One of the gravest dangers facing the estate agency sector today, says Bill Rawson, Chairman of Rawson Properties, is the complacency and slackness brought on by five years of prosperity.
'Selling houses,' he said, 'is still not an easy way to make a living '“ but it has for some time now been far less difficult that it used to be, with the result that some agents are not giving the service that they should'
Rawsons remarks were prompted by recent experiences in a field not connected with property and not controlled by his group. Many of the sales people to whom he had talked, he said, had failed to keep promises and most had not even come back to him to follow up on the initial contact.
'This slackness,' said Rawson, 'is all the more disappointing because in every case the principals are spending vast sums on advertising. In property sales we have to take note that it is very easy to go this way '“ but it is now that we should be building up a satisfied client base'
The Rawson Group, he said, has increased its sales by some 15% since October last year and currently every month is an improvement on its predecessor.
Rawson attributes, this growth primarily to the expansion into Gauteng where the 54 new franchises are now producing 40% of the Rawson Groups sales.
'I continuously emphasise to our franchisees the importance of service delivery and remind them that dissatisfied SA clients tend not to complain '“ they simply go elsewhere. If they are not getting service and regular feedback from their agents they will find others who do give it to them.
