Watson Realty Corp. is a family-owned, full-service brokerage committed to providing legendary quality service and making its clients' dreams come true. 

Beginning with one single office in Jacksonville, Watson Realty Corp. has expanded over the 57 years it's been in business to serve customers across Northeast Florida and Georgia. They now have 46 sales offices and over 1,300 sales associates. A full-service brokerage, they are committed to providing a legendary quality of service and making their clients' dreams come true. 

Watson Realty Corp. was founded in 1965 by William A. Watson Jr. (Bill), who currently serves as the Chairman of the company's board of directors. A family-owned business, Bill Watson started Watson Realty Corp. with the help of his wife Janelle. Bill's family members William A. Watson III, Carlotta Landschoot, Gary Landschoot, and Greg Harris are all currently part of the Watson Realty Corp. team, each making their own contributions to the company's continued growth and success. 

A Dream Turned Reality 

Bill Watson was an entrepreneur from a young age. As a kid, he always enjoyed playing the board game Monopoly. One of the first jobs he remembers doing was working as a newspaper delivery boy in the early 1950s. 

"When you think about it, the real estate business is a lot like Monopoly," says Bill. "And I also loved being an entrepreneur, getting paid based on your contribution. In 1952, I was delivering 325 papers on a bicycle. You had to stack them up and drop off part of them and then come back, but I was making $55 a week, and that was 1952. In '54, I bought my first car with a thousand dollars I made from delivering papers." 

Bill attended college at Stetson University. It was during his time at Stetson that he realized real estate was his dream. He had a real estate professor whom he remembers fondly, who asked his class the question, "Where is the wealth in the United States?" He then answered, saying, "The wealth is in real estate. If you want to participate in the wealth, you must in some way be associated with real estate." 

To this day, Bill still recognizes the influence this professor at Stetson had on him and his career, saying, "He opened our eyes, and he made it so exciting. He brought in guest speakers who were his past students, arranged for tours of developments, and it just made all of us excited about the opportunity." 

Although he couldn't wait to join the world of real estate, Watson attended college in 1955, shortly after the Korean War, and was required to participate in two years of ROTC training while securing his education. He also decided to join the Army Reserve Unit which had scheduled Reserve meetings on campus. The Reserve training was an added value when he reported to Fort Benning in Georgia shortly after graduating. The head of the ROTC program asked Mr. Watson if he would get his commission. Bill shared his drafted card, which was 1D, meaning deferred for college. The officer in charge recommended he join the Reserve unit. His experience as an Army infantry officer provided excellent leadership experience for future business opportunities. 

"I joined the reserves as a freshman," he says. "When I graduated and reported to Fort Benning, I got a bonus start because my reserve time contributed to 33 and a half percent more base pay than the average second lieutenant, and that gave me additional revenue to set aside that I could go into the real estate business and have the capital to make it last." 

A One-Stop Shop 

They offer just about every real estate service imaginable at Watson Realty Corp., making it a one-stop shop for all their customers' real estate needs. 

Besides their home buying and selling services, Watson Realty Corp. has a large commercial real estate department. This division offers a full suite of services including sales, leasing, and property management of industrial, retail, land, office, and investment properties. Watson Realty Corp. has provided commercial real estate services to many industries such as manufacturing, retail, and healthcare. 

Watson Realty Corp. also has its own construction division, Watson Construction Group, that provides new construction services for those looking to build or remodel commercial or retail leasing. They also offer installations, repairs, and home renovations. They even take care of their customers in Northeast Florida with their separate plumbing, electrical, heating, and air conditioning divisions. 

Watson Association Management, Watson Realty Corp's elite association management subsidiary, which manages 850 condo doors, is another highly beneficial service they offer their clientele. Providing administrative, financial, and maintenance services, the Watson Association Management team is there to ensure the property holdings are managed as smoothly as possible.

They also have a separate Watson Property Management division, which provides legendary residential property management services to their customers. 

