Katy has known Shelley Bridge, Team Leader and Broker Owner of The Bridge Team and Broker Co-Owner at RE/MAX Cherry Creek in Denver, Colorado since she was selling Girl Scout cookies. Her mother is also an agent. Since Real Estate really is a 24 hour a day job, Katy pretty much grew up in the office.
Marketcircle: Tell us about The Bridge Team and what you do differently…
Katy Ayers: Whether you are buying or selling your first home or are a seasoned client who has sold and purchased many homes, finding the right agent can be the difference between a successful, harmonious transaction and one that is bumpy and stressful. The Bridge Team is comprised of three agents; Team Leader, Buyer’s Specialist and Transaction Coordinator (that’s me!). We are constantly working together, communicating with each other our clients wants, needs and concerns to ensure that our clients have the absolute best experience possible. 7 days a week you can pick up the phone and reach one of us.
Marketcircle: What do you enjoy most about being in real estate?
Katy: Our clients! We have amazing clients and I feel privileged each day that I have the opportunity to work with them. The fact that they have chosen us to be a part of their major life change(s) weighs heavily. This is not just a matter of paper-shuffling, on-line marketing, post card mailings. Buying or selling a home is an emotional process too. When I can connect with a client on that emotional level, my days feel complete.
Marketcircle: How has being in real estate changed the way you perceive houses?
Katy: I’ve been in the industry so long, I’m not sure my perception has changed, so much as it has evolved. Growing up, a house was a home. Over the years, I’ve bought a few properties and sold, too. I am married, have two children and more pets than I would like to admit. Today I see that houses are not just bricks, sticks and stones. They are OPPORTUNITIES. You can buy, sell and enjoy the equity. You can buy, flip and enjoy the sweet equity. You can buy, rent and enjoy someone else paying the mortgage. You can buy, live and watch your children grow out of their closets!
Marketcircle: What do you find most challenging about real estate?
Katy: The market changes day to day and my crystal ball is broken. While we are constantly keeping an eye on the market and figuring out what in Denver is influencing the real estate highs and lows, there isn’t one specific formula. That’s where experience comes in handy. My Team Leader has been in the business for over 30 years and isn’t afraid of the real estate highs and lows, rather confident she can serve our clients in any market. While she is busy studying the market and translating to our clients, I run the systems in the background. Ah the systems. We are here today to talk about Daylight, right? I think that in order for us to create a stress free and harmonious process for our buyers and sellers, we have to run stress free and seamless systems in our office. This is where Daylite comes into play.
Marketcircle: How do you use Daylite to help you?
Katy: We use Daylite as our client and vendor management software as well as our transaction management software. The calendars are shared amongst team members, so we can keep track of our listing appointments, closings and the occasional manicure and yoga class. We use pipelines to track the progression of a transaction (project) in stages:
1. Active
2. Price Reduced
3. Under Contract
4. Closed
The pipelines help us to keep a visual eye on our business. I can go into Daylite and when I’m looking at a specific transaction (project) I can visually see who is involved, where we are at in the process and the steps (tasks) that need to be taken under that specific stage. For the steps (tasks) within a specific stage in a pipeline we use activity sets. The activity set launched is specific to the stage but consistent amongst our different transactions. Paperwork, sign up, brochures delivered, closing scheduled, sign down, client survey sent…etc.
Marketcircle: What are your favourite features in Daylite?
Katy: Activity sets and smart lists are two of my favorite features in Daylite. Since I already spoke on activity sets, I’ll explain a bit how we use smart lists which are extremely helpful. Each and every contact in our database has an associated category or keywords. For example: Sold 2013, Purchased 2013, Farm Area, Email Mktg, etc. From those keywords we create a smart list. We use these for mailing-both print and email and to give a snap shot of the business we’ve done this year, last year, etc. Lab 548 introduced us to Daylite three years ago and facilitated our entire database switch when we went from PC to Mac. What a transition! Daylite, like Apple is pretty intuitive. It took some getting used to, but the transition was pretty smooth.
Marketcircle: How has Daylite for the iPad and iPhone helped your business?
Katy: Daylite for iOS is great! When we’re not at the computer we can still have access at our fingertips to our client and vendor contact information, calendars and projects. Overall Daylite has been a good task management system for us.
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