Monthly member profile: Paul Marcks

Editor’s note: The Monthly Member Profile is a feature that puts a spotlight on one of PAR’s 34,000 members. Do you have an interesting story to tell? We encourage you to submit your information online.

Name: Paul Marcks
Company: Wayne Evans Realty, Scranton
Years in real estate: Five years
Specialty: Residential and relocation
Local association: Greater Scranton Board of Realtors®
Title: Realtor®

How did you get started in the real estate business?
I actually bought my first home when I was 25. The agent I worked with was a veteran, but was not really into the changing technology. Shortly after that, not only did I get the bug to sell real estate, but I was really looking forward from day one to adapting and offering new technology to my clients. That’s kind of where it started.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the start of your career?
I would tell myself to start in the business earlier. I wish that I had started in real estate right out of school.

Why do you love being a Realtor®?
I love the freedom. The 12 years leading up to working full time in real estate, I had an office job where I was there 40 hours a week and you were held to those timelines. So, the freedom to me is probably the thing I like most. I understand that you do need to work hard in order for it to work, but with that said, there’s no ceiling, so the harder you work, the more it’s going to show.

What do you attribute your success in the field to?
Success is interesting to me because there’s a lot of different ways people decide to judge that. Some firms and agents will focus on volume and numbers. What I do at the end of every year is make a chart of where my sales came from and what I like to see and I’ve seen it year after year, is that the majority falls into the category of client referrals. So, to me, I’m very pleased when somebody, after buying, selling, moving, getting settled and the dust has settled, that they still feel I did a good job and they will convey that to somebody else.

What is the biggest challenge you face being a Realtor®?
Mine is time management. I just feel like, and not to discourage anyone, but you’re constantly juggling and I would say you’re juggling knives and they’re on fire.

What made you become more involved in your local, state or national association?
I was fortunate that my broker and my associate broker are past presidents of the Greater Scranton Board of Realtors® and they conveyed to me how helpful it would be to get involved with our board and like-minded people.

How has being involved helped your business?
I don’t have a direct answer to that, but what I have seen is younger agents have started to contact me and ask for guidance and to show them the way to get involved with the board. So, I’ve been really, really impressed with that.

What’s a fun fact about yourself?
I would really like to go great white shark diving in South Africa.

What do you do when you’re not selling real estate?
I really enjoy cooking, so I’ll do that until my phone rings and then I’ll go back to selling.