www.rismedia.com
40 Years
New
Commitment to Service and Innovation Lead to Sustained Success for First Team Real Estate Page 48
L-R Michael Marshall, CFO; Cameron Merage, Founding President & CEO; Mark Hughes, COO; Terry LeClair, SVP Sales First Team Real Estate RREIN Member
40Years New
Mark Hughes COO First Team Real Estate RREIN Member
Commitment to Service and Innovation Lead to Sustained Success for First Team Real Estate
by Barbara Pronin
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
S
wiftly approaching its 40 th anniversary, First Team Real Estate, with 25 offices and more than 1,700 agents, is the largest independent real estate firm in California. Last year, the Orange County-based company was ranked 11 th among the largest privately held firms in the nation. That’s an enviable growth curve for a company that was founded by President and CEO Cameron Merage with just five agents in a single office in 1976. “But our phenomenal growth is only part of the story,” notes COO Mark Hughes. “We take pride in being as technically proficient as any firm in the industry. But what sets us apart is our commitment to serving as the full-service equation in an ever more virtual environment.” In this exclusive interview, Hughes discusses First Team’s full-service philosophy—and its continuing promise to exceed the expectations of every agent and client.
Barbara Pronin: What a special time in the history of First Team Real Estate, Mark. I know you are excited to join Cameron and the Merage family in commemorating this 40th anniversary. Mark Hughes: Absolutely. It’s a time to focus on our history of accomplishment, and we’re planning a series of events and recognitions to thank our people and make the milestone special for everyone. At the same time, we see this as a great time to look ahead, to strategize and gear up for new successes in our next 40 years. BP: How would you characterize the company’s current positioning in your marketplace? MH: Our primary market remains in and around Orange County, where we are an established market leader—No. 1 in sales units and volume for the past 10 years or more. We’ve expanded our footprint into parts of Los Angeles and Riverside counties, and the most recent RISMedia Power Broker Report ranked us 14th in the nation in sales, but we are best known here, in the region that has made us their brokerage of choice. BP: How has the company evolved over the years to adapt to changes in the marketplace? MH: We are proud to be the original Orange County-based real estate RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
company. When Cameron opened his first office in Huntington Beach in 1976, this was a young, desirable and fast-growing region with great weather and miles of coastline, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Now, it is more than ever a place where many people from around the world want to live, and we have been able to grow with the region, both as a full-service resource and a trusted advisor to our clients.
BP: What would you point to as your competitive differentiation? MH: We are the local market expert. Nobody knows the local market like we do, and nobody provides better service. As a result, we have earned both name recognition and a reputation for outstanding customer care. We are a one-stop shop, providing mortgage, title, escrow and other ancillary services, and we maintain a distinct global presence through our exclusive associations with Christie’s International and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®— an important advantage in our high-
end market areas. While we tend to have a higher price point than some competitors, we are acknowledged experts in pricing and value creation for both buyers and sellers in all markets. And while we capitalize on digital and social media outreach opportunities, we also utilize print media to reach a more traditional demographic. Also, at a time when many competitors are shrinking their office space in favor of virtual workplaces, we are the antithesis of that. We still have relaxing and newly remodeled Starbucks-like working spaces that make life easier and more pleasant for our agents as well as our clients.
BP: What are today’s buyers and
sellers most concerned with when it comes to buying and selling real estate? MH: Sales are brisk, and we appear to be back in a normalizing market, although inventory still lags demand. But we live in a changing environment because millennials, who make up about a third of today’s buyers, have different needs and
“Our goal at First Team is to meet the challenges of an ever-evolving real estate market with the innovation, professionalism, and local market knowledge that gives our clients an edge.” -CAMERON MERAGE, Founding President & CEO, First Team Real Estate
expectations than the generations that preceded them. They want a comfortable “nook” instead of a McMansion—a home that is “greener,” more efficient, easier to manage, and close to good schools, shopping and restaurants.
