Be the Solution with Maria Quattrone
Maria Quattrone, a leader in real estate with over 21 years of experience, is the driving force behind RE/MAX @ HOME - Maria Quattrone & Associates in Philadelphia. Her passion goes beyond selling homes; she’s dedicated to helping others succeed. Through her 'Rise in Real Estate' training program and the "Be the Solution" podcast, Maria shares her expertise, inspiring professionals and entrepreneurs to excel. With over 3,400 properties sold, Maria's success is evident, but her true mission is to empower others, build strong brands, and foster meaningful connections.
Be the Solution with Maria Quattrone
Mastering the Open House: Persistence, People, and the Path to Real Estate Success
Persistence is the vehicle that carries ambition to success. This powerful truth serves as the foundation for our conversation with Philadelphia real estate veteran Pam Rosser-Thistle, who has built a thriving business by mastering one fundamental activity: open houses.
Pam conducts 50-75 open houses annually, revealing why they form the "top of the funnel" for her entire business model. Rather than simply showing up and hoping for the best, she approaches each event with strategic precision that begins weeks in advance. Her methodical approach includes deploying six carefully positioned signs (placed strategically based on weather and foot traffic), creating targeted marketing materials, and preparing thoroughly to maximize every interaction.
What's particularly fascinating is Pam's collaborative mindset. She emphasizes that approximately 75% of her listings sell specifically because of open houses – not just those she hosts personally, but through a network of agents hosting for each other. This community approach ensures maximum property exposure while creating opportunities for everyone involved.
Beyond business generation, Pam highlights something often overlooked: the human connection aspect of open houses. In our digitally dominated world, these face-to-face interactions provide valuable opportunities to connect with community members from all walks of life. "It's healthy to talk to people," Pam notes. "It's good for them, good for you."
The conversation also explores adaptability during challenging times, finding your transaction "sweet spot" for work-life balance, and maintaining focus within a specific geographic area. Whether you're new to real estate or a seasoned professional looking to strengthen your business foundation, this episode offers actionable insights on building a sustainable career through consistency, human connection, and the surprising power of showing up – even when it's not exciting or glamorous.
Ready to transform your approach to open houses and real estate? Listen now and discover how small, consistent actions compound into remarkable success over time.
Connect with Maria Quattrone:
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Website: MQrealesate.com
Office number: 215- 607-3535
Hi, I'm Maria Quattrone and this is the Be the Solution podcast. Okay, and the Be the Solution podcast is all about exactly that Be the solution, because you are the solution to your own life and situation. Today we have my guest, pam Rosser-Thistle. Pam is a firehouse in the Philadelphia market and she works from city oh city. She works from river to river and represents buyers and sellers in this small little area. It's about two miles wide and that is what she specializes in. But Pam has been a guest of ours before and I'm happy to welcome you back today, pam. So, pam, I have a quote for you today. Oh, I love your quote. I have it specifically for you Ambition is the path to success, persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
Speaker 2:That's true. Yes, you can't just talk about it, you have to do it and today.
Speaker 1:so first, welcome, happy to see you again and always happy to converse with you. We have known each other, gosh, Pam, I think we've known each other since you got into the industry. It was probably like 16 or 17 years ago. That's been a long time, yes, so that's a long time to know somebody and a long time actually to stay in the real estate industry, because we know the markets change and we have to change. But what do you think about that quote? Persistence is the vehicle to get there.
Speaker 2:Yes, consistency and actually doing what you plan is what leads to success or, in some markets, survival, because some markets are. I've been doing the same activities for probably 15 years, fluffed up by technology or whatever is new and can make me more efficient, more effective, but sticking to tried and true tactics is what I find is the way to be successful. It's not sexy sometimes, but it works.
Speaker 1:Well, it's not sexy at all. Let's call it what it is. There's no sexiness about consistency day in, day out. You know I talk about this often, pam and you hit on it.
