Camarillo Real Estate, Los Posas Estates, Mission Oaks, Spanish Hills, The Meadows, Village at the Park

Call Linda at 484-8184 for all your Real Estate needs in Camarillo, Ventura County and Santa Barbara County areas.

Excerpts from Article by Christy Anderson
of Broker Agent Magazine

Born to Sell!
By Christy Anderson

Some people are born to sell. They have a natural attractive and open nature that draws people to them, and they often show signs of their inherent sales skills at an early age.

Linda P. Richardson of RE/MAX Gold Coast REALTORS, is a born salesperson. Her first introduction to sales started when she was only a child. Linda had a natural ability to bring the neighborhood kids together in order to create various projects or conduct neighborhood events that were both marketable and fun.

As Linda entered high school, she began working in the modeling industry. "It was my sixteenth birthday, and I found myself at the Fashion and Runway tryouts for Dayton's, a large retail chain in the midwest which is now owned by Macy's. I was selected to model for the company as well as several other companies for the next several years. The experience really taught me how to deal with sales based rejection since you may not be the "right look" for a particular job. I realized; however, that by focusing on promoting the garments and not myself, the natural result would mean my bookings went up."

Linda was not only involved in modeling during this period, she also became a sales director for a large cosmetic company, and even has taught as a substitute teacher.

"After college I met and married my husband who was in the Nuclear Submarine Division of the Navy. Because we moved so frequently I began substitute teaching and really enjoyed it. They say that teachers make great real estate agents, and I understand why. Teachers have to adapt quickly, set boundaries, multi-task, communicate well, be organized, and be flexible. Those qualities sound very much like the qualities of a REALTOR®," comments Linda.

"I had purchased several rental properties in the past and had developed an interest in the area of real estate. I felt real estate would allow me to combine the intellectual as well as communicative sides of my personality since there are many legal issues inherent in each transaction, but interaction with clients is equally important," remarks Linda.

Linda currently works for RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors. "I chose RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors because I felt they were developing a strong market presence in Ventura County, and I liked the flexible agent, profit oriented marketing plan they utilized that really fit with my needs and goals. I also noticed that many of the top agents in the area all worked for RE/MAX.

"One of the important career goals I have implemented is to stick to a schedule. I try to start my day early and tackle to hardest things first, like prospecting and follow-up calls. I set a certain number of appointments each week for showings or listings. I prioritize leads, and select the top ten I will focus on for that week. It is critical that the customers receive superior service such as having certain things delivered to them directly in order to save them time and effort. Afternoons are generally for maintaining existing customer issues and escrows, and I conclude the day with any out of office appointments," explains Linda.

Over the years, Linda has increasingly developed a more active approach to marketing. While most real estate agents take a passive approach to marketing a listing by simply putting the home on the MLS and maybe placing a few ads in various print media; Linda takes a more active approach.

"While I do advertise my listings in various print media such as Homes and Land Magazine, I have taken a more active approach to finding buyers for my listings by networking with other agents, actively calling leads to determine objections in order to find solutions, and contacting past clients and spheres of influence. I have also built a strong referral business by networking with two key lenders as well as a fellow REALTOR® who sends me many qualified leads for people relocating to the area." I am also a member of several Top Producer networking and training groups which I believe offer increased knowledge of market trends to my clients.

Follow-up is another key ingredient that has produced tremendous results for Linda. "I try to be solution oriented and focus on keeping lines of communication open in order to quickly resolve issues as they arise. Quickly tackling issues and having a solution or proposal ready when you make the call to customers is critical in developing loyalty and trust. Customers realize that purchasing a home can be a stressful and bumpy road at times, but by presenting solutions to issues and quickly resolving conflict will give your customers confidence in your abilities, build trust, and establish loyalty."

Listening skills are also an important part of the sales process. What a person is saying as well as the body language they express can give an agent clues as to where the true issues lie.

"Part of being a good real estate professional is understanding how to truly listen to your clients needs and desires. Body language as well as verbal communication can give you the tools you need to lead your customers to the right home, as well as determine the best strategy for pricing and marketing a listing that will meet your customer´s expectations and game plan," remarks Linda.

Linda feels that one of the most important ingredients to making a sale in real estate is simply knowing your inventory. "My first Broker, David Pitts, of Pitts and Bachmann Realtors, taught me that, "If you don´t know the inventory, you can´t sell the inventory," remarks Linda.

"It may seem simple, but truly knowing the inventory will invariably allow you to sell more properties. When I know someone is looking for a specific property, I try to network in every way I can until I find exactly what they are looking for. When available, I always follow-up, even if the customer decides one of the options I locate is not quite what they want, they always feel better about having had the opportunity to think about it."

Being tenacious is one quality that has served Linda well in the real estate business, because in the end, Linda knows that the inventory is not going to come to her; she is going to have to seek it out. Ultimately her extra effort has produced tremendous results for both her customers and her business making Linda one of Ventura County's top producing agents. "Over the years I have achieved many of my goals for both transactions and overall production, which has also allowed me to reach International Presidential Elite status while at Coldwell Banker, and Chairman's Circle and Hall of Fame status while at RE/MAX." Linda has personally ranked in the Top 100 RE/MAX agents nationwide out of over 110,000 for her personal sales.

One of Linda´s closest mentors growing up was her father. He was an attorney by training and handled the merger of three major railroads. As a result of his success with the mergers, Linda´s father went on to become the President and CEO of the Soo Line Railroad.

"My father had a great business sense coupled with great story telling. He was a minister´s son and a strong family man. I learned a great deal about negotiating and persistence from him. He also taught me about the three A´s of success, "Availability, Affability, and Ability." He used to tell me great stories about his father´s ministries where the moral of the story was essentially, "if you had put more in, you would have gotten more out." He also gave me advice early in my career when computers where just starting to impact our business that my not knowing how to use a computer was like his not knowing how to use a telephone. Needless to say, I started to learn, and the computer has become a real asset to my business in numerous ways."

Linda takes advantage of the variety of value added services available via the Internet for her clients, including taking advantage of the REALTOR.com website. "I have gained several leads via REALTOR.com and use it as a marketing tool during my listing presentations. I have upgraded this website and you would be amazed at the traffic it produces."

Linda entered the real estate market when many agents were leaving the business during the 1980´s; however, this tenacious, persistent, and resilient REALTOR® has used her natural sales abilities and friendly disposition to become one of Ventura County´s premier agents. Through a lot of hard work and a never give up mentality, Linda has created a highly successful business and will continue to reach new levels of success well into the future.

Contact Information:

Linda P. Richardson
RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors
601 Daily Drive, Suite 102
Camarillo, CA 93010
Direct: 805-484-8184
FAX: 805-484-5914
Email: Click Here