Century 21 Atkins Realty is located at 11516 San Jose Blvd. The office was first opened in a Mandarin location in the early 1980’s and they bought property and built their current building in 1982. “We also had a location in San Marco on Hendricks Avenue, so we merged our San Marco location with this office at this location about five years ago,” said Pam Atkins, “We loved that location. But we decided that this is really the hub of where everything is happening and where our business and agents had a better opportunity to go to St. Johns County, Intracoastal and Orange Park because that’s where our business flowed.”
WHEN DID THE COMPANY OPEN?
It opened at Atkins Realty in 1971 and became Century 21 Atkins Realty in 1976.
WHO IS THE BROKER?
Robert Atkins. Pam Atkins is the managing broker.
WHAT DOES THE MANAGING BROKER DO?
“I maintain the day-to-day business of the office, train agents, recruit and developed the corporate relocation part of our office.”
WHO’S IN THE OFFICE?
Jan Blackwood, Lynne Kirk, Susan Aldrich Fennell, Charles Tillis, Mark Goldwich, Eileen Bryant, Elizabeth Meux, Virginia Arena and Michelle Burkes are the agents. Connie Caldwell, Betty Benson and Ruth Thomas are clerical staff.
TELL ME ABOUT THE MANDARIN AREA.
When they moved there in the early 1980’s, Pam said the area was really starting to take shape. “It has just grown and grown. Mandarin itself is pretty much built out, there isn’t a lot left to build on. But it is very close to St. Johns County where there is a lot going on. Mandarin is still very popular, even for re-sales.”
AVERAGE PRICE FOR A HOME IN MANDARIN?
Pam said the median price in the area is under $200,000, probably more around $180,000-$190,000.
ARE YOU PLANNING ON GROWING THE OFFICE?
The office currently has 10 agents. “We’ve had as many as 40 agents between both offices at one time. I like to have an open door policy as a broker and give a lot of broker support and good training. I’m always looking for new agents because there is always constant turnover, but I don’t want to get super big. I like to have an office that is team oriented where the people know they can count on each other and there is healthy competition. I can do a lot to help build and grow each agent’s business and that’s good for the office. If they are consistent, productive agents, you can be just as happy with 15 as you can with 30.”
NEW AGENTS?
“I really like new agents. I really like to train them. They see everything through fresh eyes and it is kind of motivating to the other agents in the office. It’s new blood and they are excited and enthusiastic. It is exciting to see them take off and to help them find their own niche. It is important today for people to find out where their niche is in the marketplace because there is so much competition.”
WHAT TYPE OF AGENTS DO YOU HIRE?
Pam said when she interviews potential agents, she wants to make sure they are a good fit with her office. She likes people with good work ethics. “I can train them well and they can go out and if there is an issue or a concern, they will come to me and we will deal with it.”
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR OFFICE?
“I have an open door policy and I think the agents feel comfortable running things by me and keeping me informed. I hear a lot from them, that I trained them well, but not everyone else is like that. That is frustrating for them because they feel like they have to do the other person’s job for them. It’s an agent-friendly office. We are geared to think that our agents are our customers. We try to provide an environment that will motivate them to take pride in their work and give quality service because they know that is the expectation here.”
AWARDS?
Their office won the Quality Service Award from Century 21 International for this and several years past. “You win that by client and customer responses. After every transaction, the national office sends that person a survey to complete. You have to get back so many surveys and they have to be at a certain percentage of the response. We have also received the Quality Service Pinnacle award on several occasions and that is the highest award in Quality service over all other offices. This year we were the only office that received the award period.”
HOW DOES EVERYONE GET ALONG?
“Pretty good. We have a very diverse group of people. They are very diverse in their lifestyles, interests, age and personalities. But, they all work together.”
ENCOURAGE PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT?
Yes, she does.
TEAM MEETINGS?
The office holds a meeting once a week where they go over office business, mini-training, hear speakers or discuss caravan listings.
TRAINING?
When she has new agents, they go through six weeks of training in-house and through the Century 21 computer system. “They teach them all of the Century 21 tools and I teach them how to apply it in our own marketplace.”
ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A SMALL OFFICE?
“You have more of a level of comfort because you know how your people are trained and what they are out there doing. Today, there are so many people out there doing so many things. Our office has always enjoyed a good reputation for being very ethical and giving good service.”
- by Michele Newbern Gillis