Snow might have shut down much of Chattanooga Wednesday, Feb. 18, but not Coldwell Banker Pryor Realty. Its owners and agents had planned a celebration, and they weren’t going to let Old Man Winter have the last word.
Each year, Pryor Realty’s owners, Bill and Peggy Pryor, honor their agents during an awards lunch. This year’s event took place at the Choo Choo Hotel. The company has two offices, one in Chattanooga and one in Dayton, but only agents from Chattanooga were able to attend, as the inclement weather kept the Dayton agents at home.
Peggy, president and principal broker of the Chattanooga office, opened the meeting by inviting her four top producers to discuss the business practices that have helped them to succeed. Robert Backer, Natalie Chalverus, Becky Lockwood, and Sam Martin all took a turn at the podium.
Backer said he focuses not on the quantity of his clients but the quality. “Take good care of your top people, and they’ll take care of you,” he said. “We’re a service industry. We don’t have a product to sell, so we need to do a really good job for the people we serve.”
Backer also said he keeps in touch with his past clients and his sources for referrals, whether by regularly making a phone call, or sending an email or a text message.
Chalverus said she treats all of her clients the same way because business can come from unexpected sources. Using a true story to illustrate her point, she said, “I took a floor call from a mom with six kids. One of her kids wanted to look at some properties. Unfortunately, she was a single mom working an hourly job, and she was going through a divorce, so she couldn’t qualify for a house.
“The mom then referred me to another one of her kids, who also had trouble qualifying for a house. I spent hours and hours with the mom and the two girls looking at eighty-thousand dollar houses. We tend to think that’s a waste of time, but it’s not.
“The mom worked in the HR department at Komatsu, which was closing a plant in Ohio and offering its engineers jobs in Chattanooga. She asked me if I was interested in showing them around. Peggy and I rented a van and gave nine engineers and their wives a tour of the city, and of those nine, eight bought houses. All of that came from a floor call.”
Like Backer, Chalverus stays in touch with her clients. Last year, most of her business was from repeat clients and referrals.
Lockwood also takes care of the people who send her referrals. “One friend is an associate pastor who does a lot of weddings for young couples. He always lets me know when someone is going to be calling me.
“I go above and beyond [the call of duty] when helping clients who were referred to me. The people who told them about me put their neck on the line, and I want to make them look good.”
Lockwood is also a big believer in being available and answering her phone. “You have to be there for your clients,” she said. “They’re your best and your worst advertisements.”
Martin feels the same way. “I believe in working my database,” he said. “Over time, the cream will rise to the top. There are 20 people in my database I can count on for referrals.”
Awards
After the producer’s panel and lunch, Peggy and Ann Martin, vice president of sales, announced the awards for 2014. The following agents with the Chattanooga office received these honors:
Outgoing Referral Award of Excellence: Pryor Realty gave this award to the sales associate who sent the most outgoing referrals in 2014: Tanja Hollowell.
Relocation Platinum Award: This award is based on a points system. Agents receive two points for each outgoing referral, five points for each outgoing referral that closed, and five points for each incoming referral that closed. Martin received this award.
“Relocation business is crucial to our office, and we appreciate the sales associates who spend time on it and go the extra mile,” Peggy said.
Service Award: Peggy honored Federico Linares for crossing the 20-year mark with Pryor Realty in 2014. Chalverus will reach that milestone this year. “We appreciate longevity and loyalty to our company,” Peggy said. “We try our best to be loyal to you as well because you are important to us.”
Team Player: Martin was honored with the Team Player award. The agents at Pryor Realty vote on this honor.
Circle of Honor for Sales: Chalverus and Hollowell, who had one sale per month for the entire year.
Circle of Honor for Listings: Backer, who had one new listing per month for the entire year.
Million Dollar Producer: Jeannie Schmid, Buster Yates, Narender Makhijani, Judy Piotrowski, Jan Lambert, and Karen Parris, who had a minimum of $1 million in sales in 2014.
Multi-million Dollar Producer: Wayne Bull, Yadi Rosales, Rolanda Pullen Daniel, Holloway, and Yun Gravitt, who had between $2 million and $3,500,000 in sales in 2014.
Circle of Excellence Multi-million Dollar Producer: Martin, Chalverus, Backer, and Lockwood, who had more than $3,500,000 in sales in 2014.
Top selling associate (based on sales dollar volume for buyer controlled sales): Lockwood.
Top selling associate (based on number of units closed for buyer controlled sales): Lockwood.
Top sales volume (based on sales dollar volume): Lockwood.
Top total units (based on total numbers of units closed): Lockwood and Backer.
Top listing associate (based on number of units listed): Backer.
Top producer (gross commission income): Lockwood.
The following agents also received the following International Awards, distributed by Coldwell Banker:
International Sterling Society: Lambert and Gravitt. Awarded to sales associates who produced a minimum of $120,000 in closed adjusted gross income or sold at least 18 units.
International Diamond Society: Holloway, Chalverus, Pullen, and Martin. Awarded to sales associates who produced a minimum of $165,000 in closed adjusted gross income or sold at least 24 units.
International President’s Circle: Backer and Lockwood. Awarded to sales associates who produce a minimum of $245,000 in closed adjusted gross income or sold at least 35 units. This represents the top six percent of agents with the company, which has approximately 85,000 agents in offices around the world.
Peggy closed the meeting by expressing her thanks to her sales associates. “The most important thing I can say to you is thank you,” she said, “Never forget to take the time to laugh and enjoy life, and to be a good spouse and good parents, because your personal sphere of influence is the most important one.”
To see more photos, pick up a copy of the Hamilton County Herald.