Speaker 1:It's like I don't really feel like doing it today. It's raining, I'm tired. I'm just kind of going to lay it out. The thing is with discipline. When you're disciplined, those things that doesn't matter, it's the discipline of the daily. Consistency is based on. The compound effect is what exactly makes you successful, or their lack of, over a long period of time. Right and today I want to dive into something that I've seen you do and it is your lifeline, and that is open houses, and you do them in a specific way open houses.
Speaker 1:And you do them in a specific way. You don't just show up that day with a sign, put it out front, open the door, put the lights on and hope somebody comes. So I want you to explain in detail from the open house starts weeks before it happens.
Speaker 2:I want you to explain to everybody today in detail how exactly to really make an open house work. Sure, so there are two perspectives. One is when you're hosting for another agent. That is primarily focused on helping them sell the house, but also to develop your business and connect with possible sellers. And then the other is when you are the listing agent and the open house helps you get the listing sold.
Speaker 2:So the first way, I select the open house far enough in advance that I can prepare, I can market, but sometimes if the listing sells then you have to change direction. That's a good quality problem to have If you're the listing agent. It's a good problem. If you're hosting for somebody it's different, but anyway. So I select the open house or open houses that I'm hosting and I do it strategically and I think all brokers you have the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 2:Maybe the systems are different, but it could be a relationship you have with a team or agents who have a lot of listings, or going on to Bright MLS and seeing what the listings are Like. We have some suburban agents who do business in the city who don't want to host and they have beautiful listings and so we will host for them. And when I say there's a lot of us at my brokerage and I think at other brokerages it's the same way who host for other agents. So anyway, then when I know where I'm going to be, then I work on marketing the listing and I do that through an e-newsletter the listing and I do that through an e-newsletter, social media, some word of mouth. I use signs and I prepare the signs, put paper on the signs.
Speaker 1:That has where I'm going to be for when I put them out on the street. How many?
Speaker 2:signs do you put out? Uh, and then, how many signs do you put out? I use six. It's comfortable. Um, they've changed over the years. They used to be very heavy or the ones that were plastic and blew away, but bernard signs finally got it right. They have a perfect. It's not too heavy. You could carry three and three metal, um, don't blow away. So so anyway, six is comfortable.
Speaker 1:Six signs. That's a good amount of signs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I used to do even more like in down markets. My old manager from long ago, jenny McEwen, used to always say like plus one, do one more thing, put one more sign out, do one more open house. Do one more thing, put one more sign out, do one more open house, like that's. That was always like. Like a mantra in down markets is do you do one more thing, like when you talk about calls If you end up doing one more thing every day and all the ones that you added up.
Speaker 1:How much more can you do? You get done, you know, even like add one more hour to work. Yeah, we talked about that. We just talked about earlier in the.
Speaker 2:I would say the green room, about how I start every day, but my days no later than seven 30.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and a lot of days not on Fridays, but a lot of days I go to seven seven, 30. There are 12 hour days with no stopping for lunch. Yeah, yeah, but, pam, I mean that's what's required today.
Speaker 2:I think that whatever your plus one is, whatever the tactics that you use to get your business is, you have to just step it up when it's a challenging market. So for me, that would be adding an open house, or another open house. Yeah, that's what I would do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, on a weekly basis. What do you think? How many do you do when you're in your open house season?
Speaker 2:I usually just do one or two.
Speaker 2:Um, it's uh one or two, but well like well like well, so if it depends how many listings I have, um, there are times when I have a lot of listings and so then I am working on behalf of my seller and I have other hosts who will, uh, help me and're terrific, but as an obligation to my seller and I want to get it sold, I may be hosting, you know, on a Saturday one listing, on a Sunday another listing, but I can't do more than that. I find that it's just too. You know, you have to preserve your energy and it is pretty physical out there. So two is enough. But then I have strategies too, like I have some listings coming up east abroad, and so I, but they're not going to be ready until after the 4th. So I'll host at similar types of listings before that to load up my pipeline, so that those people I meet might then be prospects for the listings I have coming up later.
