'You’d be hard pressed to find a team that functions like this'
Beth Nordaune, founder of the Nordaune Team of RE/MAX Results, is taking her name off the team she’s built. In her mind, it’s the best way to make sure people know how her team stands apart.
“This is so much more than me. This is seventeen years of people who have come in and contributed to all these parts,” says Nordaune “We’re a humble group of people that really have hearts of service.”
The name-change to Enclave Team of RE/MAX Results is a move that comes as the team works to expand its one-of-a-kind customer experience into new frontiers. They’re also hoping to change the way their industry operates, thanks to a philosophy long-practiced by Nordaune.
“It’s a team of people that all practice the same way. It was an extension of me in the beginning. We all hold strong beliefs about what kind of service our clients deserve,” says Nordaune.
Today, that team is 19 people strong, with agents selling homes in the Rochester area and the Twin Cities. Its support staff includes a marketing coordinator, listing coordinator, transaction coordinator, and director of operations. The result is a buying process that runs with optimal smoothness for both customers and Enclave Team agents. Now they’ve got a brand to match.
“Enclave is defined as a place or a group of individuals that are different in character from those surrounding it and that couldn’t be more true about our team,” says Nordaune.
The re-brand gathers the entire team, different from one another as they may appear, under a name they can all feel some ownership of. At a recent meeting with agents and management, there were beards, suspenders, pantsuits, a mushroom button-up, and a few hints of fidelity to the old-school. Different knowledge points, or expertise, were also represented. Some agents know new construction, some farms, others certain demographics of potential buyers.
“We always joke that we’re very different,” says Nordaune. “What everybody has in common is integrity, being honest, a passion to serve others, and really wanting to give a top notch professional experience.”
The expanse of expertise all operating within the same program is part of what convinced Stephanie Meyer, the newest agent in the group, away from life as a solo agent. In fact, she’d never thought about joining a team until meeting with Beth and learning about the strength of Enclave Team. There’s a process shared between all the agents and communication is tight. The team has each others’ backs.
That’s the way Nordaune wanted it. Under her careful watch, the firm has grown since she staked out on her own at 26.
When she started, she worked in an office dominated by people stuck in old ways of doing things. She was not only the youngest person there, but also the most driven.
“People deserve more than this,” she remembers thinking. “I’ve always tried to be cutting edge, what people are doing in big cities and on the coasts and bringing it here because I felt like, why do we deserve less?”
Ever since, each hire she’s made is one that bolsters the overall mission. Despite its immense financial nature, this is an industry that connects people to their homes, and the entire experience with Enclave Team is built around the idea of relationships over transactions.
“I would say that, fundamentally, it’s a philosophical difference between selling a house and helping someone buy a house,” says agent Andrew Norrie.
The average person moves every eleven years. Each one of those moves is usually triggered by a momentous occasion in life like getting married, having children, retiring. With that in mind, the team is acutely aware that real estate agents are part of your life story.
This, sometimes, involves, “A lot of counseling,” says agent Tim Schomburg. “I think it’s a little bit self-taught.”
That’s a function of being relational rather than transactional. That way of practice is not something the group trains on; It’s inherent in their characters, and why Beth hired them in the first place. Why she’s comfortable taking her name off the group she founded and giving it a collective identity.
Often, buying a home is the biggest financial decision a person makes in their life. To that end, the team goes out of their way to think about what people prefer, whether its choosing to print out documents or email them, or even what hours to meet.
“It’s important to remind ourselves that we do this everyday, they do it two or three times in their life. It’s important to take a step back and remember that,” says Norrie.
The re-brand the team has achieved is meant to push the common ideals further into the marketplace. Despite the changes it’s brought, “It’s been really interesting to see those core values not waver at all,” said Noelle Tripolino Roberts, the group’s longest-standing employee.
“It’s my life’s work, and to put it together and start this next journey of passing it on to everybody who’s here and then also taking it out into the marketplace — that’s what I‘m most proud of,” says Nordaune.
“I think you’d be hard pressed to find a team that functions like this. That talks about their core values, over and over, and make sure it’s built into everything they do,” says Brianna Pickett, marketing coordinator.
Buyers being connected to homes aside, this re-brand is the highlight of Nordaune’s year. Her team has a brand reflecting its values now, right down to the details of its logo.
“The moment we all saw the deconstructed house, we knew we had the perfect fit,” said Nordaune. “This logo means a lot to me. A home is a collection of details and building blocks, that when placed together correctly equal the right home for the right family, couple, or individual. And Enclave Team is the right partner who understands those building blocks.”
Published in partnership with the Enclave Team of RE/MAX Results
