Houston “Relo Guru” Michelle Sandlin Speaks at WCR Luncheon

First of all, let me apologize for my absence during the month of April.  I have a good reason though…I have been absolutely swamped with Houston Relocation business!  It has just been booming, as people continue to move to Houston, both as a result of their job situations and through choice.  While I normally do most of my writing and blogging at night anyway, the off hours over the past several weeks have also been spent working, catching up on emails, reviewing BMAs and preparing for presentations.

Most recently, I was invited to be the featured speaker at the Women Council of Realtors Houston Chapter’s Business Resource Meeting.  The topic, of course, was Relocation.  My invitation to speak came from one of our agents, Margo Cunningham, who is also an Executive Officer for the WCR Houston Chapter and serves as Treasurer.

My presentation was entitled, “An Overview of the Relocation Industry as it Relates to Real Estate.”  The purpose of my presentation was to provide a little background on the relocation industry, discuss best practices and the importance of having a well-trained “Relocation Team” of agents, share my insight on current trends, and answer audience questions.  It was nice to have several people in attendance who were somewhat familiar with relocation and the nuances associated with real estate transactions involving relocation companies.  As I have said many times, relocation business is not meant to be handled by agents who are new to the business or have not had the proper training and experience necessary and required by relocation companies.

I concluded my presentation with a brief discussion regarding the effectiveness of Social Media Marketing as it relates to what I do for my company, our branding, and new business development opportunities.  WCR Houston Chapter President Tiffany Curry said, “We chose Michelle because of her ability to combine technology with her extensive experience in real estate, relocation, marketing and knack for business development.”

I have to say that perhaps the coolest part of being the featured speaker at the WCR Houston Chapter Meeting, was all of the buzz and publicity on the Internet in advance of the meeting. WCR did an excellent job at promoting the event, and I was very pleased when I stumbled upon the announcement, which read: 

“Join us for our exciting April Business Meeting with Houston ‘Relo Guru’ Michelle Sandlin, Director of Global Relocation Services for John Daugherty Realtors.” 

I love being called “Relo Guru,” which is my nickname around the office.  It started just after I joined John Daugherty Realtors, when a couple of the agents started referring to me as “Relo Guru.”  Then, one day, our Marketing Department made it official, and created this sign which proudly hangs just outside the door to my office.

As always, I look forward to sharing more with you on my experiences within the relocation industry!

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John Daugherty Realtors Teaches Class at Rice University

The class was on Real Estate Development and I was invited to co-teach along with John A. Daugherty, Jr., Cheri Fama, and Darren Moore.

In addressing the students, John talked about his own background in real estate and what his vision and goals were when he started John Daugherty, Realtors in 1967.  He stressed that one of the cornerstones of the company’s success has always been the long-standing commitment to being a company that is highly focused on providing the proper training its sales associates, both on an initial and continuing basis.  This has been very important to me as well in my role as Director of Global Relocation Services, as I have developed a very comprehensive Relocation Training and Certification Program for my relocation team of agents.

Cheri Fama, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer also addressed the class and provided up-to-date MLS statistical reports and information regarding the current Houston real estate market.  Based on recent reports provided by the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), Cheri talked about how we are in a balanced real estate market right now, with about 7-8 months of current inventory.  She said that the Houston real estate market has just seen its twelfth consecutive week of year-over-year gains in buyer activity, according to HAR.

For my portion, I spoke to the class about the relocation industry, provided statistics and information on the latest trends, and discussed the importance of having a relocation team of agents who are specifically trained and certified in relocation.  I also went into great detail about the value of social media and the positive impact that it has had on our company’s relocation business.  I told the class that my Houston Relocation Blog, combined with my consistent use of social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have resulted in a continuous increase in our relocation and referral business.

I also spoke about the importance of Google ranking, and how my frequent use of social media and the consistency in my message have resulted in page 1 status on Google.

Lastly, Darren Moore, our company’s Director of Web Marketing spoke to the class about the role that technology plays on real estate and how consumers are seeking more and more information on-line.  Darren talked about the company’s commitment to being a leader in terms of technology and innovation.  He said that the company had incorporated the use of mobile technology by launching “THE TAG,” which has been installed on about 350 of our yard signs.  “THE TAG” enables consumers to quickly access information about properties we have listed via a mobile app from Microsoft©.  Darren said that “John Daugherty, Realtors continues to be innovative with the use of technology and the ways in which we are able to engage consumers.” I couldn’t agree more!

Michelle Sandlin and Darren Moore will each be panelists at 2 separate sessions during the upcoming Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Conference next month in Las Vegas.

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Jana Coleman of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Visits John Daugherty, Realtors

Jana Coleman, Vice President of Business Solutions – North America for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^© recently gave a presentation for the agents and management team at John Daugherty Realtors.  Jana’s presentation focused on the value added proposition and many benefits of membership in Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^©, which is the largest global network of premier real estate firms with 5,000 offices in more than 30 countries around the world.

In her presentation, Jana introduced new marketing tools available to sales associates in the marketing of their properties, as well as a reminder of how the Network promotes its members and member listings globally through its web site and member web sites. 

One of the main purposes of Jana’s visit to John Daugherty, Realtors was to introduce the company to two new programs being rolled out to members of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^©:  Institute 2.0 and OUR WORLD™.  These programs have been designed to provide a dynamic online learning environment to help the sales associates and the management team achieve the next level of success.

