Community Highlights: Meet Stacy Cohen of Compass Realty

Hi Stacy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I was a teacher in Blue Valley and then I established a tutoring business out of my home for ten years, when my kids were young. Husband always thought I should try real estate but wanted to wait until kids were old enough to stay home alone. Wanted to talk to a girl that my husband knew initially and then we become friends…Shannon Brimacombe. Back in the day, there were only a couple of big teams (that was it) but I wanted Shannon’s help to start my career, so asked her if we both could benefit if we joined together. We are still a small team after 15+ years, which is so very rare that two woman have been a team for that long. It’s usually one guy or girl as the lead, or Mother-Daughter, Father-Son, Father-Daughter, etc. We have always kept our team extremely small and it really has been just us for the past several years. We just added a young guy to our team a couple of months ago. We both have the same work ethic and not really concerned about what others are doing. We just keep our blinders on and stay focused. We usually have one big goal for the year and we don’t obsess about it, we just know if we continue to give our clients exceptional service, the transactions will happen. When you hire us, you get us every step of the way! Our business is about 98% referrals and we really enjoy doing open houses and meeting new people. Last year was a record year for us…61 million in volume, we were number 1 small team in the state of Kansas and number 18 in the KC Business Journal… the smallest team on the list.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?

Never a smooth road…constant challenges and always up against the bigger teams with more volume. We finally broke down and got an admin to help us because we were working constantly. Big challenges with technology and figuring things out. This is such an emotional transaction and people change during this process, so as an agent, you need to remain calm and not let your emotions take over. When I started, I would take on everyone’s problems and couldn’t sleep and I would worry about everything, but through the years gaining (experience and knowledge) I have been able to channel all these emotions and just stick to the facts. I am always empathetic, but I also am realistic. I try to be proactive with everything I do or say and not reactive. I don’t get too excited or too upset over things that I can’t control, but this takes a while to achieve…

We’ve been impressed with Compass Realty, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

After 15 years with Reece Nichols, we have decided to move to a new brokerage in KC, called Compass. Shannon and I had no intention of leaving Reece Nichols, but when we heard about Compass, we both felt now is the time to embrace technology. Every industry is being faced with the change of technology and if you don’t adapt and pivot, you are going to become a-thing-of-the-past. The typical brokerage model is antiquated and hasn’t changed in years. Compass is a technology company geared at helping agents provide excellent service and programs to their clients. They have the most amazing tools that are all integrated into one platform, they explain it as…Google fast, Apple easy. With about 1,000 engineers working daily behind the scenes, the typical real estate company just can’t compete. Most of these new real estate platforms are trying to replace the agent, but with Compass, they are embracing the agent and elevating them as professionals!

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?

I am still a teacher at heart…I still love learning and teaching… I am also the energizer bunny…I love being busy and I get up super early and it’s very rare that I kick my feet up and relax unless I am at a pool or beach!

Source: VoyageKC

Image Credit: CC Photography