FOR MANAGERS
Companies to Watch

Youthful approach yields old-time success story

Concept 2000 Realty Inc., Raleigh, N.C.
Web: www.realtor.com/triangleareanc/concept2000
E-mail: concept2ks@aol.com

Why eye it: Sheri Moritz parlayed a $150 real estate course into a $25-million-a-year real estate business in six years. Now she has 12 salespeople, owns her own company, and is opening a branch office and planning another. Oh yeah--she’s 26 years old.

What she did: Moritz grew up in several foster homes in Wisconsin, and she knows what it feels like to be dependent. When it was time to leave, “I had no limits around me,” exclaims the energetic Moritz. “I felt there was no ceiling for me: I hadno ties—I could be whatever I wanted to be.” She left Wisconsin to attend North Carolina State University as a premed. She held the usual put-yourself-through-college jobs, then saw a classified ad for a $150 real estate course. She was looking for part-time work, but “I knew after the first class this was the job for me.”

Results: Moritz opened her own company in early 1998 and had her first closing in April 1998. In the next 12 months, the company closed $25 million in sales in a market where the median sales price in 1998 was $159,800. “I get business from referrals and, frankly, by lowering my commission but never the level of service. And I never scrimp on marketing my sellers or on company advertising.”

Business strategy: Concept 2000 offers customized service, featuring a variety of marketing plans from which sellers can choose. Sellers include FSBOs. “We offer them advice, and if we assist at closing, we charge $495.” Moritz has also gained the confidence of area builders who refer their buyers who need to sell. “The best part is that I grew up with computers, so I’m on the cutting edge of technology and know how to use it for my clients and staff.”

Home offices: All of her 12 sales associates are close friends--ranging in age from 21 and up—and all work from home; her office in the Raleigh suburbs is “just for show,” says Moritz. All the associates have a phone, a fax, a computer with access to the MLS, and a pager; she offers a 70-30 split. She meets with them individually when she feels it’s necessary. “But we’re always chitchatting on the phone or via E-mail, and some of us meet for coffee once a week. I’ve done no recruiting--period. I did an ad once and got no response. They all come to me when they hear about my company and how much business I do. They’re all my friends, even though some of them think I’m kind of young.” But nobody’s left the company.

Expansion: Moritz opened a branch in Holly Springs, outside Raleigh, in November with two associates. In March a new office will be opened in Charlotte--Moritz just hired the father of one of her best friends to manage it.

What’s next: “Continual growth. Real estate is an ever-changing business, and we’re going to follow the technological changes and meet the challenges.”

Advice to brokers: “Learn about the industry and technology, then make a plan for the way you want to do business. Even if you meet resistance, it doesn’t mean you won’t succeed.”