September 3, 2008

We're All In This Together

As the father of a "tweener" daughter I have been subjected to my share of Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, Total Drama Island and High School Musical. These are all shows on The Disney Channel that are aimed at that "tweener" age group - not old enough to be teenagers but older than a toddler. I guess this would officially be 7-12 year olds.

My daughter Riley is a nine-year-old falls right into that group so I am quite familiar with the likes of Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana's alter ego) as well as High School Musical's stars, Zach and Gabriella. They are today's equivalent of Danny Zuko and Sandra Dee from our generation's summer "tweener" classic, Grease.

I know what you're probably saying, "Okay Sean, what the heck does The Disney Channel, pre-acne pop culture or High School Musical have to do with real estate and our continuing look at the company's 14 Business Principles?" Relax...I'm about to get there.

In our day we had songs like "Summer Lovin", "Greased Lightning" and "You're the One That I Want" to sing along to. The main song from the High School Musical soundtrack is a song titled "We're All In This Together" and it talks about how working as a team allows people who may offer different things to come together, do things right and help each other. It sounds quite similar to our Business Principle #11:

To provide the highest level of customer service, we support our
family of companies and strategic partners


The real estate experience has become very intricate and in order to provide the highest level of customer service to our customers and clients, we must continue to focus on the area of the transaction that we are best trained to handle, the real estate portion. In fact, our Code of Ethics demands it. See Code of Ethics, Article 11

Our company has made this easier by creating a "one stop shopping" experience for our customers and clients. Not only does this make sense from a business sense allowing for added revenue sources in a belt-tightening industry but the consumer is demanding it. Today's client doesn't have time to go to a real estate office, financial institution, lawyer, title company, insurance office and inspection location and still try to handle the other aspects of their move try to live their lives. They want to get it all in one spot so let's try to "give the people what they want."

Spend more time prospecting for new clients or developing deeper relationships with your current clients while your mortgage advisor from Coldwell Banker Home Loans assists your clients with their mortgage approval process. Attend to your personal obligations, hobbies or community interests with a peace of mind knowing that our title partners are handling the details that will assure a smooth closing. Take advantage of the relationships that have been built over the years by referring people to our Concierge, Insurance and Home Warranty departments.

When you support your "teammates" you can do so knowing that everyone has the same goal - to get your clients to the finish line in the shortest time, with the least amount of inconvenience while keeping the lines of communication open to all parties.

Give them an opportunity to earn your continued business each and every day just like you would appreciate their continued efforts to build, support and maintain your business. It's an old adage but in this case it certainly applies - T.E.A.M - Together Everyone Achieves More.

How have you leveraged your relationships with our strategic partners and family of companies to grow your business? Add a comment to this blog and share your success stories with me.

Until next time...Build Relationships...Solve Problems and Have Fun

Check out the video from the movie High School Musical of the cast singing "We're All In This Together"