While taking the time this week to reflect on the first 34 years of FIRST IN, I’m reminded of the first major adjustment the business was forced into during the mid-90s. Our first major account when starting was taking over the “Real Estate Buyers Hotline”. It was our updated recorded announcements and descriptions of available properties and open house lists in select markets around the country.
The “Hotline” began in Los Angeles in the late 1980s as the “Open House Hotline”, which was the area’s first weekly update of upcoming open houses starting on Wednesday evenings. At that time, potential home buyers had to wait all the way until the weekly newspaper came out to find them. Producing that list each week with as many as 300 listings to keep straight taught me a lot about staying organized and accurate. It is also where I learned how to make each property unique, even when I had neighboring duplicate houses listed separately.
Along came the internet, and it brought major changes. Demand for the “Real Estate Buyers Hotline” began to drop as agents began placing their listings and branding online. Until that point, the telephone “Hotline” had the advantage of being one of few places other than print for advertising and promoting properties. However, agents were aware of the value of having someone that could create unique property descriptions and advertisements for something other than print.
As the phone service was winding down, the number of agents hiring FIRST IN to help with marketing their properties was rising. The ability to adjust, while calling upon direct experience, helped to shape things which are still going to this day.
Being aware of the value of new technology, we embraced the internet and formed the FIRST IN website in 1995, even before many much larger businesses had one. It signaled the company adjusting along with helping our existing and eventually new clients to utilize technology in their marketing strategies.
There were adjustments to be made, and we made them. There was more to come over our history which continues to shape us, all these years later!