As Described in Broker Associate Magazine

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Smith and Patten: Partners in Success
by Virginia Nemmers - photography by www.JesicaPerry.com

Many years ago, in Michigan, Mary Smith’s grandmother had been friends with the mother of Carol Patten’s husband. It was something the two women discovered only after they had known each other for several years. Not only is that, as Carol says, less than six degrees of separation, it is more evidence why this pair was almost fated to be together. Since they joined forces at ERA Shields, the duo has proven that equal partnerships can not only work, they can flourish.

The team, who started working together six years ago, has over 47 years of experience between them. They were successful in their own businesses before they became a team and that has been key to how they work together now. Unlike most teams, Mary and Carol split everything 50-50. “That’s not very easy for some people to do,” says Carol. “But, because we brought the same stakes to the table we could do that.”

“It’s really unique when you find two people who are so compatible,” says Bill Hurt, owner of ERA Shields. How compatible are they? Well, talk to them for a few minutes and you’ll see that they finish each other’s sentences. They know what the other one is thinking or how she is going to react to a certain situation. They have similar type-A personalities but they also bring different strengths to the team which is what makes it work so well. “Carol is more analytical than I am,” Mary says, adding that she goes straight to the heart of an issue. She is also the wordsmith of the two, writing all their flyers and MLS entries. Mary is more of the hand-holder. “Mary’s got just wonderful people skills,” says Carol. “She immediately engages with a person like they are the only person in the world at that time.”



This back and forth conversation is typical of how they handle their clients as well. One day Mary may take the client out to look at homes. The next day Carol may do it. And the clients love the fact that they can get the different perspectives. “Our styles are a little bit different,” says Carol. “But the overall business outlook and the way we like to do business is the same.”

Though the merging of their two businesses and personalities has gone smoothly, there were a few hurdles to get over in the early months. Not surprisingly, the issue was communication. Carol explains, “You are not used to having someone else know where you are and what you’re doing all the time. You’re not used to being accountable to somebody else. And we found we had to be accountable to each other.”

Today the pair shares an open office with each other and their full-time agent/assistant, Stacey Turner. Three women in one office with three phones and three computers sounds like it could be chaos. But it is just the opposite. “What we found,” says Mary, “is that it really helps us because you’ll hear things that are happening.” It reduces the number of times someone is left out of the loop or misses getting an important piece of information. Both Mary and Carol call Stacey the “glue” that holds the office together. Laughing, Carol adds, “She is younger than we are, she has more memory!”

Before they joined together Mary and Carol each had a very successful business and each did a great deal of relocation. That is still a key part of their business and a significant reason they are with ERA Shields. In addition, a large amount of their business is personal and corporate referral. Working as partners they have managed to grow their business consistently every year, making the list of top ten producers for ERA for 2005.



But despite their success, they are not REALTORS® who are driven by numbers or growing bigger year after year. What drives them is making a difference in their clients’ lives. “It’s not just a sale,” explains Mary. “I think it’s that we really care about what is really important to the buyer or seller.” Carol finishes the thought, “We’re not in the business to be the top team. We’re in the business strictly to help people and both of us live that way.” Their assistant Stacey wholeheartedly agrees. “What’s most important to them is not the money. It’s the people. They want to be there for the people.”

Carol and her husband Jon, who have been married 42 years, moved to Colorado Springs in 1970 when he took a job with Fountain Valley School. Theirs was a life that centered around the students’ lives and Carol loved every minute of it. She originally got into real estate to buy and fix up properties with a friend. Though that never panned out, Carol realized she loved the business and stuck with it. Mary entered real estate on the urging of her husband of 43 years, also named John (although spelled differently). Having moved around the world with the military John felt Mary could do a much better job than most of the REALTORS® they had worked with. And it appears she really has. Today with their partnership going strong, their husbands jokingly call themselves the “partners-in-law.”

Though an equal partnership doesn’t work for everyone, it works extremely well for this team. As Mary explains, “It really is that old saying ‘two heads are better than one.’ You have someone to bounce things off of who really cares, because it’s part of her business plan also.” They can also keep each other on track and on that rare occasion when one of them is down, the other can pick her up. Despite what many people would expect, teaming up didn’t lighten Mary and Carol’s work load, it actually made them busier. But it did relieve some of the stress and free them up for more quality time off. Now when each of them goes away, they know their clients will have continuous service.

When Mary takes time away from work she is often climbing a mountain. She has scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro and last year walked 195 miles around Mt. Blanc. She uses that same steely determination back home at work, to focus on her goal and then step by step go towards it. A true mountain girl, Mary is also an avid skier. But she does look forward to the trips she, John and their two daughters’ families take to Florida for family vacations. Carol is a daily runner—“to clear my head in the morning”—and a golfer. She and Jon both love to cook. And every summer they spend time with their three children and grandchildren at their family ranch in Montana. There they horseback ride, hike, fish, and enjoy a life that is miles different from the pace of Colorado Springs.

Mary and Carol are the first to admit their kind of partnership is not for everyone. “You have to bring the right blend,” says Mary. “You have to be willing to share your life, share your thoughts.” Their partnership works because they share a sense of humor, they have a ton of compassion for their clients, and they bring different strengths to the union. And they are friends. “I feel very responsible to Carol for what I do and I know she feels the same,” Mary says. “It’s not like it’s my business or her business, it’s our business.”



Real estate is a wonderful opportunity. That’s what Carol would tell new agents. And she would caution them. “I think if you start looking at the deal or the commission, you have got to re-evaluate why you are really doing it.” Like with so many successful REALTORS®, the real heart of the business for these women is building and sustaining relationships. With their clients and with each other. That isn’t always easy but it is exceedingly rewarding.

When asked what their goals are for the next year, Carol laughs. “To be alive,” she says. “To be healthy,” Mary adds. “I think to stay the course and take it up a notch,” Carol says. They are adamant about making a plan and following through. And they are firm believers in positive thinking. “That’s very important in this business,” Carol says. If the couple has a house that isn’t selling they write down the address and focus their energy on making something happen. As Mary explains, “We think that if you see it in writing, then that is where your energy will go.”

The partners not only dedicate themselves to work, but they also use their talents and time in helping others. Working with agents and staff in their ERA Shields office, they helped raise $40,000 last year for Muscular Dystrophy. Mary, who has a grandchild with Down’s Syndrome also actively devotes time to that cause. Both have worked for years with Partners in Housing. To them, giving back is essential. “The community is what supports us business-wise,” Mary says. “Both Carol and I have always felt that as much as we can give back to the community, either monetarily or with our time, is very, very important.” Carol, who is a past Director of the Board of Realtors, also believes that for the same reason you do things for the community, you give back to your own organization as well.



Over the years the duo has mentored agents in their office and is currently mentoring Sherry Converse, a long-time client and friend of Mary’s. Sherry considers herself lucky to be learning the business from these two experienced agents. “They do this job with such integrity,” she says. “They’re both very caring and they have incredible attention to detail.” She also offers insight into their personalities, calling Carol calm and saying Mary is full of energy.

“I don’t think people really understand how we work as partners,” Mary says. “We really do split everything. It’s not Carol’s. It’s not mine. It’s ours.”

And, it’s a team like no other.