Wood Works

"When I researched companies in Naples to see where I wanted to work, the associates I met from John R. Wood really struck home for me," says Cobb, who started as a sales agent in 1987. "It seemed they were always of high caliber, so I knew the company stressed education and attributes like integrity and service. The job is more complicated now and more extensive training is required, but we still stress those same attributes."

The extensive education program Cobb administers pays off. In 2005, each of the company's agents brought in $9.9 million in sales on average, a number that ranked third in the country, according to the National Association of Realtors. But that's not the only measure of success for an agent, says Wood.

"A lot of being a real estate agent is solving people problems, so the most important thing for our agents is to fit into our culture, [which is] focused on ethics, good service and those kinds of qualities," he says. "My father started the culture of the company and everyone else has tried to follow. It's really about personal gratification, anyway: at the end of the day, you're happier if you've done something besides just trying to make money."