By Joanna Dodder-Nellans
In the increasingly dog-eat-dog world of real estate sales, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate BloomTree Realty has chosen a different path: sharing of knowledge and resources to offer better services for homebuyers and sellers.
“It essentially was every agent for himself or herself,” observed Nick Malouff, BloomTree president and CEO, about the real estate business in general. “We didn’t think that was a healthy environment. If there’s anything unique about BloomTree, it’s community. People are rewarded for sharing what they know.”
The BloomTree philosophy clearly is working: it’s the #1 real estate company in the Prescott area, closing one out of every seven deals here last year, Malouff said. Every client gets a third-party survey after closing, and they have awarded BloomTree a phenomenal performance rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
“That level of client care is what’s driven our growth,” BloomTree Co-Founder and Executive VP of Marketing Stacy Stateham said.
“I call it hyper-collaboration, and it makes such a difference,” added Paul Aslanian, BloomTree co-founder and executive VP of growth & development. Regular in-house classes and a mentoring program for each new agent are BloomTree staples. It rewards agents for high levels of service to customers, the community and each other. A small percentage of each commission even goes into a charity fund to give back to the community.
BloomTree is now taking its philosophy to the next level by exclusively partnering with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate in its market area.
“We couldn’t be more proud to affiliate with a company that has distinguished itself through performance, integrity and culture,” BHGRE President and CEO Sherry Chris said.
This partnership grants BloomTree agents access to the top tools and technology in the world, plus a name that is recognized and trusted by 96 percent of U.S. adults, Malouff said.
“It gives us highly trained agents who can focus on the customer,” said Leslie Guiley, BloomTree co-founder and executive VP of systems and technology.
Homes listed with BloomTree also get listed on bhgre.com, with enhanced “Distinctive Collection” services for homes valued over $750,000 such as a direct link to the magazine website. All clients can use a wide variety of key words to narrow searches. An app provided through BHGRE allows clients to simply point their phones at a property to pop up seller data.
“Better Homes and Gardens is the icing on the cake,” said Sherri Batten, BloomTree designated broker.
At the same time, homegrown BloomTree gets to continue to manage and control its operations. It has home, commercial and rental offices in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Cottonwood, Glendale and downtown Phoenix with a combined 215 agents plus support staff at a 15:1 ratio. Prominent downtown locations in Prescott, Sedona and Phoenix are handy for walk-in customers, where welcome centers provide a wide variety of information.
“The magic happens when the team members trust each other and we’re all working on a shared goal and vision,” said Jill Normandin, Realtor and VP of operations. “We’re better together.”