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BOSTON REID: WINNING THE REAL ESTATE RACE Photo by Jon Berkon
JULY 2018
top producer Written by Elizabeth Fetzer Professional photos by Jon Berkon
WINNING THE REAL ESTATE
RACE
Boston in action
Number one!
The focus of a winner Boston’s race car
Celebrating a victory
eid was born and bred in the racing community. He grew up in Logansport, IN, where his father, Lynn Reid, was a former Indy car chief. He was introduced to the sport very early and began racing at the young age of 7. Soon after that, he started focusing on racing go-karts in the World Karting Association.
Real estate broker Boston Reid knows racing, and he knows what it takes to navigate his clients toward a real estate win.
Reid has raced in the USAC Series, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, the Red Bull Racing Formula One Program, the NASCAR Busch Series, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, garnering several big wins during his young career – and he even counts Jeff Gordon among his mentors. In 2009, Reid became interested in real estate, and he got his license that April. His business took off that first year with 33 transactions despite the economic recession. According to Reid, his interest was indeed born out of a distinct need within the racing community. “People in the garage noticed we had flipped some houses, and they wanted someone from within the racing community they could trust,” said Reid. “They asked if I might be able to help, and the needs just kept expanding from there.” By 2011, his business had grown enough to open his firm, Lead 2 Real Estate Group, with his business
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partner Frank Bolter. The firm’s focus is assisting the racing community with their real estate needs. Reid and Bolter chose the name because their primary focus is leading and guiding their clients to reach their unique and specific goals. The racing community in Charlotte oftentimes has unique needs, according to Reid. “They might need residential real estate for themselves and family members, and they might need commercial real estate as well for equipment or other unique requirements,”
said Reid. “They want to come to one firm for all of these special requests, and they want to know they can trust someone from within the industry to give them the best service possible.” Because the motorsports community is often focused in the Concord and Lake Norman areas, these parts of Charlotte became Reid’s niche. However, his firm has expanded to serve clients beyond the racing community and beyond his core area of business as well. Today, the team consists of Reid and Bolter, three additional bro-
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Boston with his wife, Shanda, and boys, Hudson, 6, and Walker, 4
Boston and family
clients coming back. “Repeat clients and referrals from clients are the greatest compliments of a job well done,” he said. Reid is most happy in his work when he is able to achieve his clients’ goals, but he admits the extra hours can come at a cost at times. “The most challenging part of the job for me is balancing work and home with two young boys. Not everyone recognizes that realtors are on call all the time, and that is the case, especially on nights and weekends. To be successful you have to put in these hours too,” said Reid. Reid’s clientele often takes him on the road to race weeks, charity events, foundation events, track events and more. He acknowledges that this is key time to build relationships with his clients, but he often misses his wife, Shanda, and boys, Hudson, 6, and Walker, 4, when he is traveling.
“LIKE A LOT OF THINGS IN LIFE, YOU NEED TO BE WILLING TO WORK HARDER THAN THOSE AROUND YOU TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELF FROM THE PACK.” kers, and an office assistant. In spite of all the growth, around 60 to 70 percent of his business still focuses on catering to the unique needs of clients within the motorsports community. While trust and referrals are the lifeblood of his business, Reid did not become successful through connections alone. He believes that his work ethic has allowed him to distinguish himself among the other brokerage firms in the Charlotte area. He likens the distinction to racing as well: “Many people want to be successful, but they aren’t often willing to put in the work to become successful. Like a lot of things in life, you need to be willing to work harder than those around you to distinguish yourself from the pack,” says Reid.
Part of working harder also means working strategically. This means developing a clear plan to help his clients achieve their goals and always remaining service-focused in all of his work. Reid advises other realtors that they have to be able to very clearly identify their clients’ needs and identify where their audience is. “Once you identify where the audience is, you need to make sure you get their attention, and you are not afraid to spend the money to market to that particular audience,” says Reid. “This includes marketing through professional photography and videography, and direct-to-agent marketing.” Ultimately, he believes that remaining client- and service-focused, as well as putting in the extra work, keeps his
We wish you and your family a relaxing, easy-going summer. Love, Homeside.
Although he is well known in the racing community, Reid hopes that his personal brand translates far beyond and that his excellent reputation extends to broker-to-broker relationships as well. “Another goal of mine is that I want other agents to know that you can bring a client to me and we will have a cross-sale where everyone can meet their goals. That is what makes a good sale – when we create a win-win for all parties,” he said. “It is important to me that people have confidence in working with us, that they have confidence in showing our listings, and that all our transactions are good and collegial.” Ultimately, Reid’s goal for the future is to continue growing Lead 2 Real Estate to service even more clients and their specific real estate needs. “There is a saying in racing – that you are only as good as your last race,” says Reid. “I want to make sure that that is my final impression with each one of my clients. That lasting impression is what ultimately creates repeat clients and referrals.”
You can reach Boston at 704-975-6742 or via email at bostonreid@me.com. 14 • July 2018
Ahh. Warm nights, barbecues, swimming pools and campfires.
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