“Extreme Measures: The Secret’s Out”

High-end New York real-estate brokerages traditionally prize exclusivity of information. But Barbara Corcoran set her firm apart by making openness her marketing hook. She created The Corcoran Report, which compiles sales statistics on real-estate market behavior for reporters, providing accessible information in a business not known for its egalitarianism.

The Report cemented Corcoran Group’s credibility and established the firm as one of the city’s most successful. In 2001 Corcoran sold the firm for a reported $70 million; in 2002, sales totaled $4.2 billion.

Source: New York Times, Feb. 2, 2003