Speaker 1:So there's a strategy in how I plan my open house. So wait, let's go back. So you know you're having a listing, let's just say, coming up at eighth, and you're going to do an open house for other listing, another listing that is similar to that price in area so that you can build your pipeline of future buyers for your listing. That's coming up. That's not yet on the market. Yeah, that's a great tip everybody. Yeah, this is very smart. Yeah, and so when you put the six signs up, Pam, let's say the open house is at 12,.
Speaker 1:What time do you arrive? 12. At 12?. What about the signs no?
Speaker 2:no, I right. So I put the signs out as I'm arriving, but I am not one that gets there like really early. Maybe I get there one minute before now, but no, it's very important, the signs. So that's where I put my effort and and there are different strategies for the signs too it depends on the weather. If it's raining, or if it's hot, really hot, and people are not going to be as mobile walking around, then you keep your signs close to the property, just really tight. But if it's a beautiful sunny day and people are walking all around, then you go to the high traffic areas close to a supermarket, close to a park, close to where there's some traffic happening, and it could be like three blocks away because people will make the effort. So it is weather dependent.
Speaker 1:And on the sign it says 123 Main Street open house day 12 to 2.
Speaker 2:I don't put times no, time no, times no. So what's the strategy behind that?
Speaker 2:Because if I'm hosting there again different time, and also there might be somebody after me and I don't want to take away from them. You know what I mean. Like, say, I'm doing 11 to one and someone's doing one to three and if I just put 11 to one it cuts them off. So, like, I want to have the flow because if you're doing, if there's a stacked schedule 11 to one, one to three it's better to be the one to three because, especially to follow someone like me who has a lot of signs, because the people will won't start coming until the signs have been out for a little bit. And if you're doing the one to three and coming until the signs have been out for a little bit, and if you're doing the one to three and I had the signs out you're going to get the flow from the signs.
Speaker 2:So, we want to help each other.
Speaker 1:That makes complete sense if you have somebody coming afterwards.
Speaker 2:It's very collaborative and a lot of the listings actually more so than before COVID a lot of listings get sold because of the open house. These days, like I would say, 75% of my listings have been sold because of the open house and what I mean is another host is there or I'm there and I have them. Get the agent name of the buyer who comes in, who's interested. They say my agent is Marie Quattrone and then I'll follow up and then they might bring them back for showing and buy the house. And it happens a lot.
Speaker 2:I don't know why people say oh, open houses don't work, like, are you kidding me? They really work, especially these days, and I tell agents just send them, they're your buyers, but I'll show them around the house, I'll do whatever. If the agents aren't from the city, they don't know how to parallel park, I'll open the door. You still get your commission. I don't care, so like I'll do anything to help an agent, because the agents might be from all different locations and they might not be around when it comes on the market. So like open houses are that bring them in, send them over. That's what it's for. As a listing agent, I give as many opportunities as possible, that are just to send them as possible, because and it really helps get the listing sold and that's the main reason for an open house. The other is just like whatever if other things happen, but you're trying to get the listing sold.
Speaker 1:That makes a lot of sense. The whole purpose is to sell the listing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's it and the agents who are there know that. And if somebody is not interested in that house and they want to talk to them about something else, that's fine. But they know that the first thing is try to sell that house and get me the agent names. And we have a lot of agents who have been selling the listing where they're sitting, the open house. They've been selling that house at the open house. They're pretty, they're really good. My hosts, my hosts I say my host but I'm also their host where everybody's host, they're really good.
Speaker 1:So what is it that makes an open house successful? Obviously, selling a listing, but forget about them. What do you do? Tell people what you do at the open house.
Speaker 2:Well, know the house, you know, have the seller's disclosure. Know, you know. Know about the house, know what's for sale surrounding and, when visitors walk in, engage with them and ask them some key questions to figure out are they serious buyers? Are they just walking by, curious, so asking the right questions to figure out what the situation is? And, um, you know, not hover over them but just, uh, give them a tour of the place and point out, um, whatever it may be, if it doesn't have official parking, explaining there's prepaid parking or there's a tax abatement, um, you know, whatever, I always have measuring, measuring tape there. People love to measure, so just like giving them the tools but not hovering over them and provide them comps or do you bring materials?
