The residential real estate industry has changed significantly over the last few decades, with old-school “mom and pop” agencies fast giving way to bigger, shinier franchise models. Many people fear these changes will inevitably result in a less satisfactory customer experience, but dig a little deeper and the reality of the situation paints a very different picture.
“It’s actually really difficult to be a successful independent real estate agent these days,” says Louis Taljaard, the National Franchise Sales Manager for the Rawson Property Group. “The industry is subjected to a lot more rules and regulations than ever before, and it can be both incredibly time consuming and expensive to keep up to date with everything on your own. Simply maintaining your accreditation can be a challenge, let alone going the extra mile to improve your service and your performance, and customer service can suffer as a result.”
While all property franchises are different, Taljaard explains that the Rawson franchise model is specifically designed to address the issues above. It does this by providing franchisees and agents not only with a full set of sophisticated tools and training, but a support system that leverages over 200 years of combined real estate experience. “Our goal is not to make real estate impersonal by putting a brand name on it,” he says. “In fact, it’s the exact opposite. We want to help our franchisees and agents streamline their day-to-day processes to give them more time to focus on their customers and build reputable, trustworthy and successful businesses.”
Technology plays a big role in this process, and while there are off-the-shelf software options available to independent agents, they don’t always function as well as they should. “We see people trying to run rental portfolios from an Excel spreadsheet,” says Jeanne van Jaarsveldt, the Rawson Property Group’s Business Development Manager. “It can be done, but it’s time-consuming and messy and makes it incredibly easy to make costly mistakes, especially when it comes to things like trust account management. There are specialised real estate software packages available as well,” he continues, “but you often need five or six separate solutions to cover all your bases, and there are almost always compatibility and integration issues – not to mention the cost, of course.”
To prevent their franchisees having to negotiate that particular minefield, the Rawson Property Group has developed its own comprehensive suite of software that includes everything from general administration to CRM and financial management tools. “It’s a powerful, centralised solution that offers absolutely all the functionality you could possibly hope for, based on years of real experience from industry experts,” says van Jaarsveldt. “It’s also continuously maintained by our in-house development team, so we’re always on top of the latest advancements.”
Software is far from the only tool made available to Rawson franchisees, however. Training is a huge part of their franchise model as well. “We provide all accreditation training, internally,” says Louis Taljaard, “which can save our franchisees a huge amount of money. We don’t stop there, though - we also focus heavily on ongoing professional development, helping our people become real experts in their fields.”
Being an expert doesn’t count for much unless people know about you, however, which is another area in which franchises excel when compared to independent businesses. “Being part of a larger brand like the Rawson Property Group gives you access to exposure that simply isn’t possible as an individual,” says Taljaard. “It’s not just our national presence, or our reputation as a whole – we also have an active marketing department that works constantly to promote our franchises and franchisees.”
As part of these marketing efforts, which include frequent press releases, active social media platforms, and search engine optimisation amongst other things, franchisees also have access to an “art bank” of customisable marketing collateral. “An independent agent could never afford a team of graphic designers creating a constant stream of promotional materials, and they also wouldn’t have the negotiating power our franchisees do when it comes to getting their boards and other materials printed,” van Jaarsveld points out.
In addition to marketing support, the Rawson Property Group also provides business and operational advice and assistance to its franchisees by means of Regional Managers based across the country. “Our Regional Managers for both sales and rentals franchises are available 24/7,” says Taljaard. “Our franchisees can literally call them up and meet them face-to-face within hours, so if there are any problems there is always help at hand.”
Having this kind of one-on-one access to a variety industry experts is a vital part of the Rawson model, and Taljaard describes the Group as being like a family – always connected. The benefits include a vast knowledge base built up over many years in the property industry, as well as a wide referral network that helps franchises build lasting customer relationships.
“Our franchisees are neighbourhood experts,” says Taljaard, “but their service doesn’t have to end if a customer moves away. Being part of the Rawson family means you can pass that customer on to another franchise, via our referrals department, knowing that they will receive the same quality Rawson experience that you’ve always provided.”
This kind of service-oriented thinking is a founding principle of the Rawson brand, and goes to show that franchises don’t have to be faceless and impersonal. “Customer service is the heart of any good real estate business,” Taljaard agrees, “and our job at the Rawson Property Group is to make sure that our franchises are the best real estate businesses around.”
For further information visit www.rawson.co.za
