In the following interview, Paul Kenny and Matt Bogue of Engel & Völkers Sun Valley in Ketchum, Idaho chat brand awareness, recruiting and more.
Paul Kenny, CCIM
Broker
Matt Bogue, CCIM
Associate Broker
Engel & Völkers Sun Valley
Ketchum, Idaho
Region served: Sun Valley, Ketchum, and Hailey/Wood River Valley, Idaho
Years in real estate: 17 years in commercial real estate. New licensee with Engel & Völkers Residential.
Number of offices: 1
Best tip for getting the right listing price: Know your market, and be honest with the client. In other words, don’t buy the listing.
Key to staying profitable: Because the marketplace is constantly changing, never rest on your laurels, or fail to pay attention to your competition.
Best recruiting technique: Demonstrate that the franchise will make one’s work more efficient, more effective, more satisfying, and more rewarding.
Key to working together: Make sure every member of the organization understands the shop mission and appreciates that each and every member’s success, when combined as a team, comes back to them by benefiting all.
After a long tradition of commercial services in your market, what made you decide to establish a residential real estate company?
Paul Kenny: Our current company is a specialized commercial real estate brokerage. Over the years, we’ve become increasingly active in the residential portion of our clients’ needs. Due to the trust and confidence we’ve developed with these clients, and because of our high level of service and professionalism, our clients have insisted that we represent them in their residential transactions.
What led you to affiliate with Engel & Völkers?
Matt Bogue: We’ve been considering how we might best accomplish a level of residential brokerage that was on par with our commercial real estate side. As soon as we saw what Engel & Völkers offered in terms of international and domestic resort exposure, a consistently branded marketing platform, cooperative working relationships with fellow brokerages, and ready and responsive corporate support, we knew we had found a way to step into the residential arena at the premier level from day one, enabling us to capture the lead position in our market.
How will clients embrace the Engel & Völkers brand in a market where your names are associated with commercial listings?
PK: While Engel & Völkers has its own level of recognition and awareness among our international clientele, they also provide us a quality brand that’s unmatched by the other franchises in our market. The training methods and support that come with the franchise makes us confident that we can compete with and outperform our competition in the residential market.
How will introducing a new brand into your market affect your ability to recruit agents?
MB: Fortunately, we have many very successful agents in our market that have already expressed a real interest in joining with us under the Engel & Völkers brand. They can see that we’re offering added benefits that will surely help them advance their careers. Like the other resort shops that have been opened as Engel & Völkers already, we’re confident that our new brokerage will be a success in the same way they are, and together, we can all grow the Engel & Völkers brand to No. 1 in the U.S.
For more information, visit http://www.evusa.com.
