Part 6 of 10... Don't lose your sense of humor

As Realtors, we sometime need a good laugh to get us through challenging times.
Take a "2 minute timeout" to watch this video. You'll certainly appreciate it.




Have a great day!

See you on the road.

Pete

As most of you know by now, Coldwell Banker Select was chosen to be a United Way Trailblazer company. Only 15 companies were chosen to be Trailblazers this year, so it is quite an honor for us.

Last week, during the kickoff, the Trailblazer companies announced our goal of $3,026,440. Although our company goal is only a small part of that, our commitment to United Way has a big impact on our community.
So as we run our office campaigns this month, just remember, every little bit helps!

PS-I am sorry to disappoint, but I did not participate in the run due to it being 106'!! You can come see me at the Susan Komen "Race for the Cure" in September. :)

See you on the road.

Pete

The Coldwell Banker Sales Rally for 2010 was a huge success!!

It was my pleasure to offer up Coldwell Banker Select as the host company for all of Oklahoma, so hats off to all that pitched in to make it a great event.

Jim Gillespie and Mike Fischer both made dynamic presentations about what is going on in the real estate industry and what cutting edge technologies Coldwell Banker is in process of developing.

I ran into Trey Hamra this morning and he commented that he was running out this week to purchase a video camera and begin experimenting with video marketing with his listings.

Also, it gave me great pride to see all the video clips from Fox News, CNBC, etc. with our own corporate President Jim Gillespie sending positive messages about our industry.

Thanks again for all those that attended, I hope you found it as motivating as I did.

See you on the road!

Pete

119 Downtown partners with Coldwell Banker Select/ CB URBAN

This week, Steve Meltzer of the Coldwell Banker Select specialty office "CB URBAN" announced the project "119 Downtown".


Downtown Tulsa has been a roll lately with the BOK Center, the ONEOK Baseball Stadium, and the Blue Dome District and this project will only add the growth that they have been experiencing. Our CB Urban office on Cherry Street has been the pipeline to the downtown lifestyle, specializing in "loft apartments" primarily, but our commitment as a real estate company to the downtown area made us a logical partner for the project.

Steve Meltzer has put together a sales team of specialist that are the exclusive marketers of this project and stand ready to assist you and your clients in learning about downtown living.

Please take a minute to visit the website www.119downtown.com and see just how awesome this project is and what an asset it will be to Tulsa.

Let's grow Tulsa!

See you on the road.

Pete

This week’s entry is all about the Land and Ranch Division
of Coldwell Banker Select. Being a
state-wide brokerage with offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and our Sister
company, Van Meter Select in Durant, no other company in the State of Oklahoma
is better positioned to take care of our client’s land and ranch needs.

Our Land and Ranch Division is coordinated by Greg Ganzkow (of
the G7 Ranches fame) that takes his expertise in this niche business that has
resulted in making Coldwell Banker Select the premiere land and ranch experts
for the State of Oklahoma.

Earlier this month, Greg hosted a group of Realtors and Clients for
a Kentucky Derby watch party at Leon’s on Brookside that was attended by
approximately 30 people. A great time was had by all and really made a huge
impression to our clients on just how serious Coldwell Banker is about catering
to the land and ranch business.

“Hats off” to Greg for running a great Land and Ranch
Division!

See you on the road….

Pete

Romona Ellison of Sand Springs Presented Key to the City

One of the best things about working at Coldwell Banker Select is getting to work with some really awesome people. I want to take this week's blog to tell you about one of them. Last week, Romona Ellison of our Sand Springs office was present with a Key to the City and proclaimed the "Hometown Hero" for 2010.

I have had the honor of knowing Romona for over 25 as an agent for Terry Gartside, Realtors and now as a proud agent for Coldwell Banker. She is such a dynamic and giving person that always puts the needs of her clients over her own. Over the last 43 years of selling real estate, she has always been a top producer closing hundreds of transactions over the years.

Next time you see Romona, be sure to congratulate her on her award. We are so proud to have her as part of our team!

Have a great weekend!

Being big is no big deal, being best is…

This is common phrase we hear a lot at Coldwell Banker Select and it’s true. As the owners and managers work hard to give you the best tools and training available for you to use, our goal is always to give excellent representation to our clients and provide agents a stellar marketing plan to list and sell houses.

But…… There comes a time to take brief timeout when you hit a goal that is really worth stopping to let out a big “WHOO HOO”!

Well, let me be the first to let out a huge Coldwell Banker WOO HOO!

Out of the thousands of real estate brokers in the United States, Coldwell Banker Select has officially cracked the top 50 at, ironically, #50!

So hats off to Sam, Terry, and everyone at Coldwell Banker Select. You are part of a very special team of Realtors.

Being big no big deal, but being the best gets you there. And we thank you helping us get there!

Congrats Sam and Terry…

See you on the road.

Do you know the impact that RPAC has on our industry and how it gives Realtors a voice with our leaders in government?



