Aly Dunne
Aly Dunne, the Irish-born rookie of the year at Coldwell Banker’s Malibu West office, was an international model at the age of 13. She was photographed by Helmut Newton and David Bailey for Elle, Italian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She worked in fashion for 25 years.
And Dunne had seven listings in her first seven months as a real estate agent in 2015.
The highly motivated sales associate is part of a new generation of agents who have joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the last year, a cohort which has been 34 percent more productive than the previous year’s group.
Encouragement from above
Dunne, who specializes in luxury estates on Malibu Beach, works with former Malibu mayor and attorney Andy Stern, who was recently promoted from sales associate to manager of the Malibu West office.
As well as the support from Stern and other senior agents in the office, Dunne has been pleasantly surprised by the encouragement she has received from Bob Foster, the president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greater Los Angeles, and regional vice president Beth Styne.
“The upper management of Coldwell Banker is very hands-on,” said Dunne. “I feel like they are very present, very involved in my career.
“They have so many agents they work with, and yet I feel connected with them and that they are personally rooting for my success. That makes all the difference in my ability to perform.”
Dunne said she has also appreciated the on-going training she has had since joining Coldwell Banker and likes its strong online presence and brand.
Cultivating new agents is paying off
Coldwell Banker is number one in sales volume and transaction sides in 2015 in the greater Los Angeles area, according to consolidated greater Los Angeles MLSs. The brokerage has 2116 sales associates in the region, and its sales volume in greater Los Angeles was $9.69 billion in 2015.
Bob Foster
Said Foster: “We have had an outstanding year recruiting new sales associates to our company and their productivity has been nothing short of stellar.”
The new agents joining the business are more educated and more motivated these days, he said.
“These are people who are really serious about a career in real estate. They have fire in their bellies and want to be successful.”
Coldwell Banker’s reputation for training and education was appealing to ambitious professionals coming from other walks of life, said Foster.
“Young attorneys are entering the business,” he said. “With their professional standards and work ethic, we really appreciate that kind of individual,” he said. “We also see young graduates with MBAs and undergraduates from business school. They are going right from university into our business.”
High-profile agents help with recruiting
High-profile agents in the business were also contributing to the company’s recruiting pull.
“We are fortunate to have many of the iconic agents, “said Foster. And new, ambitious agents want to be just like them.
Sean Landon, the other rookie of the year for 2015 from the Malibu West office, said Malibu top seller Chris Cortazzo, was the “driving force” for his decision to come to Coldwell Banker.
Landon (son of Michael Landon, the late actor) said he also liked the brand recognition the company had in the market.
The 29-year-old agent has sold a $7.5 million luxury home and has also negotiated multiple leases in his first year. He said he might pursue a management career pathway at the company.
“My family has a long history in real estate investments,” said Landon.
Landon, 29, worked in real estate development before coming to Coldwell Banker and would like to continue working in development from the sales side at the brokerage.
Not just for new agents
Foster stressed Coldwell Banker was hiring at all levels in the current market.
Tom Dunlap
Tom Dunlap was recently head-hunted from Douglas Elliman, for whom he set up the company’s Los Angeles business in 2014 as managing broker.
Dunlap was approached by one of his best competitors, Coldwell Banker’s Beth Styne, to be manager of the company’s Beverly Hills South office.
The Beverly Hills South office includes top-producing agents Jade Mills, Michael Libow and Joyce Rey — all Coldwell Banker veterans.
Dunlap, who has brought on five new people in the past five weeks, said, “I want to bring in new fresh energy to the office, to primarily bring people in who complement the others.”
The new arrivals will have formal mentoring in the Beverly Hills South office and training on a weekly basis, he said. And he will be recruiting more.
“We are seeing folks who have technology backgrounds, business backgrounds, a few MBAs, people that are really approaching this as a significant business.”
“What sets us apart is that we believe in building agents’ careers,” said Foster: “We want to maintain the momentum; it’s all about process and focus, and it’s really starting to take off for us now.”
“I don’t see a shortage of people coming into the business this year and in 2017.”
