Creating a Remarkable Relocation Department
By Brooke Schmidt, Real Estate Business Magazine, August/September 2006
Before joining Alain Pinel Realtors (APR) as vice president of Business Development and Relocation, Michi Olson was the director of relocation for E-Loan. Prior to that she was marketing director for Corporate Relocation Mortgage Services with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and the Santa Clara County sales manager for North American Title Company. Today, APR is the largest independent residential real estate firm in California with a sales volume in 2005 of $7.8 billion.
Photographs courtesy of Alain Pinel REALTORS
For families or individuals, few things in life are as stressful as moving. Whether cross-country or just the next state over, packing up boxes of belongings, organizing school and medical records, making arrangements for pets and more can prove overwhelming for many. Then there is the all-important task of learning which new community will be the best fit for a family's lifestyle. Amid all this stress, the confident and calm voice of a relocation specialist can be exactly what the doctor ordered to make moving an adventure rather than a hassle.
In today's mobile society, most brokerages will want to offer relocation services. Where should you begin if your brokerage needs to establish or revamp a relocation department? "Start with four key ingredients — staffing, planning, training and marketing," says Michi Olson. Olson is vice president of business development and relocation for Alain Pinel Realtors (APR), a company that specializes in luxury homes in the San Francisco Bay area of California.
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