Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 27, 2010
Charming young Realtor sticks out with style, skills, likable personality
Erica Tuggle
Marshall Casselman, a Realtor with the Cherokee Boulevard Remax, has a background in being likable. His father’s line of work was to teach people how to sell, and with a little bit of his mother’s personality and a degree in communications, he has learned to talk to his clients with ease, assuring them of his commitment to their needs.
- Erica Tuggle
It’s almost alarming how charming Marshall Casselman is. If asked his secret to selling ice to an Eskimo, though, he would probably just smile knowingly. Casselman says his ability to relate to people and gain their trust has come from a mixture of many different areas including his father’s sales background, his mother’s personality and his degree in communications.
Casselman grew up in Greensburg, N.C., attended school in Wilmington, N.C. and then moved to Chattanooga straight out of college to look for a job. Although, Casselman says communications taught him how to talk to people (which he seems to have a natural knack for already), he only really stumbled into real estate at the age of 22.
Originally, he was going to work for an established agent in town, but when that didn’t work out, he was one of the first ones to work in the Cherokee Boulevard Remax location that was opening its doors. He says he is glad things worked out this way, because he enjoys the
properties he shows and the company itself.
Now 27, he still claims Remax as home, and uses his young age and friendly personality to approach selling a little bit differently, he says.
“I try to just relate to them. I focus in on investors and first time homebuyers because you can kind of be less serious with them, and I like that aspect of relating to someone so it doesn’t seem too much like work and business. It takes the tension off,” he says.
In this approach, Casselman admits he is not like the average Realtor. “I stick out like an orange hat with a green bill, so I think that’s one thing I bring,” he says.
Realty appeals to him, he says, because not only can he be his own boss and have unlimited income potential, but also the ability to help someone make a wise, educated decision. Casselman says he thinks it is important to help clients in the process because “buying a house is scary, and once someone does make that leap, they are going to feel a little lost,” he says.
The aspect of working with people, being there for someone in the process of selling or buying and negotiating are all things about the career that Casselman enjoys. One of the only things he doesn’t like is the paperwork, he says, but who does?
He says he got the opportunity to work with a client in showing them a home that they had owned back in the late ’80s. When he opened the door, the woman started to cry at the memories of her old home, and he says that is part of the enjoyable impact of working with personal emotion-filled items like homes.
To give himself the edge and knowledge over the next guy, Casselman has earned his broker’s license and participates in continuing education courses as much as possible, because he says he knows the business is changing daily.
Casselman also knows that with his age, he needs to show his clients he has what it takes to provide for their needs, and he does this by taking their hand and walking them through every step of the process. With a buyer, he says, they first sit down together and establish what the buyer wants from this process.
From there, they jump right into seeing properties and then get the financing, inspections and growing list of other details taken care of. For sellers, he says he just tells them what he has and hopes his likable nature will convince them to work with him, so he can prove his skills.
“I consider myself a pretty likable person, but you can be the most likable person in the world and it is just if you are going to perform or not. In my meetings with sellers, I am somewhat able to reiterate that,” he says.
Casselman has recently joined the Young Professionals Association of Chattanooga, he says for several reasons, the first of which is to network both personally and professionally. He says he knows he could go to a bar and meet people to build his networking web, but with the YPAC, he meets people in a more casual business relationship and develops the ties from there.
“I have met some great people there, so I think it is a great organization to get involved with,” he says. “Also, they are very involved with the community, which I like.”
He recommends the Young Professionals’ after hours social events, their monthly luncheons and says the community involvement he had during one of their kickball tournaments was a blast.
He says, “It is stuff to get you involved a little bit, network and get to know the community professionally and personally. It’s a very cool little gig.”
Casselman says he guesses he’s been in the real estate business long enough to be dangerous, he jokes, and credits Remax again with giving him his first start. He says the office he works in is particularly enjoyable, and the open rooftop of the building to view the bustle and beauty of downtown and beyond is one of the many perks of the location.
Casselman says he can’t say where he will end up in the next five to ten years, but is open to opportunities that come his way. For now, he will keep selling, and for the time in-between, he says he will try to fit in some time on the lake with his boats and at Amigo for 75 cent taco night.
He says although the tax credit is gone, there is still a lot to be had in today’s market with the variety of homes and prices, and is waiting for “your call” when selling or buying a home comes to mind.
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