Laid Off from Corporate America in 2002, Jeff Cook, CEO of Jeff Cook Real Estate, Bounces Back with Full Force in Less Than a Year and Establishes A Booming Real Estate Firm in South Carolina

“We use humor frequently in our advertising campaigns, which has boosted brand recognition enormously.”

Adaptability all comes down to your willingness to seek out new opportunities to grow. Whether it’s systems, new ad campaigns, new employees, new ways to celebrate success, always continue to find new ways to grow the company closer and to push your employees higher.

In an industry such as real estate, it is easy to fall into the mindset of “it’s always been done this way.”

That statement is not allowed, and we must be willing to push ourselves out of the comfort of the norm. If we want to stay relevant and top of mind we have to do things differently and offer new ways to meet new needs that are arising in today’s world.

In light of the foregoing, we’re thrilled to present Jeff Cook Real Estate.

Jeff Cook Real Estate is a flourishing real estate firm. From new marketing systems to innovating ways to help families who were unable to sell their homes with other real estate agents, the firm is constantly innovating and creating new systems to help beat the industry status quo.

Jeff Cook Real Estate was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.

Jeff Cook, Jeff Cook Real Estate Owner/CEO, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an excerpt.

Rewind: Taking Flight

After being laid off from Corporate America for being among the best sales associates, Jeff began to work as an independent agent, he had a goal of opening his own small business where people could thrive in a safe, goal-oriented company and be rewarded for honesty and hard work. Shortly after entering Real Estate, Jeff began to establish a team and started Jeff Cook Real Estate. What began as Jeff, two other agents, and an assistant, is now a thriving real estate company consisting of more than one hundred agents and over thirty staff members in numerous locations across South Carolina.

Redefining: Real Estate

Jeff’s vision for his company from the very beginning was to redefine the method in which real estate is sold. Whether it’s through out-of-the-box marketing ideas or creating a new type of real estate team where he can pour into other real estate agents and help them become successful, Jeff has held true to that vision of redefining the real estate industry. In order to reach his vision, Jeff has been on a mission to empower his team to deliver the best service and to empower his clients to reach their real estate goals.

Jeff was one of the first agents in the Charleston area to open a “team concept” brokerage where agents were rewarded for the hard work they put into their job. To help clients reach their real estate goals, he was the first to offer the Guaranteed Sold Program in SC when the market tanked and people couldn’t sell their homes. This program then spurred his creation of Titan Home Buyers LLC for the clients who couldn’t sell or buy the traditional way.

Elements: That Make Jeff Cook Real Estate Outshine The Competition

Jeff Cook and Jeff Cook Real Estate are definitely an industry leader, especially in their somewhat unorthodox approach to marketing. “We use humor frequently in our advertising campaigns, which has boosted brand recognition enormously.” Jeff built this company on the foundation for redefining the real estate industry and is looked up to by real estate agents across the nation as a leader. As mentioned before, Jeff had the vision to help clients reach their real estate goals, even when they seem impossible to reach. That’s why he has developed so many programs and companies that can step in when clients can’t buy or sell a home the traditional way.

Addressing: Customer Pain Points

Because Jeff Cook Real Estate often “pushes the edge” in its humorous marketing campaigns, it gets all sorts of responses, from laughter to disbelief. “We believe that allowing consumers to see our lighter side has allowed us to gain market share. While the everyday real estate marketing you see today tend to be on the safe side, we desire to add a little shine to the market with our marketing tactics and personal experiences.”

“Another struggle we encountered as a rapidly growing team with our clients was working with our team concept vs. one agent. Some clients felt like they were being passed around from one person to another throughout the transaction.” Jeff immediately implemented systems to make the transaction as smooth as possible and provided a client service specialist to collect feedback along the way from clients to ensure they were being taken care of in the best and most immediate way.

Fostering: A Culture of Feedback

Jeff has built systems to listen and respond quickly to feedback from consumers as well as from employees. From yearly anonymous Google questionnaires to monthly one-on-ones between managers and agents, have created several outlets for agents and operations staff to submit feedback and feel heard. It doesn’t stop with the submission; all feedback is reviewed by executive team members and immediately addressed good or bad. Jeff Cook Real Estate was named one of South Carolina’s Best Top Workplaces in 2019 by its employees. This award did not come easily as it was based on a full company questionnaire submission giving their honest feedback on their experience at Jeff Cook Real Estate.

Standing Tall: In Tough Times

“We are able to adapt to different market conditions due to our marketing plan.” Unlike most real estate companies, Jeff Cook Real Estate saw the majority of its growth in sales during a down market due to its out-of-the-box marketing strategy. When the real estate market is good, most real estate agents see an increase in sales, but when the real estate market is down, people are looking for a real estate company with a marketing plan. “That is who we are.”

Factors: That Aid Jeff Cook Real Estate to Compete Internationally

“We keep our company running by simultaneously focusing on a few things: first, our people. We have found that if we invest in our agents and employees, the results will happen as a by-product. Second, we are always looking forward to the future to be sure that we are involved with the newest technology, the most cutting edge strategies, and watching new real estate trends. Real estate is an ever-changing endeavor and we want to be sure that we are ready to not only handle those changes but thrive as a result.”

Products: To Be Launched

“We are about to launch our new website that has some amazing tools that will help the homeowner truly know what their home is worth in today’s market.” Jeff knew that there were several inaccurate real estate or estimation tools online these days and he knows the data that needs to be pulled in order to give the most accurate home assessment. This site will also include home searching features for all cities that the company services, with real-time updates so that the user knows the content is the most accurate and reliable information online.

Along with new products, Jeff Cook Real Estate is also launching a new location. Jeff Cook Real Estate is ready to open a new office in the rapidly developing area of Rock Hill. “We are excited to serve the families of Rock Hill.”

Future Arrangements

“After reaching our goal of serving 1,000 families a year early in 2017, we have set our eyes on a new goal to serve 2,000 families by the end of 2020 and 4,000 families by 2025.”

Jeff Cook: A Formidable Leader

Jeff Cook’s career in real estate began when he was laid off from Corporate America for being among the best sales associates. Jeff quickly rebounded in 2003 and graduated from both the University of South Carolina, with a Bachelor’s in Business, and Real Estate School within the same week.

Jeff Cook Real Estate is the No.1 Residential Real Estate Team in South Carolina. His company is also ranked 10th among all other real estate teams in the nation. In the past three years, Jeff has increased his sales by 150 percent and plans to aggressively continue with company growth. In 2015, Jeff opened his own brokerage, making Jeff Cook Real Estate an independent agency. He also launched Titan Home Buyers in 2015, a sister company of Jeff Cook Real Estate. Titan helps people in distressed situations who are not able to sell their homes through traditional real estate methods. In 2016, he launched Rent Holy City, a full-service property management company. Rent Holy City is tailored to maximize the return for landlords and investors. In 2018, Jeff and the team received the coveted “Top 25 Fastest Growing Companies in SC” of all industries and Jeff personally received the “Top 40 Most Influential Person Under 40 Years Old”. In 2019, Jeff Cook Real Estate was named South Carolina’s Top Place to Work!

“While the everyday real estate marketing you see today tend to be on the safe side, we desire to add a little shine to the market with our marketing tactics and personal experiences.”