Of course the group started as a networking group back when social networking meant coffee klastches. But soon, through friendship and support, the Elite Twenty, started by founding member Joy Nees, began a tradition of touring each others listings and actually hand-writing critical reports. Reports which were then read, discussed, distributed, collected and put under lock and key. In other words, they critiqued each others listings. No holds barred,  this group was tough.

“We are all competent, competitive agents,” says Virginia Cook agent Jo Pressly. “When a seller adopts the recommendations in the written report, the likelihood of a sale increases dramatically. It’s like he’s got a panel of experts rather than a solo agent. In real estate, 80% of the sales are made by 5% of the agents and our high sales volume in the group is proof of how honest criticism works.”

The Twenty represent six different brokerage firms, and members have worked deals against each other across the table. They act as a 24/7 resource group for each other. There is also the Elite Twenty “hotline”, a voice message system that can be instantly forwarded to all members, like a private Twitter account. Each month, eight members’ listings are toured, scrutinized, all but navel-cleansed by the Elite Twenty. Pinky promise: no hurt feelings.

I’d like to be a fly on the wall: I think it would be great  fun to grab a video camera during their next tour: let’s see what the pros say to each other, not just to us the customer or behind people’s backs!