Oscar did not start out in real estate but knew what he wanted out of a career as a Realtor®. He was driven from the start to make money on his own terms – and was fortunate to discover a program that could give him that control.
Mihara & Associates Inc. is an independent real estate brokerage servicing the Tampa Bay area. Mihara prides itself on being a marketing driven firm that uses the best tactics to increase productivity of it's team members. Its motto has been sell, sell well, and sell honestly. It prides itself on providing sound advice for buying and selling not only homes, but personal investments.Oscar first became acquainted with the real estate industry through his colleagues. After working in the financial sector for ten years, Oscar was motivated to make money on his own terms. He had been working on side projects for many years, but wanted better results. He noticed his friends could make double or triple the amount from a single real estate transaction. Feeling unfulfilled with his regular 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM hours, Oscar set out to make money his way – he applied for his real estate license.
Shortly after earning his real estate license, Oscar gave Zillow Premier Agent a try. He knew the future of buying and selling home was online. He made a few sales from Zillow leads, but knew he needed a system that could capture online leads early in their home search.
After trying other platforms, Oscar knew he needed a CRM with robust follow-up features if he was going to convert any online leads. Oscar saw a top producing agent in his market had Zurple in his email signature. Eager to become a top producer too, Oscar integrated his Zillow Premier Agent account with his brand new Zurple Back Office. Since that day, Oscar has averaged 15-20 transactions with Zurple each year.
Oscar maintains a 4.9 star status on Zillow from the past 11 years. He uses Zurple to follow-up with leads that are in the early stages of their online search. Oscar prides himself on his follow-up, and Zurple maintains this pride for Oscar. He believes buyers and sellers should be provided the same level of top-notch service regardless of what stage of the home buying or selling process they're in.
Oscar advises inexperienced agents with an ample marketing budget to give Zurple a try, but to wait six month to a year to see results. Online leads require nurturing by Zurple’s Conversations™ software before they’re ready to convert into clients. Oscar follows a Cash Conversion Cycle, meaning he calculates how long it will take for his investment dollars to turn into sales dollars. By measuring his success in the long term, Oscar is able to maximize his return on online leads. His advice to rookie agents is to "be patient and do what works for you." He notes that not every agent’s business model will match the Zurple platform or other CRMs.
As a multi-million-dollar producer, Oscar’s motto has always been “Customer Service!” Whether that service comes during the initial stages of a leads’ online home search or during the final closing stages - he is always there for clients and potential-clients. He uses Zurple's Lead Alerts to stay on top of leads that respond via text or email. His wife and team member checks their Zurple Back Office a few times per week. Their favorite Zurple feature? Hot Behaviors. It allows them to filter out and focus on those leads that are raising their hand for assistance with their online home search. Other platforms didn't allow them to hyper-focus on those leads that are raising their hand.
