Steve SchraderBacher recently shared his idea of doing a "gratitude luncheon" for his top Realtors...
"This will be the Friday before Thanksgiving as a way of saying "Thank You" before the hustle and bustle of the holidays begin. I've already sent out "save the date" emails and will be following with handwritten invitations in a week or two. The group numbers 18, but maybe not all of them will come. Any specific thoughts on how to make it most memorable for all the Realtors in attendance?"
I had a few ideas, but thought it would be fun to put this out to all of you and see what inspiration we can come up with together. I LOVE the idea of a gratitude lunch before Thanksgiving... share your ideas in the comments. Especially if you have done this type of thing in the past or are planning one this year.
Thanks for sharing....
How about deliving the invitiations with a small pumpkin? Maybe attache your card to the top...
GOod luck with your lunch!
Posted by: james | October 12, 2009 at 01:32 PM
I love all the different ideas you hand out (so freely!) on your blog. Not sure if I have any great ideas for Steve, but maybe he could have a small thank you gift at the luncheon. Something simple nicely wrapped up for each Realtor
Posted by: Debbie Stevens | October 12, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Steve SchraderBachar is a sharp guy; I like this idea a lot. It is hard to get a lot of people in a room at once; and when you do you need to make sure you make it worth their time. I would say this is a great opportunity to add value by sharing your expertise. Pass along some information (maybe as handouts) to the agents about where you think rates are heading, the latest news on HVCC, etc. There is no shortage of legislation coming down the pipeline on us, get as up to date as you can on all of that and share it with your realtors and let them know how it will affect them and their clients.
This should help remind them why they do business with you and not the next guy.
Posted by: David Orsini | October 13, 2009 at 09:24 AM
I am an in-house lender and the "other" agents from companies here in town have told me that if they didn't know me from church/soccer/etc that they wouldn't give me leads as they would figure that I would only give leads to my in-house realtors. I may be crazy, but putting competing agents in a room to see each other seems counter productive???
Posted by: Ken Boyle | October 13, 2009 at 10:53 AM
I've actually done something similar for years and many of my Realtors ask about it as the time gets near. They are from different offices, but I haven't noticed anyone have any problem with getting together with their competition. I make it fun with door prizes (everyone leaves with something, but there are 2-3 big things that I give away) By the way, I really like all the ideas on your blog!
Posted by: Christine K. | October 13, 2009 at 12:06 PM
In addition to the luncheon and possibly a small token gift to the Realtors, how about making a donation of a turkey to the local homeless shelter for each Realtor who attends? If you think there will be too many attending, you can control the invitations. You should be able to get a good deal from your local supermarket for the turkey. They run specials for 49cents per pound so a 15 pounder would run you $ 7.50 or so, plus tax.
Posted by: Gene Fitzpatrick | October 13, 2009 at 05:05 PM
I LOVE the idea of giving a gratitude luncheon to my Realtor partners! I would appreciate you sharing any feedback you receive with all of us. I have one each year nyself but usually hold it in January after everyone comes back from the holidays. This year I think I will try to have it pre-Thanksgiving like Steve is planning to do.
Thanks, Bliss!
Posted by: Greg Franks | October 13, 2009 at 05:34 PM
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade but Steve has to check the RESPA Rules. I am with a large lender and a few years back one of our LO's did something similar to what Steve is doing and some of the REALTORS who attended were fined $10,000 by HUD. Needless to say, the agents weren't happy to be slapped with a $10,000 bill just because they attended a party. The way to keep out of trouble with RESPA is to post an announcement in the business papers so that all Realtors are invited. Ridiculous? YES! True? YES! Will Realtors that don't know you come? Not likely..
Posted by: Karen F. | October 13, 2009 at 06:18 PM
Bliss here.... I appreciate Karen's comment below. You can actually contact HUD direct (and I highly recommend it) with any RESPA-related question: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/ramh/res/respa_hm.cfm
I have done this a number of times to verify something I was recommending was not a problem. Keep a copy of all emails in case someone questions your actions in the future.
Posted by: Bliss Sawyer | October 13, 2009 at 06:23 PM
Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!
Posted by: Dissertation Editing | October 14, 2009 at 04:20 AM
I don't think this is a respa violation since you are not offering anything in exchange for a loan. Perhaps the loan officer in the situation below was offering compensation for referrals which IS against respa. Showing gratitude is not against respa... at least that is my understanding.
Steve - I think this is a great idea and would love a follow up after the event to know what you did and how it all went.
Posted by: Denny Chatham | October 14, 2009 at 10:12 AM