Selling real estate in Ohio for three generations, The Maltese Team at DeHOFF REALTORS is working together to serve customers of all ages.

The Maltese family has been in the business of selling real estate for almost 60 years. It all began back in 1965 when Don Maltese was working in the lumber business and decided to start selling real estate on the side. Don then made a complete transition to working in real estate and opened up Maltese Realty in Stark County, Ohio in 1977. 

Don ran Maltese Realty through the 1990s when he ultimately decided to sell it and merge with Realty One. His sons entered the industry too. Don Jr. joined in 1977, followed by Dave in 1982 and Doug in 1983. Don Jr. and Dave have been in real estate ever since. Dave joined DeHOFF REALTORS in 1994 and Don Jr. several years later.

Today other members of the Maltese family, including Melissa Maltese, Melanie Maltese, and Tiffany Welker, are also agents at DeHOFF REALTORS. These five members of the Maltese family are excited to finally unveil the creation of The Maltese Team, their very own family-operated real estate team!

Coming Together

After years of working as single agents, the Maltese family decided that there would be many benefits to coming together and forming a team. They have always supported one another and helped each other out where necessary, but formalizing The Maltese Team will enable them to work together in a way they haven't ever done before.

One way becoming a team will benefit their clients is that they can combine knowledge and strength in various areas of business, especially considering they specialize in different avenues of real estate.

Dave says, "There's value in the ability to offer expertise in multiple types of business. Don (Jr.) and I have a lot of knowledge of commercial and investment real estate. I'm also an auctioneer. Melissa's great in the residential areas of sales and listings."

The fact that they represent multiple generations is additionally beneficial because it allows them to serve a wider range of customers, matching customer needs with the team member.

"We are in various age groups, so we can communicate and work with different multi-generational customers, and it just blends so well," says Dave.

By blending their expertise, The Maltese Team can operate at the highest level possible and ensure that all their clients' needs are being met. For example, Melissa is extremely adept at using social media and keeping up with the latest digital marketing trends, while Dave and Don have many years of industry experience that their long-time customers value.

"I think we provide a great deal of service and value to customers with our team," says Dave. "We partner on a lot of things and just help each other out, so that way our customers are taken care of at the highest level."

Launching Their New Brand

As they launch The Maltese Team, the family is creating an entirely new brand, which requires having the right tools and technology for a successful launch. That's why The Maltese Team will be turning to Delta for much of their efforts.

"There's a lot of great things that are already there for The Maltese Team to work with, fully branded." Dave continues, "So, we're pretty excited about how this all ties together."

With the help of some of Delta's automation tools, The Maltese Team will be able to keep in touch with their sphere of influence and update them on what they have to offer.

Dave says, "We will utilize the DeltaNET® CRM and My Customer for Life. We already utilize those products and that's going to help strengthen our communications with our clients and sphere of influence. We feel positive about where we're headed."

Staying Savvy With Social Media

Another important method for spreading the word and staying in touch with their client base is using social media. The Maltese Team intends to stay consistent with posting and keeping their customers updated through these channels. They don't foresee this being a big challenge as it is much easier to stay consistent when they have tools in DeltaNET, such as Social Connector, which enable their social media accounts to connect with their website and post new listings and updates automatically.

"Delta will be instrumental, and the systems that you already have and the ability to connect with all different social media sites and to be consistent, which in and of itself helps us communicate consistently and on a regular basis," says Dave.

The Maltese Team will not only be using Delta's services to automate their posts, but they will also be integrating content from DeltaNET as well. When it comes to content, they plan to mix real estate-related posts with other information their community members may be interested in knowing, such as details on upcoming events and homeowner tips.

"One of our team members is going to oversee that on a daily basis, using some of the tools that are available through Delta," says Dave. "We're also going to use other pieces of the puzzle with things that we're going to make personalized. It's not all real estate all the time. Certainly, we are the go-to resource for that, but we're going to mix in other things with community events, spring-cleaning ideas, and fall cleanups, some of the things that the DeltaNET features."

Driving Business Through Their Website

For The Maltese Team, their custom website is also a powerful part of driving new business. They are incorporating a number of Delta's top features like Delta Pitch, which offers visitors to their website the opportunity to receive a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report on their home with the click of a button.

Dave says, "They can do a quick CMA to get the market value of their home, and then they can reach out to us for something, a further analysis, to see where their house really would be on the market if they were to sell it."

They will also continue to update customers on their home's market value by offering them the ability to opt-in to receive monthly Market Watch Reports.

"If they would like, they can go on and monitor their own property's value over time," says Dave. "They could get a monthly update on their home value and homes that are for sale and have sold in their neighborhood."

Another feature The Maltese Team is providing through their website will give customers access to both residential and commercial auctions and public records.

"We have a couple of different things that we're going to do a little differently with being able to access not just residential, but commercial auctions and link to some public records we're rolling out," says Dave. "We're going to dig a little deeper and provide a more insightful experience."

Lastly, The Maltese Team recognizes that timely communication is essential for providing great service. So, they will be integrating an AI chat into their website to communicate with their customers while they are away from their computers and mobile devices.

"As far as communicating and when a consumer has questions, there are certain things that AI chat can do to answer their questions quickly and keep the communications going," says Dave. "We try and get back to everybody quickly, but the reality is we are busy, successful agents who may be out listing and selling properties and may not be sitting right on top of a computer at the moment, or a device to get right back to them. The AI chat certainly can take care of that for us."

Training to Tackle New Trends and Technology

To stay on top of trends and make the most out of the tools and features they have available to them through Delta, The Maltese Team has been training to learn new skills and refine their existing ones in order to grow. They do this using a few different methods.

"One of our training techniques is just good old experience," says Dave. "We've learned along the way that you've got to stay current on trends and technology, the tools that are available to do your job better and certainly more effectively. Tutorial videos and podcasts, we use those to learn and grow."

Growing Their Family Legacy

Starting something new always comes with its challenges. The Maltese Team recognizes that there will likely be some growing pains along the way while starting their new brand. But they also feel that it will be more than worth it to be able to provide the best possible service for their customers.

"The challenge of coming together is probably how we structure and coordinate things, but we are going to be able to service our customers better," says Dave. "So, there'll be positive struggles and maybe some growth pain because we want to grow our team too."

Despite the inevitable challenges they will face while building their new brand and business structure, by blending the knowledge and expertise of multiple agents and using the most effective strategies and technology, there is no question that The Maltese Team is set up for success. We look forward to seeing their team grow as they strengthen their family's legacy!

To get in touch with The Maltese Team, visit dehoff.com or call (330) 936-0865.