Karen Cannon is the pioneer of her own path.

From working in the technology field with CIOs from Fortune 500 companies to working in the residential market by renovating and selling homes, Karen has carved a niche for herself in the real-estate market. By combining her expertise with that of her husband, together they formed Karen Cannon Realtors, a company Karen describes as more than one’s average real-estate business.

The Karen Cannon Realtors vision is rooted in the communities it serves. Ask and Karen will tell: she sells homes because she loves where she lives.

Patch: When did you first know that selling homes was the path for you?

Cannon: I began my professional sales and marketing career working in the technology field with CIOs from Fortune 500 companies, such as Coke, Delta and many others. I learned early on how to communicate in this fast-paced and evolving field and to provide value to clients who expect excellence. At the same time, my husband, Anderson, was working in the residential real estate market by renovating and selling houses.

We decided to combine our collective expertise in order to form Karen Cannon Realtors — a company we believed from the beginning would be more than your average real-estate business. From the start, our vision was to be firmly rooted in the communities we serve. We sell homes because we love where we live.

Patch: How do you maintain your competitive edge in the real-estate industry?

Cannon: Plain and simple, we maintain our competitive edge by knowing our market inside and out. We live, work and play in the communities we serve, so when a client is looking to move to North Atlanta, we are well versed in the areas and neighborhoods that will meet and exceed their expectations. We take pride in forming relationships with our clients, and we know we’ve done our job when they refer friends or come back when they’re ready to purchase another home.

Anyone who works with us knows that KCR is always changing, adapting and reinvesting in technology to give our clients the cutting-edge marketing they deserve. From start to finish, we are invested and dedicated to making this a positive and rewarding experience.

Patch: What is the most unusual or most extraordinary thing to ever happen to you while showing a house?

Cannon: In our business, we take the time to discover our client’s priorities and desires for their dream home. I’m able to show them properties and some they may not have considered before. A wonderful client once told me that she would never want to live in a ranch-style house.

After visiting many properties that fit her original ideal, I decided to take her to a ranch-style that I believed would suit her perfectly. After seeing it, she sat down at the kitchen table and cried because she loved it so much. It is so rewarding to make a client’s dream come true and sometimes it happens in the most unexpected ways.

Patch: What is your outlook for the future of Karen Cannon Realtors?

Cannon: Karen Cannon Realtors is the strongest we’ve ever been! Our team is growing and well positioned throughout North Atlanta as local experts in the areas our clients are seeking to make home. Throughout the year we proudly participate in activities that make a difference, such as supporting local schools, teams and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

We love being invested in our communities and are thankful to work alongside clients, friends and neighbors. We are excited as we live, work and grow throughout Atlanta!

Patch: What’s your definition of success? How do you define success?

Cannon: Success to us is helping clients find their dream home. It’s helping sellers find the best buyer for their property. It’s helping make the home buying and selling process as smooth as possible. Success is the KCR team coming together to make a difference in the lives of our clients and communities.

We love when previous clients refer a friend or family member or come back when they want to move again. We love staying in contact and hearing how people are doing in their homes. We love the relationships formed in the work we do. We’re dedicated to the people we serve from start to finish and beyond because we are also neighbors.

Patch: What sets one realtor or broker apart from another? How are you personally unique?

Cannon: Since we are independent and not a part of a franchise, we are able handpick a team of people to work for each client. We have experts throughout the process to help our clients while the agent focuses on selling the home.

Instead of our agents competing with each other, they help each other, which allows us to allocate our resources where they are needed most. We also offer a higher level of marketing, starting with a custom, five-foot-tall, estate yard sign, a 3D virtual tour, and social media postings for each listing.

Our local connections also allow us to connect buyers and sellers better than anyone else – in fact, we sold over 10percent of sales prior to listing.

Patch: What is your advice to someone who is looking to a buy a new home?

Cannon: When clients decide they would like to buy a home, we perform a needs analysis in order to understand their goals, needs and timeline. We know that moving is a very personal and important event so we strive to understand how we can best serve them.

Finding the right home is something KCR takes great pride in and because of our connections in the community and with past clients and contacts, we often know of homes that become available before they even go on the market.

Patch: Tell us about your 3D Open House feature.

Cannon: We make technology a priority at KCR and have invested in a 3D camera. This allows us to be the only local broker to offer 3D virtual tours for every listing. Potential buyers are able to “tour” all of our homes online with amazing accuracy.

Reporting indicates the 3D imagery secures far more online traffic than the typical virtual tours, which translates into greater and faster home sales.

Patch: What advice would you give to someone interested in selling his or her house?

Cannon: Although it is a seller’s market, you still need to set your home apart by making it look its best. Whether you’ve bought and sold many homes, or if you haven’t sold in 30 years, we guide you every step of the way. We do all we can to help our clients maximize the sale of their home.

Our experience in home renovation and inspection enables us to spot any issues that might slow a sale. Our staging and 3D virtual tours provide the highest level of marketing of any real estate agent in our area. We prep your home for sale, price it correctly, market it thoroughly and have the best team as your advocate.

We provide strategy, professional photography, and unique marketing to attract buyers looking in Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. That’s why we’ve sold more than 100 homes in 2016 in an average of 21 days and at 98 percent of the list price.

At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our clients know about homes coming on the market before anyone else. And our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!

If you are thinking about selling your home, or are interested in moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the surrounding areas, call us at 770-352-9658.

Dunwoody Patch 10 Questions With Karen Cannon From Karen Cannon Realtors –   by Chloe Morales