Barbara Pronin: Why don’t we be-
gin with a brief recap of your family’s career path in the industry.
LP Finn: Our parents, Georgianna
and Larry, merged their company
with Coach’s original owners in
1980. A few years later, they took
full ownership of the new company.
Since then, their leadership and
business knowledge have guided
our firm on a steady and sustainable
path of growth, regardless of market
conditions.
Whitney Finn LaCosta: LP and I literally grew up in the business, from
emptying the trash and answering
phones to learning hands-on real
estate procedures and management
skills. Today, LP handles company
operations while I act as deputy to
our general manager and oversee a
group of branch offices. My husband,
Robert LaCosta, oversees our mortgage and title operations, Coach Title
Insurance Agency, and our marketing
partnership with Citibank. We are
still very much a family operation, all
of us involved in the major decisionmaking, and I think it’s that wealth of
energy and experience that has led
us to where we are today.
BP: How would you characterize
Coach REALTORS®’ positioning in
the Long Island marketplace?
Georgianna Finn: Today, we have 19
offices strategically located throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties,
and more than 650 of the industry’s
best-trained and most dedicated
agents. We are one of the top independent, non-franchised companies within the Long Island Board
of REALTORS®/MLS and we are on
track to once again rank as one of
the region’s top independent companies in closed transactions. We
are also the only company in our
area affiliated with the five premier
real estate networks in the world:
Christie’s International Real Estate,
Leading Real Estate Companies of
the World®, Mayfair International
Realty® Luxury Portfolio Internation,
al® and Who’s Who in Luxury Real
Estate® These networks, which are
.
known for their integrity and marketing expertise in the upper-end market, provide our sales associates
with unparalleled customer reach
and marketing support.
BP:
How has the company
evolved and grown over the
years to adapt to changes in the
marketplace?
Georgianna Finn: The past 10
years, especially, have seen marked
changes in the needs and wants of
real estate customers as well as
sales professionals, and I think it is
our company’s ability to understand
the evolving marketplace and stay
ahead of the curve that has brought
us to our position of prominence.
Customers today all have access
to plenty of information, but in today’s market, they demand better
property marketing, faster response
times, and streamlined transactions. At the same time, sales professionals need enhanced training,
cutting-edge technology, effective
marketing programs and unqualified
broker support, all of which we are
dedicated to providing.
BP: Would you say that accounts
for your competitive difference in
the marketplace?
LP Finn: Absolutely. Our newly upgraded mobile platform offers amazing features for both our customers
and our agents—including functions
that rival those of some of the largest real estate websites anywhere.
Our online university is truly revolutionary, our database systems and
our online solutions help agents stay
connected and drive leads, and our
marketing and international affiliations give our agents an undisputed
edge over H