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7/27/2019 RIS MEDIA July Cover

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Preparing for the

Next Generationof Real Estate

CENTURY 21 Award Page 48

www.rismedia.com

Photos cour tesy www.DominicKawaja.com


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David Romero

President & CEOCENTURY 21 AwardRREIN Member

by Barbara Pronin

RISMedias REAL ESTATE

Preparing for theNext Generation

of Real EstateCENTURY 21 Award

Photos courtesy www.DominicKawaja.com


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Barbara Pronin:David, youve led

your own CENTURY 21 franchisefor over 15 years, 10 of them with

CENTURY 21 Award. Tell us a little

about how the rm has grown

over the years and your overall

positioning in your marketplace.

David Romero:We began with fouroffices in Orange County in 1998

and doubled our size in 2004 with

the acquisition of CENTURY 21

Award in San Diego. Today, we have

16 offices and over 1,000 agents

serving buyers and sellers in San

Diego, Orange, Riverside and San

Bernardino counties. Thats a pretty

diverse area, and we did pull back

a bit during the industry-wide slump,

but Im proud to say we are in our

third consecutive year of steadyif

not amazinggrowth in both sales

and gross commission income. We

are, as you say, second in sales pro-

duction in the CENTURY 21 roster of

companies worldwide, and No. 1 inper-agent production in our region

for the third year in a row.

BP: What would you point to as

your competitive differentiators?DR: We are blessed to carry theCENTURY 21 brand, one of the

worlds most recognized and re-

spected brands, and we take very

seriously the brands proven commit-

ment to professionalism, integrity

and outstanding customer service.

More than that, we are a company

for and about people. In a time of

changing demographics and vastly

differing customer needs, not only

are we committed to rebuilding the

American Dream of homeownership

for every segment of the population,

were also committed to supportingour agents in this mission. That in-

cludes a program we developed to

pinpoint and meet the needs of the

18- to 35-year-old Gen Y homebuyer.

We have panels of Gen Y consum-

ers and agents meeting to share

ideas, giving us the means and the

impetus to provide our agents with

the right training and tools to be top

producers going forward. Its another

way of proving our commitment ev-

ery day, with every customer, and I

think thats why people see us as

the go-to company for customized

and personal service.

BP: What are todays consum-ers most concerned with when it

comes to buying and selling real

estate?

DR:Buyers are out there looking fordeals, but theyre still a little tenta-

tive. Many havent realized yet thatnow is a really good time for buyers,

especially first-timers, who were cut

out of the playing field for a while

as investors were scooping up the

bargains. But now, soaring prices

have begun to stabilize, lenders are

lending, and mortgage rates are

still near historic lows. As for sell-

ers, they always want to get the best

price, and with inventory short these

days, some are still holding out. But

with prices stabilizing as they have

Having grown up in a real estate family, the past,

present and future of the industry are in David

Romeros DNA. But at this point i n time, the

president and CEO of Southern Californias CENTURY 21

Award is focused on the here and now, determined that his

agents will be the best prepared in the industry to serve

the next gene ration of home buyers. Its time to focus on

Gen Y, says Romero. We want to understand what they

think, what they need, what they wantand we want to be

sure our agents have the tools and the training to not just

meet these distinctive needs, but to build long and lasting

relationships. In this e xclusive interview, Romero shares his

passion for education and his strategy for continuing to grow

the company in the next generation of real estate .

Its time to focus on Gen Y. We want tounderstand what they think, what they need,

what they wantand we want to be sure our

agents have the tools and the training to notjust meet these distinctive needs, but to build

long and lasting relationships.-David Romero

President & CEO

CENTURY 21 Award


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been, many are realizing its a good

time to sell, especially if theyve

been putting off a move.

BP:How are your agents meetingthese various consumer needs?

DR: Education is key, and ongoingtraining is uppermost for us. We

have a diversity of ages in our agent

population, but we share the same

core values. Our agents are industry

professionals who understand the

local market and are committed to

exceeding customer expectations.More than that, they have the tools,

the resources, and the people skills

to educate their customers in ways

that empower them to make the

best decisions for themselves andtheir families. Our agents are excited

about the opportunities this market

brings to buyers and sellers. Prices

are higher than they were during the

slump, but in many areas, they are

still a long way from the high. And

the current lending environment is

encouraging as well. Sellers can

get a very fair price these days and

seize the opportunity theyve been

waiting for to move up, downsize oreven relocate. For our agents, its

a matter of personalized service

of understanding what every client

needs and wants, and working hard

to help them achieve it.

