Haute Residence continued its "Chat with Haute Residence Leaders" series with a conversation featuring Hilary Farnum-Fasth of Corcoran Reverie. Corcoran Reverie is the exclusive agent representing the Scenic 30A, Florida real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network.
Hilary Farnum-Fasth was hosted by Haute Media Group Cofounder Seth Semilof. Watch their conversation below.
The topics included Hilary’s illustrious career from marketing at Regatta Bay, becoming a broker during the Great Recession, and her eventual ascendancy in luxury real estate partnering with The Corcoran Group.
Having started her real estate career within the renowned communities of Regatta Bay and WaterSound Beach, Hilary is well-versed in the art of selling luxury real estate. While the owner and of Beachy Beach 30A & Beachy Beach Destin, Hilary leads day-to-day operations, creates marketing and advertising programs, lists high-end luxury properties, and hires, trains, and manages new agents. Hilary attributes her professional success to a solid combination of tenacity and relationship building. For over 18 years, she has used her powerful negotiation skills to stay ahead of the curve in a dynamic, ever-changing industry.
Here are some of the questions and answers from the exclusive interview with Hilary.
Seth Semilof: In your bio, you went to Florida State. What did you do after school?
Hilary Farnum-Fasth: I was offered a job in Destin, Florida at Regatta Bay and that is where I got my start. I was in marketing for them and had an incredible mentor. He taught me everything to do with marketing. He always was teaching us how to sell real estate in a visionary way, but I actually did not want to sell real estate because my mom had been a real estate agent. Obviously, I was always meant to be in it and the developer saw that in me. He said, “Listen, you are sitting here on site doing the marketing, but sometimes, clients are coming in and the agents are out in the field. You are the one talking about the real estate, and I would be so much more comfortable if you had your real estate license.” I got the license and literally the day I got licensed, he said, “Oh, by the way, I need you to become an agent because we just had somebody move on.” That is how I got into real estate and, of course, it was the best thing I ever did.
SS: Tell us about how long it took you to start getting into sales. Did you have success immediately with that?
HFF: Ironically, I did have success immediately, but it was because I went all in. I actually invested in myself heavily. What I mean by that is everything was pulling way back and the first thing that people do is the thing they should not do, which is they stop paying for all the marketing. They get fear-based and fear drives them which for me, fear is not even in there at all. There was a local newspaper where if you had an ad in there, you were it. I did these full-page ads that cost a fortune. I went all in, so it allowed me to build very quickly and stand out very quickly.
SS: How did you come up with the entrepreneurial idea to bring Corcoran to your area?
HFF: They actually chose me as fate would have it. They had decided Corcoran was going to start having affiliates and they were looking for key brokers. They wanted a partnership with specific brokers, and they had identified me. As a broker, I had never ever had any interest or desire to be under a national brand. I had actually always been an independent broker, but Corcoran was that one brand that I always modeled after. I thought they had figured it all out and I love their messaging.
SS: What is some advice that you could give to a new agent or anyone that is getting into the business today?
HFF: This did not happen overnight because it is 20 plus years of loyalty. I did my job in cultivating those relationships and they now want to refer everybody to me. It should take a little time to cultivate that loyalty and those referrals. The goal is to make it a long-lasting career instead of this immediate overnight, make a lot of money type thing. I am growing something that is going to sustain for years and years, 10 years from now, 20 years from now. It is actually one of the coolest careers in that way.
SS: Where do you see yourself and your business in the next three to five years?
HFF: I definitely plan to open more Corcoran Reveries all throughout the southeast. I cannot wait to bring this brand to all the areas it is a perfect fit for. We are going to continue to grow and provide insanely high-level training at a luxury premium for agents because that is something missing in the market. Someone gave me that privilege when I started, and I want to give that now to all the agents that come and decide to be with us.
For more information, please contact Hilary Farnum-Fasth at (850) 231-5030 or hilary.ff@corcorangroup.com.
To watch more real estate webinars curated by Haute Residence, visit http://dev.hauteresidence.com.
