It’s hard to believe that today marks my two year anniversary back in real estate full time. When starting back into real estate after my Father’s passing, I had some serious decisions to make as to where I wanted to hang my license. Since I had over 10+ years experience in the business plus great notoriety as a national speaker to real estate agents, this was a very tough & difficult decision for me to make.
Things that factored into my decision were things like the monthly expenses, commission splits, office locations, the management/staff, the co-workers, and so much more. But, one thing that played another huge factor in my decision was what the company did beyond real estate to help the lives of those in the community and company. I believe strongly that success breeds success and what you sow into others, you will reap.
With my history, I had the opportunity to go work at any company I’d like along the beach. I went and interviewed with several of the top brokerages in town and met with their leadership to see which seemed to be the best fit. I ended up picking the #1 RE/MAX in the area, but the reasons why might surprise you. It wasn’t because of the awesome compensation plans that they offered. If that was the only reason, I would have ended up at a brokerage that was offering me ownership in the company to come work there.
It wasn’t because they offered me a nice corner office with amazing views either. My office is actually one of the smallest in the building and I’m cool with that. It wasn’t because of some amazing lead offering system that was offered to me. I know how to generate my own leads and know how to convert them at a very high rate. While having these things are great, they didn’t have any part in my decision.
What made me choose the place I come and work every day are the people and their willingness to help others and give back. Our brokers, are great understanding people willing to help others at any time with anything they can. When I was in the hospital in December, one of my brokers Tad stepped in to help keep my biggest sale of 2015 together and saw it through to the closing table. I didn’t even have to ask, he volunteered to do anything I needed with no questions asked. During that same time, one of my other brokers stepped in to bring groceries to the house and meals for the family to make things easier on them.
As a whole, RE/MAX is a big donor to the Children’s Miracle Network. Since 1992 RE/MAX has donated more than 140 Million to Children’s Miracle Network. Our office alone donated over $20,000 to CMN in 2015 alone. Every agent in the company donates a portion of each sale to the program. This past month we did a quick fundraiser where I cooked up some BBQ to help raise money. We were able to make close to $400 in one lunch that day just making BBQ plates. It was so successful that we will be doing this again in a few weeks in our Garden City office and then in North Myrtle Beach some time in June. Our company is constantly looking for ways to be involved in the community and ways to give back. In fact, they just recently hired a new position to help us become even more involved in our area.
These are the reasons that helped me decide where I wanted to work each day and the culture in which I want participate in. It’s much more than just selling a house and collecting a check. The culture of working here is something that is often imitated but rarely duplicated. It’s also the reason that our company has remained #1 for the past four years.
If you are planning on buying or selling a home, let me know how I can help. When we close on your home, you too will be giving back to the community and helping the children by the donations I make in your name to the hospital. We’ve heard countless stories about how our donations to the Children’s Miracle Network has helped babies who would not survive without CMN.
Life is so much more than just selling houses.
