8 Tips To Achieve Success

8 Tips to Achieve Success in Any Business!

One of the questions I get asked every now and again is what do we do different that lends so well to the Seibold Group success in closing such a high volume of transactions? Here are my top 8 tips that we use as a foundation to achieve success. These can be applied to any business, not just commercial escrow and title.

1. STAYING ORGANIZED
The number one priority for my team always is maintaining organization of information. This is essential especially when I have multiple high value, commercial assets in escrow. With this organization, I am able to provide the parties concise information without data bleed due to messy files. I have developed simple processes over the years to keep my team proficient and prepared.

2. CREATIVITY
Being open minded and creative within the boundaries of the title insurance and escrow industry gives the parties a huge advantage. I always say, “look for a window instead of a wall”. I have closed countless deals that others in the industry were uncomfortable with because of deal complexity, client creativity or even legal issues involved with the transaction. Title underwriting can be very rigid, and you need a team who has experience in finding options, solutions and reducing frustrations. On the same note, escrow does not need to be inflexible. Many times, just thinking outside the box, can lead to alternate resolutions.

3. LEARN FROM THE BEST
Something that I took very seriously when I first started in escrow was to make sure I learned from right people. I have had some amazing mentors along the way, especially early on in my career. Working for and learning from the very best escrow officers in the industry was what lead me to the commercial side of the escrow business.

4. NO MORE JUST BECAUSE
Every escrow officer runs their business a little bit differently and each company has their own policies and procedures. From my first day on, I have always wanted to understand not only how to do something but also, what is the underlying reason for the practice. Once I understood why we were doing things, it becomes easy to see some practices are unnecessary or just done for incorrect reasons. It creates many inefficient processes when things are done “just because”.

5. MASTER THE BASICS
Over the years, escrow, like every other industry, has been becoming more technology driven. This allows for great efficiency but can also lead to lack of competency. One of the many things that has become glaringly important during this current working environment is knowing how to adapt quickly. While I have been working remotely for years, I also learned how to prepare documents and calculations manually as part of my early training. An escrow can be closed without a computer!  Computers can be great help, but they can also allow for an absence in understanding the basics.

6. BROAD BASE OF KNOWLEDGE
I have always been an advocate for education. Boy, do I love learning!  So much so, that during the economic downturn in 2008, I decided that since business had slowed down, I would take that window of opportunity to further my education and attend law school at UNLV. I attended the part time, evening program while still working full time doing escrow during the day. I learned so much about myself in those four years and while I have no intention to leave escrow to practice law, attending law school has definitely helped me have a much broader understanding of real estate transactions and the legal intricacies surrounding closings.

7. COMMUNICATION
We have all heard the mantra that communication is key. In all relationships, personal and professional, there is no denying it. However, I think it goes further than that. I feel it is important to know when to pick up the phone and have a candid conversation rather than get into what can become the communication tornado of sending countless emails back and forth often creating unnecessary frustration.

8. BEING PROACTIVE
The last thing I want to do is waste anyone’s time. Courtesy timelines and reminders are one of the services we offer that is a customer favorite. While we cannot control timing of all components, we try to help the parties as much as possible with being proactive instead of reactive. That is one of the reasons we try to get as much as we can upfront so there are less fragmented changes and requests further on in the transaction when everyone needs to be focused on the closing.

If you have questions about any aspect Commercial Real Estate you would like me to address in a “Minute with Michele” blog, shoot me an email! michele@seiboldgroup.com.