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Why Mossy Oak
 If there ever was a Mossy Oak Properties agency with a quack in it, it’s Jeramy Stephens’ agency, Stuttgart Land and Auction Company in Stuttgart, Arkansas. When you say the word Stuttgart, pictures of flights of greenhead mallard ducks coming in to decoys with their wings cupped, feet outstretched and heads down as the fog lifts off the water immediately appear in your mind. Anyone who ever has duck hunted, has wanted to duck hunt, has studied ducks or has any knowledge of ducks knows that Stuttgart is the home of waterfowl. So powerful is this community’s commitment to waterfowl that it’s home to the World Championship Duck Calling Contest every year. Green-timber reservoirs, rice fields and a sky full of whistling wings are synonymous with the word Stuttgart. This week, Stephens will tell us why so many people are trying to purchase a little piece of heaven in this area, and why Mossy Oak Properties has an agent in the heart of duckdom.
Question: Selling real estate is selling real estate. Jeramy, why do you think more real-estate agents are banding together under the Mossy Oak Properties’ brand?
Stephens: Mossy Oak Properties adds value to our agencies that agents who aren’t Mossy Oak Properties’ agents don’t have. The Mossy Oak name carries a lot of weight with outdoors people. More people want to be part of the Mossy Oak family and the outdoor world that Mossy Oak represents. Mossy Oak is a name people trust and a lifestyle that a large amount of people want to join. Also, Mossy Oak Properties hasn’t thrown their doors open to all real-estate agents. To be a Mossy Oak Properties’ agent, you have to meet with the people from Mossy Oak Properties and make sure your philosophy of sales and service is the same as the company’s philosophy. They also want to make sure you understand what being a part of Mossy Oak Properties and the Mossy Oak brand means to them and what message wearing that brand conveys to the consumer. If you’re not willing to serve your investor in the same way Mossy Oak is willing to serve its customers, then you can’t become a part of that Mossy Oak Properties’ network. If you’re not willing to work with the other Mossy Oak Properties’ agents around the country, then you can’t be a part of their network. The word Mossy Oak Properties means service to the customer, and that’s the message Mossy Oak Properties has to make sure its agents are willing to convey to be a part of that brand. Because people trust the Mossy Oak brand, they have a reason to trust us and believe that we’ll represent the Mossy Oak Company the way they expect. They know our mission as a Mossy Oak Properties’ agent is to try in every way possible to help them find and purchase the property they’re looking for to meet their forest-recreational needs. To sum it up, being a part of the Mossy Oak Properties’ family conveys to the consumer that he’s working with people he can trust to look out for his best interests.
Question: How does the Mossy Oak Properties’ network operate?
Stephens: As I’ve said earlier, our first concern is our investor and helping that investor find the specific piece of property he or she wants. We have real-estate agents all over the Southeast and in Texas and Wisconsin. So, if one of our agents in Texas has an investor looking for prime duck-hunting land in Arkansas near Stuttgart, then he’ll refer his customer to me. He knows I’ll treat that customer the same way I expect him to treat my clients, if I have an investor who wants to buy deer-hunting land in Texas. Through the Mossy Oak Properties’ network, an investor can go into any of our offices, and the realtor there can help that investor find the type of forest-recreation land he wants in whatever state he wants. The investor has an agent who has the same philosophy as he does. That on-site agent will usually have intimate knowledge not only of the property he’s showing, but of adjacent properties and land values and usage patterns in that region. Therefore, when an investor works with a Mossy Oak Properties’ agent, he not only has his local agent, but he also has all these other agents all over the nation to network with to ensure that he can find the best property at the best price to meet his forest-recreation needs.
Question: Jeramy, if I win the lottery and have $100 million, can I come to you and say “Jeramy, I want a duck hunting place in Arkansas, but I also want a deer hunting place in south Texas, a hog-hunting place in Florida, a goose-hunting place in Maryland, a bear-hunting place in Maine, and a duck hunting and fishing place in Wisconsin?” Can you put all these deals together for me in all those different states?
Stephens: Yes, I can, because of Mossy Oak Properties’ network of agents across the country. That’s the real advantage of being a Mossy Oak Properties’ agent. Wherever you want to buy forest-recreation lands, we want to be able to serve you. The network allows each agent to take care of his or her customers, regardless of where that investor wants to buy land.
To contact Jeramy Stephens, call his office at (800) 689-1537, on his cell phone at (870) 672-3250, or e-mail him at jstephens@mossyoakproperties.com. Stephens’ agency also has a licensed auctioneer on staff.
Tomorrow: The Future of Forest-Recreation Land
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