Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stacy Strobl. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Stacy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
EXIT Realty was founded on the concept of exiting the traditional way of doing business within the real estate industry. At EXIT Southeast, we are passionate about offering solutions to help grow businesses, mentor and develop leaders while serving our community as well as offering agents an additional stream of income – a definite positive disruptor for our industry. Add a unique culture where franchise owners can share their secrets of their success in an open and supportive way and you can really see the EXIT difference. In addition to supporting and encouraging one another in business, we also have created an environment of being there for one other through good times and tough times. Ultimately, we describe our real estate opportunities for franchise owners, brokers and agents as more than a game-changer but life-changing. That’s a lot to live up to and we are driven to accomplish this daily.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
After earning a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Memphis, I began my career as a teacher, following my parents’ footsteps into this field. As we all know, teachers aren’t compensated enough and I earned my real estate license to help supplement my family’s income. Eventually, I moved back to Middle Tennessee and transitioned into the mortgage industry founding a company. After being joined by a partner, it made sense for us to diversify and purchase a real estate franchise. The EXIT formula stood out for a variety of reasons including an additional revenue stream from sponsoring new agents. This is residual income for agents who join EXIT as well as a future beneficiary benefit. EXIT also offers great support, unbeatable culture, advanced technology and branding – all important for a successful launch of a new franchise. After seeing how this opportunity was life-changing, we made a commitment to buying the state subfranchisor rights for Tennessee and later Kentucky, Georgia, Florida and Texas. I’m very proud of the relationships we have established in these diverse communities, proud of how we have helped grow businesses and develop leaders as well as see how the lives of families are being changed for the better as we work to serve our community. Today, our EXIT Southeast business continues to earn accolades as a Top 50 Fastest Growing Nashville Business Journal 2022 honoree and earned #1 in franchise sales for North America for the eighth year in a row!
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
As we were trying to get EXIT on the map and earn a spot in the real estate world and conversation, we were seeking creative ways to capture attention for our EXIT brand. Traditional advertising and billboards were used. Early on, what helped us capture the imagination of potential business owners, brokers and agents was combining my partner’s love of racing with the competitive spirit that naturally exists in the real estate industry. We founded a Smart Car Race! Franchise owners from multiple states as well as agents were encouraged to wrap a Smart Car and come compete in Nashville for our Smart Car race with the proceeds benefiting area charities including Autism Tennessee and Feed America First. This was a great moment in time demonstrating our out-of-the-box marketing and it promoted good sportsmanship for a great cause adding to the culture of our company. It also earned the front page of the Tennessean’s real estate section, multiple media outlets as well as being featured by local television news and opened doors for new opportunities.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In March of 2020, we had just accomplished breaking the all-time corporate record for franchises sold in 2019 in North America. After establishing our business in 2012, our team’s growth and trajectory have resulted in earning #1 in franchise sales for North America as well as being honored several times as region of the year. In 2019, this was all kicked up a notch, and, by this time, we now held the subfranchisor rights for Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida. With grit, determination and a lot of grassroots travel, EXIT Southeast did break the all-time corporate record for franchise sales. Cue the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 and things came to a grinding halt. As we waited with the rest of the country for the new world order to be established, we knew we had to adapt and pivot to remain a viable part of the future solution for many business people. With in-person sales no longer an option during this challenging period, this meant mastering the skill of online networking and sales via Zoom and supplementing with phone calls and emails. We remained on the forefront of opportunity for potential franchise owners, real estate brokers and agents and we were in a position of strength as the real estate industry in the Southeast exploded by summer of 2020 with an influx of new residents and tons of change as people sought control of their lives and destiny. As a result of this adapting and our flexibility, our team just earned for the eighth year in a row, top franchise sales for EXIT Realty Corp. International in North America.
The second significant pivot for me was being diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2021. As a single mother of two teenage sons, I had to take a step back to focus on this biggest fight of my life. Suddenly, I had to aggressively seek out and surround myself with people smarter than me. I had to find a health care advocate that I could trust. As a control-freak, it was a very difficult time but it turned out to be an important moment for me growth wise. If you find yourself in this position, find your advocate and team so you can focus on yourself and health. I’m grateful to be on the other side of this, and, in 2022, was named a Nashville Business Journal 2022 Women of Influence recipient.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.exitsoutheast.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exitsoutheast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EXITSoutheast
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-strobl-78357a83/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EXIT_Southeast
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbaHouSCWw3x9o8RS_D8Q6g
- Yelp: n/a
Image Credits
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