Great Offices: An Alabama Story of Service and Success

If the entrance of RE/MAX of Orange Beach has the feel of a hip Internet café, there’s good reason. In the lobby of the two-story building, visitors work on laptops while perched at counter-height tables. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee fills the room, and upholstered chairs provide a comfortable place to relax amid the colorful art on the walls.

Additionally, visiting clients are offered loaner laptops, along with free Wi-Fi. And the team is also happy to send faxes or emails for clients, if needed.

“We’re in a resort community, so a lot of people work with us to buy vacation and investment properties,” says Broker/Owner Patrick Daily. “This space gives them a quiet place to work or get online.”

Coastal homes and condos have long been a key part of the real estate business in Orange Beach, Ala., but business hasn’t always been a breeze.

RE/MAX of Orange Beach survived not only devastating storms, including Hurricane Katrina, a massive Gulf Coast oil spill and other catastrophes; it also thrived during the economic downturn as many other brokerages around it were shuttered.

“We took our lumps, but we got through it,” Daily says.

‘EXCITING IN THE UPPER TIER’

Sitting at his desk, beneath a carved crab mounted on the wall with Mardi Gras beads dangling from its wooden claws, Daily reflects on the many plaques and ribbons on display in his office.

One plaque from 2009 reads “Broker/Owner of the Year.” Another reads “Diamond Award.” A series of yellow Chairman’s Club trophies represent at  least a half-million dollars in earnings a year.

“I have two more statues at home,” Daily says.

The leader of the No. 1 RE/MAX team in Alabama last year, Daily also does everything he can to support his brokerage’s 55 agents. His systems work.

In fact, four of the state’s 16 top teams operate out of the RE/MAX of Orange Beach office. With so many successful teams – including those led by Daily, Ricky Carruth, Doug Grantham and Tinsley Myrick – good-natured competition is inevitable.

“It’s exciting to be in that upper tier,” says Scott Myrick, a Sales Associate on wife Tinsley Myrick’s team, along with Tina Maynard and newcomer Debby Danner. “We have a lot of really good real estate people down here, and to be able to say we’re among the best makes you want to keep going.”

Tinsley Myrick credits hard, consistent work and cooperation as reasons for her team’s success.

“It’s definitely a team effort,” she says. “We never stop email marketing and sending mailers; we’re very passionate about what we do.”

A common theme for success at RE/MAX of Orange Beach is cooperation. For example, Scott Myrick met with about 15 of his fellow agents to share tips about one tool that leads to his positive results: the telephone. Myrick made cold calls to condo owners to find sellers in a building where buyer demand is strong. He got two listings within two weeks from that effort.

Calls may seem like an obvious part of business, but some agents are reluctant to pick up the phone or are not sure how to use it, Myrick says.

“It takes some willingness to set your ego aside and take the chance that someone might be short with you,” he says. “Phone calls are a great way to reach out to people and make that instant connection.”

SUCCESS FAVORS THE WELL-PREPARED

Daily bought RE/MAX of Orange Beach 10 years ago. Before coming to the Gulf Coast, he was an executive with Kraft for 16 years. Working in the food industry, where products have to be moved quickly, was good preparation for the real estate business, he says. Kraft also stresses the importance of training, a priority at RE/MAX.

“RE/MAX is constantly investing in the organization and in business to keep us all in front,” Daily says.

Tinsley Myrick says that when Dave Liniger stressed the need for Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) training at the RE/MAX Convention in 2009, Daily brought that message back to the office – and the vast majority of agents heeded the advice.

“I appreciated that heads up,” Myrick says. “He basically said, ‘If you’re not involved in short sales and REOs, you’re going to get left behind.’ I definitely ended up doing my fair share of short sales.”

So did many of her colleagues.

In addition to encouraging education through RE/MAX University and other channels, Daily provides workshops on a variety of timely subjects each Thursday. At a recent session, representatives from Apple met with agents to show them how to go paperless.

Sales Associate Paul Hopper says the regular training sessions are very helpful to him, especially as a newer agent to the industry.

“It’s going well, and I know the training opportunities have a lot to do with that,” he says.

NEW METHODS, PROVEN RESULTS

To expand on the spirit of camaraderie, Daily introduced an apprenticeship program last year to bring new agents and new ideas into the office.

“The less-experienced agents bring their knowledge of technology and fresh skills into the program, and they’re paired with an agent who has sharp sales skills and more experience,” Daily says. “We’ve had tremendous results.”

