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storyRight now Rawson Properties can claim to be the fastest growing of all the residential property marketing groups in South Africa. No doubt there will be some who challenge this claim, so perhaps this should be amended to read, “the fastest growing of all the South African property groups which provide a full service back-up”.
In Rawson Properties’ case this includes the supply of all appropriate management, report-back and referral systems which usually these days come in the form of simplified computer software.
It also includes ongoing training at all levels, that is for both management and staff. The executives at Rawson Properties have emphasised time and again that this training, more than any other factor, sets Rawson Properties apart from so many other estate agencies working on the franchise system, especially now that we are entering an era in which agents will have to meet the stringent educational standards set up by the Estate Agency Affairs Board. These are likely to transform the industry in the next five to ten years, making it more professional than it has ever been before.
At the last count there were just over 130 franchises in the Rawson group. In the short space of three years the group has expanded from being a pure Cape Town operation into one which has franchises throughout the Western, Southern and Eastern Cape (see this issue for news on our new East London franchise), Gauteng and offices in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Free State.
What sort of person makes a good Rawson Properties franchisee?
Bill Rawson, Chairman of Rawson Properties, has pointed out that people from all walks of life can make a success of a real estate business.
Former headmasters, bank managers and many others who have already had successful careers in other fields are now moving into property, partly because, under the franchise system, they recognise that they will enjoy a large measure of independence and will be able to shape their own futures.
“Franchising suits the person who believes in himself and, while recognising his weaknesses and faults, knows that he has the ability to succeed if left to his own devices,” said Bill Rawson earlier this year.
The much publicised slow-down in home sales has affected Rawson Properties, like every other agency, but, says Rawson’s MD, Tony Clarke, it is significant that enquiries for new franchises continue to roll in.
“Put simply,” said Clarke, “this indicates that there is still strong optimism in the housing market and that by and large it is alive and well.”
Most of those in the industry to whom he talks, he said, expect an upswing in the housing sector from about the middle of 2009 onwards.
For further information contact Bill Rawson on 021 658 7100.
