Darin Marques epitomizes the definition of entrepreneurial spirit.
His positive, ‘glass half full’ approach is the Marques way. It’s also the foundation of how he became a leader in the luxury real estate market. Leaving Huntington & Ellis Real Estate Brokerage, Marques announces the formation of his brokerage – Virtue Luxury Real Estate Group.
“When your vision outgrows where you’re at, you must grow with it,” said Marques. “My vision for what I want to provide my clients made opening my firm the natural next step.”
Marques chose the name Virtue to represent the core values that guide how his brokerage conducts business, including how it serves its clientele. Hepartly promotes these values by awarding agents based on client reviews rather than strictly generated sales.
“I’m a huge believer that the customer is always first,” said Marques. “I feel many industries have gone away from that mindset. I want to bring that back by focusing 100% on customer satisfaction.”
Since the firm’s model depends on high customer service, Marques offers a genuine concierge service. He recently hired an Executive Concierge with extensive experience to provide unparalleled hospitality resources. “Her responsibility is to ensure our clients feel welcome and have a great experience,” said Marques. “No different if they were staying at the finest hotels and a VIP Host was setting up their time for them.”
In addition to providing extraordinary customer service, Marques plans to create an innovative structure for the brokerage’s agents. The corporate framework includes creating distinct in-house divisions to specifically offer invaluable services to agents who join Marques’ team. He also intends to market the services to agents who choose to remain independent. A separate internal Sales Department is in the works at Virtue to prospect and generate leads.
“The biggest thing agents hate is prospecting, so I figure why to fight it?” said Marques. “Why force them to do something they don’t want to do? So, I will create a service where we provide in-house leads, so agents don’t have to worry about buying lists from other services.”
Virtue’s in-house Marketing Department offers agents an entire catalog of marketing services and execution. “We’ll help them build their business,” said Marques. “When you hire us, we’ll help you draft a complete marketing plan, and we’ll help you implement it.”
Marques further plans to educate, mentor, and coach agents who join his team. “I get more joy from watching one of my teammates get their first million-dollar deal than closing a big deal,” said Marques. “So, I look forward to helping agents grow their business.”
As part of his customer-focused approach, Marques’s scope of internal services broadened to include commercial real estate. “A large percentage of our clients are business owners, so there is usually a need for commercial services,” said Marques. “I haven’t been able to provide that for them. So now I offer services for all my client’s needs.”
Darin’s wife, Susan Marques plans to lead the Builder and Developer division. Virtue’s new division intends to manage various services for construction industry professionals. “They can hire us to be a full-service agency or pick services a’la carte,” said Marques. “This allows the builder to focus on what they do best, building and developing properties, while we add value to their services by doing what we do best.”
His ultimate plan is to expand into other markets. Plans are already in motion to open a Henderson location at the beginning of next year with three additional offices - Reno, Southern California, and Arizona- by the end of next year. Eventually, he wants to franchise the Virtue brand and open offices nationwide.
