If Jim Weichert was able to build a single Chatham, N.J., sales office into one of the country’s largest privately owned real estate companies, imagine what two Jim Weicherts can do. Since James Jr.—no one actually calls him Jim—joined his father as co-president of Weichert, Realtors® last year, he is taking the family business to a new level. As Jim Weichert says, “It brings me great pride and pleasure to work side by side with James as his astute business sense and the strategic outlook he’s been developing continue to provide an important, forward-looking perspective to our operations throughout the company.”
Like his dad, James began his career as a REALTOR®; in his case, in Weichert’s Jersey City/Exchange Place office. Since then, he has served in a number of increasingly important and strategic positions throughout the organization. First, he joined Weichert New Homes, where he significantly increased its representation of larger, urban-oriented residential developments. In his next role as a regional vice president, James successfully oversaw the management and operations of Weichert sales offices. Subsequently, he worked in the office of the chief financial officer, where he gained a deeper understanding of the company’s internal operations.
More recently, James has led the company’s efforts to identify and develop future sales leaders, dramatically increasing the depth of the company’s management team. From the beginning, though, James prepared for his current position by shadowing his father for at least one day each week. That way, while he was learning the dynamics of the business operations that comprise the Weichert Family of Companies, he was also gaining a complete understanding of Jim’s business principles.
In James’ own words, “Our company philosophy—and my father’s core business principle from day one—is that people buy people before they buy a product or service. I’m well aware of all the ways technology changes the process by which agents and consumers communicate and access information, and yet, real estate is still a people business. By applying technology to strengthen our sales associates in their face-to-face meetings with consumers, we are simultaneously maintaining and modernizing our core philosophy.”
Perhaps the best example of technology in support of the personal connection is the unique system developed by Weichert’s Internet marketing arm to help sales associates capture homebuyers and sellers who visit weichert.com. When buyers express interest in a listing they see there, the Weichert Contact Center gets back to them in minutes—in stark contrast to the industry average of more than 15 hours. Each qualified lead is then immediately transferred to the mobile phone of a friendly Weichert sales professional in the customer’s local area who can help.
Thanks to the franchise division of Weichert, Realtors®, those local areas now stretch out to cover more than 280 markets in 38 states. Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. (WREA) enjoys continued rapid growth, due in great part to its ability to offer more opportunities for the sales agents in each franchise office to succeed. Last year alone, WREA added 43 new offices and was ranked second among all traditional real estate franchises in the “Entrepreneur” Franchise 500® list for 2015.
“As an organization run by REALTORS®, we know how to grow a real estate company. Our success in attracting new offices can be attributed to the depth of the programs and systems we can offer,” says Martin J. Rueter, president of WREA. “Under the Weichert banner, our franchisees are able to access our tools and resources and use them to provide better service to customers.”
The service Weichert extends to prospective buyers isn’t limited to assisting their search for a home. Rather, in recognition of the intricacies involved in purchasing a home, especially for first-time buyers, Weichert provides the necessary real estate-related services of mortgage financing, homeowners insurance and title insurance all under one roof.
According to Stephen Adamo, president and CEO of Weichert Financial Services who was recently named one of the 100 Most Influential Mortgage Executives in America by “Mortgage Executive Magazine,” “Because they’ve never gone through a home purchase, first-time buyers need to work with a mortgage professional who has the experience necessary to guide them through the many steps involved in completing a real estate transaction.” Not surprisingly, then, the Jan. 23 edition of “Inside Mortgage Finance” named Weichert Financial Services one of the Top 100 mortgage originators for first-time homebuyers in 2014.
Of course, the Weichert Family of Companies’ reach doesn’t stop there. Under the supervision of Michael T. Robinson, president of Weichert affiliated companies, Weichert also serves the needs of the business community. “We’re always seeking new ways to improve and expand our service as we’ve done, for example, through commercial real estate, corporate housing and our tremendously successful relocation company, Weichert Workforce Mobility,” says Robinson.
One of the world’s leading providers of talent deployment solutions, Weichert Workforce Mobility earned the most “best in class” ratings among all relocation service suppliers in a survey conducted by Trippel Survey & Research. The company earned “excellent” ratings in such critical categories as financial stability, reliability and flexibility, as well as “likeliness to use this supplier one year from now.” What’s more, it was the only company to achieve the rating of excellent in the “value for price paid” category.
“Results such as these are a great source of pride for us,” says Weichert Workforce Mobility President Aram Minnetian. “They validate our belief that our client service represents a true competitive differentiator.”
Even with all the success that Weichert has achieved by broadening its reach through real estate-related companies, its management remains forever focused on their core business. According to Jace Botti, head of residential sales, “Everything we do is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of our sales associates. Our focus on them, through our industry-leading training, superior sales and marketing tools, and our lead generation opportunities, creates a ‘Weichert Difference’ that is all to the benefit of our customers.”
Looking ahead, Jim and James Weichert couldn’t be more optimistic about the company’s ability to meet the needs of an evolving real estate market and to position Weichert sales associates, managers and franchisees as industry leaders. By establishing a proven blueprint for growth, committing to invest in technology and following the company’s long-standing operating philosophy of putting people first, both father and son see an incredible opportunity in the years to come.
For more information, visit www.weichert.com.