Hopper was one of the program’s first apprentices. When he started in the summer of 2012, he worked with some seasoned agents, answering their questions about technology and social media, for example.

“I had people ask me, ‘What’s this cloud I keep hearing about?'” Hopper says. “So I’d explain the benefit of being able to access documents from anywhere, and it clicked with a lot of them.”

Likewise, experienced agents help apprentices learn about contracts, prospecting and other aspects of the business. “Patrick even drove us around in his SUV, all the way from West Beach to the Florida state line, just looking at all the condos and educating us about sound condo construction,” Hopper says.

The program works well for everyone, Scott Myrick says. “When you’re working next to someone young, who’s really motivated and eager, it reminds you that you need to be that way, too,” he says. “They have a lot of ideas, and when you talk to them about how to do things, you remind yourself of all the things you should still be doing.”

AN ENVIRONMENT FOR GROWTH

The supportive culture at RE/MAX of Orange Beach is just what Ricky Carruth was looking for when he joined in 2010. He started in Gulf Coast real estate during the boom times, and he did very well. Then, when housing took a nosedive, Carruth ended up working on an oil rig and sleeping on friends’ couches.

Through those tough times, though, he didn’t lose his passion for real estate. And he did the hard work to rebuild his career. He realized that education would get him back there, and he knew that was something Daily offered at RE/MAX of Orange Beach.

Carruth had met Daily years earlier during the sale of his first listing in 2002. When he was ready to give real estate another try, he jumped at the chance to join Daily’s office.

“I’d always wanted to come to RE/MAX, just because all the best people are here,” Carruth says.

He’s taken the time to observe and learn from the best at RE/MAX.

Since 2010, Carruth has closed about 150 transactions. He earned his way into the 100 Percent Club his first full year with RE/MAX and kept climbing to make it into the Platinum Club in 2012. He’s already closed enough volume this year to qualify for the Chairman’s Club.

“Taking care of customers, making sure they’re happy and going above and beyond for them – those are critical strategies,” he says. “All the seeds I’m planting right now will produce fruit in the future.”

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The cultures of collaboration, learning and productivity at RE/MAX of Orange Beach are tremendously conducive to the agents’ all-around success. And its culture of giving is one more major advantage and motivator.

Many agents at RE/MAX of Orange Beach have the desire to help others. Some have established scholarships for local students, some raise money for local charities, and others volunteer their time in the community. Office members are also active in the Family Promise program, which assists up to 15 homeless families in Baldwin County.

Although many awards adorn offices here, one recognition is proudly on display in the front lobby: a replica of a check for $196,000, representing the money raised by RE/MAX of Orange Beach for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. For six out of the past seven years, the office was the top fundraiser in the state through the Miracle Home program, which allows RE/MAX agents to make regular donations through their businesses to help local kids.

“I’m not trying to brag when I talk about my office,” Daily says. “I’m just very passionate about my people and all the good we do.

“We like the theory of abundance. We share. We work together. We feel like we’re stronger working as a team versus working independently.”

Patrick Daily, a top Team Leader and Broker/Owner of RE/MAX of Orange Beach in Orange Beach, Ala., shares these top success insights:

• Clients have a choice: “For our clients, we have to provide what I call that extraordinary moment. Why would they pick me over this other sea of agents out there? I have to create a different type of experience based on service and added value, and that’s what our brokerage is built on.”

• Clients are important after the sale: “A lot of agents work on what I call the Serengeti principal, where they’re like a lion on the hunt. They kill something, eat it and move on. That doesn’t work. When our clients are here and they need a doctor, dentist, repair person, mechanic, etc., who do they turn to? Us, because we’re here for them.”

• The future is coming: “The Baby Boomers were over 80 million strong, and an extremely influential generation. There are almost as many Millennials, who are age 18 to 36 right now. They’ve been living with their parents. They’ve been renting. They’ve been doing all these other things because of the economy. As the economy changes, we now have this huge group of potential buyers out there. And guess what? They’re tech-savvy and they don’t do business like you and I used to.”

• Just say no: “One of the greatest tools I have is the word ‘no.’ If you tell someone that a transaction doesn’t feel right and you steer them away from a bad decision, they’ll love you for it. They know you’re working for them when you say ‘no.'”

• Learning is essential: “At RE/MAX, the training opportunities are limitless. Education is so important now, no matter how long you’ve been in the business, because the market changes constantly. Regular education helps you stay prepared and ahead of the curve.”