When Robert “Wags” and Adrienne “Abe” Wagner of Prudential Preferred Realty in Donegal, PA were developing their initial business plan, they knew the Internet would be the core of building a business that would take them strongly into the future. All they needed were the tools, insight and direction to create a powerful business structure that allows them to achieve their goals – on their terms. Here’s how they did it.

Hi Michael,

About three years ago when we first met you, we already knew that setting up our business with technology at the core was essential in achieving our goals. At the same time we wanted a business that would give us the flexibility and the means to enjoy the things we love. Your ideas and inspiration sold us on the concept to having every aspect of our business online. It’s hard to beat a job that allows us to close two deals while on a Caribbean cruise! All we needed was an Internet connection.

Bottom line – we’re doing twice the business in 30% less time. We’re in our fourth year working as a team using online based tools, and are seeing 25% growth every year. We almost hit the 8 figure mark in closed business in 2005. Next year we will. Before we had these systems in place we were both working 6 ½ days a week, with 10 hour + days. Half the time was generating business and half was creating and managing systems. Now that the systems are in place we work an average of 35 hours each per week, and travel 45 or more days a year.

We’ve found many ways to reach our target market. 85% of our clients are the owners of about 2700 high end second home resort properties in the Laurel Highlands in SW PA, who live an hour or more from this area. From Top Producer 7i we send out drip email – Welcome to the Mountains, Happy Moving In, Anniversary, as well as newsletters. Our office assistant has become a Virtual Assistant part time and can handle these tasks with ease from her home. We can all access what we need to, as long as we have an Internet connection. We also set up password protected web pages in Top Producer that provide the clients with details and figures of our marketing efforts on their behalf with a dollar value, showing our worth. They either log in or we email information to them as needed.

Another big time saver has been outsourcing showing coordination to www.eshowings.com. All buyer information is uploaded on our website and buyer agents call the showing center, download all the information from www.ABEandWAGS.com and set up a showing appointment. We and the seller receive a notification of all showings and we can log into the system “dashboard” to check on the status of any showing. We use www.Homefeedback.com to obtain showing feedback. This provides a lot of customized information for the seller with minimal effort on our part. Our goal is to list about 75 properties a year and average 10 showings per property. Using this system saves us about 1500 phone calls a year and loads the owner with content rich information.

Over 80% of our leads are from the Internet as people search for second homes. These people are more affluent, and also more technically proficient. When they contact us they often already know the properties they want to see. Because of our professional choice, we only represent the seller, and buyer leads are turned over to a designated buyer agent for a referral fee. We answer the initial questions, thank them for their inquiry, refer them out, and they become part of our database, often to come back to us as sellers. On our website we provide in-depth tips on how to be a good buyer, and a wealth of information about our community. We’ve made it content rich, and were recently rated the #1 site in the state by IRED.

Here are a couple of things we’ve learned along the way. Education to us is the key. Any time you can hear a tape, attend a seminar (including virtual seminars!) or hear a tip from someone else, is time and money well-spent. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just copy a successful business plan that fits your market. Part of our business plan is implementing one new technology a month. We spend a few hours the first week learning it, then 1-2 weeks tweaking it, getting it automated and delegating to someone else to manage. Week 4 all the steps for managing the program are put into writing so we don’t lose a beat if someone leaves. We use what we buy and part of our success is that we’ve been disciplined enough to turn it on and make it work. Today, you must do this.

If you only embrace one new technology every two months and spend the time to master it and automate it, in two years you’ll have a very powerful business system that will operate without you. All you’ll have to do is negotiate the contracts and collect the checks!

Thanks for the part you’ve played in helping us create the business we dreamed of, planned for, and made happen.

Abe and Wags

Adrienne Wagner
Associate Broker, CRB, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, SRES, RECS
Robert Wagner CRB, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, RECS
Prudential Preferred Realty
3802 State Route 31, Suite 1
Donegal, PA 15628

800-419-7653 x 24
Wags@AbeandWags.com
www.ABEandWAGS.com

Thank you Abe & Wags —and congratulations on achieving your dream career. It didn't just happen, you made it happen! Your letter articulates the path to success perhaps better than I've ever seen it before: Commit to learning at least one new thing on a regular basis, implement it, document it, then outsource it. Brilliant in its effectiveness and simplicity!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I recently had the privilege and honor of having Bob ("Wags") introduce me at the TriplePlay convention in Atlantic City this past December. His enthusiasm was so contagious that he set the audience on fire before I even started speaking! When I first met Abe and Wags, they were already committed to using technology and the Internet as an integral part of their business. They soon enrolled in my Total Solution™ 10-Week Telecoaching Program, where a great group of agents receive live coaching from me on how to immediately implement a breakthrough approach to business without having to do the work themselves. Wags and Abe learned even more about technology resources and how to incorporate these into the goals for making their business work for them. You too can learn how you can focus only on what you love to do, make a great living doing it and have all the free time you want to enjoy your success. CLICK HERE to learn more about the most advanced training in the industry on Internet Marketing and using Virtual Assistants.

Because the Wagners are our success story of the month, they will receive their choice of the three valuable tools below: (they selected an Imprev membership and will now have access to more dynamic marketing tools to promote their business).
 

Remember, even if your story isn't chosen you still win because you get to see how other top performers do it. Besides, you can always try again!