Stark Company Realtors, the oldest real estate brokerage in Southern Wisconsin, dates back to 1908 when AC Stark founded what was known as The Stark Company. The business began as a place to buy land, primarily out of North and South Dakota. This was during a time when the country was seeing much westward expansion. 

AC's son Paul eventually joined him, and together, they expanded The Stark Company to the Madison area. Although it wasn't quite the vibrant city it is today back then, moving out to Madison was undoubtedly an impetus for greater growth and expansion of the business.

Paul then went on to run the company himself, broadening their services to selling properties rather than just land. He helped organize the Madison Real Estate Board, became President of what is now the Realtors® Association of Central Wisconsin, and opened up the first-ever real estate office in Madison. Paul was elected President of the National Board of Realtors® in 1937. That same year, he co-created the first-ever comprehensive college real estate program in the country at the University of Wisconsin.

Following Paul's successful reign as President of the company, the role continued to be passed down through the generations with his son, Phil Stark, next in line, then by his son, Dave, who became President of Stark Company Realtors in 1989. Stark Company Realtors remains in the hands of the family today, led by AC's great-great-grandchildren Chris and Alison Stark.

One of the greatest values displayed at Stark Company Realtors is leadership. This has been prevalent in the company dating back to Paul, his accomplishments, and the changes he brought to the city and the Madison community. Chris feels that this community leadership that Paul introduced many years ago laid the foundation for all the company does today.

"He was a leader in the community," he says. "And I think that's a foundational piece that we not only take pride in, but we try to reiterate regularly and just the way we act, the things that we do, the way we serve our clients, the way that we serve our community."

At Stark Company Realtors, they believe that being a leader in real estate means more than helping people buy and sell homes. It means leading them through a major life change.

"We feel that, as agents, sometimes it's easy to think, well, what I do is just help people sell houses," says Chris. "But really what you are is you're a leader of an industry, and you're leading people literally through a big life change."

Aside from being a hand for everyone to hold during a substantial transition in life, Stark Company Realtors continues their tradition of community leadership by giving back through opportunities like raising funds for charity and doing volunteer work. 

"Here at The Stark Company, we do a lot of endeavors where we have beneficiaries," says Alison. "Just back in the summer, we had our annual golf outing where we have a beneficiary each year who receives the funds that we can collect from that golf outing. We also are heavily involved in the United Way of Dane County here in the Madison area. That servitude has always been a big part of what we're about."

High Standards For Sales Associates

One of the ways they ensure these foundational values continue to reign throughout the company is by having high standards for the sales associates they recruit.

"Attracting new talent is something I'm sure every brokerage has to have at the forefront of their missions and their initiatives," says Chris. "For us, we do have high standards. I can remember when I started with the company that was made very clear."

At Stark Company Realtors, they are looking for people who view real estate as a career rather than something they can do on a part-time basis. They want people who are driven to succeed in the industry that they can invest in. They find that this is necessary if they want to foster strong customer service. 

"Real estate by nature is one of those that can seem, I don't want to say easy to do, but you can almost do it whenever you want," explains Chris. "We try to look at this as more of a career, and we do that for a couple of reasons. One, we believe that we want to invest in our people and help them achieve the success that they can achieve. And two, it also translates into delivering great customer service. So some of the traits that we look for are people who have grit, determination, and a drive that doesn't necessarily come from us, but our job is to foster that and pull that out of them."

Chris also acknowledges that there are some interpersonal traits that they seek out in potential new agents. He notes, "Sometimes there are soft skills. What's their ability to understand people, the empathy side of it? What are their people dealing with, but also having the ability to connect with them in such a way that they can help them see a pathway to where they're trying to go?"

Ultimately, Chris feels that recruiting the right people for their company all comes down to motivation and a few simple questions, saying, "I think it starts with that motivation. Do they have that fire in the belly that they want to get out there and do this job and do it at a high level, and do they have that servant's heart where they can connect with people and understand what they're going through and help them get through it?"

Raising the Bar on Relocation 

Relocation makes up a substantial part of the business they do at Stark Company Realtors. To better assist their relocation clients, they are a part of several global networks such as Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE).

"We've always been very much involved in the relocation world," says Chris. "We are a part of the LeadingRE community. We've been a part of that ever since I can remember. Ted Krez is our Business Development Director and Relocation Director, and he's heavily involved there building relationships with many of the companies across the country. And we feel it's really important to understand what's going on in that part of our industry."

