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HOME LIFE | BEASLEY REAL ESTATE

Giving Back and Getting Ahead After only four years in business, Beasley Real Estate is expanding rapidly, with its agents ranking in the top two-three percent in the country, in terms of annual production. BY ERICA MOODY

The Beasley Real Estate team (Photo by Craig Steinberg)

t’s not every day that a Washington real estate firm gets approached by Japan’s top agencies as a case study, but Beasley Real Estate isn’t your typical D.C. carriage-trade operation. The uniquely “dual-focused” agency is technologically advanced, inclusive and intent on giving back to the community. When you meet Jim Bell, Beasley founder and managing partner, he’s quick to tell you what sets his firm apart. “It’s our business model,” Bell says. “That’s the primary reason Japan took notice.” Last December, the Association of Real Estate Agents of Tokyo selected Beasley’s business model as the Washington region’s exclusive case study, and came to its District. headquarters. Chairmen from eight of Japan’s

top agencies, including Mitsubishi Real Estate Services — the second largest real estate company in Japan — participated in a Q&A panel with Beasley agents, heard a presentation from Bell and toured homes currently listed between $4-6 million. At the end of the visit, Bell was personally invited to visit Tokyo for further talks in the spring. Bell’s enthusiasm is palpable. “We have partnerships with a lot of real estate firms in the U.K. and I was very comfortable with that,” he says. “What I didn’t expect was the East. The Japanese completely surprised me. We were fully vetted by the chairmen of all eight companies including Mitsubishi. These guys are heavy hitters. I did not get the depth of who was sitting in front of me until after

the meeting was over. I was stunned at the level of people.” But Bell should not be surprised that Beasley is getting noticed, both in the DMV and far beyond. Expanding outside of Washington, the firm now has an office in Bethesda and recently opened one in Old Town Alexandria, where it’s seeing the most growth. Internationally, Bell even counts the Vatican among his clients. “Between our developers and our buyers, there is not a single neighborhood in the city that we’re not covering,” Bell says. “People have options now ... it’s all happening.” Bell insists that this growth wouldn’t be possible without Beasley’s unique business model: “Here’s the difference in the Beasley

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business model and this is why the Japanese were fascinated. You have to be an agent for a minimum of ten years. You have to have a minimum annual production of ten million a year.” According to Bell, “This figure equates to the top two-three percent of agents in the country, and the average age of Beasley’s agents is 37, much younger than the national average for that level of success. In total, Beasley boasts the highest average agent sales numbers in the U.S.” Despite the impressive figures, Bell insists that Beasley is not a transactional company. Nobody talks numbers; no agent holds first or second place. “It doesn’t exist as a culture,” Bell explains. Instead, focus is placed on client experience, similar to Apple. “The Apple influence and the structure … it doesn’t say Washington,” Bell says, clearly proud that Beasley has embraced a different way of doing things, marking a departure from the status quo. “The company’s not important,” Bell says. “It’s the people that are important, and we are an inclusive company. Alienating people by image or perception is not what we do. While some companies focus their marketing on the brand, we have focused on the agents, the clients and the clients’ charities.” You get the sense that charitable giving is integral to the company, not merely an afterthought. The firm’s focus on giving back is seen on its website, where you’ll find a long list of causes the company supports, from Martha’s Table to the Human Rights Campaign. Beasley launched “Homes with Heart” events to showcase the firm’s best properties while promoting the charities in each particular neighborhood. Beasley asks every client what his or her favorite charitable group is, and then works to raise awareness of that organization through community events, like the popular, free summer movie nights in the park. Every broker, associate and staff member is encouraged to give back. Bell himself served hot dogs on Kalorama Day, supporting the community he lives in. Even Beasley’s focus on philanthropy is outside the box in the way its philanthropic

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efforts take agents, clients and their neighborhoods into account. “Everything we do as it relates to a client’s particular home, we segue in and include the information of the charitable organization,” Bell says. “For community events, we always have a group that partners with us. There’s only been one example this year where a client did not have a single philanthropic

Jim Bell -( Photo by Craig Steinberg)

While some companies focus their marketing on the brand, we have focused on the agents, the clients and the clients’ charities. group in mind.” Bell recently set up the Beasley Foundation, as a way to do more for his agents’ and clients’ charitable organizations. And when it comes to raising awareness about both charities and Beasley properties, it helps to have mobile apps

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

that are the best in the business, and attention to reaching people via technology, whether it be social media or Beasley TV, an updated monthly housing data visual presentation. “We have a communications hub that the Japanese recognized from 6,500 miles away,” Bell says. “As a company model, we have the best technology tools in the country.” These include the iPads handed to the Japanese visitors when they sat down for Bell’s presentation, so they could follow along and view all of the free information available to anyone on the website. “We have a communications experience that I call pushing information to people,” Bell says. “You don’t have to go out looking for it.” You can find Beasley across social media, including an active Pinterest page that features photographs of properties inside and out. This push also helps showcase the company to international clients, as Bell explained a recent experience with Beasley TV. “I was talking to one of the Vatican’s ambassadors on the phone,” he said, “And as we were speaking, in the background in Warsaw, I heard them playing Beasley TV.” Most convenient for those on the go, Beasley’s mobile app utilizes location technology to give users a sense of place within the areas of their home search. As Bell says, this visibility of information helps to cement Beasley as an “inclusive” company, welcoming clients and potential clients to participate in all aspects of their communities. Beasley handles all communication for its agents — from traditional to social media, advertising, parties and community events, and plans to increase these methods of outreach in the next year. At the end of the day, all the agents have to do is go out and sell. And sell they do, equipped with extensive market knowledge and maturity of vision that one might expect from a company that’s been around much longer than four years. Clearly, things are looking bright for the future of Beasley. Bell is considering branching out to New York, and told us he wants to open an office in Palm Beach. But first, he has a trip to Japan to plan.