If business at Grant & Company is an indication of the health of the economy, the patient is getting better.
Since Jan. 1, the 60-year-old company has sold 58 new homes in Shelby and DeSoto counties and is on track to complete more than 100 this year.
Photo by Dave Darnell
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Martha Fondren sees her role as “coach” at Grant & Co.: “We work, we train, we drill. And we win most of the time; lose sometimes.” Early 2010 new-home sales indicate “brighter days are ahead,” she says.
In all of 2009, it closed on the sale of just 59, said Martha Fondren, director of sales and marketing.
“2009 was the most difficult year I have experienced,” Fondren said.
“Now, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, having had an outstanding first four months of the year. We are not back to normal, but we can at least see the economy rebounding.”
Fondren spent last year building and restructuring the sales team. Along with other members of the management team, she has been hiring sales agents, adding neighborhoods, looking for new pieces of real estate, and creating a marketing plan including direct mail, networking, social media strategies, and building and solidifying partnerships and relationships.
“One thing that has never changed throughout the long history of Grant & Company is providing outstanding customer service,” Fondren said.
“We try and make the task of finding the right home in the right location at the right price easy. We are very customer-focused because we want to maintain our reputation in the marketplace. What people think of us is our most important sales tool.”
For 18 years, Fondren led the sales and marketing efforts for Reeves Williams Builders. She is a former news editor and reporter for the DeSoto County Tribune, and also worked in public relations and marketing for Trustmark Bank.
“I see myself as a coach,” Fondren said. “We work, we train, we drill. And we win most of the time; lose sometimes.”
“The fact we are so busy right now is a great indication that we have survived the Great Recession and brighter days are ahead,” she said.
Grant & Co. traces its history back to the early 1920s, when Carl Grant started building homes in northern Shelby County. Richard and Milton Grant followed in the footsteps of their father in the 1970s with their own companies.
Having grown up in the building business, brothers Keith and David Grant and sister Kim Grant Brown now continue the home building legacy.
Martha Fondren
Title: Director of sales and marketing, Grant & Co. Builders & Realtors
Address: 177 Crescent Dr., Collierville
Phone: 316-1048
E-mail: mfondren@grantnewhomes.com
Online: grantnewhomes.com
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