Yesterday was one of those days where I was just in awe all day of the possibilities that exist right now in the NYC Residential Rental market. I started my day with my Tuesday a.m personal trainer (this is "Adina" time) which honestly half the time I tune him out and fantasize about my day ahead. Every day is different in Real Estate and that's one of the things truly keep things fresh.

Afterwards I ran off the my hairdresser (I usually get my hair blown out when I have several big meetings in a day-which yesterday I did) Making time for these things are the extra thing us female CEO's have to deal with ;-) I will forever be jealous of the old step of the shower, slick back the hair, suit and tie routine of men..but back to Real Estate.. after fitness and beautification, I dropped Luna off at my office, said a quick hello to the staff and grabbed a cab to 46th and Park Avenue to attend a weekly network group that I was invited to be a guest of.

The group was small, about 12 people, there was a fair mix of Real Estate people (Sales, Commercial, Financing and even a developer) but no one for Rentals. (Adina to the rescue ;-) and there was my friend Nick the caterer, some attorney's of course, a CPA, a recruiter and so on. The group was led by Howard Berman from Berman Consulted & Associates- a spunky fellow who led a 1/2 hour talk after the introductions about sales skills. At first I was all antsy-no blackberry and I felt like I was in a classroom again. Arghhh! The walls were closing in. But, Howard was lively and passionate and gave some good tips. I took some notes and will even pass along some thoughts to my agents in my weekly office meeting on Thursday. One thing he said, that really hit home for me was the following. He was speaking about Referrals vs. Marketing Leads and apparently the closing percentage for Referrals is 75-80% meaning you close 4 out of 5 referrals and only 10% on marketing leads. For a girl who built a business out of her living room focusing only on Exclusive Listings and Referral Clients without knowing this "fact", I of course walked out of that meeting feeling like a genius.

I had time for a quick bite which I grabbed in midtown, then I met with a new prospect. It's a development group who purchases office, retail and now residential properties. When the Rental Market was "stronger" they simply used a staff member to place ads and would rent for "no fee" That isn't working anymore. They have 4 residential rental buildings now (totals 130 units) and they need help. I was highly recommended to them, so much so that I almost felt I had the account without having to go into too much depth about the services I provide. It was a great meeting. I was oozing with pride. My business model is exactly why they need right now. I get the exclusive. I list the properties and share it with all the other rental agencies. I have a reach that they simply don't have. They are not equiped to have a in-house rental brokerage. I have my pulse on the market and that's what they want and need. Fingers crossed that they will sign my contract and if they do I will make a formal announcement as to who they are and where my new "Adina" buildings are. Exciting stuff.

I had a car waiting for me downstairs that drove me from 58th and Madison to 184th Street in Washington Heights. This was for another meeting with a Landlord that was also referred to me. A bit of a different scenario. This was actually my 4th meeting with this big fish. He has been very anti "exclusive broker" but that's the only way I will work. My tires are completely deflated otherwise. I need the exclusive to do all my proper marketing. This is not about "me" this is about getting the apartments rented. But this guy is a stubborn one and although I know he liked me from the start, he was apprehensive about "exclusive". Well, I guess 4th times a charm because I did walk out of this meeting with a real exclusive. He has many buildings and we decided that I could choose one to start, any one I wanted, to "prove" myself. He sat at his computer and printed the list for me. ( By this time I was hungry again and had a terrible headache. But honestly so grateful and in "awe" at what I achieved just in this one day. I looked at the list and got to pick my own building?!?? How much fun is that? I will never forget it. ) I picked 234 East 118th Street. It's in East Harlem and I didn't have a single building there. But now I do. I am meeting the super there this morning to get keys, walk through the apartments, take photos and introduce myself to "my" new building. I can't wait. It's now 8:30 am and I'm on my way to East Harlem.. like I said, every day is different.