California Agent Makes Major Comeback

When Cindy McCormick left RE/MAX in 2006, she didn’t just lose name recognition, she lost clients, too. Now the Sales Associate is back and better than ever – and thankful for all that RE/MAX has afforded her.

From the support tools to the support of her Broker/Owner, she doesn’t take anything that RE/MAX offers for granted. Since joining RE/MAX Prestige in Anaheim Hills, Calif., in 2012, she’s come to realize exactly what she missed most while away.

The losses
As McCormick tells it, her identity never changed when she left RE/MAX after 19 years, but her business certainly did. Choosing to remain with her Orange County, Calif., brokerage as it transitioned from a RE/MAX franchise to a local brand, she believed that her visibility would remain the same and that her customers would follow closely behind. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

“I think a lot of people didn’t really know where to find me,” she says, “even though my website – and my name – stayed the same.”

Without the RE/MAX brand to support her and with the local market taking a downturn, McCormick found herself in a perfect storm of imperfect circumstances.

Suddenly, REO brokers had the upper hand, but McCormick’s business had stalled to the point of stagnation – despite the fact that her broker was REO certified.

“When I was with RE/MAX, buyers were happy to come and work with a RE/MAX agent,” she says. “They knew we had the experience to guide them through the transaction and make them feel comfortable.”

The gains
Since returning to RE/MAX, McCormick has seen her business steadily improve and her trust in the company reaffirmed.

“The day I changed my website from the local brokerage’s colors back to the RE/MAX colors, I got my first lead and a cash buyer,” she recounts. “The transaction closed in three weeks.”

Soon, past clients were emailing her on her reclaimed RE/MAX email account and she had earned her way into the Executive Club. Even more impressively, McCormick, a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS), has already qualified for the 100 Percent Club this year – and is on track to join the Platinum Club. She credits consumer confidence in the RE/MAX brand for her comeback, as well as the tools and support available.

Sammer Mudawar, her Broker/Owner, agrees. He’s quick to note that returning to RE/MAX gave McCormick the confidence to get more business, but the support tools are what really improved her results.

“Her willingness to adapt to the online programs and technology was a big factor in her success,” he says. “She adapted because she wanted to, not because it was easy.”

McCormick highlights the Mainstreet referral system, available to all Associates through Web Roster, as being an invaluable resource for sending and receiving referrals. She also ranks the Design Center and lead-generating programs, including LeadStreet and her office’s own system, among her favorite RE/MAX tools.

“When we left RE/MAX, I had to redesign fliers and start everything new,” she explains. “It absorbed a lot of time. The convenience of having the Design Center and the support system that RE/MAX offers makes a huge difference for me.”

McCormick also appreciates the fact that RE/MAX allows Associates to take home more of their commissions.

“Everybody’s fees are about the same,” she notes. “But we’re allowed to keep more of our own profits earned by our hard work. That’s huge.”

The difference
Having experienced both sides of the proverbial fence, McCormick says she’s glad to be back home. She thrives with the encouragement and support of her broker, and works diligently to pass on that same level of service to her customers.

“I work 24/7 for my clients,” she says. “If they’re concerned about something, I always tell them, ‘Don’t stay up all night worrying about it. Call me, even if it’s 10 p.m.; I probably have the answer and you can go to sleep.'”

Perhaps the biggest difference for McCormick, though, is the fact that she’s starting to enjoy the benefits and reap the rewards of her return – even buying herself a new car, which she’s deemed the “red RE/MAX wagon.”

“It was a really tough decision for me to make the move to leave the security that I had with my previous brokerage,” she says. “It was hard work in the beginning, but in the end, it seems that going back to RE/MAX has been much more beneficial to me.”

Adds Mudawar, “I look up to her.”