Jennifer Newton: Creating Stress-Free Moves

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RISMEDIA-NRRE VOL 16-9 2000

Jennifer Newton: Creating Stress-Free Moves

Jennifer Newton, Vice President and Director

Company: Crye-Leike Relocation Services

Location: Chatanooga, Tenn.

No. of Branch Offices: 45

Volume: 3,500 relocations

Do you know that downtown Chattanooga has zero-emission electric buses as part of an award-winning environmental program? That it has an opera? A symphony? An arts district? Jennifer Newton assumes you don’t.

Battling preconceived notions and working hard to get news of her city’s assets into potential clients’ consciousness is one of her key strategies for developing new business for the relocation division of Crye-Leike Realtors’ Greater Chattanooga-North Georgia division.

“Don’t assume that people know about your city or your area,” says Newton. What they think they know, she says, may be far from the truth. Chattanooga, with some 150,000 residents, is tucked into the southeast corner of Tennessee. The metro area, which reaches into northwest Georgia has about 500,000 residents and includes some large corporate residents, like Duracell and M&M Mars. Dalton, Ga., which is in the Crye-Leike market is considered the carpet and floor-covering capitol of the world.

Crye-Leike (pronounced “cry like”), whose corporate headquarters are in Memphis, opened its doors in Chattanooga in December 1997. Since the office is relatively new ? the relocation operation didn’t begin until the following March ? Newton, her three-and-a-half relocation specialists and 250 agents see new business opportunities almost daily.

Getting the name out to the community is still one of Newton’s main tools ? and challenges. One time-tested method is through involvement with community organizations. She’s involved with the Junior League and the Chamber of Commerce and helps out wherever she can.

Another way to develop new business is the old-fashioned way. Personal visits to companies in the area to sell Crye-Leike’s services.

“We try to make ourselves a resource,” Newton says. “We go and we ask, ?What can we do for you and your employees??”

Through its affiliation with RELO?, the international network of relocation agents, Newton and Crye-Leike can arrange moves across town or around the world. Newton has moved around a bit herself. That gives her, she says, a certain empathy with her clients.

And she knows what her goal is. “It should seem easy to them,” she says, “while you’re backstage pulling the strings.”

? Mike Daly