A recent story in the latest edition of the Realtor magazine had an interesting story about Ronald Stewart, broker-owner of 1st Choice Real Estate in New Hartford, New York. Stewart is pioneering an emerging New dynamic in which forward thinking Real Estate Brokers are making office space in their brokerages not only inviting place to meet & greet but also resource "hot spots" for their communities!
It makes so much sense. Real Estate purchases impact affect everything! They channel new business into area stores and businesses. A home sale impact the schools and places of worship. Why not invite the community to meet at your place instead of somewhere else? After all, with more agents working at home, many brokers have vacant office space which can be rented out to other businesses or re-modelled and used in a different way.
For 1st Choice Real Estate this has included creating an office cafe bar where patrons can nibble on freshly baked doughnuts or cookies, a Kids Play Corner with games and hand-me-down Nintendo video games and an area in which adults can relax in plush living room like chairs while accessing area information.
With the age of the Internet, many Brokers are skimping when it comes to creating inviting spaces for clients to meet. Stewart thinks this may be a mistake. I agree. According to Stewart, "Expecting Internet traffic alone to drive sales ignores a huge opportunity for differentiating your business...People want personal touches."
This year, Audu Real Estate moved into a new office space. The single most frequent comment we hear when clients and visitors enter our office is..."This is really nice." The office is decorated with a contemporary style nautical theme. Relaxing classical music plays softly in the background. Clients are served tea or coffee from real china, not Styrofoam cups. They have their choice of flavors of hot or cold drinks. The office is wired for Internet access throughout so agents can meet with their clients in a variety of different areas.
Since we posted it, this video of our office has received more hits than any of our other real estate shows. Agents, clients and visitors are always Welcome to stop by and pick up a cup of coffee or treat themselves to the popular cluster of mints which are enjoyed by those using the conference room!
Copyright 2007 Audu Real Estate All Rights Reserved
Comments(75)