One Helluva Leader: Up Close And Personal With JPAR’s Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is not only a recognizable name to Candy’s Dirt readers but across the industry as a whole. Known for being an industry influencer, Mark is someone we’ve featured previously as he comes with a wealth of knowledge. 

However, for those that do not know, Mark is president of JPAR Brand Nationwide and CEO of JPAR Brokerage of Texas. He is also the host of Success Superstars, co-founder of CoRecruit, and an author who is currently writing his third book.

A Leader in the Industry 

Being in the business for nearly 30 years, Mark has seen the ebbs and flows of the industry. Like many, real estate is Mark’s second career. He previously served in the United States Army and had a short stint in corporate America before finding his way to a profession that combines his gifts and passion. 

It’s easy to feel his passion for this business when he speaks. It’s clear that Mark is in the business of helping people be successful and finding ways to better themselves every day.

“I believe what makes agents so successful is beyond selling homes,” Mark says, “it’s finding ways to give back to the community. It’s so much more than a means to provide for our families, it’s about finding a well-rounded life.” 

Mark adds, “People don’t just join real estate firms because they want to fail, but because they have a dream. When I get the opportunity to work with those folks to make those dreams come true, that really motivates me.” 

Mark mentioned his team has coined “Markisms” for his many wise words… A life motto of his is “a system will produce, what a system will produce” and believes that “if you aren’t getting the results you want, be soft on the people and hard on the system.”

Although Mark has made his mark on the real estate business, his childhood dream was to become an astronaut. However, a slight color blindness disqualified him from accomplishing this dream.

An Avid Adventure Seeker

Mark currently resides in Frisco but has once called Southern California and Colorado Springs home. He made his way down to the Lone Star State after his first assignment in the Army placed him in San Antonio, Texas. From there, he made the move to permanently live in Texas in 2017.

Since being in the Army, Mark has continued to make headway in visiting all the spectacular views our country has to offer. As part of his time in the Army — as well as his time with JPAR — Mark has visited every Spanish mission in San Antonio and El Paso. With JPAR offices in Dallas, Austin, El Paso, San Antonio, and Lubbock, he is able to see much of Texas and beyond while traveling on business. Most recently, he and his three boys visited Iowa on vacation and biked 500 miles across the state. The trek took six days, starting in the West near the Missouri River and finishing along the Mississippi River. 

While this may seem like a strenuous feat to some, Mark seeks out these types of opportunities. He participates in Spartan races, and marathons and even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. But when Mark isn’t participating in these high endurance sports, he and his wife Beverly are active in their community. The couple enjoys getting out and about in Dallas, visiting museums, community events, and tours.

A Lifelong Learner

Mark holds a BSBA in Business from Colorado State University, an MBA from California State Univesity, and a Behavioral Change Certification from the National Association of Sports Medicine. Needless to say, he is always looking for opportunities to learn something new and grow as a leader. In line with this mission, Mark was previously the vice president of Ferry International. 

When Mark and I spoke, he had just attended the 19th Tom Ferry Success Summit. As one of the most successful education conferences in the industry, Mark said there is so much content and ideas for real estate professionals to implement.

“One of the discussion topics was ‘how can real estate professionals make 100 appointments in the next 12 months which was spot on,” Mark mentioned, “I can usually predict how successful a relator will be with one number—the number of appointments they have on their calendar right now.” 

As part of his position at JPAR as well as his involvement with Co-Recruit, Mark is dedicated to pouring into other professionals whenever possible. He has a gift to see the big picture and create a strategic plan of action.

Dedicated to Doing Good

Although Mark is dedicated to doing well in his profession, he is also dedicated to giving back to his community. When asked what motivates him, Mark says making a positive difference in the communities he serves is probably the number one motivator. 

He enjoys working for JPAR for many reasons, but mainly because they align with his personal beliefs of giving back to the community. Most recently, the company signed two checks — one for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters and one for Habitat for Humanity — to help those organizations continue investing in the surrounding communities. 

Mark is going on year five with JPAR with no sign of slowing down in the future. However, he did mention maybe once he’s retired, he and Beverly will own a dog that can keep up with their active lifestyle. 

“I love animals of all kinds and nature,” Mark says, “But due to my profession requiring me to travel so frequently, owning a dog is just out of the cards right now. Although if I were to own a dog, it would probably be a Whippit.” 

To learn more insights from Mark Johnson, be sure to pick up one of his books—Up in Your Business or One Helluva Move—on Amazon or catch the weekly episode of Success Superstars.