Succeeding with a Values-Driven Brokerage Model

by Paige Tepping, RISMedia

Published September 2021 Real Estate Magazine

Louis & Christine Parrish
Brokers/Owners

United Real Estate | Specialists – Southern Arizona
www.UnitedRealEstateSouthernArizona.com

United Real Estate | Specialists – Scottsdale
www.UnitedRealEstateSpecialists.com

Region served: Tucson and Scottsdale
Years in real estate: Louis: 26; Chris: 13
Number of offices: 2
Number of agents: 75

Tell us about how you got into real estate.

Louis Parrish: Christine grew up in a real estate family, however, I didn’t get my license until 1995. While I had no training or real estate skills when I started, I was able to learn fast and do really well. Early on, I was taught how to treat people right, the importance of admitting to mistakes early so that they could be fixed and how to write a contract—all of which provided the foundation I needed to succeed.

Why did you decide to transition to brokerage?

LP: We were operating a successful real estate team and realized that we found great joy in our passion for building people and seeing the results in the person, their families and our community. Opening a real estate brokerage is our path to do the same thing on a much greater scale.

What attracted you to United Real Estate?

Christine Parrish: Louis was spending a lot of time working on systems and processes and researching technology, but every time we launched new tech-enabled marketing and support, it was outdated by the time it was implemented. We agreed that it was time to look for a broker support organization with systems and processes in place so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Louis was attending a class and noticed United’s logo in his materials. He looked them up and sent me a video outlining their core values— they were almost identical to ours.

LP: We left no stone unturned when shopping for a franchise that would give us the freedom to work our business in a way that would fi t our market. With United, we did the right thing in that we focused on the alignment of values prior to looking at their tech/marketing stack and other tools they offered. And while United’s tools are fantastic, one of the main reasons we joined is because we finally found our people.

You’re celebrating a milestone this year. To what do you attribute your success?

LP: We celebrated our third birthday this past spring, which is a big milestone for us. Our 2020 sales also brought us into a Top 10 category in our primary market. It’s fun to see our name at the top of the charts, and other brokers and agents watch those numbers, too.

CP: Now that we’re established and thriving, agents are calling us and having conversations about moving their license. We attribute this success to the tools and support United offers us, which, in turn, allows us to provide our agents with what they need to be successful.

How do you work together to run your company?

LP: We’re fiercely competitive, yet we have some very complementary skill sets. Now that the company is growing, there’s enough space for us to do our own thing in parallel with one another.

CP: We learned early on that working together required a sense of humor and a level of grace. We have a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses too, so we hire where we’re weakest to round out the company’s abilities.

What else should people now about growing a business?

CP: The most important piece of the puzzle is the people you choose to work with. When interviewing agents, I enjoy getting to know them and understanding their goals.

LP: Real estate is a relationship business, so it’s important to determine who you want to be in a relationship with.

“The only truly sustainable, strategic, competitive advantage is aligning with the right people who have the skills to learn and adapt to the marketplace. Louis and Christine understood this from the start, and by making decisions based on that, they are reaping great rewards.”

– RICK HAASE, President, United Real Estate

About United Real Estate

United Real Estate (United) – a division of United Real Estate Group – was founded with the purpose of offering solutions to real estate brokers and agents in the rapidly changing real estate brokerage industry. United provides the latest training, marketing and technology tools to agents and brokers under a 100%/fee-based agent commission model. By leveraging the company’s proprietary Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productivity Platform, United delivers a more profitable outcome for agents and brokers. United operates in 27 states with more than 100 offices and over 11,400 agents. 

About United Real Estate Group

United Real Estate Group (UREG) operates United Real Estate and United Country Real Estate, addressing the unique market needs of suburban, major metropolitan urban and rural markets. Utilizing the Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productivity Platform, UREG offers the latest training, marketing and technology tools producing a significant competitive advantage. The platform realizes a decade-long investment in virtual agent and brokerage technology services and is powered by a 1.8+ million listings data warehouse generating over 3 million monthly visitors and 30,000 leads per year. Together, the United Real Estate Group supports more than 600 offices and 15,000 real estate and auction professionals across four continents. Through its in-house advertising agency, UREG offers differentiating marketing support and collateral for specialized lifestyle property websites as well as access to a 650,000+ opt-in buyer database. For more information about United Real Estate or United Country Real Estate, please visit UnitedRealEstate.com or UnitedCountry.com.

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972-885-8977 
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