BP: How are your sales associates
meeting these changing consumer needs? MH: We understand that we are no longer keepers of the housing data. Consumers today have access to massive amounts of market information. What they don’t have is the experience or expertise to analyze all that data and make it work to their advantage. So we see ourselves as a “real estate and lifestyle concierge”—a one-stop resource able to help them match expectations with market realities. Our long experience and unique knowledge of the local market helps us to do that best.
BP: What is the company doing in
terms of training to keep its salesforce equipped to succeed? MH: We believe in daily coaching and lifetime learning. After our new agents go through licensing school, they attend a three-week “PowerCurve” course at our Irvine headquarters to get their careers ignited. Then they attend weekly training in technology, marketing, lead generation, follow-up, transaction management and all things related to real estate. Once they are up and run-
ning, we offer mastery classes three weeks out of every four in specifics like Google apps, negotiation, social media marketing, and other topics designed to put them—and keep them—ahead of the industry curve.
BP: How are you recruiting and retaining top agents? MH: We maintain a presence on social media, but we also have the luxury of our local standing, so for the most part, people call us, and our agents are typically our best recruitRISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
ers. We just tell our story, and our value proposition, and it’s a draw for both new and experienced agents. We have developed a roadmap to a career-oriented agent model that can help our agents build predictable, dependable and sustainable careers. By and large, this is a 24/7 business, but we know the importance of life balance, and our goal is to help improve the quality of life for every one of our agents by helping them work smarter, not harder. We strive to provide all the tools, strategies, training and support they need to perform at their very best, in addition to all the recognition, cultural support and information-sharing that helps keep them at the top of their game.
BP: How has your technology
evolved to meet the demands of agents and consumers? MH: Our goal is to marry ingenuity and creativity with technical innovation. We have a strong IT department and cutting-edge proprietary software, and while we do utilize some great third-party apps, we take great pride in creating our own solutions. We believe in thoughtful contact management, and we consistently push breaking market information to our agents so that they are able to execute faster than anyone else.
BP: How have your marketing and promotional strategies evolved to better connect with today’s consumers? MH: As I mentioned earlier, we remain heavy into print media to keep us front and center, but we combine that with incisive digital media and mobile marketing to improve the consumer’s overall experience. We use our own in-house marketing department for creating yard signs, flyers, custom agent collateral templates and other promotional materials, which enables us to be both fast and market-forward. Also, the Merage family is a philanthropic pillar of Orange County and many of RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
“Giving back to the communities in which our agents live, work and play is ingrained in the First Team culture.” -CAMERON MERAGE, Founding President & CEO, First Team Real Estate our agents are leaders in their own communities, dedicating a lot of time and energy to helping people in need. For 40 years, we have supported local organizations ranging from Orangewood Children’s Home and the Irvine Public Schools Foundation to the Salvation Army, Second Harvest Food Bank, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Music For a Cure. We know that we owe much of our success to the support of our clients in all the communities we serve. Through our charitable giving, we are able to help improve the quality of life in Orange County and express our gratitude for that support.
BP: In your opinion, what do today’s agents need to succeed?
MH: A combination of personal dedication and accountability, superior market knowledge, and great organizational support. That’s what enables them to drive the best experiences for every buyer and seller. And doing that is what helps them build long, productive and rewarding
careers.
BP: Again, congratulations on 40 years of success. What are your plans for continuing to grow the company? MH: The Orange County community continues to grow, and while we will expand our footprint over time, our immediate goal is to double our overall marketshare in the next three to five years. We have increased marketshare in the luxury market by double digits in the last few years, and we believe that this increase, plus our full service and international reach, are just a few of the factors that will help us reach that goal. Cameron had a long-term strategic vision when he founded First Team Real Estate—an unwavering commitment to client service, value creation and unmatched knowledge of the local market. That’s the vision that still inspires us, and it’s what we all aspire to. RE For more information, please visit www.firstteam.com.