How does a real estate agent who strikes out on his own, rise to the top in a town with more than 1000 licensed agents? Oakville’s Dan Cooper can answer that question and there’s no doubt that he’ll mention his team.

Cooper is quick to acknowledge that Oakville has many more agents than it actually needs, adding that the 90-10 rule applies to the real estate business as with other things.

“It’s always the 90-10 rule where you have 90 per cent of the business being done by the 10 per cent most productive agents,” he explains.

Don’t let the fact that Dan Cooper is the only name associated with the company fool you, he has a team of professionals behind him.

“There’s so much technology and marketing available to you that just one person on their own can’t do it,” says the successful realtor.

“Fifteen years ago if you listed a property you could just get away with putting an ad in the newspaper and a sign on the lawn and hope, and things would happen. Now with the Internet and the extent of the MLS and the digital tools that we have and all the technologies and efficiencies, there’s so much more we can accomplish in a day – obviously it takes time and effort,” Cooper says.

He and his team take full advantage of current technology to serve their clients. According to Cooper, a lot goes on behind the scenes in order to create a “beautiful, high quality feature sheet” for example. Cooper’s team includes graphic designers and a professional photographer who contribute to creating this integral marketing tool.

“Everything is such high quality now that it takes a whole team to assist in it so the homes sell quicker,” says Cooper of this new age in real estate sales.

Cooper likes to put himself in the shoes of his clients and ask himself what kind of service he’d expect from a real estate firm. On his list are a top-producing agent, service, communication and the best marketing materials. His goal is that everyone he deals with “has the best quality experience possible”.

It certainly helps to be passionate about the business, after all you only get one chance to secure a listing or connect with a purchaser. The seasoned realtor admits that although he and his team share that passion, to be successful, you have to employ the skills and the tools. That’s where his complete marketing department and administrative support staff come into play. There’s just so much more involved than that lawn sign.

Cooper’s marketing reach extends to his own on-line streaming video website, dancoopertv.com as well as the company website, www.dancooper.com and LivinginOakville.com to name a few.