The 14 Rawson Property Group delegates who attended the National Association of Realtors Congress in San Francisco last year (the total number of delegates present was 20,000) have without exception reported that the benefits of being at this five day function are profound and are likely to be long-lasting. All have said that they believe they acquired new expertise and insight into property business and property marketing which will give them greater proficiency in their working lives in the year ahead.
Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, has commented that this happens every year and, in his view, it more than justifies the high cost of travel to the USA and attendance at this world renowned congress.
David Hitch, franchisee for the Rawson Property Group’s Kloof residential and commercial franchises said that as a result of his attending the NAR Convention he has been able to draw up a new business plan.
“While not wishing to give away what I learned, the NAR has motivated me to take action,” said Hitch. “In particular the sessions brought home to me the importance of focusing on those age groups which right now are most active in the “sell-to-buy-elsewhere” market. Attendance at this very high powered convention also re-emphasized the absolute necessity of training staff to have real people skills in dealing with clients and to work to the client’s advantage and not to their own. IT marketing and communication systems have, in the USA, been taken to new levels of efficiency and effectiveness and our team certainly learned a great deal about these. However, the one clear message which came through to me was that property marketing always was and always will be a peoples’ business. Agents, therefore, have to be people of great sensitivity and empathy and they must at all times be willing to get to grips with objections and sort them out patiently to the client’s satisfaction. In our staff training at the Kloof franchise there will be a new emphasis on people skills, which, I believe, will have a marked effect on our turnover.”
Another aspect of the NAR courses which fascinated him, said Hitch, was a scientific analysis of human behaviour in the buy and sell process. As a result of careful research, US marketing agencies have identified the tactics and methods which are most likely to ensure success for all parties concerned – in at least 85% of cases. These sales methods and tactics will, said Hitch, now become an important part of all training in the franchises with which he is associated and, he believes, in those of many of his colleagues who were also present at the NAR Convention.
