Lapides and Messier of Residential Properties Ltd. speak at Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Fall Workshop

Last month, Residential Properties Ltd. joined other regional independent real estate companies for the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Fall Workshop. Held at the Westin, this event attracted hundreds of real estate professionals from the East Coast, including the large contingent from Residential Properties Ltd. In addition, two members of the Residential Properties Ltd. management team were featured panelists. President and CEO Sally Lapides represented the company in the LeadingRE opening session. She was joined by John Turpin, broker of record/president at Turpin Realtors in New Jersey, and Carol Bulman, CEO and vice-chairman of Jack Conway in Masss. The workshop was presented by Paul Boomsma of Luxury Portfolio International and LeadingRE, Illinois. This session provided attendees with an overview of the current market, and discussed how companies can adapt when faced with imperfect conditions. Specific topics covered ranged from brokers slashing costs to recruiting younger agents. There was also a focus on listing syndication and how to innovate business models to meet current needs. Relocation director Liz Messier represented the company in a segment entitled Outbound Referral Success: Generate, Develop, Close. She was joined by Mark Williams, relocation services manager at Weidel Realtors in New York, and Denise Talboy, vice president/director of the relocation services division at The Keyes Company in Florida. Talboy also acted as the moderator. This session provided attendees with insight on how to become a "Referral Generator" and motivate outbound referral activity from your managers and agents. They discussed how to become a Referral Ambassador and drive leads and referrals from non-traditional sources. They also advised on how to improve conversions of existing leads with additional qualifying requirements, involvement of the referring agent throughout the process, and the use of Xchange enhancements and other technology to improve follow-up.