By ANTHONY MARGULEAS | Special to the Palisadian-Post
Two years ago I co-founded a monthly real estate network group, comprised of the top agents and founders from each major residential brokerage firm in Los Angeles. We now have 22 agents representing 13 different firms. A majority of our members have been recognized based on their sales volume by The Wall Street Journal as the top 1,000 agents in the country.
When you consider that there are over one million licensed agents in the country, our group represents the top one-tenth of 1 percent.
With an average of 20 years of experience, these 22 agents combined have sold a staggering 9 billion dollars in residential real estate totaling 8,000 transactions.
In the past, it was common for top agents from the same company but in different geographical (noncompeting) areas to meet to network. Our group is the first organization of its kind to have so many “competitors” from different firms gather to share ideas.
We only allow one or two from each firm to join our group and the only rule is that whomever we decide to invite, it must be unanimous.
The following firms are represented: Amalfi Estates, Berkshire Hathaway, Coldwell Banker, Engel & Volkers, Gibson International, Hilton & Hyland, Keller Williams, Maser Condo Sales, Nourmand & Associates, Partners Trust, Sotheby’s International, Teles Properties and The Agency.
We meet monthly for breakfast for a couple hours to collaborate and share our best business practices, marketing ideas and new technologies. We also have a planned discussion topic each month.
In addition, we discuss any “Pocket” listings, which are properties that are not yet officially in the MLS but will be going on the MLS or properties whose owners are open to selling off market.
Given the current low inventory levels, having access to off-market properties has been extremely valuable for us to find properties for our buyers through nontraditional channels.
In addition, when any member has a new listing that will be coming on the market they let the group know (with the seller’s permission) who in turn notifies their entire office. This way we are able to broadcast a new potential listing to thousands of agents, which creates great excitement and interest for the home before it even comes on the market.
What is interesting is every member of the group became successful in their own unique way. Some do direct mail, others are big on social media, some focus in residential income properties and others specialize in the ultra-high end luxury market. Some have large support teams working for them while others may have just one assistant.
It is truly inspiring hearing each person’s success stories. With over 400 years of real estate experience in our group you can imagine our meetings are very beneficial. While our members may take different paths to be successful, one thing we all have in common is we are truly passionate about what we do and we have worked very hard for 20 years to get to the top of our profession.
Anthony founded Amalfi Estates 21 years ago and has reviewed 2,000 contracts. For 12 years he has taught at UCLA to over 1,500 students covering contracts and negotiations. He co-authored California Real Estate Client Strategies and published 150 articles. He has sold $600 million in properties and was selected by The WSJ as one of the top 250 agents in the country out of one million agents. He can be reached at 310-293-9280, www.amalfiestates.com.
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