No big hair, just big sales
[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
Young, single and loving Florida life, Jeff Beggins joined his father in the real estate business after deciding that with his business model, he could take on the competition.
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A few minutes with Jeff Beggins
By JUDY STARK, Times Homes Editor
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 8, 2002
MEET JEFF: Manager of Century 21 Beggins Enterprises in Indian Rocks Beach, he was recently named to Realtor magazine's prestigious annual list of "30 Under 30," the young up-and-comers in the real estate industry nationally. He turned 28 years old in May. The magazine hailed him for mentoring and motivating his staff of 44, including 38 full-time salespeople in offices in Indian Rocks Beach and Madeira Beach whobrought in $40-million in sales last year.
ON THE JOB: "I really don't sell, my whole job is training," Beggins says, starting each day with a training session from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. for all his salespeople. They review who got listings and sales the day before, who didn't, and which new properties have just come on the market. There's a daily sales topic, a technology topic and a role-playing exercise (how to deal with a "For Sale by Owner" property, what to do when a listing expires, etc.).
OFFICE RULES: Someone who phones the office will "get a live person right then and get the information they want on the house. That's very rare in this business," Beggins says. During listing presentations, he encourages agents to have potential clients call the office, right then and there, to see how they are treated.
"The biggest complaint in the industry is that people aren't able to talk to an agent. We had a client in here recently who told me that he called about 55 signs over a weekend, and only five of the agents called him back.
"I teach the agents to do what I did: Get on the phones, educate the neighborhoods, let them know what properties are worth, find out who's planning on moving and when, and convince them to at least interview me when the time comes. It's a numbers game that depends on your skill and efficiency. We know that out of every 75 calls, one of those will be a closed transaction."
GETTING STARTED: Jeff's dad, Jim, was one of the founders of Century 21 in Florida, and Jeff worked in the business summers during college. But he knew the traditional image of real estate agents ("older ladies with big hair, fake jewelry and Lincoln Continentals") and decided that wasn't for him. After graduating from the University of Florida, Jeff worked in heavy equipment sales for Caterpillar. But he began to rethink that image of real estate agents, realizing that the big-haired ladies "would be the competition, and I could offer a different level of professionalism." He came back to the family firm, where he works now with his father and brother, Craig.
CARE AND FEEDING: Beggins points to his company's Web presence, customer care and backup personnel of transaction and marketing coordinators who, he says, free the agents to do what they do best: find new clients. "Everything we're doing now is to make it very easy for our salespeople to do a great job for the clients." He meets one-on-one with every agent each week "to see if they're following their business plan, reaching the goals they wanted, doing enough presentations." The office's motto: to give clients the "finest real estate experience they've ever had."
OUTSIDE THE OFFICE: The single guy goes fishing, lives at the beach and enjoys the "fortunate place we're allowed to live."
WORD TO THE WISE: "You shouldn't go into this business unless you're ready to treat it like a business. When you are ready, you have total control of your life. Contrary to popular belief, it's the best way to live your life. You have a lot of flexibility when you really have some discipline." Whether in real estate or any other business, he advises: "Truly find out what your client wants, and deliver. That's a rare art form."
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