For nearly a decade, broker/owner Ralph R. Roberts, Ralph R. Roberts Real Estate, Warren, MI, has consistently ranked among the top American Realtors®. In the last five years, he has sold more than 500 single-family homes each year.

How does he do it? For Roberts, the key to being a sales superstar is to break out of the "employee" mindset and take control of the hours, the style, the sales and financial goals of every working day. Instead of setting huge, unattainable goals, set workable goals - in small chunks.

Develop a niche and work the community

Roberts one-office operation is in Warren, Michigan, a city with 150,000+ residents (ranging from blue collar to white collar) and 50,000 homes, ranging in value from $30,000 to $300,000. "People are working overtime and making a lot of money," says Roberts, who specializes in less expensive homes. "And they're using that money to either buy or refinance a home."

Roberts has drawn controversy for pursuing foreclosures, but he feels that he is performing a service, often saving homes for homeowners who want to remain, or liquidating them for sale so that owners see some profit from forced sales.

A staff of extraordinary specialists

Roberts speaks enthusiastically about his 60-person staff, which includes four buyers' agents and an assistant who works with home sellers.

"I try to get extraordinary people and make them extraordinary specialists in one area of the business."

Under the Roberts umbrella is a mortgage department, title department, new construction building department, buyer department, listing department, foreclosure department, as well as a public relations/marketing department.

Roberts is a firm believer in having an assistant. "Even today, close to 90% of all Realtors don't have any assistants," he states in his book,Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman, now in its sixth printing. "The superstars, on the other hand, have several."

"Don't hire the first person who walks through you door," advises Roberts. "Interview the top five or 10 finalists a second time. Give them tests - spelling, simple math, copyediting. Have them compose a business letter on your office computer. Check their references."

After hiring, he recommends having a training plan in place, including teaching them industry lingo. Roberts occasionally takes his assistants to NAR conferences so they can learn more about the industry.

Set small, doable goals

When it comes to his daily operations, Roberts has set small, incremental goals each month since high school. "The best part about goals," says Roberts, "is reviewing them every month to know if you're keeping up."

In order to be successful, Realtors should establish systems that work for them, maintain a personal database of clients, invest money in technology and create marketing materials designed to make their names and faces well-known in the marketplace. Roberts strongly believes that a salesperson's picture and phone number should be part of every marketing piece.

Roberts' blueprint for creating systems within the workplace stresses the importance of formulating a business plan, organizing the office and the paperwork it generates, taking advantage of computer technology to track people and events, producing super presentations and helping people understand the financial complexities of the real estate transaction.

Click here for Part II

Published: June 11, 1998

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