“Our agents are our focus,” says Mandy Fulford of RE/MAX Southern Shores. Read on to see how Mandy and Tad Fulford keep their team front and center while achieving real estate success.
Mandy and Tad Fulford
Broker/Owners
RE/MAX Southern Shores
Years in real estate: 11
Region served: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
You are consistently ranked as a top brokerage within RE/MAX. What does it take to accomplish this?
Mandy Fulford: We’re always trying to be the very best we can be. Our focus is helping our agents build the business they need to have the best life they can. To that end, we are all about teaching and training. One of our favorite RE/MAX programs, which we utilize to the fullest, is their agent development program. The program includes 13 core classes, which Tad and I teach personally. We’re very hands-on—we consult with each individual agent to figure out where he or she is and where they need to go to meet their goals.
Our industry tends to be somewhat scattershot or non-focused, like throwing spaghetti up against the wall and going with what sticks. That’s not us. Our agent development program targets precisely what each agent needs, and then we focus on training them in that core area so they can achieve their goals. I know it’s unique to find really experienced agents taking classes, but that’s exactly what you’ll find in our offices. We’re a culture of learning.
How do you set your brokerage apart from the competition?
MF: Our agents are our focus. We bring in a financial planner so that agents know how to work with their earnings. We have a “director of happiness” staff member. Because our agents and our staff spend a great deal of time at work, we believe that our offices should be places where they can be happy and fulfilled. Not only do we want them to be happy, we want them to feel special. At the very minimum, we don’t miss a birthday. We regularly thank the spouses of our agents. We recently had an agent whose baby was bitten by the family dog. As soon as our happiness director found out about it, she was at the hospital with a basket filled with things for that baby and the family. We’ve been known to hand out party hats and blowers, and when an agent earns his or her first commission check, we all put those hats on and make a parade to celebrate the accomplishment. We have 100 agents in our three offices and we’re constantly trying to figure out new ways to take better care of them.
What are the most important elements in growing your business and positioning it for the future?
MF: We’re adding two new offices within the next six months because our agents need physical locations. I got into the business in 2005 and only saw a tiny bit of the real estate boom. What I’ve grown up with in the business is recession. It’s our belief that we should help our agents master the basics so that their business is consistent. When change comes, as it always does, I want our agents to be ready…to prepare for the rainy day. I never want our agents to suffer because they weren’t prepared.
What’s your overall business philosophy?
MF: Tad and I never lose sight of the fact that it’s a great privilege to serve our agents—not the other way around.
For more information, visit www.remax.com.