Speaker 2:outside of a feature sheet. I wouldn't do that at the open house, but I would know them If something's sold on the block or something similar, knowing what that price is, what the situation is. But I think it's like a warming up when you first meet somebody and you just want to connect with them, not overwhelm them with information, but just connect with them. And then after the open house, there might be more of somebody wants comps or wants information, because sometimes it gets busy so you have to. You know kind of manage the crowd.
Speaker 1:Manage the crowd? Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:Not that I wouldn't say like they're crowds right now, but it can be steady. Like you know, maybe all told, in a two hour open house you might have 10 to 12 groups through. That's a good open house. Or you might have four to five. That's good too. But I think that you need to engage and figure out why they're there and give information. That would be helpful.
Speaker 1:And how many open houses do you think you do a year About?
Speaker 2:40?. I do it almost every weekend, except for holidays. So, um, you know, probably 50 to 60 plus per year, and then I'll do some twilights. If it's a new listing, the twilight is good to do well so maybe 75, 75 to 100 a, if you put it all together.
Speaker 1:So would you say that that's your number one source of business?
Speaker 2:It's the top of the funnel, and then the people I meet often become buyers, sometimes sellers in the beginning, but then buyers then. Once they buy, then they might become sellers or referral sources. So so for me it's important to keep it going, because it's it's how it all starts, Like if, if you are only for me, if I'm only working, my sphere it's going to, my sphere it's going to, you know, kind of dry up over, like you have to be refreshing, refreshing Always. Yeah, so that's how I do it and I really enjoy it.
Speaker 2:Most people don't have enough people in their sphere of influence that would sustain a successful real estate business. Yeah, I think you have to keep it fresh.
Speaker 1:Fresh and people looking at open houses. Some you get looky-loos.
Speaker 2:Some you have neighbors, that's okay. I like it all.
Speaker 1:I don't think it matters. I think it matters the exposure to the listing because the more people that see it, the bigger propensity it has to actually sell.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 2:It's getting more exposure and I think it's also connecting with people, especially the younger generation.
Speaker 2:I find that they're on their phones and social media and that they are not as comfortable with face-to-face conversation, and so it's kind of a personal mission of mine to try to help and so when they're young people, I really try to sit down, even on the couch, and talk to them and listen to them, and I think it's a human connection and maybe somebody who's older and they might be lonely not to say that older people are lonely, because I think older people are, like more social than anybody but just talking to people and I learn a lot about the information that I need too in my life. I get good advice and offer advice that I have. So I think it's also the human connection that I like too. Even if there was no business element involved. It gets me tapped into what people are thinking about, what's going on, what's going on. I think it's really important to connect with people in the community and in the world, and people are doing that less and it's healthy to talk to people.
Speaker 1:It is healthy to talk to people. It's good for them, good for you. I have a question that just came to me. Open house is such a big source of your business. What did you do during COVID we? Weren't allowed to do open houses for a long time, like two years probably.
Speaker 2:You know what I did, those virtual open houses, remember them, the virtual ones where you were on. You sent a link out and people were like the. Brady Bunch, little faces. We did that and yet it was novel for a little bit of time and then they quickly was like but we were doing the, the tours with the Matterports, we would have the virtual open house and do the walking around online. So that's what we did, but luckily it didn't last too long. So that's what I was doing.
Speaker 1:I didn't like it. Luckily we had that. We had those virtual tours well before COVID. Okay.
Speaker 2:So that was good on our part. You knew how to do it with the little circles you know what I did?
Speaker 1:we had it already because we bought at some conference. Okay, we bought one of the cameras. My husband was like we have to get this. I'm like all right, it was maybe it was a while. It was maybe a year and a half before that so we were already doing them, but we weren't doing them on. Like you know, I sell a lot of investment properties and commercial stuff as well.
