by markjohnson | Jun 24, 2019 | In The News, JPAR, Real Estate, What's New
By Patrick Kearns | Staff Writer | Inman
JP and Associates Realtors® (JPAR) announced Monday that Geoff Lewis, a veteran executive of RE/MAX, is joining JPAR’s parent company Vesuvius Holdings, LLC. Lewis, who departed from RE/MAX in February 2018, will be serving as president of the company starting on July 1, 2019.
“Our industry is ripe for disruption,” Lewis said in a statement. “Since I left RE/MAX Holdings, RE/MAX and the other traditional companies have been losing agents. I wanted to associate with and help grow a real estate company whose business model is relevant and attractive to brokers and agents competing in today’s highly competitive market.”
RE/MAX has been growing steadily as a whole if you include international markets, reporting year-over-year agent count growth every quarter since Lewis left the company early in 2018. However, in its first quarter results, the company did report a slight decrease in agent count for the U.S. and Canada. Lewis had been with RE/MAX since 2004 and was serving as president of the company when he retired.
In his statement, Lewis also called JP Piccinini, the broker-owner and founder of JPAR, a dynamic and innovative visionary.
The move to add an industry veteran comes at a time of massive expansion for both the brokerage and its franchising business. JPAR was ranked as the nation’s 50th most productive brokerage in transactions by the Real Trends 500, closing 9,790 transaction sides in 2018, a year-over-year increase of 45.8 percent. It was also ranked 83rd in the Swanepoel Mega 1000 list of top brokerages by sales volume, with $2.6 billion in sales and an agent count of 1,500.
While the brokerage business is growing at an expeditious rate, the company also began franchising its 100 percent commission, transaction-fee based model in June 2018. In the last six months, the company claims it has sold 40 franchises in seven states.
JPAR is also leaning into some of the industry trends, giving its agents a propriety technology suite, launching its own iBuyer instant offer program – which nabbed the brokerage an Inman Innovator Award finalist nomination – and by giving its agents access to associate healthcare and retirement plans.
“I am thrilled to have Geoff Lewis on board the JPAR team,” Piccinini said in a statement. “With Geoff’s past industry and franchising success, our already experienced management team expects to accelerate our phenomenal growth.”
“Our transaction fee-based model combined with our proprietary B.O.S.S.S. (Broker One Stop Shopping System) technology suite, world-class training, 24/7 broker compliance support, retirement bonus plan and innovative agent health care are unique in the industry,” Piccinini added. “For the broker, agent and consumer alike, JPAR is focused on exceeding expectations.”
by markjohnson | Jun 23, 2019 | JPAR, Productivity, Real Estate, Success, Sucess Goals, Taking Action
When you undertake a project, a new initiative you’ll hit predictable resistance. It may sound strange, yet some of the most unlikely personal tendencies will actually help you be more successful.
Consider some of the odd champions on your side:
Passion
Picasso painted with passion, Mozart composed with it. A child plays with it all day long. You may think that you’ve lost your passion, or that you can’t identify it, or that you have so much of it, it threatens to overwhelm you. None of these is true. Fear saps passion. When we conquer our fears, we discover a boundless, bottomless, inexhaustible well of passion.
Blind Faith
Is there a spiritual element to creativity? Of course, there is. Our mightiest ally (our indispensable ally) is a belief in something we cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or feel. Resistance wants to rattle that faith. Resistance wants to destroy it. Don’t let that happen.
Stupidity
The three dumbest guys I can think of: Charles Lindbergh, Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill. Why? Because any smart person who understood how impossible the tasks that they had set out for themselves would have pulled the plug before they even began. How do we achieve this state of mind? By staying stupid. By not allowing ourselves to think!
Don’t think. Act.
You can always revise and revisit once you’ve acted. But you can’t accomplish anything without action.
Stubbornness
Once we commit to action, the worst thing we can do is to stop. What will keep us from stopping? Plain old stubbornness. We don’t have to be heroes to be stubborn. We can just be pains in the butt. Make sure you’re in until the finish.
Assistance
If resistance is the shadow, it’s opposite–assistance–is the sun. Attempt to pull others into your project. Assistance is the universal, immutable force of creative manifestation, whose role since the beginning of time has been to translate potential into being, to convert dreams into reality.
Friends and Family
When art and inspiration and success and fame and money have come and gone, who still loves us–and whom do we love? In other words, don’t leave those you value most behind in pursuit of your goal—this is a true failure.
What’s the Lesson?
Go out and follow your passion with the blind faith that allows you to stupidly pursue that passion with a sense of stubbornness that prevents you from stopping… all while being a light to others drawing them in and allowing for their assistance because at the end of the day they will see that passion.
by markjohnson | Jun 19, 2019 | Best Practice, Goal Setting, JPAR, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals, Top Agent, Top Producer
On this week’s episode, Mark Johnson welcomes JPAR’s Business Development Leader Tony Delgado. Tony, currently based in the El Paso’s office, explains what gets him moving, and the lessons he’s learned on his long career in Real Estate.
