Jay Macklin
Co-Owner/Broker
Corcoran Platinum Living
Scottsdale, Arizona
https://www.corcoranplatinumliving.com/
Region served: Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona
Years in real estate: 15
Number of offices: 5
Number of agents: 150-plus
Favorite part of your job: Meeting new people, listening to their story and determining how I can add value.
You were handpicked to affiliate with The Corcoran Group in 2020. What does it mean to be a part of Corcoran?
Jay Macklin: First and foremost, it means that I now have the ability to leverage what Corcoran brings to the table. Given how quickly their affiliate network is expanding, it’s exciting to be able to lay more of a runway than I was able to when we were an independent brokerage. Joining Corcoran’s affiliate network in year one, on the ground floor, was also a big thing for us. If you look at the Phoenix landscape, there are many real estate brokerages and agents, and by affiliating with Corcoran, we’ll be able to go further and farther and higher than ever before. Last but not least, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the leadership of President and CEO Pam Liebman. She’s the type of person you want to be around, and as a small independent, we didn’t have these types of affiliations to the degree that we do now.
How does your affiliation with Corcoran help you stand out in the marketplace?
JM: With 4,500 real estate companies and 75,000 agents in a relatively small community, I refer to Phoenix endearingly as the Petri dish of any company that wants to open an office. Not only are there a lot of brokerages and agents in the marketplace, but there’s also a lot of commoditization. Corcoran helps us stand out due to the fact that our cultures are aligned so well. The affiliation also allows us to expand on the initiatives and things we want to provide to help our agents guide their buyers and sellers through the real estate process while meeting and exceeding their expectations. I love to learn and teach, and the marketing tools, learning resources and industry experiences we now have access to are key. Being able to stand out allows us to humanize our position in the high-end market, and our affiliation with Corcoran has elevated us to another level.
How do you plan to grow your high-end business?
JM: While brand awareness is our No. 1 priority, our growth is also centered around learning opportunities. I do a lot of coaching and training, and leveraging Corcoran’s learning facility will help us with our high-end business. Learning how to level up the agent’s experience so that they can go above and beyond for their clients will bring growth from the high-end market.
You spend a lot of time teaching, coaching and mentoring. Tell us about your interest in these areas. JM: If you are going to hang your license with a brokerage, and spend money or pay a split depending on what the model looks like, you should get something in return. When I was an agent, I couldn’t connect the dots when it came to what I was paying and what I was getting, which almost led to me leaving the industry after the market crashed in 2008. When I connected with a coaching company myself, it changed how I viewed everything, which ultimately led to the creation of our five-step coaching system that helps agents manage the people, programs and technology they must pay attention to if they want to elevate themselves. Coaching and training are two platforms I use to help my agents understand that how they are relevant to the buyer and seller is important.
As the future unfolds, what are you focusing on—and what opportunities do you hope to take advantage of?
JM: I want to continue to improve our learning opportunities. Being relatively new to the affiliation, I know there is a lot we’re not yet taking advantage of, so I’m going to focus on putting the pieces together so that every agent has what they need. A lot of it comes down to listening to agents as well, and we’ve done a good job in this area by utilizing surveys targeting our agents and those outside the company. By asking the hard questions, we’ve been able to pinpoint the holes and identify the issues so that we have a better understanding of what tools and systems agents need to be successful.
For more information, please visit www.corcoran.com.
Paige Tepping is RISMedia’s managing editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to paige@rismedia.com.
