Next Wednesday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to noon PDT, Inman Select members will get exclusive access to the inaugural Select Live event — a live-stream conference that will feature some of the top minds in the industry sharing insights on market conditions, behaving like a leader, growing like a startup, authentic marketing, becoming as tech-savvy as your clients and learning how to digitally target your customers.
Mark McLaughlin
Speaker Mark A. McLaughlin is chief executive officer of Pacific Union International Inc. McLaughlin acquired Pacific Union in August 2009, and the brand enjoys an exclusive relationship with Christie’s International Real Estate, the premier global organization of residential real estate service firms.
We asked McLaughlin three questions about how he gets — and stays — ahead in the highly competitive real estate business:
1. What’s the one thing you’re doing this year to get and stay ahead?
Pacific Union is driven by and focused on our Vision 2017. Developed in December 2012, our vision was designed to completely transform our business to meet the changing dynamics in the industry and the San Francisco Bay Area. By inspiring an intense daily focus on our vision, we are rarely distracted by competitors, noise in the market or short term trends. Vision is something we focus on through good time and bad, not just in good times. Our Vision 2017 includes six bold initiatives: iconic brand, world-class systems, exceptional fiscal results, market share and geographic growth, and most importantly, an investment in training for our professional staff and our real estate professionals — we call the training program ELITE Services.
2. What one piece of advice has helped you get and stay ahead in your career?
Every element of our business is measurable. As the leader (CEO) it’s my responsibility to set seemingly unreachable goals and then inspire our team to achieve them — think team sports! We have created a safe culture based on teamwork, trust and innovation. By establishing a safe culture, I can ask people to strive for accomplishments that make them uncomfortable. When they strive outside their comfort zone, the results that follow reinforce the accomplishment of seemingly unreachable goals. The team then grows together to expect future extraordinary goals and results.
3. What trend are you keeping an eye on for the coming year?
Anticipating changes in buyer behaviors in three categories:
- Move-up buyers
- Millennials
- International
Each buyer segment requires different tools and resources. The move-up buyer requires a real estate profession and mortgage operation that can engineer the move while mitigating the buyer’s anxiety of [having] two mortgages — this buyer segment represents significant pent-up demand. The millennial generation has intense demand for mobile access to truly rich, local real estate information, instant communication and trust to be established through very different means that previous generations. The millennials are the largest buyer category we will see in the next 10 years. Finally, the international buyer is looking for a relationship and not just a transaction — a concierge approach attracts buyers that may have questions and needs surrounding education, health care, mortgages, property management or property insurance. These three emerging buyer segments all have distinctly different need sets, and therefore Pacific Union needs to be progressive it its platform to attract and retain active clients.
Check out our most recent video — it explains our culture in two minutes.
Check out the full Select Live agenda; it’s included free with Inman Select membership. Learn more about the event and sign up online, then tune in next Wednesday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to noon PDT.