"Most property managers say they provide some of the same services: the best marketing, strong application criteria, rent collection, on and on," says Justin Garrett, Executive Vice President of the Property Management Division. "'We look after your property as if it were our own' is something you hear often in property management. However, I'm proud to say that we don't only say that we do all these things, our team can prove it. And oftentimes our listing appointments and our meetings with potential new clients include demonstrations of exactly what we do. So when you entrust a true professional with your property, you really can rest easy knowing it's being managed correctly." 

Watson Relocation Services is their relocation department that was founded in 1976. Watson Relocation has won several awards, including Leading RE's Diamond Award, which they received on six different occasions. The relocation department at Watson Realty Corp. is there to assist with anything from corporate relocation to individual moving and moving internationally. 

Watson Realty Corp. additionally has its own mortgage company, Watson Mortgage Corp. They also have two different title companies, Watson Title Services, which serves their Central Florida customers, and Watson Title Services of North Florida. They also own Florida Insurance Concepts, offering both personal and commercial insurance coverage. 

According to Jeffrey Fagan, Regional Vice President of Watson Realty Corp., all of these companies and affiliations were bought or taken over to provide the best service possible for their customers. With a variety of different services available, Watson Realty Corp. can be there to assist clients with any part of their real estate transaction. 

"All these companies evolved or were purchased or acquired ultimately to better control the transaction, better provide outstanding service to the consumer, and to help them do anything they need to do in real estate," he says. 

Legendary Quality of Service 

One of Watson Realty Corp's core values is its commitment to legendary quality of service. To them, this means going above and beyond for their customers and agents alike. 

"What sets us apart is our commitment to legendary quality of service," Bill continues. "That's just not good service, that's going beyond good service." "We have also lived by the philosophies: treat people the way you want to be treated and you never lose by going the extra mile." 

There are many ways in which the quality of service they provide is legendary, including their leadership, integrity, and track record for success. Since they have been through it all, they know how to navigate any market, and help their agents and customers get through anything. 

"Leadership is extremely important, emphasizing our integrity, trust, and long history of success," says Watson Realty Corp. President Ed Forman. "We've been doing this a long time, and we know how to navigate all the markets. Associates can count on us in any given market." 

Lastly, the fact that they can provide customers with all their real estate needs in one place makes the quality of each transaction much higher. 

"We know and we understand because of all the variables that involve a real estate transaction, the more aspects of that we can influence, whether it's a mortgage, a title, insurance, or whatever, particularly owned by being vertically integrated, owned ultimately by one family, we know that we can make a decision at times that allows a transaction to close and gets the customer what they want," says Jeffrey. 

Supporting Those in the Military 

Considering the company's founder once served in the reserves himself, supporting the U.S Military and military veterans is a huge priority for Watson Realty Corp. A few ways they show their support is by hiring associates who are active-duty or military veterans, providing military relocation services through Watson Relocation Services, and offering a rebate benefit program through their affiliation with Military on the Move®. 

The military relocation services at Watson Realty Corp. include everything from managing VA loans to conquering the challenges associated with permanent change of station (PCS). They even have their own Certified Military Specialists who are experts in all areas of military relocation. 

Having a Game Plan 

Another way Watson Realty Corp. sets itself apart from its competition is by always having a game plan. Considering they have been in the real estate business for quite a while, they know that to make it through any market, they need to have a plan that will allow them to succeed no matter what gets thrown their way. 

The first step in their game plan is positioning themselves better than the competition. They do this by owning all of their offices except for two of them. They also have a few unused offices that they have rented out. Many of their competitors choose to rent office space in shopping centers where their rent constantly goes up, creating an added expense, or their commercial lease is terminated by the owner. 

Another part of their game plan is building offices with rental space. With this strategy, they see that in 10 years, the tenants will pay for half of Watson Realty Corp's costs, and in 20 years, they will pay for more than the company would be paying in rent.  

Lastly, their affiliate businesses keep them protected better than their competition. They know that even in a scarce market if one area of the business isn't doing well, it's likely that another is and can turn a profit. 

