We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dianne Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dianne , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Have you ever seen (or implemented) a really awesome way to show a client you appreciate them.

Having an onboarding and offboarding plan for your clients is the key to keeping them happy and engaged. When someone becomes an Advertising Partner with Najjar Publishing, as we publish 4 Real Producer Publications, they instantly know how much we value them. They are welcomed with a Team Welcome Email explaining who their point of contacts are for each area. They get a Welcome to the family card along with a book on “How To Build Relationships.” On their birthday we send a card and gift, for special or important occasions we do the same, i.e. wedding, baby, death of a loved one or pet. We do this process for staff as well. Everyone on our team is important and needs to feel valued.

We keep in contact with them via email, texting and old fashion phone calls. We host events just for our Partners so they can get to know each other and build more internal relationships.

Upon renewal it is yet again another special gift. For the holidays we have Partner and Staff gifts along with giving Realtors gifts at our end of the year event. Making people feel special and appreciated is what we love to do the most!

Dianne , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have had an adventurous life traveling, cooking and writing throughout my career. A trained chef, a Master Scuba Diving Instructor along with being the local host of a travel show in Guam has filled the past years. I have received a Hotel Restaurant Management Degree and Culinary Arts Degree from Forest Park, St. Louis, one of the top 10 culinary institutes in the United States. In 205, I trained in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at Pro Dive Scuba Diving school as a Master Scuba Diver Trainer, then traveled the world guiding scuba diving groups to over 40 cities internationally, exploring other cultures and learning about how food brings us all together.

Having a positive energy to whatever the next adventure is and helping my friends and clients learn to cook, create community, building relationships and bringing people together through food and events is what fuels me.

Najjar Publishing LLC is the owner of 4 Real Producers (New Orleans, LA. St. Louis, MO. Metro East, IL. Chesapeake, MD) brings Realtors and the best vendors in the community together through a monthly publication, social media, a podcast and by hosting assorted events throughout the year. All events are charity based and giving back to the community is an important part of our company vision.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Life brings changes and growing and pivoting in one’s life is what keeps it all interesting.

Back in the day, I was featured on Fox 2 in St. Louis in the morning as the guest Chef segment when I was the Executive Chef at Mama Campisi’s Italian Restaurant. In Guam, I spent time writing travel articles for the Stars & Stripes Newspaper and created a Youth Scuba Diving Camp. With Real Producers you can find me reviewing restaurants, building relationships with local Realtors and helping RP referral partners. Building relationships in the community is the key to what I think is bringing our company success.

During Covid in 2020, I finished a passion project of writing my first cookbook as a combined work of art. Cooking & Cocktails cookbook consists of my own family recipes, referral partner favorites, local Realtors and friends who submitted personal recipes that share the passion for cooking.

Traveling, food, love, true friends, my dogs and family is what makes life exciting.

Any advice for managing a team?

Building a team is hard! So making sure you have the right people in the right seats is very important. Meeting their personal and professional goals should always be considered. We use the DISC Assessment to help us learn about how people think and behave, how to manage more effectively and then we invest in our staff.

Contact Info:

• Website: RealtorFocus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefdiannecollins2020/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dianne.collins.50767
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chefdianne-collins-101a2020/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaBuXLuwkQMXuMxsxh36-7A?app=desktop

Image Credits
Noel Marcantel