While there will always be a place for the one or two man real estate marketing teams operating in a specific area of which they have specialist knowledge, the estate agency sector is today being '˜driven by two major factors, both of which work in favour of the bigger agencies - and both of which are so expensive that it is increasingly difficult for the small agencies to afford them.
This is the view of Bill Rawson, Chairman of Rawson Properties. The two factors to which he is referring are education/training and computer-related technology.
'Success in real estate marketing does depend on the agents attitude and perseverance - but the history of the Rawson group shows clearly that the performance of an agent can be significantly enhanced if he is regularly trained. A good agent will become even better and an average agent will become a good one. However, training is expensive and demands considerable commitment from the franchisor'
Similarly, said Rawson, IT technology is now a sine qua non in marketing and in the running of a real estate operation '“ and is costly.
'Todays consumer and potential client is increasingly IT savvy: he wants to do his research away from the agent on his own and preferably before he meets him face-to-face. He expects to be able to use his PC, cell phone or smart phone and iPad to get almost all the information (and pictures) that he needs to help him make his decisions. The information supplied in this way would in most cases cover not only the property but also the area, its facilities, its security and its properties economic performance in previous years. For the franchisee running an agency learning to operate sophisticated IT systems is, therefore, essential'
Furthermore, said Rawson, the franchisee running an agency will operate far more effectively if he is given simple, easy to understand systems on which he can track and organise his business, including all the documentation that is such as essential part of property trading.
This technology, said Rawson, is improving so fast that these days it has to be updated every few months. This again, he said, is an expensive exercise that the small agencies simply cannot afford.
Other factors working in favour of the bigger, more sophisticated agencies, said Rawson, are branding and contacts/referrals.
'In groups like Rawsons which have 140 franchises, ongoing exposure and advertising play a huge part in forming and increasing the publics perception of the company - and with ± 1 000 agents all making, say, four or five contacts per day, up to 100 000 people are kept informed or made aware for the first time of Rawsons each month. The effect of this simply cannot be overemphasised: people will try the well exposed group first, partly because they know that in such a group there is always a more senior person to whom they can refer a problem if their initial contact happens to prove unsatisfactory and partly because success fosters respect'
For further information contact Bill Rawson on 021 658 7100 or email bill@rawsonproperties.com.