Bill says, "During the last cycle, we probably would've closed five offices, but we didn't, and Ed Forman came up with this, he said, 'Let's look at the rooftops. We know the real estate office is losing money, but property management's making money, title is making money, mortgage is making money.' We didn't have insurance at that time. We did have an insurance relationship. It was making some money. So that meant we could keep this advantage without having to sell it or close it to control your cost because the site could be saved for when the market increased." 

A Technology-Forward Brokerage 

Like most forward-thinking brokerages today, Watson Realty Corp. researched numerous real estate tech providers before finding their perfect match. When they ultimately learned about Delta Media Group®, a few things stood out to them. 

"Like other brokerages, we've gone through that arduous process of researching CRM partners to work with, and a few things about Delta jumped out to us," says Walker Ragland, Senior Marketing Manager at Watson Realty Corp. "Firstly, that Delta is family-owned like Watson is, so we knew there was a lot of value overlap because of that. Secondly, we heard from some of our fellow Leading RE brokerages that also use Delta, and they really enjoyed the process and the end product." 

Another thing the Watson team wanted from their technology provider was someone who would not only launch their website and CRM platform for them but would continue to provide support for their business and help them achieve new goals after the fact. And they feel that Delta has certainly done that. 

"We wanted more than just a vendor that helped us launch a site and CRM and then vanished, '' Walker continues, "We needed an ongoing partner that would help us achieve our technology goals, which we found in Delta. Now we're more of a technology-forward brokerage. " 

They also liked Delta Media Group because they felt that Delta truly wanted to help them and their business, which is an important part of any partnership. 

"We were impressed with Delta Media, and we liked you," says Bill. "That makes a big difference in customer relationships. We felt that you wanted to help our team, and we could work together and both be winners." 

Since partnering with Delta, Walker believes that the content marketing and SEO services Delta provides have made the lives of the marketing team at Watson Realty Corp. easier. In addition, he loves the fact that everything is a team effort, with the opportunity to talk through new ideas. 

"They made our lives easier by freeing up the marketing team to focus on those bigger goals and projects when we're not worrying constantly about writing blogs and tweaking our site's SEO to keep an eye on search engine result pages," says Walker. "I also love being able to talk with our Delta contacts and bounce ideas off them about SEO performance and picking their brain on improvements." 

Recognizing the Right People 

At Watson Realty Corp., they know that not everyone is right for their team, or should be in the real estate business in general. That's why they do their best to recognize those that represent the qualities of individuals that have the most potential to be successful in the profession. 

"Not everybody is right to be on our team," says Bill, "And we also need to let them know it's a disservice if you hire somebody who fails in the real estate business." 

All of Watson Realty Corp's brokers participate in the company's recruiting efforts. They find that many of the people who succeed may not necessarily have real estate experience, but have previous experience in another area of the service industry or an industry based around caring for others. 

"All of our brokers actively recruit or look for talent, and that talent may currently be in the real estate industry, or frankly, it may be in another service-related industry whether that's in the retail side, or for instance, some of my best success has been with school teachers or nurses," says Jeffrey. "These are people that listen. They're people that teach. They're people with high levels of empathy, typically good factual judgment." 

Watson Realty Corp. has also found that many of the best people for the business are those that can accept feedback and are always working to improve. They feel that this not only allows the agent to have more potential in generating their own business but benefits the organization as a whole. 

"We found that the best people are receptive to feedback," says Ed. "The best people strive to constantly improve. So we focus on retaining those folks. When you have a company full of people like this who are all pulling in the same direction together, then exponential growth comes easier." 

Aside from these characteristics, they want people at Watson Realty Corp. who are engaging and interact well with others, can show compassion and are good listeners. 

"You want people that are going to be engaging," says Ed. "You want people that know how to speak, think on their feet, think well, show some compassion, and most importantly, listen to what the customer is saying because our goal is to do one thing: Serve the customer." 

Investing in Training and Support 

The team at Watson Realty Corp. knows how critical entrepreneurship is to agent success, and so they have created their own training department which offers courses for agents of all levels. 

"Entrepreneurship, specifically, is critical to the success of an agent's business," says Ed. "So that's why we've invested the time, effort, and money into our training department, which is constantly offering educational courses, and opportunities for idea sharing. We've trained brand-new sales associates as well as agents who have a long successful career in real estate." 

