With 22 years in the business,
Matt Dejanovich has earned $25-35 million in home sales each year for the past 14 years. He is active in Ann Arbor, Mich., and surrounding areas, having achieved top five of all-time real estate sales in Washtenaw County history. Real Estate One named him agent of the year, 2001-2009, and he has been named one of the Top 100 Agents in America by National Relocation Magazine.
Email Matt
You must have gotten into real estate right out of college – what attracted you to the field?
After I graduated from the University
of Michigan, I went to work for a company that required me to get my
real estate license – but I didn’t stay there. It was 1988, right
after the stock market crash of 1987 and jobs were not plentiful. I
had a license and figured maybe I could make real estate a short-term
career, but now it’s my life work. I’ve had a lot of success and
it’s what I enjoy doing.
What is the source of most of your business? What tools do well for you?
My business is based on three simple
things:
Referrals
Repetition – repeat business
from past clients
Reputation in the marketplace
I put a lot of time, energy and resources
into all three of those.
I’m heavy in traditional ad mediums;
I have big ads in the local paper and the community magazine. I’m
very active there and it works for me. It’s branding – brand, brand,
brand! McDonald’s doesn’t stop buying ads just because they sell
more hamburgers.
Are there technology tools you depend on?
My laptop and my BlackBerry® – my Facebook page is really just for my friends.
What I credit is that I consider this a real job where I come in at 8:30 a.m. and work all day. Real estate is a great profession where you have some flexibility. When I do my work, I can sometimes leave at 3 p.m. but sometimes I work until 10. I have no assistant but still have been able to grow into making $25 million in sales. The two critical things for me: return all phone calls by the end of the day; return every e-mail by the end of the day. I’m committed to doing it.
Tell me about the market there.
Well the market is doing good, not from a value standpoint but from an opportunity standpoint. Southeast Michigan is a tough place right now but I’m off to another incredible start – I’ve had one of my best six weeks ever, well ahead of the last few years. Ann Arbor is in far better shape because of the university (University of Michigan); it’s the engine driving our economy.
Is relocation still a good source of business? How has it changed in the past couple of years?
Real Estate One is the largest broker in the state and is very well connected with the national relocation services. Because of my results and my longevity, I get my share of business both from corporations and from various departments in the university.
I have seen relocation benefits chopped back, with one of the big employers locally reducing its corporate relocation packages. There is no longer the same level of benefits, and no safety net for lost value.
What still gets you excited about your work?
I like the people side of the business, the personal accomplishment of helping people through the process whether it’s a high price, medium price or low price (home). Plus I don’t have enough money to retire!
I give a lot to my clients but I get a lot back. There is a financial reward and the satisfaction of doing a good job.
What is the one thing that differentiates you from other agents?
It’s important to be goal-oriented. I really break things down and determine what actions need to take place to get my desired results. It’s like when you’re trying to lose weight: you decide what you’re going to eat, how you’re going to work out. You don’t just sit on the couch and wait for the 15 pounds to disappear. You set a specific course of action to accomplish your goal.
Say if you’re a million-dollar producer now, to get to $5 million you need to get 40 listings. You get out there and work, prospect and follow up. It’s completely predictable – you set your goals and write your business plan.
When I got started in the business, it was during a recession and the first Gulf War. I had an open house every Saturday and Sunday for five straight years. It takes commitment and effort. There was opportunity then; there’s opportunity now.