Last week, the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors and the RPAC committee hosted Mayor Dewey Bartlett for an RPAC reception at the home of one of our owners, Terry and Carolyn Gartside.



You would be proud to know that both Sam and Terry are trustees for RPAC giving their time and $$ for a great cause. The main reason they do this is that it's important to us, as Realtors, that our views and agenda are promoted to the local, state and national levels. Could you imagine the banks in real estate given the crisis we are currently experiencing? Or what if you were not able to put a "for sale" sign in the front yard of a property due to a strict sign ordinance? Kind of hard to imagine.



I would also be remiss if I didn't give an RPAC "atta girl" to Julie Tetsworth for stepping up year after year as a member of the RPAC committee at GTAR and chairing the committee the year before last. She represents us well along with many of our agents on the committee while she still finds time to serve as treasurer for GTAR as well.



So next time someone hits you up for RPAC, give it your best consideration. The money really goes to good use to promote the interests of the Realtor.



Have a great week selling and listing....Only 18 more days of the $8,000 tax credit.



Pete



PS- If you've benefited from selling a house in the last 180 days using the Federal Homebuyer's Tax Credit, you can thank your RPAC dollars for helping get it extended.



pg

This week took me to the city of Enid. The Enid Board of Realtors invited me to speak to their lunch group about the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission and some of the changes the Commission instituted this year that affect what we do.

One item that came up was one of the minor changes that we will be seeing on the Seller's Disclosure Statement. The updated disclosure prompts a seller to disclose if the property is in foreclosure. The intent is that a prospective buyer will have knowledge in advance that a home may not make it to the closing table after a he or she has invested money in an appraisal and inspections.

Another item that was added is that properties with septic tanks now have a specific question as to if the septic system is working properly.

But the most lively discussion came about when talking about that an agent must have the brokerage's name and phone number on a yard sign that is "prominent" and "easily identifiable". If you have a yard sign with your information on it, you can't bury the broker's name in the fine print.

Otherwise, it was great day for drive and I've got to hand it to the broker's and Board of Realtors in Enid..You do a great job representing our industry!

If you ever have a question about the OREC code and rule, never hesitate to call me, even if you're calling for "a friend" :)

Have a great week selling!

Pete

Last week was a blur! After spending two days with Rick Deluca, my head is stuffed with ideas. The good news is that Rick's advice was pick 3 of all the ideas and just do those three. As Realtors, we get pulled in many directions that spreads us very thin. We could all take a page from that playbook and get more focused on what important in growing our business.

I also am taking my 12 month goal sheet, setting it aside and going to a 90 day plan. Our business landscape is set to change dramatically in that time span. The tax credit goes away 30 days, interest rates are almost certain to go up a full point (which is still a great rate!), and Coldwell Banker rolls out our Buyer Bonus Days Event.

So for the next 90 days I'm going to focus on 3 things: Manager recruiting, Buyer Bonus Days, and Web 2.0 strategies. I encourage you to find your 3 things and do them well and consistently!

Hope to see you on the road!

Pete

If you are newer to Coldwell Banker Select, you may not know that we have a sister company in the Durant/Lake Texoma Oklahoma area. Coldwell Banker VanMeter -Select is operated by our good friend Martin VanMeter.

Last Friday, I made the trip down to Durant for their awards dinner. Needless to say they treated me with first class! The weather was perfect (pre-snowstorm) as we grilled hand cut steaks from Martin's private stock.

For those of you know don't know, the VanMeter-Select branch of Coldwell Banker maintains approximately 42% market share in the Durant area that reaches into areas all over the southern parts of Oklahoma. Martin VanMeter is a fellow Real Estate Commissioner for Oklahoma as well as a board member of Rural Enterprises Inc and a regent at the local college. Let's just say his branding irons at the ranch are not the only irons in his fire!

Many trophies were handed out that evening and I wasn't able to leave with a list of the winners, but I'll say, they are ALL winners in my book! Great job VanMeter Select!!

If you ever have a client moving to southern Oklahoma, Coldwell Banker VanMeter Select is your source to take your clients. Their website is http://www.cbtexoma.com/.

Thanks again Durant for awesome dinner and hometown hospitality! See you soon!

Pete

On the road with Pete Galbraith

Well, I was not going to be outdone by my faithful counterpart, Bryan Sheppard. While Bryan focuses on the operations of Coldwell Banker Select, I focus on the sales side of our company.

Some of the very best ideas I've had in business were usually ideas that I've seen in other markets that I have been able to apply locally to our company.

So as I travel across the Tulsa and Oklahoma City Markets, I hope to pass on some of the great ideas I see along the way.

Also, we have some awesome co-workers among us. I plan to pass on some of the cool things that the agents and staff of Coldwell Banker Select are doing to make our communities a better place.

Have a great weekend and..

Serve, Succeed, and Enjoy...

Pete