Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Houses & Home: Twila Glenn warmly embraces the term “realtor mom.”

Twila Glenn

Twila Glenn is chatting easily on her cell phone in her expansive home in Lower Paxton Township while her 5-year-old son plays video games beside her and she puts last-minute touches on a sleepover party for her daughter—all while working to top last year’s $8 million in real estate sales.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I wanted a career that allowed me to be present in the lives of my kids and to make good money doing something I loved,” she said.

Glenn is part of a group she lovingly calls “The Realtor Moms,” leading the powerhouse team under Joy Daniels Real Estate.

After graduating from Messiah College with a degree in international business 14 years ago, Glenn embarked upon a career in banking as a portfolio manager. She rapidly realized that sitting in front of a computer all day, managing trades, was not her passion.

At that time, many of her friends were buying their first houses and were asking her to come to showings with them, knowing she had always embraced architecture and interior design. It was her husband Ryan who suggested she consider getting her real estate license.

She decided to cross that threshold, working full-time at the bank by day and then attending four-hour classes at night. While most trainees find the classes to be dull, she loved them.

Taking a leap of faith, she quit her day job, opting for a commission-based lifestyle. She started working for Century 21, and after three years, moved to RE/MAX for eight years.

Throughout, she knew she wanted to assemble her own team. Two years ago, award-winning realtor Joy Daniels reached out to her.

Under a new arrangement, agents now work for Daniels’ company, not directly for her. It allowed Glenn to do all she did before, and more.

“The Realtor Moms” are governed by the philosophy, “The relationship is more important than the transaction.” That mindset is working, because referrals have been pouring in, Glenn said.

Her relationship-builder acumen also has earned her a spot on the board of Harristown Development Corp. and drawn offers to join several other boards. She is also a Sunday school teacher at the Harrisburg Brethren in Christ Church.

It’s the icing on the cake for a woman who used to play “office” as a child and is a DIY home decorator.

She mentors other realtor “moms,” who often think they have to wait until their children are in school to sell real estate. “You can do this too,” she urges them.

Recently, she earned her designation as a “senior real estate specialist.” While many of her older clients have moved into assisted-living communities and will probably never move again, she still remains in touch, and the referrals still come.

She has succeeded, in part, because she communicates with her clients constantly, and in the form her clients prefer. She knows most of her older clients don’t want emails and texts. She often visits them personally and calls them often.

“The more you stay in touch, the better the entire transaction and their entire relationship is,” she said.

“What sets our team apart is we know our strengths, and we try to bring in team members to supplement our weaknesses,” she said. “As a team, we are strong.”

Glenn estimates that 95 percent of her marketing is event-based, not calendars and magnets. She and her mom-realtors throw “client appreciation parties,” offering, for example, a free showing of “Aladdin” and free concessions, for recent and long-ago clients.

They give away pie at the holidays, do a free “Coffee on Us,” and host housewarming parties for buyers for up to a year.

They now attract four to five referrals a week. Her goal this year is to give out three times as many referrals as they receive and to hit $13 million in inventory.

Personally, she wants to travel more and take her family on a Disney cruise. Her daughter is a fan of “Moana,” and her son is into all things “Star Wars.” Although she admits to some workaholic tendencies, she will readily turn off her phone and be the “force” her kids and husband need.

“At the end of your life, it’s not about the number of transactions you did,” she said. “It’s about the people we impacted and the memories we made.”

For more information on the Twila Glenn Group, call 717-695-3177 or visit www.glenngrouprealty.com.

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