Stark's Relocation Department encompasses individual and family services as well as corporate services. Through these services, they offer everything from resources and information to pre-move counseling to area tours, home-finding tours, settling-in support, and assistance selling your current home. They also offer group move assistance and rentals.

With so many businesses in and around Madison, Stark Company Realtors partners with companies to help them get their prospects and recruits to move to and settle into the area.

"We've talked to many companies who have people that they're trying to bring to our area, and we feel that we can be an asset to them because we can help their people know what it's like to live in Madison," explains Chris. "A lot of these companies are trying to recruit people to come and work for them, and it's not just coming up and showing up and doing the work, it's about sometimes moving your family and plugging into the lifestyle here."

Deciding on Delta Media Group®

For Stark Company Realtors, part of being a leader in their community means adopting the most up-to-date technology. That's why offering their agents an all-in-one CRM platform was a no-brainer. They have been a partner of Delta Media Group for about two years now and are enjoying all the products and services they use so far. A key motivator in their decision to work with Delta over other technology providers was the database.

"A big reason why we partnered with Delta Media Group was that Delta has a database, and you have to have a place to be able to store all that information because that's the most important information about your clients," says Alison. "If you don't have a database, you don't have a business in our opinion."

They were also driven by the fact that the DeltaNET® is such a comprehensive system that meets the needs of agents of any skill level, from beginners to those more tech-savvy. 

"We felt it was an extremely robust system, which for the non-tech oriented agents, sometimes it can seem overwhelming, but Delta did such a great job with the baseline stuff that we knew we could serve those agents that maybe weren't tech-forward those basics that you have while also having access and opportunity for those that are tech-forward." Chris continues, "And I think the more we continue to get into the program and offer more through it, the agents are going to see how this platform is going to help them in their business."

Marketing Made Easy

Since partnering with Delta, the agents and staff at Stark Company Realtors have found the marketing technology to be extremely beneficial, giving them an easy way to create graphics and other materials through Delta Create. According to Chris, they find this tool to work exceptionally well.

"A lot of agents want to have access to marketing assets, but they also want to make sure that there's some customization that can go along with it," explains Chris. "They want to make sure that it looks and feels and breathes them, but they also don't want to have to build it from the ground up. And so our marketing department has been able to go in and create templates, create a lot of those marketing assets that agents can then go and utilize."

They believe that marketing should tell a story, and that story should come through in everything they create. Chris says, "We want to make sure that we, with our marketing materials, tell a story, and it needs to be one of high service and high standards, and that people can understand what they're going to get from it just by looking and seeing and feeling the assets that we can put out there."

Aside from creating these materials inside DeltaNET, they appreciate having marketing automation tools like Social Connector and email campaigns that can quickly and easily deploy them to their customers.

"We can post those automatically to their social websites," notes Chris. "They've got e-campaigns that they can go out and they can send that to their sphere or certain areas. And that's been extremely helpful because agents now know, okay, when I get a new listing, some elements are going to be automated, so it saves me time, but I also know it's going to look good, it's going to have the brand expression that I'm looking for."

Taking Their Online Brand to New Heights With Custom Websites and SEO

Having a brokerage website, along with single agent sites for their sales associates to use, has been a blessing for Stark Company Realtors as they consider how critically important being present in the online world is to their business. Their agents love how customized their websites are, feeling representative of who they are and what their brand is. 

"We've gone through proactive audits with all of our agents and what their marketing materials look like," Chris continues, "and they love the fact that they can go out and they can have a website now that looks and feels like them."

Alison has found that the ability to do local searches is one of the agents' favorite website features. They find this to be something of great value for their clients that simultaneously makes it easier for them to connect and figure out what they're searching for.

"They're able to do local searches for homes in certain areas." She continues, "I think people have enjoyed being able to have a platform that they can use to plug in and communicate with their agents. Then on the backend, they can share what they're looking at, and what's important to them. I think it's been a great asset. I think it's also something that people have been proud to share outward and have their clients plug into."

Chris explains that they like working with Delta Media Group for industry-leading SEO because there are a lot of people searching online, but they want those people to find them, as they feel confident they can provide great service.

