story and photo by Kim Souza
ksouza@thecitywire.com
At 28, Joseph Hayes has already garnered a level of success that many of his peers may never see. As a licensed real estate agent for Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney Faucette in Rogers, Hayes posted $21 million in sales last year, his third full-year in the business.
He did it with the help of Kendra Franklin, his full-time clerical assistant, and by being the first one at work each day and the last car out of the parking lot after dark each night – advice Hayes says he got a long-time family friend, Otto Jeck, an executive at George’s Inc. in Springdale.
“I meet regularly with Otto Jeck, he’s been a mentor of mine for years, growing up in Springdale,” Hayes said.
His performance last year was good enough to rank No. 1 in his local firm as well as statewide. George Faucette, CEO of the local franchise, said Hayes also placed in the top 1% among Coldwell Banker franchises nationally.
“Joseph is an incredibly motivated young man. He is a ‘sponge’ for learning about how to become better and is a very quick study. He is bright, very articulate, very honest and has an amazing work ethic,” Faucette said.
When asked about his success, Hayes just grins and says, “Now the expectations are even higher.”
SELLING WOOD
Selling homes is in the midst of economic recovery is a cake walk compared to the job Hayes took immediately upon his graduation from the University of Arkansas in December 2007.
“My dad, Tom Hayes, owned a business in Delight, a hard wood business – red oak lumber and a small mill,” Hayes recalled. “I headed straight south in early 2008 to try my hand in the wood business. But, the recession hit hard and we had to lay off the mill employees, which basically left me.”
Living in a fifth-wheel travel trailer near the mill, Hayes said his job was to load up the truck with red oak lumber and then haul it throughout the Midwest, trying to sell in on the spot.
“This wasn’t hauling pre-sold orders, it was sell all the wood before you come back," he said.
It was a rude awakening for Hayes as he did his best despite losing his life savings which we had accumulated from his side business in college.
“During my college days, my dad helped guide me through subcontracting five homes, which I sold. One of them I sold to Dr. Becky Paneitz, the president of NorthWest Arkansas Community College,” Hayes said.
He said Delight was anything but, and the highlight of his social life during 2008 was enjoying a Little Debbie snack cake at the local gas station in the evening.
“It’s a sleepy little town, population 280-something. During that year as I was going broke, I thought about my friends who were starting careers as pharmacists and other professionals and I knew I didn’t want to sell hardwood for the rest of my life,” Hayes said.
COMING HOME
In mid-2009, Hayes returned to Northwest Arkansas and decided to try his hand in real estate sales.
“I knew a good bit about construction and had spent a year in sales, outside, cold calling-type sales. I chose real estate sales because of the low capital outlay it required at the time about $500, far less that starting most other businesses,” he said
Hayes said the market was down and agents were leaving the business so he saw a good opportunity to jump in. J. Pat Newland, a broker at Coldwell Banker in Rogers, remembers well the tall, young buck who looked him up for a job just four years ago.
“To show you what a great judge of real estate talent I am, listen to what I told my bosses about Joseph after our initial interview: 'He's a really nice kid, but really too young and shy. I suspect he will be easily intimidated which will make prospecting extremely difficult. He'll have trouble dealing with the rejection,'" Newland said.
Newland laughs today at himself saying, “I was soon to learn Joseph is extremely motivated by proving people wrong.”
Hayes says he just fit right into the Coldwell Banker family, so rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
BREATHING SUCCESS
In his first year of real estate sales, Hayes says he began to seek out builders for listing new properties, because he knew about subcontractor work and he knew a lot of people in the area as he had grown up here.
“I remember tenaciously pursuing the builders for listings. One night I walked up to a builder’s home and rang the door bell asking for his business. He was so mad at me for calling on him at home, but he called me two months later and gave me my first new home listing. I am so grateful to him that first opportunity,” Hayes said.
Today, new homes account for more than 60% of his total listings. In 2010 – the first full-year in real estate – Hayes said his gross sales totaled $5 million, which felt pretty good after the prior year or he’d spent selling wood.
“I might as well have been selling wood shoes in 2008. Building was sluggish and red oak wasn’t a hot item at the time,” Hayes recalled.
In retrospect, he said selling homes seemed easy to him, so he worked very hard to build a customer base.
“I worked a lot of hours that first year learning the ropes,” Hayes said.
In 2011, Hayes sold $12 million of real estate for Coldwell Banker – growing his business by 140% year-over-year during a time the local market sputtered in a sluggish recovery.
Hayes says modestly he just “worked hard at it. I answer my phone and I call people back. Real estate is a people business and it takes time and patience."
By 2012, Hayes had amassed $21 million in annual sales, a 75% rate of growth from the prior year and says keeping up that pace has meant little time for personal relationships as he’s still single.
“I continually re-set my goals each week and every month, and I am very happy in real estate sales, but I am not sure what the future will hold in five years or so. I am still trying to sort that out,” he said.
PASSIONATE PURSUIT
It would be easy for a young guy to get caught up in his own success and think he has all the answers.
“Joseph started this business with an easy plan – find those who are successful and constantly quiz them. He continues in a humble search for those secrets to success. I still find him sitting with some of the ‘old-timers’ talking about what else he might be doing," Newland said.
Newland says he used Hayes as an example in a recent presentation he made at national convention for real estate professionals.
“I had many questions as to what made him so successful … was it his use of new technology, was it some new system, was it a special dialogue, did he have some special connection with Wal-Mart or the the vendors.”
“Joseph's success is based on one thing – persistence. He works harder than everyone. You hear people talk about 24/7, well Joseph lives it. He gets to the office at 6 a.m. many mornings and doesn't quit working until 8 or 9 p.m. He also has a hard time understanding ‘no’ and ‘you can't do that,’” Newland said.
THINKING LEGACY
For all the success the young Hayes has experienced in a short span, he knows there’s more to life than earning a comfortable six-figure income.
“I want to have made a meaningful difference in this world and know that I have given back because I really feel like I have been blessed beyond measure. At some point down the line, I see myself in real estate development or perhaps some type of ministry. And I want to find a wife and raise a family someday,” Hayes said.
Newland and Faucette applaud Hayes for his willingness to mentor new agents.
“Our new agents, especially the young ones, do gravitate toward Joseph because of his success, and as busy as he is, he is always willing to offer encouragement and assistance. He values their help with open houses, a necessity with the number of listings he has,” Newland said.
Hayes purchased a home in Bentonville last year and has a few rental properties. His over-achieving, goal-minded, tenacious and passionate mindset seems like a perfect fit for one mega employer in Bentonville that has a national real estate division.
But Hayes says he’s content for now and still mulling the possibilities for what will be the next chapter in his life’s story.