Joey Clark, Blake Suddath, and Exceeding Expectations Real Estate Now Powered by PLACE
“PLACE will help us create a stronger foundation that will enable us the capacity to build out a team bigger than anybody else has ever built.”
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn., September 2023 — PLACE, the industry’s only all-in-one business services and technology platform for top real estate teams at any brokerage, announced today that Joey Clark, Blake Suddath, and Exceeding Expectations Real Estate at eXp Realty are now powered by PLACE. PLACE improves profitability and production to make running a real estate business easier.
Clark and Suddath are elite Realtors® in the Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Together, they have helped more than 1,000 people buy and sell real estate, and in 2022, they closed more than $40 million in sales volume through 126 transactions.
It is serendipity that brought Joey Clark and Blake Suddath together in a partnership. Clark, who has been licensed for more than 20 years, had no intention of forming a team. Suddath earned his license in 2018 and reached out to Clark for advice. “Blake did not take my advice at all,” said Clark. “But it was really an unanswered prayer because if he had listened to me then, we probably wouldn’t be here now.”
The two ultimately created a team after they both became part of eXp Realty and hosted a networking event for other Realtors.® “When Joey and I started working together, other people saw our energy and wanted to be part of our team,” said Suddath. “It is not companies that create energy but the people you surround yourself with. As we collaborated and inspired each other, we ultimately found ourselves ready to conquer the world with our best friends.”
Suddath shares Clark’s enthusiasm and confidence and sees growing with PLACE as a different way of doing business. “Our vision is a movement where the agent is not just an agent but is treated as a human being. We are all part of a community that is productive, collaborative, and so full of energy that it turns heads,” he said.
The two feel that PLACE will provide their business a breath of fresh air so they can build a world as big as they can envision. “PLACE gives us the opportunity to focus on what we each individually are good at while still taking care of our business,” said Clark. “We can focus on what really brings us joy in the business, and the accountability of PLACE will allow us to keep growing.”
Clark, who served in the Marine Corps for eight years, was looking for a job as an air traffic controller when a friend suggested that selling real estate might be more profitable. “I never say I picked real estate,” Clark said. “I say real estate picked me.” He was licensed in 2003 and has built a tremendous business based on exceeding clients’ expectations, including helping veterans through the process of buying and selling homes.
For Suddath, who had a very successful marketing career, entering real estate was a choice made after evaluating his life goals and how he could create more financial security for his family. “After a 90-minute conversation with one of my mentors, I realized that if there was a crisis, I could not financially take care of my family if I did not make a change,” said Suddath. “I closed my marketing company the next Monday, got my real estate license, and sold 30 houses that first year, which changed the direction of my family’s life.”
“We can only build our business so big without the help of others. That’s why we’re drawn to PLACE as a strategic partner.”
Clark and Suddath look to PLACE as a way to jump-start a new season of growth. “We’re always trying to adjust to make our business bigger and better while empowering those around us – the people who we care about – to be more successful,” said Suddath. “However, we can only build our business so big without the help of others. That’s why we’re drawn to PLACE as a strategic partner that says, ‘We’ll hold up this part of the business so you can go grow.’” Clark and Suddath are especially excited about the growth path for agents through the Opportunity Model, and the increased avenues for financial success for their team members.
“I love the enthusiasm, energy, and ideas that Joey and Blake bring to their business,” said Ben Kinney, co-founder of PLACE. “I believe PLACE will provide the foundation they need to grow and help their agents do the same.”
“Joey and Blake have been successful individually, and together their complementary strengths create great energy,” said Chris Suarez, co-founder of PLACE. “The tools, technology, and accountability tools of PLACE will help them leverage that energy to scale even higher.”