AGENT SAYS KNOWLEDGE BEST WAY TO CLIMB TO TOP
BY JULIANA GOODWIN, GLOBE STAFF WRITER

Doris Carlin has big shoes to fill.

Her own.

Carlin, a real estate agent and partner at Pro 100 Realtors in Joplin, has been the top-selling broker in the area for the past three years. This year, she shattered her previous record by selling 167 properties.

"The year's not over yet," Carlin said. "I don't see myself as a competitor to other real estate people. I see myself as trying to better myself previously."

Carlin is a Certified Residential Specialist, a process that took her three years to complete, and a certification less than 2 percent of real estate agents hold, she said.

One way she stays on top, she said, is by devouring information.

"I love to read nonfiction and learn. The secrets of Henry Ford. The great people of the past are all there for us to tap their knowledge," Carlin said. "Go out of your way to learn something new every day, and ideas will come to you."

When Carlin was starting out she would call on executives and prominent business people and ask if she could pick their brains.

"No one's ever said no to me," she said.

She said the sales pitch was easy, a simple, "'I'd really love to learn from you, can I take you out to lunch?' Most of the time they were people I didn't know."

Ten years ago, Carlin hired a real estate coach, and said she has learned a lot about organization from the coach. Whatever she learned, her clients and friends say it's paid off.

"She's just incredible. I can't sing her praises enough," said Carol Basler. "She's everything you want in a Realtor and a business person. She's so professional, yet caring and kind at the same time." Basler said she bought and sold another home with Carlin. Basler's home had been on the market for 13 months, she said, but sold in three once Carlin took it over.

She paid attention to everything, said Michael Eastman, who bought a Joplin home from Carlin seven years ago and has since formed a friendship with her.

"She stays very well versed on the house, who the builder was, the reputation of the builder, what to look for, if this area has had problems with water testing. She keeps up with everything," Eastman said.

Eastman was new to the area, and said after he bought his house, Carlin followed up inviting him to community events. He has since recommended her to numerous co-workers and friends.

Carlin said 70 percent of her business is repeat or referrals.

Basler said each anniversary of her home purchase, she gets a card from Carlin. Throughout the year, personal notes, cards, and telephone calls trail in from the agent.

Carlin is meticulously organized, keeping a book of year-long, monthly and daily goals. She rises at 5 a.m. and takes 10 minutes "to visualize" her day and where she will be in five years. One of her daily goals is to talk to 44 people each day. One of her goals this year is to read 100 books.

Carlin said she doesn't do it on her own. She has four other "team members" she works with which allows her to have a life and spend time with her husband and son.

"I never did any of it alone. I work with a team," Carlin said.

When she's not selling a property on average of every two days, Carlin volunteers for Meals on Wheels and is a member of over 15 different boards and organizations.

She is on the board of directors for the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, Arvest Bank Holdings and United Way. She is chairman of Vision 20/20 Housing Task Force, and is on Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School Board of Trustees.

What she is proudest of is her work with a program that built housing for 19 moderate income families.

Carlin said she doesn't believe she will ever retire and can't imagine not being involved in the community. While she lays out her goals like a fresh suit, she says she has an ultimate goal.

"At the end of every day I ask myself did I make God smile today?" Carlin said. "And if I can answer yes, it will be a day well lived."

THE JOPLIN GLOBE | OCTOBER 26, 2003

Reprinted with permission