Tennessee had to offer, from the people, to the beauty and the great business climate.”

His new RE/MAX endeavor started with 67 agents, two office and outstanding opportunity. He immediately put into place the training programs he had perfected at his previous companies, and asked Ora Fulton, a longtime RE/MAX agent with more than 25 years experience as a real estate professional, to lead the training for the company. As trainer and mentor, Ora takes newly licensed agents under her wing for six months or so as they learn the businesses and work with other agents on her team based out of the Brentwood office. She says the approach has been extremely successful in helping new agents get established in the industry. She credits Robb’s visionary approach to training and providing unrivaled support to agents for the strong growth RE/MAX Elite experienced since Robb purchased the company.

“Robb is a very positive person with boundless energy and a willingness to try new and innovative ideas. He has created an extremely positive atmosphere where agents want to work and grow their business,” Ora says. The proof of this successful atmosphere is evidenced by the growth the company has experienced since 1999. From 67 agents and two offices, RE/MAX Elite has grown more than 500% to more than 350 agents and 10 offices throughout greater Nashville. RE/MAX Elite offices can now be found in Brentwood, Nashville, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Nolensville, Antioch, Bellevue, Belle Meade, Spring Hill and Smyrna; with new satellite offices expected to join the company throughout this year.

After taking over the business, Robb also looked for opportunities to bring together affiliated businesses as he had done in the past. In surveying prospects for growth he met his future wife Kim, who was a leading agent and mortgage producer also looking for an opportunity to work with a progressive entrepreneur like herself. She is now president of Elite Home Loans and Robb’s closest business partner.

“Kim was just amazing. She had more energy than me, and that’s saying something. She was aggressively looking for ways to give her customers greater service combining real estate and mortgage lending. Our relationship grew from business partners to husband and wife. We have great respect for each other.”

Elite Home Loans was formed in 2004 and has grown into a major provided of mortgage lending for customers of RE/MAX Elite and other real estate companies throughout the area. “Elite Home Loans is an important component of our ability to offer customers comprehensive service. Our clients are able to purchase a home, obtain financing and insurance and close the transaction all in-house.”

Since 1999, Robb has added additional companies including Elite Title, Elite Commercial, Elite Insurance, Elite Home Services, The Appointment Desk, Elite Relocation and Elite Sign and Graphics to meets the needs of buyers, sellers and agents. In fact, the growth of his ancillary services is extending Robb’s business reach well outside the Nashville area. The Appointment Desk, which provides appointment scheduling for agents’ listings is already in the Indianapolis market and will soon be rolled out nationwide. Elite Home Loans is looking to establish offices in markets throughout the Southeast, and Elite Sign and Graphics provides services to a number of industries both locally and throughout the region. Many of the company’s customers are agents and brokers of other real estate companies.

“We are very excited about the growth of RE/MAX Elite and our affiliated companies. It shows there is room in this industry and this economy for people and companies who work hard to fill a need and offer the very highest level of service. Even with all the growth we have seen in the past few years, I think we are just getting started. The sky is the limit.”

His positive attitude toward real estate and growing other businesses has earned Robb a reputation as one of the leading proponents of offering a one-stop solution. Bob Sutton, vice president and regional director for RE/MAX of Kentucky, Tennessee and Southern Ohio, considers Robb to be one of the company’s greatest assets. “Robb is one of the most progressive and aggressive brokers we have in the entire international RE/MAX system. He is a visionary leader of the idea of offering ancillary services. He is also one of the most energetic people I have ever met. I wish we could bottle his enthusiasm and give it to others throughout the company.”

In addition to growing his many companies, Robb has worked hard to bring his family to the Nashville area to join him and Kim in operating the new family business. In 2001 his brother Jayson moved to the area from Atlanta to be the managing broker for the Belle Meade office, and shortly after, his brother Jaymes relocated to serve as the Vice President and General Manager of Elite Sign and Graphics. And in 2005, Robb finally persuaded their mother to move to the area. Though retired, she serves as a support for the entire family. “Having my family not only close but involved in running the businesses is a blessing. I know I can trust them to do what is best for the business and for us as a family in every circumstance. That is maybe the very best thing about being in a family business.”

Each day brings a new opportunity for Robb Campbell. His success in business is a direct reflection of his willingness to take chances and put his faith in new ideas. Every days gives him the chance to look around him at his friends, family and associates and say without hesitation, “it is truly a family of businesses.”

Robb will be interviewed by long time industry leader Brandon Patrick live on Wednesday April 9th at 1:00 Central time. For complete details visit http://busyagentpro.com

The reigning champion for that honer is Robb Campbell, Owner of Re/Max Elite in Nashville. But not only is Robb extremely successful in the real estate business he also has a lot more going on in his business and his life. He is inspirational and motivational to his hundreds of agents in his offices and is also gaining national attention around the country in both the Re/Max system as well as outside of Re/Max and even outside of the real estate industry altogether for his powerful, inspiring and motivational messages.

I have personally met Robb on numerous occasions in his office in Nashville and I am here to tell you, he is walking the walk. He runs a well oiled machine and teaches some things that should be required material for anyone in the real estate business regardless of experience.

Getting an opportunity to listen to Robb speak and to learn from him is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and to miss it would be a huge mistake in your career. With that said, I have mad arrangements to have Robb on our weekly coaching series over at BusyAgentPro.com. Robb will be on the program this Wednesday at 1:00 Central time and will be interviewed by long time real estate broker, Brandon Patrick.

You can get all of the details for the interview over at http://busyagentpro.com

Don't Miss it! Below is a picture of Robb receiving his award for Re/Max Broker of the year!