BP:What is the company doing interms of training?

DR: Again, education is key andtraining is ongoing. Our Gen Y panels

are a perfect example. Training is a

constant process to ensure that ev-

ery agent is on top of the market and

equipped with the best possible mar-

ket knowledge and resources. We

also have a great leadership teamand perceptive branch leaders who

work to make sure every agent stays

Top left to right: Christian De Vera, REALTOR; Anthony Guerrieri, REALTOR; Wayne Chan, REALTOR; David Romero, President

& CEO; Matt McGinnis, Branch Leader/REALTOR; Layne Rackley, Chief Financial Officer.Bottom left to right: Tristan Cien, Gen Y Liaison/REALTOR; Tassia Bezdeka, Director of Tech Development & Social Marketing;

Martha Karelius, Executive Vice President (North); Sara Jackson, Executive Vice President (South).


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at the top of his or her game. Were

big on mentoring and sharing infor-

mation, both face to face and online,

which is just a part of our companyculture. And I try to be in every one of

our offices at least once each quar-

ter to see that our processes are

working for the benefit of both our

agents and our clients.

BP: How has your technologyevolved to meet agent and con-

sumer demands?

DR: We work hard to stay on theleading edge. We are constantly up-

dating and improving our website,

which is where most customers be-

gin their home search, and we have

a terrific, forward-looking tech staff

to help guide us in terms of whats

out there and what we may want to

invest in. Between the brands of-

ferings and those we offer on our

own, agents have 24/7 access to

the best information available and

the best tools to turn it to advan-

tage. This includes everything fromproducing virtual tours to using

the newest social media apps. We

also have an agent review program

where customers can see how our

agents have performed during past

transactions and choose one they

are confident will best represent

them.

BP:How have your marketing and

promotional strategies evolved tobetter connect with customers?

DR:We do very little print advertis-ing anymore, but weve made some

excellent marketing partnerships,

including our agent satisfaction plat-

form, which appeals to customers.

And most of our marketing efforts

are operated online where most

people begin their search. Also,

we focus heavily on bringing in new

listings, so theres a lot of familiar

CENTURY 21 signage out there to

remind people we are the local com-

pany of choice.

BP: What about communityinvolvement?

DR: CENTURY 21 is a long-time

supporter of Easter Seals, whichprovides outreach and advocacy

service for people living with autism

and other disabilities, and we are

proud to be among the brands top

fundraisers. Our company raised

over $72,000 for Easter Seals last

year, much of it through our Clos-

ings for Kids program. In addition

to what we give at the corporate

level, our agents donate a portion

of their commissions at closing to

the Easter Seals campaign. We also

have a very popular raffle each year

with a $10,000 cash prize for firstplace. And I have to say that all of us

working together on behalf of some-

thing we believe in brings us closer

as a team.

BP: In your opinion, David, whatdo agents need to focus on in or-

der to succeed?

DR: Service, service, service. Asreal estate professionals, we no

longer control the information.

Consumers have access to plenty

of information, so to be success-

ful, agents need to double up on

service, and that includes helping

customers understand and make

the best use of all that free-float-

ing information. We have taskedourselves to rebuild the American

Dream of homeownership for every

demographic in this countryand

the approach is not the same for

meeting the needs of Generation Y

as it is for baby boomers. One of

the reasons we think training is so

important is that it gives our agents

the specific skills they need to be

successful with each demographic,

whether its maximizing the powerof social media or knowing when

high-touch, face-to-face interaction

is more important than high tech.

BP: And nally, David, what areyour plans for continuing to grow

the company?

DR: Our strategy starts with attract-ing and training the best agents in

the businesscareer agents who

share our ideals and values and

want to be part of our dynamic anddedicated team. After six consecu-

tive down years, we are back in a

steady period of growth. In 2013,

our agents earned $48.5 million in

gross commission income. This year,

were projecting $63 million. And in

2015, if we are successful in our

three-year plan, our agents will earn

$100 million. Thats not a random

number. Its based on current results

and solid projections. The plan in-cludes getting the word out that this

is a once-in-a-generation time to

buy and maximizing every ounce of

our know-how and drive to reach out

and make the American Dream a re-

ality for as many people as humanly

possible. We are personally and pro-

fessionally intent on reaching out

to as many people as possible and

making every transaction a positive

and satisfying experience. RE

For more information, please visit

www.century21award.com.

We are personally

and professionallyintent on reaching

out to as manypeople as possibleand making every

transaction a positiveand satisfying

experience.

-David Romero

President & CEOCENTURY 21 Award

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