The Prudential Network Realty is located at 363-12 Atlantic Blvd in Atlantic Beach.
SALES MANAGER?
Christy Budnick has been the sales manager for a little over three years. The office opened in 1999. She oversees 42 agents and runs the office. “I do everything including managing the listing and sales activities, reviewing contracts, making sure everything is in compliance and that we are following the rules and coaching and working through problems with agents. I create the budget, manage the budget and mentor. I do everything from A to Z in office operations to sales management.”
HOW DOES SHE HANDLE EVERYTHING?
Budnick said she has a great staff at her office including full-time receptionist, Kristen Gibson; office manager, Karen Breuer; marketing coordinator, Karen Przysucha and several personal assistants. “I get lots of help and I need it.”
TYPE OF AGENTS
IN THE OFFICE?
“We have a very wide range of agents. One of the things I think that does is that it creates a very well-rounded office. We have everything from those in their early 20’s and on up. The neat thing is that those that come out of the incubator program have all these fresh ideas. Some were told that they were too young and weren’t going to make it. And sure enough, they are on my top 20 list for the office by the end of the year. It really spurs on some of the people who have been in the business for a while.”
WHO IS IN THE OFFICE?
Beckie Adcox, Elizabeth Stern and Lea Saget are personal assistants. Agents include Alana Petway, Andrea Harper, Andrea Nichols, Ann Pohl, Billy Graeme, Blaine Peterson, Carla Hamilton, Carol Cox, Carol Mabry, Carol Reimer, Charlie Stambaugh, Cinnamon Vincent, Dee Jansen, Donna Brandon, Dorinda Reeves, Ed Robinson, Erin Bryan, Fay Patsourakis, Gloria Gregg, Jack Vance, Jan McVay, Jennifer Sexton, Judy Hill, Julie Little, Kim Phipps, Larry Buchanan, Lea Underwood, Maggie Haynes, Mark Lowe, Marsha Cain, Michelle Cummings, Mont Grunthal, Nic D’Anglelo, Patricia Hairston, Patrick Dorrian, Penny Parks, Phil Pierce, Rachel Dorrian, Richard Arthur, Rick Mackoul, Ron Taylor, Sue Schuman, Susan Dunham, Tony Vance, Tonya Seigler, Ursula Jansen and Yvonne. Warren Miller of Gibraltar Mortgage and Kerry Fulford and Carolyn Fox of Le Meridien are also fall under this office.
AREA THE OFFICE CONCENTRATES ON?
“This is absolutely our primary target. However, we work everything from Kernan Boulevard out to the beach and all the way to Ponte Vedra Beach and even St. Augustine at times. We have a large target area. One of the things we try to do is hire diverse agents who like working different areas so that we aren’t all on top of each other.”
AVERAGE PRICE OF A HOME IN YOUR AREA?
Budnick said the office average is around $400,000. “We work everything from the low $100,000’s to several million dollars. But our average tends to be in the $400,000’s.”
WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE YOU TOOK OVER THE OFFICE?
When she took over the office it only had 23 agents -the count now is over 42. “We needed to increase the size because revenue was not really where we wanted it. My first charge since I had never sold real estate was to really learn the business. The first year was digging into the contracts, understanding everything from A to Z, getting to know the agents and what their needs were and recruiting like crazy. My background was in mortgages and mortgage banking, so I was familiar with it from that and by virtue of family.” Her first year, she increased revenue by $40 million.
HIGHLY
PRODUCTIVE OFFICE?
“We have highly productive agents. The thing I am most proud of is that in this group, we have agents that are really serious about the business. They are very excited about their career. The average person in their first year does over $2 million, which is unheard of.”
GIVING OFFICE?
Budnick said her office has a real giving spirit. They are involved in several community endeavors including Realtors Ramp it Up, the Backpack Challenge and American Cancer Society.
HOW IS IT BEING THE BOSS’S DAUGHTER?
Budnick is Linda Sherrer, owner of Prudential Network Realty’s daughter. She took her own career path in mortgages and it just seemed like the right time for her to enter the family business. “I have a blast working with my mother. She is such a consummate professional. I’m very fortunate in that I do report to her, but we’ve got a really great management staff in the company so I don’t have to go to her all the time. I am able to go to Amanda Dandy in or Ponte Vedra Beach office or Carol Hill in our corporate office. So, we have an excellent working environment. My husband just teases us because we can never leave it alone. We are always working. So, anytime we are together, we are working. So, if you have to say there is a downside to it, we are never off.”
WAS IT HARD COMING INTO THE BUSINESS?
“Oh yes. I had a lot of naysayers that had a lot to say, and rightfully so, since I had not sold real estate before. But, I had proven myself in the banking industry and had risen to vice president to Bank of America. I was the youngest female vice president in the area. My mother did feel that I had
earned my stripes. I didn’t want to even think about entering the company until I had felt that I had proven myself. It just took about two months and everyone was on board.”
WHY DID SHE DECIDE TO BECOME A SALES MANAGER IN REAL ESTATE?
Budnick had left the mortgage business to go back to school for her master’s degree. “As I was finishing up, I received a call from a bank that offered me a sales manager position over their private banking. I was talking to my mother and said I’d hate to pass up this opportunity because it had everything that I wanted. It had a local presence and the income that I wanted and it would have been a step up in my career. Mom went back to her partner, Tom Petway. and he asked what the plans were for the Atlantic Beach office, which was without a full-time sales manager. The partners had been trying for the past several years to get me into the business, so they said, ‘How about Christy?’ My mom gave a real funny face and said that she didn’t know about that. Finally, we sat down and my mom said she didn’t want me to take the position with the bank and that it was the perfect time for me to make an entrance here. So, I did and it’s the best move I’ve ever made.”
EXPANSION?
Budnick said the office is planning to expand and move to the old Famous Amos location in Atlantic Beach after renovations are completed. “Tom Petway bought the building, so we are going up on it with a second story, so Tom will have some offices up there and then Prudential Network, Gibraltar Mortgage and Gibraltar Title will have offices on the first floor.”
IN-HOUSE TRAINING?
Budnick offers two training classes a week for her prospecting agents. She has two different group of prospecting agents and 22 of her agents are in that group. They cover everything from listing presentation, contracts and more.
WHAT TYPE OF AGENTS DOES SHE HIRE?
“I look for someone real energetic and excited about the career. I also look for someone who has had longevity in other past careers if they are moving into real estate. If they are in real estate, I look for someone who hasn’t jumped from company to company because we want people who are serious about the business and are looking for a career with a company. It’s proven - if you look at the top producers, they don’t move from company to company. Additionally, I look for guidance from my current agents. I want to know from them who they want me to bring on board and who they want me to stay away from. They are the ones who have the cross sales with other agents. Not only do I want someone who is a producer, but I want to make sure they are ethically sound. We don’t operate in the gray; we are absolutely black and white that way. I want to make sure they are a team player. This business is cutthroat enough without having your own agenda.”
UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR OFFICE?
Budnick said the mix of people. She said her group would drop everything to help one another. “It’s not all about the individual; it’s about a team effort and helping the team do well and keeping the focus on the customer.”
ADVANTAGE OF THE SIZE OF HER OFFICE?
She thinks her office in comparison to the others at the beach is relatively small. “Our office has a real open setting. It creates a ton of energy. When you have people who are serious about the business and work their fanny’s off, they come in and yelling and screaming about a new listing they got. I think there is a real synergy and excitement about having an office this size.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis