Kara Wootson, CRS, uses not only a diverse marketing plan to be successful, but also works to bring diversity to her community
Kara Wootson, CRS, a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Realty in Panama City Beach, Florida, hasn’t always lived and worked in the off-the-beaten-path beach community where she currently resides. Originally from Queens, New York, Wootson moved to Bay County from Atlanta eight years ago, and she began selling real estate just over five years ago before obtaining the CRS Designation in 2021.
When still relatively new to the profession, Wootson attended a Florida REALTORS® convention and met a few “movers and shakers from other parts of the state,” she explains. “One of the very first things all of these successful agents asked was if I was a CRS. So, it started resonating with me that this designation is something I needed to look into.”
A market well off the beaten path
Wootson describes her market as a “very strange duck—but in a good way.” While Bay County and its neighboring Walton County both classify as beach living, being situated right on the Gulf of Mexico, they’re also unique in that they’re still in remote, rural areas. “We don’t really have a public transportation [network],” she says. “We have a trolley that goes to certain areas, but not everywhere. There’s no underground [subway system], there’s no bus routes. You have a lot of golf carts and bike riders.”
Along with this rural way of life, there are four military stations within approximately 50 miles—two Air Force bases, a Navy dive base and a Coast Guard base—with an accompanying transient population of military personnel coming and going at all times.
Not surprisingly, the secondary vacation home market is thriving in her area, with incredible beaches and views, and with Florida being popular for relocation due to relaxed pandemic restrictions and numerous outdoor spaces for homeowners to enjoy.
“It’s a hidden gem,” she says. “You can’t just take the highway and jump off here. And that’s why it’s been kept so pristine for so many years.”
Getting exposure
Due to this wide range of potential clients, Wootson has made it a goal to diversify her marketing techniques to appeal to as many groups as possible. Open houses are one of her most successful marketing ventures. “I’ve won contests for having open houses,” she says. “Several Coldwell Banker brokerages across the [Florida] panhandle would participate, awarding prizes to the [REALTOR® with the] most creative marketing tactics, how many people were in attendance and post-event media creation for after the open house.” She also is known to walk neighborhoods, wearing her name badge everywhere she goes to let people know she’s open for business and willing to help any potential buyer or seller.
In a market whose population is a fraction of that of New York City or Atlanta, participating in community events with local organizations has been a great way for her to gain exposure for her business. “Lucky Puppy (an animal rescue organization), Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, Habitat for Humanity and my local library are just a few of the organizations I help support in my community,” Wootson says. “I partner with a lot of them, whether offering a giveaway for an event or participating in a 5K race, and I’ll put photos and promotion on Instagram to support those small businesses that are giving back to the community that may not have a large enough voice to get in front of everyone.”
Having a wide range of marketing tactics ensures Wootson has access to everyone in the community. She’s not limiting her focus to only one specific type of client.
Diverse cultural experiences
An important goal for Wootson is to bring diversity to a community where minorities have traditionally been underrepresented. “I do try to bring diversity [to the community], because there is not much of it in our area,” she says. “Working in a rural town around the Florida panhandle and the lower part of Alabama, it’s important that I try to instill some of the culture that I have, and that I’ve grown up with, into the community through all the different organizations that I’m a part of, and especially in my real estate business.”
“If everyone was the same or thought the same, day-to-day life would be boring,” she continues. “As a parent of a swimmer, a sport with very little diversity, it is important that I raise my son in a community that is accepting. The world is getting smaller due to social media and technology reach, so local interactions should be the first step in inclusiveness.”
She also sees diversity within the ranks of the real estate industry as a huge positive and necessary to being a strong agent. “The industry is evolving and changing, but so are the practitioners,” Wootson says. “Agents are getting younger and conducting their business in nontraditional ways. NAR has changed governing policies to encourage acceptance. People of different ethnicities and gender orientations are entering the field. Being open to change, respectful to that shift and showing tolerance is paramount to a smooth transaction and staying professional.”
Wootson mentions that RRC does a great job helping to bridge the gap between cultures through their educational offerings. “I chose designations that lean or gravitate toward underrepresented cultures with continuing education, like CRS,” she says. “RRC curriculum tends to dig deeper into multicultural experiences and the needs of various demographics.”
The value of CRS
Wootson believes that the RRC referral network, Find a CRS, is the best in the business and is an incredible resource for sharing leads with other agents across the country. “People who have the CRS Designation look for other CRSs before anyone else, even if their sister’s nephew’s cousin is a REALTOR®,” she says. “We have a certain type of professionalism, a certain standard within our business models that we hold very dear.”
She also loves going to RRC events, having attended the recent Sell-a-bration® Reconnect in Lake Tahoe this past August. “I like being around CRSs and experiencing the various types of education the Council offers,” she explains. “I believe that continuing education offered by RRC keeps us on top of our business plans and helps to make our businesses successful and well-rounded. I have a lot of irons in the fire [with my diverse client-base], and RRC offers education on every area I’m trying to reach, and more.”
Finding motivation
However, what truly motivates her to do great things is her family. As mentioned earlier, Wootson’s 12-year-old son is a competitive swimmer. He recently won a regional competition naming him the best in Alabama, Tennessee and the Florida panhandle for his age group, and was offered a role as an ambassador from Speedo. “He’s the reason why I’m striving to be successful, to show him that hard work does pay off, because he says he wants to compete in the Olympics one day,” she says. He was able to meet Olympic medalist Caeleb Dressel at a recent swim camp—and even swam in a friendly race against the Olympian.
With these lofty goals in mind, Wootson will continue to provide superb services for her market while taking advantage of all the Council has to offer to help achieve success.
