Collect the Data!

In business, I think it is crucial to find out the facts about what our clients value and what they want and expect in their dealings with us, rather than simply taking a guess at it. Making assumptions runs the risk of not meeting their needs and expectations, creating unsatisfied clients and ultimately threatens the success and longevity of our business.

With this in mind, at the beginning of May over 30,000 members of the public were surveyed by Harcourts about their past interactions with the real estate industry. We received a lot of valuable information from this survey, confirming to us just what our clients think is significant when deciding to buy or sell property. The findings from the survey revealed that having a personal connection with the sales consultant and the office through past contact or referral was an overriding factor when deciding whom to work with. Communication was critical with 74% saying they would use the real estate consultant again, and yet nearly 50% hadn’t heard from them since!  

Other interesting survey results highlighted that the use of the Internet in buying and selling property is a vital part of the process with 87% saying the internet was their first and most important source of information.

But the overriding message was simply to tell the truth and do what you say you will! Exactly what we all look for when dealing with any service provider.

Everything has changed, and yet really, nothing has!

New Zealand Market Update

For the third month in a row Harcourts New Zealand statistics demonstrate a market with a reduced level of new listings coming to the market and a significantly higher number of written sales being recorded than the same month last year.

The comparative increase in buyer demand and activity is particularly noticeable in those areas hardest hit by the slowdown we experienced last year, with an average increase in the volume of written sales in May 2009 of nearly 40% when compared to May 2008, including 43% lifts in Harcourts’ Northern and Christchurch regions and a 76% increase in Harcourts’ Central region.

The marked improvement in the volume of written sales in May when compared with the same month the previous year follows the trend reported in March 2009 (30.4% increase on March 2008) and April 2009 (44% increase on April 2008).

In terms of listings, the figures we report show that across the country there were fewer new listings last month than in May 2009 and that the average written sale price in all but one region (Northern) was down on May 2008.

In our view attractive lending rates, positive immigration statistics and some positive rumblings internationally have all contributed to the increased activity from buyers.  Of equal stimulus to the domestic property market is that most sellers are now fully conversant with the realities of the current market and are entering negotiations with realistic expectations.

Predicting what may or may not occur over coming months in the New Zealand real estate market is a favourite national pastime, and always attracts a lot of comment when views are publicised.

As far as Harcourts is concerned, given the fundamentals that are in play and driving our market right now, we see no reason for today’s solid real estate market not to continue.

As long as sellers understand the market conditions and have realistic expectations they can expect to achieve good results.  Equally, buyers who do their homework and enter negotiations positively and with realistic expectations too can also look forward to securing their next property at today’s attractive levels.

Harcourts Academy achieves NZ industry first

The latest release from the Academy.

In a New Zealand real estate industry first, Harcourts has been approved to provide salesperson certification courses in association with the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Industry Training Organisation (REINZ ITO).

In addition approval has also been given to Harcourts, New Zealand’s largest real estate group, to facilitate on-the-job training sessions for Harcourts sales consultants who are working towards their National Certificate in Real Estate.

Head of the Harcourts Academy Irene Green says being approved to work in partnership with the REINZ ITO is fantastic endorsement of the calibre of Harcourts’ courses and its training team.  

“Formed some 20 years ago the Harcourts Academy has a long standing reputation for providing high-quality training and has been operating as a Registered Training Organisation in Australia since 2004. It’s fantastic we now have approval to assist our people in New Zealand to achieve their real estate qualifications too.” she said.

 

Brazil starting point for Harcourts South America!

Harcourts has just signed an exclusive deal with Global Franchise Consultants in Brazil to promote and launch the Harcourts brand into South America, according to Harcourts’ International Franchise Development Manager Aaron Hodson.

Mr Hodson said that an initial focus will be expanding into Brazil, quickly followed by growth into other South American countries. “Brazil was the obvious choice for the launch of Harcourts into South America. It is a stable economy which has a relatively new real estate industry, and one of the top three internet provider services in the world, which will support our Harcourts systems wonderfully,” he said.

According to Mr Hodson, Global Franchise Consultants has been responsible for the launch of over sixty high profile franchise groups into South America, and Harcourts International will be the first international real estate group, and the first Australasian brand, launched by Global Franchise in South America. Mr Hodson said that interest for Harcourts in South America had “soared” following the organisation’s successful launch into South Africa last year.

“This is an exciting step for the Harcourts Group given the strength of the South American economy and real estate market,” Mr Hodson said.

Harcourts is Australasia’s fastest growing real estate organisation, with offices in all states and the Northern Territory, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia and Singapore. Last year, it expanded its operations into Zambia, China, and South Africa., with a total of over 600 offices internationally.

Sport and Business – So Different?

Watching a programme on Channel 9 recently, 20/1 Great Sporting Finishes, it really brought home to me the difference between first and not, and just what you need to do to succeed. At the top level of sport, the basic skills are very similar, so it becomes far more in the preparation and in the mind, and the gap between first and not becomes very small.

In the USPGA a few years ago, the difference between the number 1 and number 2 golfers was less than a third of a stroke per round, and yet the prize money difference was nearly a million dollars US.

