On August 23 the Sarasota Herald-Tribune published a story about SKY Sotheby’s International Realty.  As company president, I felt the need to respond. 
 

I think most will agree that today’s weakened economy has fostered a rocky environment for businesses in general – especially those related to the real estate industry.    As a result, many organizations are faced with operational challenges and tough decisions.  Our firm is no exception; and recently, we’ve experienced our fair share.
 

However, unlike what this article implies, I believe the future of SKY Sotheby’s International Realty is bright – not “dimming.”  We continue to perform despite today’s difficult market.  In fact, since our start in 2004, our sales have increased each year and our closed sales have increased 50% from 2006 to 2007.  In addition, listings and sales in 2008 have increased 20% over last year.
 

Most importantly, we continue to focus on our clients – an integral part of our company mission.  We spend more than two times the industry average on marketing for the clients that we represent.  This commitment to marketing and selling properties in a dynamically changing environment calls for us to constantly evaluate our marketing strategies. 
 

Our firm was recently faced with a choice:  continue to maintain our current level of spending on behalf of our clients or to reduce this level, thereby compromising our service offerings.    We decided to stay the course and maintain the current level of spending on behalf of our sellers. 
 

To make this possible, along with reinvesting in our firm’s future growth, our entire management team took pay cuts.  In addition, we asked our sales associates – who also have an ownership stake in our firm – to take reductions to their compensation.  The majority of our sales associates agreed with this decision, pleased to contribute to the company’s overall success.
 
We work hard to actively align ourselves with sales associates who want to be partners in our firm and are proud of their professionalism, expertise and individual talents.  It was disappointing that a few of our sales associates decided to leave.   Regardless, I do respect their decision and our entire team wishes them the best in their future endeavors. 
 

Moving forward, I believe we will continue to see a gradual recovery of the Sarasota market and I am confident that there are many great things in store for our community, our clients and our firm.   Now, more than ever, it is important for local businesses and community leaders to support each other. By working together, we can promote a positive environment for area businesses to grow and succeed.