The scene: a booth last month at the National Association of Realtors trade show in New Orleans. You work for one of the highest-profile agents in the nation, a media superstar who has been the subject of a Time magazine story, as well as countless other regional and local articles. Two women approach the booth.
The superstar approaches the women and quickly sizes them up. One, he is sure, will buy his entire marketing package for more than $1,000. The other, he calculates, will buy his new book, worth about $25. He hands the "book" customer over to you. After a few minutes, the two women leave, delighted with their purchases. Your customer, however, left with the whole shebang, while his customer left only with the book.
You've just outsold one of the best salespeople on the planet.
You are Joe Hafner, public relations and media manager for Ralph Roberts, Inc. You are the man who is virtually responsible for making a Detroit real estate agent one of the best-known salespeople in the nation.
Find out how Hafner does it in this exclusive Agent News Interview.
A.N.: What lesson did you and Ralph learn when you outsold him in New Orleans?
J.H.: (Laughs) That even the best salesperson in the world can strike out on a prospect! I am a much better salesperson since I met Ralph. He used to joke all the time that I couldn't sell -- that I am just an organizational person, a suit. Now I tease him all the time. He really thought he had those two women sized up.
A.N.: What is your background?
J.H.: I have degree in mass communications from St. Bonaventure in New York. I worked for five years in public relations and marketing before I came to Ralph.
A.N.: Do you have your own business, or are you exclusively an employee of Ralph Roberts?
J.H.: I'm an independent contractor. I am also a writer and co-owner of a game company.
A.N.: How did you meet Ralph Roberts?
J.H.: When I was with Marx Layne & Company, I was Ralph's account executive; I handled his media relations. In 1995, I got a story on him in Time magazine. If you have a story idea, you've got to pitch it the right way. I wrote to major media and followed up with phone calls. Time was interested and ran it. It's no different from selling houses. You identify the prospect, you determine what information the prospect needs to make an intelligent decision, you provide the information, and you ask them to make the decision that is beneficial to you.
A.N.: How did life change for both of you after Ralph was covered in Time magazine?
J.H.: Once he appeared in Time, other opportunities opened up. He got a book deal from Harper Collins, other national media coverage, referrals, all kinds of offers to sell homes. And that lead to speaking events. He asked me to help him manage the opportunities that were coming his way, and I began to work for him.
A.N.: How did the book deal come about?
J.H.: An editor at Harper Collins saw the Timepiece, called Ralph, asked if he had an agent, and said they wanted to do something. After they called, he got an agent and put a book together.
A.N.: Did you do most of the writing?
J.H.: I served more as the initial editor. Ralph has a co-author on the book named John Gallagher, but everything he wrote is in Ralph's words. John, Ralph, and I would meet every Saturday, and we outlined what we wanted the book to be about. We would pick subjects, and Ralph would talk. John put it into the written word, and I edited his work.
A.N.: Ralph has been widely applauded but also criticized. How do you handle negative publicity?
J.H.: In public relations, you have to address everything that's there. The worst thing you can do is lie -- it will come back to bite you in the butt. If you lie once, your credibility is shot with everybody. I haven't experienced anything with Ralph that I had to put a positive spin on. One negative in some people's minds is Ralph's involvement in the foreclosure market and with people who are divorcing. If you explain the motive behind it, it isn't a negative.
A.N.: So what is the motive?
J.H.: Divorcing people need someone to help them divest their real estate, so they can make a quick settlement and get on with their lives. A lot of people who are in foreclosures just want a cheap deal, and they evict the people. Ralph is trying to help those people by giving them options because early in his career, he lost a home in a foreclosure. Now he knows the options, how to save a credit rating if it can be saved and save the house if possible. He contacts them and offers his help before it's too late. They have one month to turn things around from the date of legal notice. Ralph can list and sell the home to save the seller's credit rating. Or we also buy homes for cash. We can buy the home and sell it back to the prospect on a land contract, and then after two years, the homeowner may refinance and get a regular loan. The interest rate is a little higher -- sometimes the loan is higher than the land contract rate, but at least they get to keep their home. A lot of people think that is pretty great.
A.N.: What else do you do for Ralph?
J.H.: I help Ralph develop all of the products he develops for Realtors. I created the manual for the foreclosure department, and although I have never done a foreclosure deal, I know as much about it as anyone in our company.
A.N.: Do you speak for Ralph?
J.H.: In terms of media-related stuff, I know him so well that I can give the media an almost word-for-word response just as he would say it. A lot of people call here looking for the answers to questions about real estate and personal marketing, and I follow up on those calls. I run his shadow program, in which people spend the day with him. I'm like a sponge -- I've been to so many of his speaking events that I can give you the same answer Ralph would.
A.N.: How much of Ralph's business is directly attributable to having you as his PR representative?
J.H.: It's tough to say what percentage comes from me personally, but I would guess more than half. He was marketing himself very well before he ever came in contact with me. I help him fine-tune things, so what he does is more effective and sends the same message every time. Having me allows him to pursue his products, training, and speaking career. Any Realtor not doing personal marketing is missing a ton of business.
A.N.: What does the future hold for you?
J.H.: I am a writer, and I have a novel that's three-quarters done. I have an agent, and when it's finished, I'm hoping someone at Harper Collins will look at it. Aside from that, I'm the co-owner of a small game company. We have the game of "Hot Seat" -- it's a social game, an icebreaker game. The ultimate get-to-know- you game. The game has people ask questions of each other like: Where is the strangest place you have ever found yourself naked? The questions range from mild to spicy. We sell the game in gift and specialty stores and we have been featured in Playboy, Teen Beat, and some radio shows. We have a second game that should be out in the spring.
Published: December 17, 1997
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