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In advance of Connect Now, we’ve asked many well-known members of the Inman community for their insights on how they are working and keeping their businesses moving forward in this time — in other words, How They Connect Now. Here are three responses.
Drussy Hernandez
Drussy Hernandez
Vice President of Agent Development, Fulton Grace Realty
What’s the biggest change in the way you’re managing your business now?
Currently, all my sessions have been remotely done, but our training continues.
How do you find new business in a time like this?
I believe our agents are all thinking outside the traditional practices in the past: from virtual showings to Facebook Live events, etc.
How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team?
Be positive! Acknowledge the elephant in the room, but encourage them to get outside their comfort zones and do things differently. For example, so many agents are used to contacting their database passively, but making phone calls is what these times call for.
Who in the community has impressed you or helped you most during this time?
The leadership at the Chicago Association of Realtors. Information and resources have been made available to our membership very quickly. Regular Zoom seminars have been engaging and full of information that will help the agents continue to do business.
What’s your outlook for the rest of this year?
We will recover, but it will take time. We need to think about what that new normal will be and adapt.
Can you share a few words about how Inman has helped you grow your business, in bull or bear times?
I read Inman every day. The articles offer a lot of relevant information during trying times, keep us well-informed about tools we could use and ways to think outside the box. I highly recommend it.
Chris Haran
Chris Haran
Chief Technology Officer, MRED
How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team?
Overcommunicate, and mix in some fun. We have video happy hours, share the latest memes and discuss what bad TV everyone is watching while staying at home. It’s a good time to reach out, not just to your team you work with, but to your friends and family.
What’s your outlook for the rest of this year?
Opportunity will be there for those ready to take it, as this will fundamentally change many aspects of our business and life. The most successful are always the most adaptable, and we will see that proven out again.
Chavi M. Hohm
Chavi M. Hohm
Team Lead and Content Manager, Team Diva Real Estate with Coldwell Banker Bain
What’s the biggest change in the way you’re managing your business now?
Life now is about managing feral cats and trying to tame them to be house cats. Anyone who is parenting a teen and manages people in real estate understands that both of these creatures are downright feral. They only come to you when they need to be fed but generally want to be left alone to do their own thing. Schooling a teen at home and teaching adults how to move their business online is forcing feral creatures to enjoy being a house cat. Sometimes you get scratched in the process.
How do you find new business in a time like this?
Team Diva was really well-positioned for this market before the stay-at-home order came through in Washington state. We were already doing a lot of videos and online content. All we had to do was up the heat and make sure we were staying connected to what the community really needs right now. Frankly, stats about the market are irrelevant when your neighbor is having to go to the food bank. How do you help your neighbor? Creating paths for our clients to help other people is really what is the most important thing right now.
How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team?
Early on in the process, all of us adopted the Brooke Castello Monday Power Hour. One of the items that really works is prioritizing personal items first and than working the other items into your calendar. Having the calendar really helps to keep me and the team focused on what we need to do for the work at Team Diva and at home.
Who in the community has impressed you or helped you most during this time?
Frankly, it takes a village to stay in a winning mindset, have support to be vulnerable about your insecurities in this market, and overcome huge personal and professional obstacles. My village includes Marguerite Martin, Stacie Staub, Anne Jones, Andrea Geller, Kim V. Colaprete, Greg Fischer, Heather Ostrom, Jay Thompson, Sharon Steele and Vanessa Jones Bergmark. There are more people than this. And all of them have sent me an article, suggested we apply for the PPP, had a phone call or just said the right thing at the right time. I love them all!
What’s your outlook for the rest of this year?
At the beginning of 2020, we changed our goal-setting from gross commission and ranking within the company to net income.
Can you share a few words about how Inman has helped you grow your business, in bull or bear times?
Inman opened an entire new world to me back in 2012. It introduced me to a realm of people who were on the same path that I was at the time. That path had led me to be in a really secure space now where I can innovate through this coronavirus crisis, keep my team together and help others.
Inman Connect Now connects virtually June 2-4, 2020. The digital event offers standout speakers, incredible networking opportunities, and the chance to forge business breakthroughs and build new relationships to last a lifetime. Don’t miss out — register today.
