“I love people.” It’s as simple as that.
Jennie Johnson – born and raised in Boise, Idaho – loves her job because she loves working with people. After celebrating her third child’s first birthday, Johnson was ready for a new adventure. She earned her real estate license.
“It was really at the encouragement of my father,” she shared. Recognizing her sales skills, her familiarity with the community and her strong people skills, he knew she would be a success. And, 10 years later, she is still going strong.
After working on her own for a while – watching and learning from other professionals – she joined a team. “I learned a lot working with that team,” she said. “I observed and quickly realized this was something I could do.”
So, a year ago, Johnson set out to found the Jennie Johnson Team. “It all came together rather naturally,” she said. Keeping the work in the family, she recruited her brother-in-law to craft together her branding. Her only instructions to keep it pink.
“I started with a team of four agents,” she said. “Including myself. Today, I have five. And I have hopes of continuing to grow as we are able.”
The group is fairly close. “We’re all mothers,” she said. “We have teenage daughters and can relate to the challenges of balancing between soccer meets and client showings. Really, my team is made up of my good friends.”
Once a week, Johnson hosts a meeting for all the buyer agents. They come together as a team to share updates, challenges and strategize. Johnson’s motto, “The team that plays together, stays together.”
Taking the Reins
When Johnson first launched her team, nothing concerned her more than finding success. “It wasn’t just for me anymore,” she said. “This role has made me work so much harder; if I don’t make money, they don’t make money. I have salaried employees who depend on me. It’s a lot of responsibility. You need to be prepared for it.”
Johnson was and is.
Each morning, after a jog to get her energy flowing, Johnson picks up the phone and lead generates for two hours, calling past clients to check in, following up on buyers from a model home showing and reaching out to her contacts. “It’s something we do together a lot,” she said. “We’ll work on our scripts and we’ll just keep calling.”
According to Johnson, this is one of the most important processes to getting more listings. “It’s the three L’s,” she said. “Leads, listings and buyer leads. If you don’t have leads, you can’t get listings.”
For Johnson, this is how she has achieved success in real estate. “We need to define success for ourselves,” she said. “I set goals and sit down and do the work to achieve it. Each of us needs to do the same to find our definition of success.”
Johnson has learned everything she knows from watching others and growing from it. “If I came across something I didn’t know enough about, I researched it. I learned how to work successfully with a buyer. I learned the market because if you don’t know it, people won’t want to work with you.”
The Typical Client
For Johnson, there is no typical client. “I’ve worked with $50,000 buyers up to the million-dollar buyers,” she said. “I don’t have a preference. I sell brand new homes, I sold foreclosures and I sell traditional resale properties. I’ve dabbled in everything.”
Johnson has aligned herself with Brighton Homes, sharing the same values as the company. She has worked in the Ashbury and Syringa communities in Eagle; BainBridge and Paramount in Meridian; and she is excited to open a new community, Century Farm in Meridian later this summer.
Being in a position to help her clients purchase their next home is what makes it all worth it for her. “It needs to be about more than the commission,” she said. “For me, it certainly is. Being able to help someone make a huge change in their life is well worth the effort.”
Working with the clients, Johnson has learned two very important lessons over the years. Firstly, you need to give to others. “Be helpful and good things will come back to you,” she said. Secondly, be transparent. “If you make a mistake, be up front about it. We’re human, so mistakes are inevitable. Coming forward immediately and communicating it to the client will take you one step closer to correcting that mistake.”
According to Lisa Clayton, Johnson’s real estate assistant for more than three years, “Johnson is so kind. She leads with her heart. She wants to say yes to everyone. She looks for solutions before she says no. She’s kind, humble and loving.”
Looking ahead Jennie Johnson is excited to keep forging ahead in her career. “I’m doing what I love to do,” she said.
