MANSFIELD, Ohio — The Holden Agency is featured in the September 2015 issue of RISMedia’s Real Estate Magazine detailing their use of the Realtors Property Resource™ app. Recognition in a national publication with approximately 400,000 subscribers is a significant achievement for the young company.
“It’s nice and kind of ironic. Sept. 1 is my two-year anniversary of my doors to be open,” The Holden Agency President Jerry Holden stated.
In the RISMedia article, Holden discussed the RPR app and how it assists him in quickly attaining information for properties anywhere in the country.
“RPR levels the playing field in a few different ways,” stated Holden in the article, referring to how, as an independent brokerage, his agency might otherwise struggle to compete with big franchises.
“Now, I have information at my fingertips 24/7, 365 days year that I can use to help out my clients anywhere in the state of Ohio, or better yet, the country,” he said in the article.
Franchises, in contrast, have many more available resources.
The agency’s use of a digital app is an example of how traditional businesses can not only compete in their field but also be leaders rather than dinosaurs, businesses that fail to adapt to trends and changes.
Holden said he used to Google information from different sources to obtain data for customers and it took much more time than the RPR app. It was information brokerage franchises had readily available.
“Now, I put in markets, I put in addresses, I can get market reports, neighborhood reports, school reports, economy, demographics…So I’m on my phone and I’m doing this and it tells me who owns the property, how they deeded the property…I have all this information in an instant,” Holden said.
“It’s an extremely powerful tool,” he said, “It’s the most powerful tool I’ve ever used.”
The app allows Holden and his agents to provide leadership to their clients with in-the-moment details and information. And leadership is important for business success and is what his customers are looking for, Holden added.
“That’s what RPR has given me,” Holden added. “I have been able to provide that leadership to my clients, which has in turn catapulted my business far beyond what I ever thought it would be.”
“I do believe that I’m the only independent broker in the state of Ohio using this service and this product in the state of Ohio. And I think I’m the only independent broker in the state of Ohio covering all three markets: Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. I may not have the resources that franchises have but I have tools in place, and RPR being one of them, that gives myself and my agents the information and tools to provide leadership,” Holden said.
Holden believes the word “leadership” is under-valued in the real estate business.
What does the word “leadership” mean to business?
“Why do people do business with real estate agents? Why do people want to do business with The Holden Agency,” he asked.
“If you’re the leader and people have trust in you, then people will follow you. When I started my company, people didn’t care what company I was with. All my corporate accounts, from a relocation standpoint, from the healthcare industry to corporate clients, they’re like, ’We don’t care where you at, we want to do business with Jerry Holden. What that shows is that I’m providing leadership to my clients.”
“The more leaders you have on team providing leadership, then you work as a total unit to a one common goal is a win. If everyone trusts each other and provides leadership to each other, then other people will follow,” he said comparing the philosophy to that of Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer. ”Providing that leadership to our clients will put us a step above our competition.”
Holden’s focus has been on high-end luxury home buyers and sellers, though he and his agents sell in a number of markets. RPR has helped him in all of those markets in which he and his agents sell homes ranging from $10,000 to $500,000.
Holden takes pride in utilizing technology, like RPR, and social media to give clients what he describes as maximum exposure. Building genuine relationships as well as tailoring services toward each individual client is key.
“It helps me conduct business and helps my clients that are relocating, he said.
“I do so much business around the states of Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, and Florida. I had a guy that was moving from Indianapolis to North Carolina. He was like, ‘Jerry, can you help me out?’”
His clients count on the relationship and the information that Holden can attain instantly.
Formed in 2013, The Holden Agency values non-competing, team-focused real estate transactions in which all agents care for all clients by leveraging a multitude of technology and social media. Services are specifically tailored toward the individual client.
