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The Select Plan Real Estate Story
F
raser Beach began his real estate career in 1977, working as a salesman in Pickering Village. After two years of successful selling, he obtained a broker's licence and moved on to become a branch manager. He subsequently established successful new branch offices for two major brokerage firms and later became the senior marketing executive of one of those firms. At the same time he continued his formal real estate education, completing the qualifications for the F.R.I. and C.R.B. professional designations. After all of this, Fraser had established himself well, in a position most people would be happy to occupy until they could collect their pension.
But Fraser believed that changes were needed in the real estate brokerage business. The established firms were not meeting emerging demands of vendors for higher standards of quality and value. The real estate business was over populated with sales- people, all providing virtually the same service, for the same fee, to a declining number of home buyers and sellers.
It was a vicious circle. The inefficiency of too many salespeople chasing too little business sustained high commission fees. At the same time, the prospect of earning the high fees attracted more and more salespeople into the business. Vendors felt they were paying too much, while brokers and agents were earning less and less. The process had to become more efficient because no one was prospering.
Fraser believed the answer lay in eliminating the duplication of effort resulting from too many salespeople competing for the same inventory. Efficiency could also be improved by reducing overheads like the head office expenses of big brokerage organizations and the substantial franchise fees paid on the business done by franchised operations.
So, after years of working with the big names in the business Fraser decided to establish an alternative brokerage service. He would provide a full range of professional services but reduce much of the overhead expenses which burden the established firms. He could then offer the same services at a very attractive price.
Fraser reasoned that if he didn't have to spend time chasing after listings and could focus on the productive activity of marketing listed properties, he could afford to offer effective service at a much lower fee. And there would be equal incentive for all of the other Realtors to sell the company's listings because they would get the customary "co-operating" selling fee for their effort.
So in the summer of 1991, Fraser and his wife Joanne established Select/Plan Real Estate Inc in Pickering Village.
In returning to his roots, Fraser gave homeowners in Ajax, Pickering and Whitby the very best in professional service. The firm acquired all the computer tools, including direct links to the listing databases of MLS® services and the Internet. Thus, all of the Realtor MLS listings immediately go "on-line" to Realtors throughout Greater Toronto Area.
Cost savings and efficiency are not the only solutions for better value that Select/Plan gives its clients. As an Internet guru, Fraser uses that powerful medium to best effect. For example, Select-Plan promotes each property on high volume Internet portals. The internet exposure provides pictures and descriptions of property to the people who are most likely to buy them.
In November of 1999 Select-Plan moved to a state-of-the-art electronic office at 2 Ritchie Avenue - at the corner of Highway #2.
Our purpose is to combine the latest Internet technology with professional real estate services to effectively meet our clients every need ... and all at lower cost.
That's our story ... and we're sticking to it.
August 21, 2006 in Agency Matters | Permalink
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Comments
That's a fantastic story and I wish you the best of luck. It is refreshing to see a company that is well thought-out and really trying to make a difference.
Posted by: Naples Florida Real Estate | Aug 21, 2006 3:13:38 PM
What Internet technologies do you people use ?
Posted by: | Aug 21, 2006 11:03:26 AM
