Seef, Camps Bay
What are your top three secrets to success?
1. Passionate enthusiasm. 2. Be prepared to work 24/7 when necessary with commitment to client service put before personal commitments. 3. The ability to communicate sincerely with people and establish immediate trust.
What is the one thing you wish someone had taught you or told you when you first started out in property and why?
I was well prepared to work hard and to learn as much as I could and was lucky to have mentors who assisted me. I therefore have no regrets.
What is the most vital business tool that estate agents should have at their disposal in today’s market and why?
Computer technology is our greatest tool and it is imperative to be literate and to have the ability to use all available technology
combined with innovative marketing strategies and good communication skills.
Do you remember the first property you sold? Please tell us about it.
I had arranged to commence work in January 1980, but received a call in October 1979 to pick up a Johannesburg client at a hotel in Cape Town. I was given a list of six properties to show him and his wife. I had had no training, knew nothing about these houses except that one of the houses was in the road in which I lived and had obviously seen it before. I told my clients that the last house I was going to show them would be the one that I was convinced they would buy and they listened to me and bought it. I have subsequently sold this house three times over the past 32 years.
What advice would you give to new kids on the block about making a success of your career in property?
There is no substitute for hard work. Real estate is 24/7. It is not just an industry, but a profession which takes passionate persistence and constant upgrading of your property knowledge and skills. If you have an eye only on the money to be earned and not the realisation that you are privileged to have an influence in the biggest financial and emotional decision in your clients’ lives, do not even think of selling real estate. It is not like selling toilet paper or any other commodity.
