Gregg Neuman

Neuman&Neuman Real Estate Inc.

Whether they are showing a $100,000 condo or a multi-million dollar estate, Gregg Neuman and his partner, Debbie Neuman, always take a client-centered approach toward the real estate business with an "it's our pleasure" attitude. The Neumans have been #1 in the USA 4 out of the last 5 years, and #1 in San Diego County 5 out of the last 6 years.

What is your background and how did you get into real estate?
I started when I was 35 years old. I was a bartender for about 15 years. Being a bartender helped me to learn to talk to all types of people at all stages of life - attorneys and truck drivers.

What do you enjoy most about the business?
Doing the deal. The deal itself is the best part of business. I like to get a seller and buyer to compromise. In the middle of a deal, I say to myself that we do not have problems, we have challenges. Less than 1% of agents perceive problems as a challenge, they focus on the problem.

Do you set written goals for your business and life?
Yes, I am a great believer in goal setting. Without goals you just have dreams. If you set it down, it is a map to your dream. They become manageable bites. I look at my goals once a week. I do not have life goals. I have financial goals. I started to write goals when I was 10 years into the business. If not written down, the goals were more nebulous.

How did your business and staffing grow?
My first assistant came after 5 years in the business. She was an all around assistant who basically did everything. I believe that as soon as an agent is doing 2 deals a month for a year they should add an assistant or at least share an assistant. Most agents spend too much time micromanaging and not enough time on dollar productive activities. The year that I added my assistant my production doubled in that year.

If you could go back and do things differently, what would you have done at $100,000 that would have speeded the growth of your business?
I would have hired an assistant sooner. I waited too long to get an assistant. I was bogged down in doing paperwork and doing things that were not dollar productive. I spent too much time following transactions, giving sellers feedback, giving buyers info, etc. The minute the transaction is put into escrow it should be handed off unless there is a challenge to be resolved.

The reason that agents fail to hire assistants early enough is that they are afraid they cannot afford them and they think they do not have enough work to keep them busy. Also, by spending time to train them, it impacts short-term productivity.

This is just a sampling of the interview. We covered topics such as Marketing tips, growing your business, listings and more.