Presenting

20 | Michael Saunders & Company SaundersBEST | MARKET REPORT o grasp how dramatically the real estate business has changed in the forty years since Michael Saunders & Company opened its first office on St. Armands Circle—in Sarasota, Florida—is as simple as comparing a roll of dimes to a smart phone. In 1976, rolls of dimes were essential tools for many successful real estate agents. Why? Because pay telephones were often the only way agents working in the field could contact their clients during such pivotal moments in a transaction as making an offer or negotiating a contract. Today, you'd be hard pressed to even find a pay phone; while smart phones have become an essential tool used by real estate agents everywhere. Small wonder, since these revolutionary devices—which by now have found their way into the hands of nearly two-thirds of all Americans—put more computing power in the palm of your hand than the first Apollo spaceflight had for its entire trip to the moon and back. By tapping into the internet—which also wasn't around in 1976—smart phones facilitate instantaneous communications and the sharing of huge amounts of data and information with virtually anyone on earth. Far from feeling exasperated about how quickly technology is changing our lives, Michael Saunders & Company was among the handful of real estate companies to fully embrace the internet's potential from its earliest days. Now, more than 20 years after unveiling the first iteration of MichaelSaunders.com, a company's web site is at once its virtual front door, an international calling card; and a window into the neighborhoods and communities served by its agents. Plus it is the one element of marketing outreach with the capacity to instantly unite buyers from all over the world with our sellers' properties. Late last year, a distinguished panel of the industry's top technology and marketing officers was tasked by Real Trends—a leading real estate publisher and industry analyst—with paring down to just one from a list of web sites belonging to the 750 top producing real estate companies. In the end, their choice for the best real estate web site in the U.S. was MichaelSaunders.com. Designed for optimal use on all of today's electronic devices— including laptops, tablets and smart phones— MichaelSaunders.com also earned the top prize for Best Mobile Web Site; and was ranked among the Top 25 for Best Design, Best Property Detail, Best Video Strategy and Best Map Search. It's hard to think of any facet of our business or personal lives that haven't been forever altered by new or emerging forms of technology. Indeed, it has catapulted the real estate business light years beyond the time when agents spent much of their time pouring over listing books as thick as big city phone directories in order to collect property information to share with their customers. Thanks to technology, customers now arrive at our offices with property information already in hand, with a better understanding of the neighborhoods and communities they prefer; and with a greater readiness to make things happen. As such, agents are relied upon for their nuanced knowledge of the market; and their time put to better use showing properties, negotiating prices and ultimately engineering successful transactions. For forty years exceptional service delivered by exceptional people has been the mantra of this company. Excellence in harnessing technology for the benefit of our customers is one way we have kept that promise. Leading with our core values of excellence, integrity, communication and mutual profitability is another. What the next forty years will bring remains to be seen, but how we get there will never veer from these standards. Years in the Making For forty years exceptional service delivered by exceptional people has been the mantra of this company. T Michael A WOMAN NAMED In 1976, Michael dared to be different when she founded Michael Saunders & Company – a real estate firm dedicated first and foremost to creating an exceptional customer experience. 40 years later, the company Michael built is locally and globally renowned as the leading real estate brokerage on Florida's Gulf Coast, a home-grown, independent firm where extraordinary customer service is the rule, not the exception. Discover the difference today. michaelsaunders.com Redefining Real Estate. 100 South Washington Boulevard Sarasota, FL 34236 • 941.953.7900 It all started with … 40

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