Jada Sparks can’t believe it now, but just a few years ago she was in difficult straights and saw no way out of her situation. She was a single mom, new in real estate and selling in one of the weakest economic markets in the country — Anderson, Indiana. It was pure survival mode at the time. Jada worked long hours, rarely saw her young daughter and was on a never-ending treadmill of chasing deals to make ends meet.

Jada Sparks — Grew her business in one of the weakest economies.

“I believed in the school of do nothing,” Jada recalls. That’s how she describes her marketing strategy when she launched her real estate career in 2000. For three years, she took whatever business came down the road. She sat at open houses and worked floor time. Her average sales price was low and she was exhausted. Then the shock of her life occurred — her mother died and she was sent into a tailspin. Something had to change but she didn’t know where to turn.

Jada’s mother was co-owner of the real estate company her parents owned for 30 years. In many ways, Jada feels the chaotic pace of real estate led to her illness. It all hit at once. Jada was ready for a shift in the way she did business and had plenty of reasons to look for a life-changing solution.

“I stopped working for four months to grieve,” she recalls. “And when you don’t have systems in place to run your business, guess what happens while you’re away? You have to hit the pavement.”

Instead, she went to a Hobbs/Herder seminar in 2003. “It was do or die,” she said. “I no longer had it in me to do it my way.” Jada’s parents had attended both MegaMarketing and The Gateway and had just begun to change their own way of doing business when her mother fell ill. At MegaMarketing, Jada met Hobbs/Herder coach Rhonda Formby, who helped her revolutionize they way she approached real estate.

Jada was pumped immediately. She had Hobbs/Herder develop a personal marketing campaign that included a dynamic brochure, PowerKard and House Flier. At the seminar, Jada’s thinking was turned upside down. For years she’d been doing what other agents do, pursuing business in a deal-to-deal mentality, spinning her wheels and getting nowhere.

Jada learned that a fundamental, well-conceived and targeted marketing strategy was crucial. It’s purpose was to brand her as distinctive, dynamic and professional. The philosophy behind her campaign (and the tools that would bring it to life) also had to be emotional and bond potential clients to Jada, her strengths and values. It all made sense when she saw brochure materials and campaign examples at the seminar that had worked well for other Hobbs/Herder clients.

The seminar experience held even more “aha” moments for Jada. By now her imagination was sparked and she was excited about being a success in real estate. To grow and build a business, Hobbs/Herder introduces systems and processes that capture market share and mind share in a targeted area. Jada got the concept immediately. Lead generation systems and follow-up processes were key tools she needed to implement. A captivating Web site that promoted and branded her was another system that could build and sustain business. Most importantly, Jada saw that personal branding would nurture relationships and separate her from the hordes of agents in her market.

Armed with a new approach, Jada got busy quickly. She used direct mail to deliver her professional marketing campaign and consistently keep her image in front of potential clients. With Hobbs/Herder coaching, she refined her systems with listing follow up procedures and seasoned, professional guidance for all areas of her business. A year into her direct mail campaign, Jada had Hobbs/Herder develop a powerful, interactive Web site that promotes her 24/7.

What else was crucial in her transformation? Religiously following the programs that Hobbs/Herder describes for building and sustaining more business.

“I followed the strategic marketing plan laid out by Hobbs/Herder exactly,” she affirms. “Whatever they said to do, I did to the letter.”

The results?

“It was a floodgate of business,” Jada notes, and the “school of doing nothing” was about to be burned to the ground. Her first brochure theme was “Watch the Sparks Fly,” and she did, as the response to her mailing heated up. Jada’s brochure went out to her farm late the year — November 2003 — and she completed just 40 transactions. But as soon as her campaign ignited, her listing inventory and revenue shot up. The market was catching on to Jada and she was on fire with newfound success. By February 2004, her direct mail campaign was in full swing and she did 80 transactions. By 2005 she completed 118 transactions and in 2006 she reached 138 transactions. As her phone rang and she made more listing appointments, Jada’s listing inventory went up too, from 10 to 60 in just three years.

What’s amazing is that Anderson, Indiana is still considered one of the weakest real estate markets in the nation, with depreciating home prices and a slow economy. Yet Jada has been able to grow her business and dominate her marketplace in a short period of time. Hobbs/Herder’s philosophy, systems, tools, coaching and practices made all the difference. Jada finally had a structure for achieving success and methods of building a business constantly. She credits the personal branding, stunning brochure materials and a targeted direct mail campaign as a huge reason for her success.

But there an even brighter horizon in Jada’s life today, as a result of embracing the Hobbs/Herder philosophy and instituting new processes and systems.

“Before I launched these new business practices, my daughter, Taylor, was always with a babysitter,” Jada remembers. “I worked weekends and nights. When you don’t know where the next deal is coming from, you have to work the deal at hand to keep food on the table. It was harder and harder to do.”

It’s a different story now. Today, Jada puts in 40 hours a week and never works on Saturday.

“That’s Taylor’s day,” she emphasizes.

Jada can now set boundaries and she’s able to stick to her limits of who she chooses to work with. As freeing as this is, she says it pales in comparison to the peace of mind that her business-building systems bring.

“Those systems give me the strength to say no when I need to,” she adds.

These changes were huge for Jada but she doesn’t regret the investment and effort it took to give her freedom, success and more money.

“The Hobbs/Herder program and process has been proven over and over again,” she notes. “There are countless Jadas out there who are experiencing the very same success that has come to me. If you implement these systems the results will be there.”