The parrallels with business are obvious. Competition is just as strong, the difference between getting the business and not is often just as small. So what are the fundamentals of success in either business or sport? I believe they are –

1. Hard Work – there are no short cuts. Ability will get you so far, but the bottom line is you’ve simply got to do the work. Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest golfer ever, after every round in a tournament, went out to the practise fairway and hit more golfballs – including after the final round when he won his first British Open. Most of us would have had a beer after winning, not Tiger. We must be the best at what we do – have the technical knowledge and skill.
2. Persistence – the truly successful business people and sports people simply keep going – they hit the wall, but instead of stopping, they just push harder and keep going. It took Thomas Edison 10,000 attempts before he invented the light bulb. I might have lost interest after 5,000! No matter what the obstacle, we must just keep going.
3. Self belief – the truly successful have an inner confidence, a belief that they can achieve the goal, even while having moments of challenge, they still believe in themselves. Walt Disney had a dream, and while everyone told him he couldn’t do it, including his final school report card that described him as lacking imagination, he never stopped believing.
4. Courage – achieving great reward, often involves risk. Having done the work, having belief in themselves, being determined, all contribute to allowing a risk to be taken. The truly successful are risk takers – not foolhardy risk, but measured risk, and they do the preparation to ensure the probability of success is high – they have courage. Every top sports person shares that some courage – to step onto the field, into the ring or onto the course.

There are many other factors that contribute to success, but I think these 4 are the keys – and they are just as important for sports success as business success – and when you really think about it, success in life!

Starbucks – A Great Story

I recently read an excellent business book, The Starbucks Experience, written by Joseph Michelli. It is an easy read, with a great overview of the philosophies and strategies that have been used to create one of the most awesome businesses in the World – Starbucks.

In 1971 Howard Schultz opened The Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice store in Seattle, Washington. Today there are 11,000 Starbucks coffee stores around the World, with 5 opening every day of the year – and they’re all company owned! Operating in 37 countries, it averages 35 million customer visits per week and it’s customers, on average, return 18 times a month. It’s a phenomenal story.

So how do you enter an industry where there are literally stores everywhere and then totally dominate it?

There are 5 basic principles behind this business –

1. Make it your own – Starbucks have managed through many different strategies to have their employees, or partners as they are called, truly take ownership of the business.
2. Everything Matters – a manic focus on the detail.
3. Surprise and Delight – provide a great product and wonderful service, but do that little, unexpected extra!
4. Embrace Resistance – listen to the feedback, value criticism, learn and grow from it.
5. Leave Your Mark – corporate responsibility to the extreme – do a lot of good within the business, the local community and globally – be a responsible corporate citizen.

Great principles, which the book explores in detail by speaking with a huge number of Starbucks’ people as well as customers. But the overriding message for me, and one which seems to be common to all great organisations, is the unique corporate culture that has been designed and created, and then how those values have been adopted so well throughout the organisation. Focus on the internal, and when right, you never have to worry about the external.

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift, or Christmas read, this is a great book.

Stefan Swanepoel

I recently wrote about Tom Peters, and his powerful and insightful presentation on leadership and business. He has spent over 30 years studying business, companies and leaders, writing and speaking extensively about the various strengths of each.

The real estate equivalent is Stefan Swanepoel. Stefan is a student of our industry having spent years studying the trends and has over the past 5 years really established himself as the number one real estate visionary in the world. I have seen Stefan speak a number of times both in the US, in New Zealand and here in Australia. He has the rare ability to step back from the day to day and look at the wider picture and clearly identify the major trends as they impact on our industry.

His website is www.swanepoel.com His books, and now DVD’s on the 10 or 15 (2006) major trends are outstanding – the most recent, a DVD on the 10 top trends in 2007 is well worth ordering.

Real Estate Offices – Retail or Commercial?

I believe we need to change our thinking – retail space with high foot traffic, lots of company logos, phone numbers and large window displays is no longer important, so why spend a fortune on it?

We know that the majority of our core business (sellers) come from people we know, past clients, personal referral or recommendation. We know that very few, if any, sellers walk into our office because they happened to be passing and thought they’d drop in, it simply doesn’t happen. Prospective sellers will pay far more attention to activity in their area – signboards, open homes, just listed and just sold flyers, internet presense and of course the opinions of their friends and family. Most of the business or contact we have with them will be in their own home, and if there is that rare need for them to come into our office, the most appreciated factor will be that it’s easy to get to, there’s plenty of free parking and it’s modern, spacious and has private areas with quality amenities – so how does a heavy retail area achieve that?

We know that over 70% of our buyers now start their search for property on line. They too, very rarely visit a real estate office. They drive around areas looking for signs, or past properties they have seen on line, they attend open homes and either bid at auctions, signing sales documents in the home itself, or we go to their home to write up offers. Most of our tenants now also never visit our offices.

Our own people attend our offices far more than our clients. The very best thing we can do as business owners to grow our business is ensure we create an incredible place for our people to work, so what will be important to them. The office must be easy to get to, plenty of free parking and modern and spacious – none of which you generally find in high profile retail space.

So, do we need to spend a fortune on retail space, or are we better to spend less on better quality commercial space, with easier access and parking, better and more modern amenities and spend more on websites and data base management? It seems to me the answer is obvious and we need to change our thinking!

Tom Peters

I was very fortunate during the week to attend a presentation by Tom Peters on the Gold Coast. Tom spoke for 5 hours with one short break, and at 64 years of age, he was great. He has spent the past 30+ years studying companies and leaders and so gives a tremendous overview of the necessary strengths both require to be outstanding – and he has heaps of examples of each.

Some of the key messages –

• Leaders of great groups love talent and they know where to find it. They revel in the talent of others.
• If you’ve got crappy people – brand, strategy, etc don’t matter – you’re dead, you just don’t know it yet!
• The problem is rarely/never the problem. The response to the problem invariably ends up being the real problem.
• People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be part of something they are really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrafice for, trust.
• The very best method of recruitment is to make your organisation an INCREDIBLE place to work.

And finally, and a real cracker –

• The bottleneck is at the top of the bottle. Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma – AT THE TOP!

It was an outstanding session with a huge amount of great information and ideas. If you ever get the chance to see Tom speak, grab it. Failing that, he has written a number of great books – In Search of Excellence is his all time best, also Built to Last is great.