Just Do It! - Huizemark Bedfordview

This month, a decision was taken to chat to the not so 'ou manne' to find out what it's like to be an almost new kid on the block and so we chose to interrogate the East Rand office.

In so doing, we found out that although Willie has been a property lawyer for more than 13 years, he first started selling real estate while at University studying Law. Renè is a teacher but has been involved in real estate for a good 12 years. Riaan was involved in various IT businesses prior to joining Huizemark Bedfordview. James who was 'stolen' from Remax, was the CEO of Remington South Africa and on early retirement decided to return to one of his early passions, property.

The idea to run an Estate Agency to hedge an already successful conveyancing practice is not new and Willie and a previous partner opened their own estate agency shortly after leaving varsity. He soon realized that to be successful in the property market you need to have a recognized brand name and during 2003 purchased his first franchise in Bedfordview from De Huizemark - the re-branding to Huizemark was just starting.

Shortly after opening the Bedfordview office it became apparent that Bedfordview has feeder areas in parts of Edenvale and Germiston and so the expansion began. A joint venture with Theo Etchell, the then owner of Huizemark Edenvale, was formed to unify Bedfordview and Edenvale under the same management and reduce overheads through consolidating the offices. Benoni was next on the list and was purchased as a result of a number of potential large developments. As Benoni and Kempton Park share a lot of potential clients, it made good sense to add Kempton to this growing stable.

Having rapidly expanded in the first 18 to 24 months and at one stage with over 30 agents, a decision was made for their management to be "in the field" with the agents and to reduce the number of agents focusing only on those who were proving to be successful. Everyone involved in the business must do the basic activities it takes to sell houses - telephone canvassing, knock doors, get mandates, Sunday show houses and then do it all again! 'The service you provide should be professional and better than everyone else out there.'

Willie tells us that the biggest lesson learned is even with a good name like Huizemark, it takes hard work and dedication to make a success of a business in the real estate field. 'It is not easy! If we had to do it all over again, we would expand at a much more controlled rate, ensure we have successful agents with likeminded objectives, focus on superior service and draw more on the experience of "old hands" like Andre et al.

'Good service is not always easy to define. However, we have narrowed it down to good communication in a professional way. This entails following all contacts up with written confirmation which must be of the highest standard and the new Huizemark Corporate Identity gives it a very professional and "fresh" look.'
Huizemark East Rand has a strong management team with diverse skills that will enable them to meet any future challenges. They now have a core of "good" agents enabling them to face the immediate future with confidence. 'With the corporate re-branding now reaching maturity, the prospects for the future are even more bright. Systems for referrals, greater cooperation between franchises, a stronger Franchise division with nation-wide advertising and brand building responsibilities and a number of new franchises all bode well for great success in the future.'

The East Rand clan has adopted a very famous slogan in their office and believe that living this slogan will make them even more successful - Just Do It