After six years as a pharmaceutical company rep, Smith decided to take the sales skills he’d acquired and go to work for himself. “I wanted better control over my earnings potential,” he says. He got his real estate license in 2002 and went to work for a mom-and-pop company in Florida. After seven months, he moved to the Philadelphia area and switched to his current company, where he was joined by his wife Natalie. To ramp up production, Smith hired a coach, who urged the husband-wife team to tap prior business contacts. They did and found a booming niche—the relocation market. Their combined production zoomed to $19.2 million last year from $3.5 million in 2003.
It’s in the mail: The Smiths mail 1,000 cards a month to prospects and clients. The cards cite sales trends and congratulate recipients on milestones.
Crossing borders: To generate referral fee income, the Smiths remind their sphere of influence that they can help people in any state through the Keller Williams network.