"There's a lot of people searching online for information about real estate, or they may have a specific need, and we feel that we want to drive them to our website because when we do that, we know we're going to be able to give them great service," he says. "So having that online presence that people can find us means that we have the opportunity to serve them and serve them at a high level, which we feel they deserve."

Advancing Work Processes Through Automation

Partnering with Delta Media Group has opened many new doors for Stark Company Realtors. It has inspired them to continue moving forward with innovation and advancing more of their work processes, such as their listing process, through innovation. They plan to leverage technology to further streamline the tasks involved. 

"Forward-looking initiatives that we're hoping to implement even more would be expanding some of the listing processes so that agents, because that can be a pretty laborious process," says Chris. "You've got to process paperwork, you've got to input information to the MLS, you have to order photos, you have to create the marketing materials. And so we're looking to streamline those even more."

One of their primary goals with streamlining is to ensure that no element of customization gets lost in the effort to do things quicker. Luckily, within DeltaNET, customization is just as present as automation. The platform was designed not only to make things simple but to make them yours. That being said, as they continue to grow in their technology use, they can count on Delta to ensure everything is customized for their agents.

"It's always got to be that balance because anytime you streamline something, what can happen is you lose that custom unique feel to it, but you don't want to lose either," notes Chris. "You want to maximize efficiency while also having that look and feel that represents who you are. And so we're looking at creating not only more automation within those areas, but areas where it can continue to hold that marketing design that we want to maintain."

Support and Training Accelerate Tech Adoption

It's no secret to the team at Stark Company Realtors that the key to getting more agents to adopt and feel comfortable using technology is providing them with training and support. That's why offering group training and giving individual attention are both priorities for the brokerage. 

"A big piece of what we're about is making sure that we are supporting our agents," says Alison. "So we have a lot of support on the back end. We've also put in a lot of time and effort toward making sure that we are personally training our agents and providing opportunities for them to continually learn different pieces of the program at various times. We are combining doing group training and then also meeting with people individually and allowing for that so that those that need a little bit more hand-holding, who need some more time to be able to learn some of the systems, they're able to do that."

Along with these training opportunities, they have developed a way for agents who are eager to keep learning to do so, while continuing to receive support. They have a variety of support options to accommodate those at all levels of tech proficiency. 

"We've also allowed for a little bit of a stairstep for those who want to go out and do it on their own," says Alison. "They can get into it, they can learn it, they can do all of the bits and pieces on their own and fly with that. If there's somebody who says, 'I want to be involved in this technology and I want to utilize it, but I really need some help,' we've also put systems into place that they can continue to have help along the way so they don't have to feel like they need to be fully, fully proficient to be able to still use those services. So we've made a nice blend of options for different people."

Not only does Stark Company Realtors enjoy the technology and how it helps their agents, but they are grateful for the support Delta Media Group offers them and value regular communication. 

"I know our marketing team, our IT team, and then our business development team, I know they have regular meetings with Delta Media Group," says Chris. "Anytime we've had questions about anything, I know we've got somebody that we can go to. They've helped us develop some of these tools that we're looking at and have been wanting to be able to implement in our team. It's been fantastic."

Recognizing Delta's Impact on Recruitment

Chris has recognized over the past two years that their partnership has been a major asset in recruiting new agents. Real estate agents today want to work with a brokerage that offers them not just the tools they need to serve their clients, but tools that leverage automation to make things simpler and more efficient for them.

"We can say to them, 'One of our jobs is to be able to help support you guys by increasing efficiency and offering you technology that you can leverage to deliver better customer service." He continues, "And we can now say, 'Since we've partnered with Delta Media Group, we've got the opportunity to give you access to some of these marketing assets. We can automate some of these elements of your business that used to be time sucks for you in the past.' So it's an asset that we can use to be able to say, 'If you come here, we're going to be able to help you do your business even better.'"

A Technology Provider That Helps Them Lead

Learning how to be leaders from their great-grandfather Paul E. Stark, Chris and Alison are always seeking out new opportunities to better aid their community as well as their agents and staff. One of the ways they are accomplishing this is by partnering with a tech provider who can offer them all the solutions they need to stay relevant in the real estate industry, attract top agents to work for them, and connect with more buyers and sellers in need of their services. Delta Media Group is proud to support Stark Company Realtors in their consistent effort to be a better leader for their community.

To learn more about Stark Company Realtors, visit starkhomes.com or call 608-256-9011.