When franchise owner Cindy Crutcher and her husband, Mark, launched their first franchise in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky in 2005, they began with slogan “Bringing buyers and sellers of real estate together." But, when they studied their why, in 2016,  they realized the reason they brought buyers and sellers together was because they wanted to help families and changed their slogan to “Real Estate is what we do, families are why we do it."
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EXIT Realty Crutcher owners, Mark and Cindy Crutcher.[/caption]
Helping others has helped them grow their business in the last 15 years says Cindy.  “When we were looking at franchise opportunities I began each morning praying and finally gave up.  I was tired of the process but while on a field trip with my daughter was approached by someone from EXIT.  I told him, I’ve got my momma hat on and can’t talk.  After follow-up, I found out how company driven, agent oriented EXIT is and it fits perfectly with my philosophy,”  Cindy explained. 
“If someone is considering a franchise, I usually share what I love most is our corporate office support.  They are involved, show up, do what they say and are always willing to go the extra mile.  They don’t just preach it, they live it.  Our regional owners have been with us for five years and also provide training, offer encouragement and have been supportive.  The goal of get, keep and grow at the end of the day is important for us all,”  Cindy said.
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Mark and Cindy Crutcher, EXIT Realty Crutcher, center, at convention with EXIT leadership Janice Petteway, Kenny Lynn, Stacy Strobl, Craig Witt, Tami Bonnell and Steve Morris, founder/chairman.[/caption]
Cindy says they began with eight agents in Lawrenceburg and added a Louisville franchise in 2006 and Frankfort in 2017.   “Today, we have a total of 80 agents and the key to growth has been consistency while being persistent with a lot of hard work.  We focus on making sure our three franchises are doing well before considering any future growth." 
No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care is a great quote from Theodore Roosevelt which she says sums up her mentoring philosophy.  “That saying has always stuck with me and I teach agents everything I know but when they understand how much I care and support them, that’s when it works.” 
Cindy was one of the first to work with the real estate commission in Kentucky to be approved for continuing education via Zoom.  “Safety was first but we knew we wanted to continue to grow our business and be strong instead of being fearful.  I had just signed five new agents who had just earned a license and knew training was key and had to connect with them.  Also, we do not take any new agents if they don’t agree to our mentoring program.  All of this is key to their success. We’ve remained focused during this time and most of my agents are having a phenomenal year,”  Cindy said. 
Supporting community and agents is important to the Crutcher EXIT franchises. 
“My amazing team is crucial to everything and it includes my husband, Mark, managing broker George Green, director of growth Joe Lopez and two ladies who have been with us for over 20 years, Nita Basham, our financial officer, who earned EXIT Realty corporate admin of the year and Janeffa Pate, who is our compliance officer.  We are very lucky to have this awesome team,” Cindy said.
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EXIT Realty Crutcher raised $6,500 for Habitat for Humanity and EXIT corporate matched with $5,000 for a total donation of $11,500 in 2019.[/caption]The team and agents are very active in supporting Habitat for Humanity and they are doing something very fun August 22 – freeze-pop day!
“We are trying to safely connect with our community and see people by doing a drive-by freeze pop event in different subdivisions. At the end of the day, I love to help people and that’s what I am about.  When I look at an agent who achieves their goals and helps families, that is the reward for me,” Cindy said.
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EXIT Realty Crutcher had the top supporting team for a GLAR area bowling fundraiser where the funds were split between multiple charities.[/caption]
A recent EXIT Realty Crutcher agent, Joe Lopez,  helped someone purchase their first home in the U.S. and went above and beyond finding translators to help through the process.  It makes Cindy proud to know how he helped. "The buyer was from South Africa and he said “I look to you now as I would my father and you are now my family,"  Cindy shared.   
“We are culture and family oriented.  Each year, we host a Redneck Day on our 188 acre farm roasting a pig, picking pumpkins and a hay ride.  It is important to create EXIT family and this is important to me at the end of the day,”  Cindy said.
Click here to connect with EXIT Realty Crutcher, or reach out to Cindy at 502-680-9822. 
Join A Team of Unstoppable Professionals
In 2019, EXIT Southeast earned #1 Region for EXIT Realty Corp. International as well as earned #1 in franchise sales and top Best In Business for the Nashville Business Journal. The duo also broke the all-time EXIT company record for franchise sales. 
Across Georgia, Kentucky Tennessee and Florida, EXIT Southeast owners, brokers and agents are respected leaders in the real estate industry. If you are looking to join an award-winning team of professionals, contact EXIT Southeast Regional Owner Stacy Strobl at 412-LOVEXIT (412-568-3948).  
