By Clyde Noel

There’s an old maxim that says 20 percent of the realtors make 80 percent of the transactions. Fact or fiction? Several real estate company managers provided their take.

“It’s self promotion and advertising,” said George Monaco, manager of Cashin Company. “After a few newspaper ads, their business takes a quantum leap.”

Monaco said those in the real estate business you have to keep their names and picture in front of the public.

Gary Campi, owner of Campi Properties said “It’s like any profession. It’s what you put in it. Those who work at it full-time will always do much better.”

Another reason some realtors do well in the real estate market is the built-in-clientele they have. These are church affiliations, country club memberships, Rotary and Kiwanis memberships and even ethnic relationships.

Fred Hibbert, manager of Coldwell Banker on First Street, said there always new realtors entering the business and they haven’t developed a business plan.

“Once you develop your personal business plan you can start moving toward your peak years of earnings,” Hibbert said. “Managers are available to help realtors develop those plans.”

Hibbert said real estate is one of the few businesses that will allow you to “ramp” down your business when you want to do it. Ramping means you can grow or shrink your business. This means developing partnerships or having assistants help in making transactions.

Monaco has been manager of several Real Estate brokerages in Los Altos and has worked with many realtors through mergers.

“Treating your clients right on transactions with a good follow-through helps build-up a client base,” Monaco said. “There is nothing like an encouraging word of mouth from a past client..”

Jane Bigelow, manager of Coldwell Banker on San Antonio Road, has a different view.

“This is no big deal. It’s been happening for the last 25 years,” Bigelow said. They are business people. When the market changes, they immediately want to know how can I do my job? Years ago they farmed certain things out. Today they keep busy and move with the market.”

Checking out real estate ads confirms Bigelow’s statement. When homes in the $1 million plus homes move slowly, realtors advertise homes in the $700,000 and $800,000 market. They also provide more attention to other markets like Sunnyvale, Mountain View and San Jose.