Editorial
Front Page - Friday, April 16, 2010
WCR meeting offered country dining flair, tearjerker speech
Erica Tuggle
Featured speaker, Nickie Schwartzkopf of Remax properties, super sponsor Rick McInturff of Miligan-Reynolds Guaranty Title Agency, Inc. and Diane Patty, the super sponsor chair, made up the head table at the first luncheon of the spring for the WCR.
- Erica Tuggle
On April 7, the first luncheon meeting of the spring for the Women’s Council of Realtors had a new location at the luxuriously remodeled DoubleTree Hotel downtown. At least 50 women realtors, as well as a smattering of sponsors, arrived at the DoubleTree around noon to trade tips and “war stories” with their fellow Realtors, enjoy a hearty country style lunch, listen to speaker Nickie Schwartzkopf and bid on the spring themed stuffed baskets during the silent auction.
The meeting began with a welcome given by the president of the Chattanooga chapter of the WCR, Cheree Dumas.
Dumas began with praise for the new venue, and then made a motion to approve the last meeting’s agenda and minutes, which were subsequently approved and seconded. She then continued with the agenda in saying she wished to clear up a little controversy about the affiliate policy.
Dumas said, “As we get new Realtors, we can add new affiliate members. The national WCR suggests we keep numbers in line so that there are not more affiliates than there are Realtors. Therefore, those who are not a current affiliate with paid dues need to sign waiting list, and we will contact you as we add more Realtors.”
Dumas said to those in attendance that to help speed this process along, they could encourage others to become members of the WCR.
Jennifer Grayson gave the invocation and pledge, and then guests began to dig into the mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken wings, rolls and pecan pie. A reminder was given about the gift baskets that were still on auction till the conclusion of the meeting, and thereafter the guests at each table were introduced.
Super sponsor Rick McInturff of Milligan-Reynolds Guaranty Title Agency, Inc. was then introduced by super sponsor chair, Diane Patty. Milligan Reynolds was founded in 1938 and has been located at 724 Cherry Street since that time, Patty said. In 2007, attorney and CEO McInturff, who has been with the company 35 years, acquired the company.
McInturff said, “[Milligan-Reynolds] has just begun its 72nd year. We’ve always enjoyed the relationship with the board and this organization, and we are there to answer questions to try and solve riddles, title issues that come up more frequently than they should, estates if you have that kind of a problem. And if you suspect there may be encroachments, we will be happy to talk to you and see if there are ways to deal with these things.”
President-elect Kaye Ivey then introduced the speaker for the luncheon, Nickie Schwartz-kopf.
Schwartzkopf, of ReMax Properties, has been a member of the WCR since 1988 and holds the GRI, AVR, CRS, CRB and PNM designations. The title of her speech was, “Are You Worth Your Commission?”
Schwartzkopf began her speech with a term none seemed to be familiar with: “Comissi-tosis.” She defined this term as a sales person’s disease commonly known as “Commishian breath.” She said this disease disables a sales agent by destroying relationships before they can be nurtured and sales before they can be closed.
“It is a disease of the attitude that begins in the heart and travels to the mind and then spurts out of the sales agent’s mouth. It destroys trust, builds sales tension and costs real estate agents millions each year in sales that they should have pocketed,” she says.
Although it was evident that Schwartzkopf was using a farce to illustrate how some agents begin as gracious and caring with their prospects for a sale, only to grow impatient and frustrated with things don’t happen quickly or easily for them, she drove the point home with examples of how “Comissitosis” can set in during trying situations.
Agents can tell if they have “Comissitosis” if they feel that losing the sale is never their fault, they talk more about making money than building referrals and if they feel the prospect is lying to them if they don’t buy the first or second house.
“Causes of this are increasing financial pressure to make a sale, unhealthy desire to be number one, pressure from a spouse, generally abrasive personality or no concept of relationship selling,” she said.
She said agents can earn their commission by cheerfully managing situations where they feel as though the buyer is using them as an unpaid taxi service while they say they “just want to look at a few homes,” acting as a mind reader for sellers who want to know the future of the housing market, as well as roles as the cleaning lady, a detective, horticulturist, psychologist and exterminator.
Schwartzkopf said the disease could be prevented by learning to think and talk in terms of the prospect’s best interest which, in turn, will allow the agent to breathe easier all the time.
She finished her speech by reading a tearjerker of an email she had received in which a young boy named Wayne calls the information service for all manner of problems in his growing up, including that of a lost pet, spelling and homework hints and other small problems. When Wayne returned home years later as a grown man, the “information please” lady on his old telephone was still there, and even with her death a month later she left him words and lessons to live on.
The moral of this story was to never underestimate the impression you make on others, and to ask yourself “whose life have you touched today?” Schwartzkopf said.
After Schwartzkopf finished, Martha Miller, the vice president of membership, announced that there were seven new members since the last meeting.
Karen Flores then took the microphone and turned the silent basket auction into an anything but silent event, as the last bids were rounded up. She described the contents of all the baskets, from those stuffed with manicure and pedicure items to those loaded with food, wine and other treats.
The May 4 Spa Day was announced and tickets were sold while the final bids on the baskets were made. The winners of the baskets were then recognized and came to collect their prizes.
Dumas took the floor again to announce the next board meeting on April 29 at the
CAR Magnolia Room at 10 a.m. and the next general membership meeting May 5 at Double-Tree downtown, where Trevor Hamilton, vice president for Economic Development at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce will be speaking.
After recognizing that there was no further business to attend to, Dumas adjourned the WCR spring meeting.
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