After eighteen years in the industry, Top Agent Deb McLean of RE/MAX Alliance Group in Gilbert, Arizona can boast a return/referral rate of business close to 100%. Integrity, a solid work ethic and a commitment to providing top-notch client service are among the many reasons her loyal clientele keep returning and referring other customers. She also uses her resources at RE/MAX to better support her clients.  “I’m blessed to be a part of RE/MAX, ” Deb says “They provide me with unbelievable broker support and a terrific suite of tools along with national and international audiences.”

A long, windingly diverse path led Deb to the real estate world. A 1978 graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Deb possesses Bachelor degrees in Psychology, Biology, and Physiological Psychology with an emphasis in Sports Management. She has previously worked for the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and the Wrestling Department of the University of Minnesota among others.  Eventually, a gig doing internationally recognized, award-winning real estate marketing turned into her current career of selling homes. “It hit me one day that it would be a whole lot more fun and rewarding to sell real estate than just do marketing for it,” says Deb. “It’s funny, I look back at my life and see all the different things I’ve done and realize how each job has pushed me towards being a real estate agent. Everything I see as a plus in what I do, comes from the diverse background I have. Real estate ended up being the one thing that never allows me to be bored.”

Deb’s trademark in the industry is an accessibility that defines every single one of her client relationships and transactions. “One thing people love about me,” she says, “is that I’m very down to earth, very casual.  I want my clients to feel comfortable with me. I don’t dress up to sell a house, because I don’t want my clients to feel like they have to dress up to look at a house.”

Honesty is of paramount importance to Deb, and to that end she is not hesitant to offer an opinion, even at the risk of losing a sale. “If you don’t want my opinion,” she says, “please tell me. But I feel it’s important to point things out to people who may be too distracted by the interesting things inside a home to notice items like road noise, or wires going through a yard.”

For Deb, it’s less about the deal than it is about the important relationships she forms. “I love seeing the look on people’s faces when they walk into their dream home, or when a seller gets their check at closing and are moving on to something new. I always make a point to go to closings, because it’s important for me to see the entire process through and to be there for my clients the entire way.”

When she is not working, Deb is equally dynamic, and among her passions is fostering deaf and/or blind Australian Shepherds for the Amazing Aussies Adoption group. She is also an avid gardener and sports fan. Among her charitable endeavors is the work she does with a Ugandan non-profit, Peace for Paul, sponsoring two children’s education and care since 2010. Elsewhere, she contributes to the Children’s Miracle Network upon each completed transaction and is on the Board of Directors for Playworks Arizona. For each of the past 15 years Deb’s yearly backpack drive has gotten larger with the help of clients, family and industry professionals.  This year their combined effort contributed over 3500 fully equipped backpacks to needy K-6 graders in Title 1 schools throughout the Valley of the Sun.

Deb is also a graduate of the year-long City of Mesa Leadership Training as well as the inaugural class of the Mesa Citizens Fire Academy.  She completed the fire training program, including crawling through a simulated burning, smoke filled building in full gear, giving her great insight into what a firefighter goes through on a daily basis.  A Masters-level crossfitter, she has completed a full Murph workout to support our veterans in each of the last two years. Elsewhere, Deb is an outstanding amateur photographer, drawing inspiration from Arizona’s great outdoors.

As for the future, Deb’s plan is to carry on as she has her entire career, providing the utmost in customer care and service, while never ceasing to find the joy in what she does for a living. “Just continuing to have good clients, being a part of their lives and working with them over and over again. That’s what success means to me.”

To learn more about Deb McLean email her at dmclean1@remax.net or call (480) 205-5979