Aside from consistent training opportunities, the staff at Watson Realty Corp. is always available to support agents in any area of their business. 

"We have the entire corporate office full of supporting staff that assists with marketing, IT, e-business, and everything beyond," says Ed. "We are here for our sales associates and all of our team members because their success is our success." 

In the real estate business, experiencing tough times is inevitable. This often leads to agent burnout. At Watson Realty Corp., they feel that the best way to support agents when they are experiencing this is to remind them that the market crash is out of their control and that the best thing they can do is continue to focus on their clients. 

"When the crash happened, I was purchasing cases of Kleenex because people were emotionally distraught and some of them felt they were responsible," says Jeffrey. "They're not responsible for the crash. Just like the stock market, every market goes up, every market goes down. We can help people, and we have to sometimes remind them, the market changing isn't your issue. Your issue is to help your customer achieve their goals." 

Teaching the Next Generation 

Education at Watson Realty Corp. starts at the top with Mr. Watson himself. Bill firmly believes in allowing his agents and staff to grow within the company and is willing to personally teach and mentor them. This is not something you see often from the founder within a company as large as Watson Realty Corp. 

"Mr. Watson has a unique ability to recognize the talent in people," says Ed. "He also is willing to delegate and give you the opportunity to grow. If you make a mistake, he solves the issue and treats it as a coaching and learning experience." 

Additionally, Watson Realty Corp. has its very own school for real estate. Offering all the licensing courses mandated by the state of Florida, Watson School of Real Estate provides the opportunity to earn your real estate license or broker's license. They also offer continuing education courses for real estate professionals interested in broadening their knowledge base. 

With the option to take day, night, or weekend courses, Watson School of Real Estate provides flexibility for students and the opportunity to fit classes into any schedule. They offer both online and in-person courses in Jacksonville, Orlando, Orange Park, and more locations. Plus, you can renew your real estate license through the school's online portal. 

Although the flexibility and courses offered are extremely valuable, what truly makes Watson School of Real Estate special is the instructors and the way they go about teaching each lesson. 

"The difference we bring is hopefully we have a higher grade or a higher level of instructor," says Jeffrey. "Mr. Watson's an instructor, Ed's an instructor, Carlotta's an instructor, I'm an instructor. So we have some quality instructors that have taught it all or do teach it on an active basis. The course material is the same throughout the state. That said, it's how you deliver the message." 

Keeping a Competitive Edge 

According to Ed, Bill Watson has built a diverse organization that gives Watson Realty Corp. an edge over its competition. He believes that one of the biggest assets they have is their large family of services, which suits every real estate need. 

"Mr. Watson created a very diverse organization that gives us a competitive edge," he says. "Some of the companies are not subject to the housing market cycles, and are counter-cyclical, which is a huge advantage during an economic cycle." 

Another way they keep a competitive edge is with their technology. This helps them greatly with all their marketing, lead generation, and recruiting efforts. They feel secure knowing that Delta is always developing new tools to meet the latest advancements in the industry, which will continue to give them an advantage over their competition for years to come. 

"Delta's constant development of new tools helps us be competitive and offers a unique value to associates we're recruiting," says Walker. 

Aside from all the services they provide, they know that nothing would be possible without their quality sales associates, who give them the greatest advantage of all. Their goal for the coming year remains to continue to support their agents in achieving their goals. 

"Our sales associates are very important," says Ed. "Our team members are very important. So our focus is the success of our team. Their success creates our success. Helping them achieve their goals will achieve ours. So our goals remain focused on supporting their goals, which are generating quality business, providing legendary quality service, and being the comprehensive real estate solution to their customers." 

It's clear that by providing agents with top-tier technology and the training and support they need to weather any storm, Watson Realty Corp. has an edge over its competition. And as a full-service brokerage that can assist with any part of the real estate transaction, and strong leadership and integrity, they will continue bringing legendary quality service to customers throughout Northeast Florida and Georgia.