This episode is filled with extraordinary advice for new agents, and good reminders for the ones that have been in the field for years! Tony speaks about how to adapt your tactic and skills to different Market conditions; the importance of honing down your financial and funding knowledge, and that all we have as agents are our reputation and our education.
Now available on the go: listen to inspirational stories on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, just search ‘Success Superstars’ anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
“The biggest stumbling blocks are the ones we put in front of ourselves.” – Tony Delgado, JP and Associates REALTORS® – El Paso
by markjohnson | Jun 16, 2019 | Goal Setting, JPAR, Real Estate, Success, Sucess Goals
Sometimes returning to the basic fundamentals is needed, yes?! So today’s blog is all about those things we know we should do yet decide to put off.
Consider this, we all know that retaining and nurturing your current and past clients are critical to sustainable business success. Yet, did you know it is 5X more expensive to obtain new clients than to retain current customers? And DYK that the lifetime value of 1 customer can be as high as 20X your initial commission?
Studies show in real estate, each past client can generate 2 to 4 referrals per year. The foundation for generating those new leads from past clients and repeat business is building on-going personal relationships with your current and past customers.
The secret is having a retention plan in place, even before seeking new clients. That starts with creating and delivering an unparalleled customer experience throughout the home transaction process. Here are some effective best practices we’ve picked up in from 75 interviews with successful agents:
- Start by creating and delivering an unparalleled customer experience throughout the home transaction process. Everything starts with delivering exceptional customer service.
- Position yourself as a provider for life. Early in the relationship provide access to the resources needed to make the transition easier and less stressful and make sure they know post-closing you remain a resource for them for all things home ownership related.
- Offer your clients an open line of communication for questions regarding the real estate market and your expertise.
- Plan to “reach out” to your existing customers six times a year. Strategies include post or pre-holiday cards, newsletters, flyers, anniversary or birthdays and special events in your area.
- Commit to touching five existing clients per work day. Ask for feedback on how you can better serve their needs post-closing.
- Be the HUB for all things home ownership related.
Being a resource of local service providers and more can keep your sticky, create more referrals and help your clients value you as a resource vs a salesperson.
by markjohnson | Jun 12, 2019 | Best Practice, Goal Setting, JPAR, Real Estate, Success, Success From Scratch, Sucess Goals, Top Agent, Top Producer, Uncategorized
Four years ago Gisella ‘Gigi’ Olivo decided to leave the Health and Wellness field and transition to Real Estate. Since then, she’s been devoting her energy and drive to helping people with their homes and life transitions. Gigi defines her approach as ‘purposeful and with intention’ and she’s always solution-oriented.
Gigi also explains how much time blocking has allowed her to maximize her time and how essential drawing her Business Plan was to keep her on track as she grew her business and crushed her goals.
Now available on the go: listen to inspirational stories on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, just search ‘Success Superstars’ anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts.
“For the compensation that I receive, I save people time, money and stress”. – Gisella ‘Gigi’ Olivo, JP and Associates REALTORS®
by markjohnson | Jun 10, 2019 | JPAR, Real Estate
JPAR Franchising LLC, the franchising division of JP & Associates REALTORS®, announced the appointment of Chastity Davenport as Vice President of Expansion. Working alongside Frank Gay, Chief Executive Officer of JPAR Franchising LLC, and the rest of the sales team, Chastity will ensure continued growth and development of the brokerage across the United States.
“Chastity is the ideal candidate for this position with our franchise team,” Gay stated. “She is a highly motivated, detailed and knowledgeable individual with expert-level experience in management, sales and operations in various areas of real estate. Given her background and esteemed reputation, we are fortunate to have her as VP of Expansion.”
Chastity Davenport has a diverse background which includes founding startups, growing businesses, and providing consulting within the real estate and technology spaces. In 2008, she was the leader of a top producing team with EXIT Realty, and in 2012, Chastity started an independent brokerage, the Davenport Agents, which eventually became affiliated with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
Circa 2017, she developed strategic advisory relationships with brokers and agents for Opcity, an acclaimed lead generation and management company which would go on to be acquired by Realtor.com for over $200 million.
Most recently, Chastity worked cross-functionally at Perch to implement an “iBuyer” brokerage. She created and implemented processes to release new products in the context of technology and customer service. Chastity was responsible for recruiting, hiring, training, and managing a team of real estate agents across multiple markets.
Having assumed her new position, Chasity is excited to be a part JPAR Franchising. “I’m thrilled to be part of a team that is spearheading the expansion of one of the fastest growing brokerages in the US,” Davenport stated. “I have immense respect for JP’s (referring to broker Owner/Founder, Giuseppe ‘JP’ Piccinini) relentless hustle and unique perspective on empowering the real estate agent, and broker, with tools to be highly productive while continually raising the bar on customer service.”
JP And Associates REALTORS® (JPAR) is one of the top 50 real estate brokerages in the US. A full-service transaction fee based real estate brokerage; it has been recognized as one of the fastest growing brokerages in the country by REAL TRENDS, as well as also being a back-to-back INC5000 nominee. It operates multiple offices across Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida, is expanding nationwide, and offers franchising opportunities for entrepreneurial real estate professionals.
