How do you attract good agents to your company? You are your own best asset, says Dallas broker Virginia Cook of Virginia Cook REALTORS, a traditional full-service brokerage. "Your brand is your reputation," says Cook.

According to Cook, building a better brokerage starts with the leader. She says the core ingredients of a top broker to pass along to his or company are:

Good reputation - "Reputation is based on the quality of our relationships and the productive application of our skills within those relationships. Productive relationships build trust and vice versa. Your reputation internally in the company must match your reputation outside the office and in the community. Your corporate culture must include fairness to everybody that demonstrates principles of trust."

Vision - "You have to have a vision of the real estate industry. You have to have core convictions of how you want to do business and how you want to be known in the community. Your personal philosophy must be strong enough that your agents will want to follow it. My vision for our brokerage is based on standards of service (full-service) that we want to be known for."

Good communication skills - "You have to have good relationships with the media, make public appearances and make contributions to the community. You have to be part of things. The community won't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Enthusiasm - "You've got to love what you do or otherwise you are really working hard. I believe it's okay for work to be fun."

Technology and training - "Your job as a broker is to advance the agent. You need to understand technology as a tool and help your agents buy into that philosophy. We give all associates software packages that allows them to do business anywhere in the world, and we train them to use the software effectively for customers whether they are in Paris or Dallas.

Cook also reminds her agents of their responsibility to other brokers and agents. "We sell the cooperative opportunity and depend on our colleagues," says Cook. "Two-thirds of the time, our listings will be sold by cooperating brokers so we have to be good Realtors to our fellow Realtors."

Cook supplements her philosophy with an open-door policy so that all agents find her accessible when they need her. "We have meetings every Monday - that's our quarterback time," says Cook. "You can't require agents to come because they are independent contractors, but we get 100 percent attendance because we make the meetings so vital. We review what is happening, review the listings we have, get input from each other, and that gives us talking points with sellers. We never forget that the price of a home is determined by what the buyer will pay and what the seller will sell for, not what the Realtor thinks. The Realtor's job is to bring the home into a price range that reflects the market."

Published: October 4, 2000

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.