inside CRS
Referral Story: The Nine-Year Plan
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magine Clyde Cooper Jr.’s surprise when he recently received a $2,000 check for a referral he gave to a CRS colleague nine years ago. A couple that Cooper was working with at the time decided to move from Virginia Beach to Northern Clyde Cooper Jr., CRS Virginia to take advantage of better employment opportunities there. “Like most CRS agents, I immediately referred the client-couple to another CRS agent and a personal friend, Janice Allen of Long & Foster Real Estate,” says Cooper, a broker associate with RE/MAX Alliance in Virginia Beach. “Once the couple had moved to the area and began their home search, they were totally
surprised that home prices were much higher than they were in Virginia Beach, and they couldn’t afford to purchase the type of home they wanted.” Instead, the couple rented an apartment until their daughter was born last year. In 2012, the couple contacted Allen again, announcing they were ready to purchase a home. After helping them with their home purchase, Allen immediately called Cooper with the news. “It took me several days to locate the original outgoing referral form,” Cooper says. “I believe most agents would have handled the client’s home purchase and not disclosed to the referral agent that their original client was buying — nearly 10 years later. This is just one small example that demonstrates that CRS REALTORS® are the best,” he says. Cooper is the 2013 president of the Virginia CRS Chapter.
Knowledge-Sharing for Busy CRSs
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RS Designees are always looking for new ways to increase their knowledge, improve productivity and be more involved in the CRS community. The Council of Residential Specialists recently launched the CRS Idea Network, an online social learning platform that allows CRS Designees to learn from contributors and industry experts who share content they have created for their businesses. The Idea Network, available via the CRS website, aims to create a more interactive experience among members and provide greater access to timely and relevant content in various multimedia formats, including videos, photos, news articles and business forms. Content contributors include CRS instructors, Sell-abration® and Legends Series speakers, and volunteer authors. You can post questions on specific topics, follow your favorite authors, “follow,” “share” or “hi-five (like)” content that you enjoy, and quickly find topics of interest using the platform’s search tools. To access the CRS Idea Network, log in at crs.com, select the Resources link, then select the CRS Idea Network button. The CRS Idea Network is just one more way to pursue lifelong learning.
38 | September/October 2013