Speaker 1:We weren't doing them on those right so like two days before we knew we were going to get shut down march 20th, we um I had chip go out to every house and do them get a tour, so then we had them. But anyway, I digress, I don't want to go down the COVID hole.
Speaker 2:I just was curious, forget about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, forget about that mess. I was just curious of what you did at that time, because it comes down to like you tried something different and I guess the point of it is where there's a will, there's always a way. And I guess the point of it is, where there's a will, there's always a way, like, just because the market's slower and people aren't, you know, there's less buyers, there's more sellers now than there's been since, like 2019. The inventory is not. I can feel it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It doesn't mean that we stop.
Speaker 1:It means that we have to make little changes right Tiny hinges, swing big doors.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You're seeing like a lot of there's a lot of things going on that are keeping people from making decisions. If I hear about the tariffs one more time like I can't believe, people are still talking about it.
Speaker 2:Everything came back, though. I mean, the market is stock markets like above. Well, it's fine.
Speaker 1:There's are, but psychologically, pam, I know people are not good.
Speaker 2:This people want. People want certainty, but the thing is, is real estate is solid, like it's a good place to break up your money? If you're worried about wherever your money is, real estate is solid. It's a good place to always over time and it appreciates over time.
Speaker 2:So it's I. I understand if somebody thinks that they might not have their job or you know, they don't know what, something, what study in their life, I understand that. But if they do it's, it's always a good vehicle and it's like relaxing. It's steady, like it doesn't have the ups and downs of the stock market.
Speaker 1:So I mean I truly believe that Like you know it's hard to diversify where your assets are.
Speaker 2:It has other problems, yeah, but I know there's a lot that holds people back.
Speaker 1:Right, a lot. So the thing, the thing of the matter is so we can't just wait for the people that are ready, we have to find the ones that are every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and I think, being out there talking to people you know whatever way you reach your, you know your prospects, just to continue, be consistent and then when there's somebody you can help, to really dig in and give it your all as far as what you can offer to them and be honest with them, be really good at the transaction. I love transactions, like you know. I know like people have all different styles, but I'm a solo agent and to do I, I I like to do the transaction myself, um, and I love all the steps. You're one of the very few really okay, but it's so.
Speaker 2:Every little detail is important and I know, and I know, I know a lot of people have people who handle that, and that's you know what the beauty of it is you get to decide, as an owner of your business, how you want to do it.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, you get to decide. People do it all different ways. You could do it all. You could do some of it.
Speaker 2:It doesn't matter if you do it or you don't, but I'm just saying that I like to do it because it's sort of like you know life when you're doing your taxes and doing like all the nitty gritty number, when you're doing your taxes and doing like all the nitty gritty number, I love all that stuff. And so it's sort of the same mindset of like lining up all the details and checking the altas against the you know addenda and everything, Like I love doing all that.
Speaker 1:So that's like a you said oh, getting your stuff ready, your taxes, that's like the least favorite thing I like to do in life is that stuff hey you have to make a good team. You like to do all this, you know after Mike died.
Speaker 2:I've been investigated for taxes, so I've won every time I actually got a refund. But, believe me, you got to have your paperwork ready. The government is not playing. So I yeah, it was just cause Mike died and you know whatever, there was an extra payment that was floating around that I didn't know about. But but yeah, they send me charts and all this stuff. Like I think now that now that they're under the hood on me, they're like's keep going.
Speaker 2:But um, but I've got it all. I've got you know what. I dealt with it and uh, and I actually prevailed and I got a refund so um, I'm used to all that. You're also a you just have to do it you just have to, but you have to keep very good files.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, you're disciplined also and you're a fighter, you just are yeah, you have to though that's your makeup, people aren't, pam oh it's not.
