John Stemmons
John Stemmons
RESIDENTIAL HOUSE & APARTMENT LOCATING
Q. Tell us about your company.
Advantage Locating was started on the proverbial shoestring, January 23, 1993. At that time, my primary helper was my (then) ten year old son, Schuyler. Schuyler is now a full-time high school student at Jenks High School, and Advantage Locating has grown to be one of Tulsa's primary relocation elements, especially targeting the fastest moving real estate market segment, apartments. Tulsa has well over three hundred fifty apartment complexes, with perhaps around 57,000 units which turn over approximately once a year on average.
Q. What is your company's Mission Statement?
Our mission is to provide a quality service by concentrating on customer needs, and using state of the art marketing to target and satisfy those needs. We believe we can add value to the Tulsa Community by showing "Tulsa style hospitality" to all of our clientele, especially those who are just moving into Tulsa. We will also save each client time and money by providing a professional and friendly service. We spend more time individually with our clients in really understanding their needs before we try to solve their housing problems.
Q. How is your company special?
Our company is different and really special because of our orientation toward the agents who represent us.
We spend more time in teaching professionalism then we do in teaching apartments. We also concentrate on one-to-one marketing techniques. This is truly special because it highlights the individual client, and keeps us in the "servant's" mindset. We don't concentrate on showing them how smart or knowledgeable we are, but rather concentrate on them as individuals, and use the knowledge of the marketplace that we have gained to their advantage.
Q. How would you describe your company "culture"...who would fit in well?
Our company "culture" is direction and stability. By that I mean we look for agents who have a sense of direction for their lives and have stable lifestyles. We also look for responsible individuals, and insist that they have positive attitudes. Past experience is not much of a factor in evaluating potential Advantage Locating agents; I dislike having to "untrain" before I can train. When I have the right agent, I want to provide the right atmosphere for them to retain them for the "long haul". This means paying them well, and continuing to provide good opportunities for success. Training is individually tailored to each agent and continues through the training period and beyond.
Q. What are the average start-up fees with your company?
Our start-up costs are minimal for new agents, because we don't have Realtor nor Multilist fees to pay. This is especially attractive to those who don't have the second income of a spouse or retirement and who cannot wait four to six months for a paycheck. It's not unusual for a new agent to make their first deal in their first day or two, and payment comes much faster than conventional real estate. Still, I try to make sure that a new agent can sustain themselves financially, until they have a regular income from their locating efforts.
Q. How are you and your company adapting to the information age?
We believe that communication is the number one problem in business, so we have all the state of the art equipment: E-Mail stemmons@webzone.net; Web-site (www.npi.net/iguana); l-phones, pagers, voice-mail, and if they invent something else, we'll probably get it! We can't help customers who can't make contact with us.
Q. Where do you see the best opportunities in real estate in the near future?
We like our "niche" in the marketplace and are not inclined to spread out into other areas of real estate, at least not at this juncture. We are currently concentrating on developing our marketing. We are also staying on top of technological advances that could radically change our marketplace. But as much fun as all this is...we must keep our priorities straight.
Q. Tell us something about yourself.
I am first and foremost a husband and a father. We lead a quiet but interesting life revolving mostly around our church, Grace Fellowship. We are busy most evenings with play and choir rehearsals, schools, seminars, and cultural events, such as the Tulsa Opera and Tulsa Philharmonic. I'm mid-fifties and enjoy racquetball, reading, studying, travel, and people-oriented functions. I don't like smoke, loud music, and people who don't do what they say they'll do. I'm currently taking Japanese at Tulsa Community College three days a week. So, as much fun as Advantage Locating is, it will never be who we are, just what we do for a living to fund the really important things in life.
Last Update: 12 OCT 99
Web Author: Vince Mooney, Office: 918-665-0478
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