Time flies when your having fun in Real Estate!

Wow... Remember the blogging fad? Well, I'm reminiscing a little bit right now. Back in 2004 I started this blog and perhaps a dozen others only to leave this one alone apparently.

Since my first blog post, that Margaret Rome was so gracious to view and comment upon, my company has come a long way. (BTW Margaret, I really had no idea who you were back then, of course I do now--you are famous.)

Craig Bartels and I have grown our company from a boutique firm to the genuine article. I've had the help of many people along the way which includes a two year stint working for Floyd Wickman. Yes, the man the myth the legend. Floyd is a great real estate salesman and trainer, but for those that don't know, he is one of the most astute businessmen on the continent. I've learned as much or more about how to run a business and how to hire the right people with the right character than I have about real estate sales. World Champion Speaker Darren LaCroix personally taught me how to become a better on stage speaker and how to make people laugh. Without his help I never would have been able to graduate from Floyd Wickman's Speakers' Academy, a prerequisite for working for him and his company.


We started year one in a niche, working as Exclusive Buyer's Brokers. It was a niche alright, one that I had to work at each and every day just to keep an income. It would be a year before Floyd would teach me that Listings are the name of the game. Listings power every successful real estate agent in America.

Year two, we became a full service real estate company(in answer to much begging from those who knew of our caliber of service.) We actually had people tell us, neighbors and past clients, 'I won't sell my house unless you, Crager-Bartels Real Estate, sell my house. That is loyalty folks. Intended loyalty anyway, if we didn't go full service I'm sure they would have found someone to sell their home.

During our growth we have used, tried, demo-ed, purchased, listened & looked at every advertisement, flyer, telemarketing call, sp*am, seminar, book, project, lead generation, list purchase, CRM, & sales pitch from every corner of the globe. Crager-Bartels Real Estate actually holds the local MIBOR, Board of Realtors record for the most IDX/RETS/MLS 3rd party agreements on file. This means we paid for the right for third party vendors to create tools and utilities for our private company to use just so we could give our clients and prospects the best service in town.

Today, my focus is to continue to assemble the best real estate office in Indianapolis Indiana. I hire based on character and then teach my real estate agents the same sales techniques imparted to my by my mentor, Floyd Wickman. People buy people. All the marketing and advertising in the world will not replace true customer service. How do you close more sales? Lose fewer prospects!

A second reason we have become so successful in todays real estate market has been due to our marketing plan. Our company co-founder, Craig Bartels, has literally put Crager-Bartels Real Estate on the map. He is the major contributor in our eighty-two city and thirteen country marketing efforts. A typical office relocation department makes up less than 10% of their client base while our relocation clients make up a full 50% of our business.

Google us, Yahoo us, MSN us even. Current count as of today is 2730 Google results, 10,300 Yahoo results and 1,156 MSN results. The real estate industry has changed since the internet came to town and those companies that have not made the change have suffered--or should I say that their clients have suffered?

In the 1990's I operated Indiana's #1 Computer firm and Craig Bartels received his Computer and Information Technology degree from Purdue so we know how to use technology as a tool instead of viewing it as a stumbling block. As an added brag, or feather in my cap, I created the internet's first Big Johnson T-Shirt store. I posted sales on five continents under the company name CJ Sports a full two years before the clothing manufacturer even discovered the internet.

My passion for real estate can only be matched by my business partner and best friend in the world, Craig Bartels. Different ages and different towns, yet we both grew up reading the same investment books and magazines. Independently and prior to our opening of Crager-Bartels Real Estate, we both acquired a respectable real estate portfolio and when we partnered in 1999 we joined forces and went on a buying spree. Folks, don't buy anything from anyone unless they are passionate about their own business. You shouldn't buy a BMW from someone that drives a Yugo, or buy a Corvette from someone that drives a pick up truck every day. Likewise, if you want to buy real estate, the largest purchase 99% of us ever make in our lifetime, for god's sake and your own, only buy from someone that owns a large amount of real estate themselves.

Don't buy real estate from your brother, cousin, uncle, friend or co-worker just because you know them. This is the largest purchase you will ever make in your lifetime. With possibly tens of thousands of your dollars at stake--go to a professional who owns real estate and let their years of 'skin in the game' buying experience benefit you.

Wow... I went of on a tangent a bit didn't I? I won't apologize--I'm too passionate about real estate to do that. (Can you see I'm making a bit of a sales pitch for me in here too?) ;)


Now to get back on subject, I was telling you about our growth since 2004. I'm currently interviewing new agents at the rate of one a month. I'll hire less than half. With my instruction and training(imparted upon me by several mentors), anyone can sell real estate, so why not take the time and make sure my agents have the right character? This benefits you.

Let me share with you our company Core Values. I say 'Our' Core Values because everyone who works here must believe in these themselves-this isn't some sort of corporate BS marketing or advertising gimmick. If you work for me you must drink the red Kool-Aid.

I will Always...
Live by the 'Get By Giving philosophy.
Make my Client's #1 goal, my #1 goal.
Live up to my standards, despite temptations to lower them.
Be willing to work toward a common good.
Do what I say I'll do, sometimes more, just never less.

I don't want to finish this post w/o giving a nod to our Property Management Division. What started out as a single hire for our own investment portfolio a number of years ago has turned into a very good busines for us--One of unexpected growth. You know how those wishful thinkers tell us to do what we love and the money will follow, well it turns out we've created a successful business managing investment property for not only ourselves but for folks and families from all over.

Our property management company began with a single phone call from a couple in California by the name of Mata. They just purchased two single family homes in Avon Indiana and asked us to manage these properties. We leased these properties and was quickly recommended to their parents, cousins & uncle. A national builder, Beazer, the Matas made their most recent purchase from was impressed by the speed and efficiency of how well managed these homes were and asked for our names. Two meetings later and we are their preferred management company for Indianapolis. Our reputation for quality spreads. Our reputation for generating rents 10%-18% higher than other management companies spreads. Investors tell other investors. Investor groups select Crager-Bartels as their preferred property management company. Other Indianapolis builders, local and national, get word and recommend us to their buying investors.

A fairy tale right? Well, not the entire time. Growth was not without it growing pains. We learned quickly that our original infrastructure was not adequate. In one year alone we switched accounting systems three times. Our original hired property manager was fine for our original portfolio but regretably was not up to the task of growing a business and was soon overwhelmed. We had to think fast on our feet and take action. After six months of eighteen hour days and seven day weeks, we emerged with the right action, the right employees, the right accounting system, the right marketing system and the right attitude.

For those that suffered during those chaotic six months, my apologies. For those who are with us today,(we have never lost a client), congratulations! Your investments are in great hands. Why am I so confident? Because I am passionate about this business of real estate. Aren't you?