We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nat Comisar. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nat below.

Hi Nat, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Please understand that my thinking mirrors the restaurant business. I spent 33 years living and breathing a service industry with some of the best there ever were so my perspective lives and dies there.

There’s a difference between being of service and being an “order taker.” When I was 15 and started bussing tables in my family restaurants I learned from men and women who understood that being of service didn’t just mean going over and above for others. Doing more provided the means to great customer experience, a better personal income and to vastly increased self esteem.

First, a sense of urgency is paramount. If you want something, you want it now, not in 30 minutes. Second, it is imperative to know your products and understand how they worked together. Seems simple, but how may times have you been to a restaurant, asked a simple question and had a blank stare from the waitress? Third, don’t ask unnecessary questions: “Would you like to follow me?” or “How’s this table?” or “Would you like a drink?” are not what your customer wants to hear. Instead say “Follow me”, “Enjoy your evening” and “Are you having a Vodka Tonic tonight or a Glass of Wine.?” Doing so gives the client the comfort of relinquishing control with confidence.

There are over 5,000 people selling commercial and residential real estate in the Greater Cincinnati Area. In the past 12 months only about 500 of them had more than one transaction. Those 500 are being of service. They go above and beyond to take care of their client’s needs. The rest are order takers.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I closed my restaurants in 2005. Despite my public success, the end of my restaurant career was not glamourous. I needed to find a way to make a living and support my family. Dick, A good friend, gave me some great advice. He said: “You can save your ass or your pride, but you have to pick one.” A week after hearing that I was invited to lunch by Rob Sibcy who owns Sibcy Cline Realtors. His exact words were: “You dodo, you know everyone. You need to do this!”They were both absolutely correct.

The transition from restaurants to real estate was not easy, but it has been wonderful. In the first 6 months I made 30,000 phone calls to former clients to let them know about my career change. Then I began prospecting and working my contacts. Within 18 months I had 50 listings. My approach has been the same as it was before real estate. If someone wants something I need to be available and I need to respond immediately. My clients all know if they have a question at 10:00 PM on a Saturday they can call me. I’d much rather take a few minutes to answer a question than have them stew about something for a day or two.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I was left with 2 significant assets from my restaurant career: Recipes from the 56 year history of Maisonette and my list of house account customers. I have hundreds of recipes as well as 30,000 names and addresses of people who could come to my restaurants, sign their name and get their bill at home. I don’t care what you are selling in Cincinnati Ohio, that’s a good list! In 2006 I began an email campaign where I sent out a recipe from Maisonette. Sort of an unpublished cookbook but one page a month. I only had 450 email addresses at the time. With the recipe came my listings. Since I started over 20,000 people have opted into the list. I get a deal a month out of it!

I also created a webpage which catalogues all the sent recipes. Go to www.natcomisar.com. My Social Media pages all feed off the monthly recipe email.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My great uncle used to say “Excuses Don’t Matter, Results Do.” It’s printed on the back of my business cards. It’s something I live by and fuels my reputation as someone who gets the job done.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.natcomisar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ncomisar/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natcomisar
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/natcomisar
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncomisar
• Other: http://cincinnatiareamls.com/