Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Coates.
Hi Matthew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a math teacher for 12 years in the Johnston County Schools System. I taught middle school and high school math and then at the alternative school. I needed a change and after my wife graduated from PA School I got into real estate. I started on a team and then switched over to a brokerage (Fathom Realty) where I am currently working as an independent agent. I’ve been in real estate for eight years and it’s been a fantastic experience.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were definitely some challenges. My first year with a team I only had three transactions and then my first year on my own I didn’t have a single transaction. But it improved and progressed every year after that. The past three years have been amazing.
I’ve had to learn how to be my own marketer which continues to evolve. I also have learned what is important in helping people buy and/or sell their home. It became evident very quickly that it is worth spending some of my own money and reinvesting in my business and in my clients to help them sell their home.
It’s also been a learning process, figuring out how to make sure my day and week is structured in a way where the most important things for my clients are taken care of. There are so many directions that a real estate agent can be pulled every day, but I’ve learned that if I stay client focused then everything else takes care of itself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I really enjoy helping people through the home buying and selling process. When I got in to real estate I had no idea the satisfaction that I would get when I got to hand someone a set of keys to their new home or hand them a proceeds check from a home that they had lived in all their life and were now seeing the next chapter of their life begin.
I love that my clients are totally depending on me to make sure the process of buying or selling their home (or both!) goes smoothly and stays on time. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. Not only is there a lot of money involved for my client, but their can be a good bit of stress for them as well. Whether it be packing up and moving in, packing up and moving out, getting inspections done, understanding what those inspections mean, or communicating with closing attorneys and lenders; there is so much that home buyers and sellers have to get done in a relatively short amount of time. I take pride in taking as much of that off of their plate so that by the end of the process they are excited about closing day.
Real estate agents as a whole don’t have a great reputation. I hate that because I’ve worked with lots of great real estate agents who work very hard for their clients. But I understand why many people don’t like real estate agents in general. When I’m working with someone new I love the challenge of making sure they understand that their experience with me will be different than what the general consensus is. I can usually see on their face or hear in their voice the moment that they realize they are being taken care of and that their experience is in fact going to be different than what most people think of when they think of real estate agents.
My clients become like family by the end of a transaction. I don’t even like to refer to them as clients! Buying and selling a home is a big deal and we have lots of conversations as the process goes along. We both get to know each other really well and honestly, closing day is a little bitter sweet because the weekly and sometimes daily conversations we have during the process have a pretty abrupt end (for good reason, obviously). But I absolutely keep up with the people that I’ve worked with and try to speak with them at least once or twice a year. I didn’t realize I would meet so many great people and families when I got into this profession!
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I’ve recently jumped in with both feet with the Ninja Selling philosophy by Larry Kendall. It’s a client relationship based way of doing business. It basically means that I don’t have to sell myself (which I hate doing), but rather I just focus on helping people whether it be in real estate or other areas of life.
I also like the Diary of a CEO podcast and have gotten lots of good “nuggets” from different episodes.
I enjoy reading and books like “Never Split the Difference” have been great for my real estate business and in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://matthewcoates.fathomrealty.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthewcoatesfathomrealty
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@matthewcoatesrealtor
- Other: macoates23@gmail.com 919-414-6836
