17 JULIE
The Keller Williams office in Somerset West.
New concept in marketing your home WALTER BAKKER “The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time.” With these words Henry Ford forever changed perceptions about marketing. Early in the 20th century this thinking of his made the Ford Motor Company one of the most successful businesses in the world. Americans have since then been at the cutting edge of innovative thinking and marketing and Keller Williams, the largest real estate company in
North America, continues this tradition in South Africa. Many of South Africa’s top agents, who come with a wealth of experience in the local property market, have joined the company and younger folk wanting to make realty their careers are opting to learn from the best and are signing up for the company’s much lauded internship programmes. In recent years, the company’s global division has announced franchise agreements in Austria, Germany, Indonesia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and Vietnam. To that list can now also be added the United Kingdom.
“Around the globe, entrepreneurs, brokers and agents are looking for and asking for what we have to offer” said worldwide president Chris Heller. “They crave our models, systems, training and technology and because Keller Williams can offer all of those at a level they have never seen before, we are attracting tremendous talent and gaining momentum everywhere.” The Keller Williams Somerset West office brings all this together into one hot spot of creativity and marketing expertise. With state of the art technology and systems available to the agents, and by ex-
tension to their clients, the wonderful world of realty will never be the same again. Selling a big ticket item like a house is a many faceted undertaking. It involves communication abilities of the highest order, financial know-how, honed marketing senses and, just to keep it interesting, one can also throw into that mix excellent photography and some writing skills. Then perhaps one has a “good” agent. With the “Ignite” training programme Keller Williams agents are at the client’s service armed with all the above, says Heller.
Interesting statistics for the United States are that 48% of buyers and 64% of sellers found their agent through a referral or personal contact with a friend, neighbour or relative. 64% of buyers and 66% of sellers only contacted one agent before deciding who to work for. Thus Keller Williams believes that though the KW name is an asset to what is effectively the agent’s own business, they also recognise the need for the agent to customise and localise his/her marketing approach. Keller Williams’ approach is: “We stand behind our agents, not in front of them”.