Jana’s’s visit to John Daugherty, Realtors is part of the company’s continued commitment to providing the very best in training initiatives for its agents and management team.

John Daugherty, Realtors is a proud member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^©, as well as a member of its luxury real estate arm, Luxury Portfolio.

As the person in our company who in responsible for managing our network affiliation, I can’t over emphasize the importance of Jana’s visit.  In addition to the presentation that she gave at our Sales Meeting, she and I also spent the better part of the day together.  I have gotten to know Jana pretty well over the course of the past year, and I am most impressed with her and her committment to the continued success of John Daugherty, Realtors as an important member of the network.

I know that I have stressed this in previous posts, but I am perpetually amazed at all of the wonderful connections and relationships that I have made as a result of our membership in the network.  I love being able to pick up the phone and call on our members and receive assistance right away.  I know that I can always count on them whether I am calling to place a referral, discuss relocation training for our agents, share business development ideas, interview them for an article that I am writing, or just to say, “Hello!”

I will be traveling to Las Vegas in March along with other members of our management team and several of our agents to attend the annual Leading Real Estate Companies of the World’s Annual Conference.  I look very forward to all of the new educational opportunities, as well as spending time with the wonderful members who make truly make this network the powerhouse that it is today.

You can always click here for all of your moving to Houston or Houston Relocation needs:  Houston Relocation 

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Best Practices in Relocation

I recently had the opportunity to co-present with Holly Holmes, Account Manager at AiRES (American International Relocation Solutions) at the monthly meeting of Houston International HR Roundtable.  Our presentation, which was entitled “Best Practices in Relocation,” discussed the importance of creating and maintaining a synergistic relationship between global Human Resource professionals and the service providers who partner with them.  I spoke from the real estate Relocation Department perspective, while Holly spoke from the perspective of a relocation management company.

The topic of “Best Practices in Relocation” is a very important one to me as a leading provider of real estate and relocation services in Houston, Texas.  From the many educational opportunities that I partake in professionally, to the the ones that I provide to the relocation management companies and other relocation professionals, I have to stay abreast of what is important NOW.

When Holly and I were approached by Larry Scott, the president and founder of Houston International HR Roundtable, to present to the group, we thought that this would be a great opportunity to discuss the importance of best practices in relocation and showcase the synergistic relationship that we have as partners in serving the HR community.  But, we didn’t want to just be presenting to the group…we wanted to engage the group and make it very interactive.  In so doing, we were able to pinpoint many of the challenges faced by HR professionals.  Those issues included talent retention and management, training, compliance, mobility, flexibility in benefits, home sale programs, how to handle renters, successful assigments and much more. 

In speaking with the members of this organization, we were able to bring many specific issues to the forefront, in order to better understand the challenges faced by international HR professionals.  Through our collaboration and discussion, we were able to explore and present solutions as we work towards achieving our common goals.  We talked about how we do this through the establishment and careful execution  of established best practices.  But it doesn’t end there…as relocation partners, we are committed to developing even better practices as the needs of our clients change and evolve.

For relocation service providers, it is imparative that we continue to provide the highest level of service delivery on a consistent basis. 

Houston International HR Roundtable.  It is the leading education and networking professional organization in Houston for international Human Resource professionals, including international and domestic service providers.  The group meets monthly at the offices of Deloitte in downtown Houston.

Holly and I are both members of Houston International HR Roundtable, and I currently serve as the Chairperson for the Global Center of Excellence Committee, which is focused on bringing increased recognition to Houston as the Global Center of Excellence for International Human Resources.

You can always click here for information on relocating to Houston:  Houston Relocation

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John Daugherty Realtors Makes Leading Real Estate Companies of the World List

Each month, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® puts out its “Most Improved” lists.  I am very proud to report that for the second time in 4 months, that John Daugherty, Realtors appears on that list!  For the month of August, we made the list of “Most Improved Outgoing Revenue-Generating Closings” with a ranking of #4.  Back in May, we were included in the list of “Most Improved Sales Production Rate,” and were ranked #5.  This is a very noteworthy accomplishment for us, as I have been working very closely with the agents at our company since taking the reins of our Global Relocation Services Division, to ensure that we are capitalizing on Broker-to-Broker referral opportunities with our Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® partners.

So what am I doing to promote Broker-to-Broker referrals, and to keep them top-of-mind with our agents?  Well, for one thing, I am always included in our weekly Sales Meetings, which gives me an opportunity to recognize and thank the agents each week who have sent outgoing referrals.  I am also congratulating those who have had recent closings as a result of outgoing referrals sent to our partners.

Training also has a lot to do with the great numbers that we are achieving as a company.  As part of our internal Relocation Training and Certification Program, I dedicate an entire class to our international memberships and the advantages that they afford us as a company, both in our ability to serve the global real estate needs of our clients, and in terms of the competitive edge it give us on a local level.  As the leader in luxury real estate in Houston, Texas, our clients have come to expect a very high level of service and professionalism, and we are able to promise them that same standard of quality when referring them to our partners in other markets throughout the world.

I also provide training to the agents on the many useful tools available to them as a member of Luxury Portfolio Fine Properties Collection®.  John Daugherty, Realtors is among only 200 member Brokerages within Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® that also make up Luxury Portfolio.  As a network within a network,  Luxury Portfolio includes the most respected luxury real estate brands in the industry and features more luxury properties on its web site than any other luxury network.

Basically I never miss an opportunity to promote the many benefits of our international memberships with the agents at our company.  It is wonderful to be considered among the best of the best!

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