important business change

You probably remember me saying how I switched from the Odenton office to the Severna Park office of Long and Foster a few months back. The reason behind that switch was that I had been looking for an office that was going to help me go the next level in my real estate career. The success I was experiencing at the Odenton office was great, but I didn't feel like I was in a place that was going to be most helpful in building upon that. So, I left the office where I was Top Producer of June 2006, and found myself in a new office that I wouldn't be Top Producer of for a very long time (due to the level of production that my new colleagues have). :)

The biggest factor that drew me to the Severna Park office was the office manager, a guy named Dean Cottrill. Dean was the 2006 Anne Arundel County Realtor of the Year and he is a tremendous motivator and mentor to the agents in the office that take advantage of the value he brings to the table as a top-notch office manager. I have had weekly coaching sessions with Dean since I moved to the Severna Park office, and I cannot tell you how much these sessions have helped me provide better service for my clients, thus growing my business through more referrals and other means. Well, after a long process of decision-making, Dean announced yesterday that he is leaving Long and Foster to assume a regional manager job with another brokerage company. I think this is a great opportunity for Dean, and I wish him the best; at the same time, admittedly a little selfishly, I have had to ask myself the question what (if anything) this means for me.

For now, I still believe that the Severna Park office is a great place for me to be. Even without Dean, it provides me with 4 very good support personal (for the most part, the Odenton office only had one), and I am surrounded by some of the best colleagues I could ask for. Still, there is going to be a gap in regards to continued coaching; a gap that I am going to want filled. Any long term decisions will depend a lot on who is brought in a couple of months from now to replace Dean; in the short-term, we do have an interim office manager that I can turn to if a situation arises that I need some extra counsel.

So, that's what's new with me from the professional side of everything. Personally, I have my wife "back" for a little while she is in between her first-year of medical school and her month-long trip to Malawi to do malaria research, so that's been nice. The spring-summer market has meant playing a little less poker for a while, but I am having some fun there. All in all, things are going well.

Peace,
Greg