Speaker 2:Well, then that's gonna get worse. If you can't blow it off, I'm talking in general about it. No, you're right, you're right no, I'm right, I'm always ready to address things, but um, but I think that it gives me more knowledge to be able to help clients too, like when they say, oh, I might like rent this bedroom out or something I'm like. Well, you're going to need a business privilege license, a rental suitability certificate, you need to like that income is going to be on your taxes.
Speaker 2:You can't just kind of float this in Like there are going to be some checks and balances float this in, like there are going to be some checks and balances. So being able to what's that? It's ordinary income? It is yes, it is yeah, and it goes on to your uh tax return.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people there's a lot more involved than you know. People really know in regards to that's just one little thing, but renting real estate like there's a lot of stuff you need you do yes, a lot of stuff, and the city's cracking down even more on landlords, which is kind of difficult because it's very difficult to get people out of houses, and shouldn't be that way. I have a lot of clients who literally can't get people out. A year evictions money and nobody pays rent.
Speaker 2:And if you don't have your business privilege license and your rental suitability certificate, which is every year the business privileges. Once for like a lifetime a year, the business privileges once for like a lifetime.
Speaker 1:Um, you're really like, don't have a leg to stand on, no, and it happens. Yeah, you know what like? And the thing is, pam, that life happens and it happens to people where things expire and they might have had it for seven years of license and then you know, somebody got sick in their family and they forgot about it absolutely all the time yeah yeah, all the time, and now they're in a bad pickle so, oh my gosh, yes you know we're dealing with that, you know.
Speaker 1:But but before we wrap it up, I just want to go back. Like if open houses weren't there to do, would it greatly affect your business.
Speaker 2:I think it would affect my life because I really like seeing people and talking to them. I really do. So it's not just about business, I really like to talk to people.
Speaker 1:It's part of your social, it's part of how you get your energy being around people. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Somebody is like ah, since Mike died, what do you do on weekends? I said open houses not really big, like bar fly or anything but, I mean sitting there doing shots and everything doing open houses, but no, I do go out a little little little bit, but but it really is relaxing and satisfying. And you talk about routine. It's very comfortable to me, so it's it's what I want to do. It's not even about where I mean it is about work, but like it's also just what I enjoy.
Speaker 1:Part of my life.
Speaker 2:So don't take it away from me please.
Speaker 1:I don't know who would, but Well, I think, and on an average year, you close around how many transactions.
Speaker 2:I like. Well, I'm trying to figure that out because honestly, I'm trying to like I had some big years, but my girls are almost done college now, so my expenses will go down a little bit. I'm trying to figure out what my sweet spot can be where I can like not be, you know, going like so fast, but generally about 20 to 25 a year, and this year is a little bit slower. Probably, I don't know, 15 to 20 or 20. Like that's a good amount for me and I've had years where I've done you know that we had some big years during COVID, but that's my comfort zone because I get really into it with my clients and I am very hands-on and I just want to be able to really focus on the clients that I have and then also my family, you know to have the work-life balance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a hundred percent and that seems to do it like that. That is a nice, comfortable amount for me, you also work.
Speaker 1:Keep it in my box. I keep it in my box geographically yeah, and you work the center city markets. The prices are higher. So, yeah, yeah, well, there's a plenty of philly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love, I like them, I like to mix it up like I had a couple, actually three, right in a row in South Philly, like you know, different neighborhoods like Passion Square, pennsport I love that Like, and then I'll get. I'll get back into, like you know, wash West Fittler Square and I like to mix it up in the in the different neighborhoods like river to river, and I like to mix it up in the different neighborhoods like river to river, south Philly to Fairmount and I like to hit them all. So I'm not like, oh, I only do this neighborhood, I liked it like both sides abroad.
Speaker 1:I think it's okay. You can do all that. That's plenty of. I love it. It's awesome. Well, it was great to have you on the show today. It was great to talk. Yeah, and the open houses are? They still work. Keep them going, keep doing this right. That's right. Yep, be the solution, all right. All right Keep being the solution and we'll see you soon. We'll check in with you towards the end of the year.
Speaker 2:Okay.