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With the recent market downturn, franchises are asking their franchisors one question: “what value do you add?”
Speaking on an episode of the Secrets of the Top 100 Agents podcast, Harcourts International CEO Steve Caradoc-Davies has revealed the real estate giant will focus on how it can help its franchises.
Franchising, in general, is under pressure, which is why Harcourts has taken the approach of adding value to its team so they can achieve their goals.
When the market hits a rough patch, as it did recently in Australia, agents need more support.
“I think a lot of our Australian network hasn’t been through really tough markets in times past,” Mr Caradoc-Davies told host Phil Tarrant.
In Mr Caradoc-Davies’ home country of South Africa, tough markets became a part of life. But he has learnt a lousy market gives agents the best opportunities for growth.
“Let’s be honest, when things are good, it’s not that difficult. You stick a board outside, prices move upwards, there are lots of buyers, you kind of [just] tak[e] orders,” he said.
“But in a tough market, that’s where the real strong businesses will absolutely shine. So, I’m not afraid of a tough market. I think it presents great opportunities for us.”
To help Harcourts agents get ahead, the real estate company will work towards providing their teams with the ability to differentiate themselves from the competition so that they can add more benefits to their clients.
“If they can add value to their clients, if they can show that they add better value than the competition out there, then their businesses will grow,” Mr Caradoc-Davies said.
As it is an agent’s job to serve their clients, they need to look for ways to add value to their service that is different from their local competition.
“As long as we can demonstrate our value in a tangible way to the benefit of our clients and our business owners, then our business will grow. And it’s about navigating our team through difficult times, helping them identify opportunities and then maximising it,” he said.
