DECEMBER 2011 |
www.opp.org.uk WORDS |Mark Sharp
BUSINESS Collective power
The perceived cut-throat nature of the overseas property industry can make many companies in our industry feel like they are alone in this market ... but that is not the case. There is no need to struggle on your own. Why not look into the benefi ts of joining a collective organisation, and hunting in a pack to reap the rewards? Mark Sharp reports.
Professor Mark Sharp is the chief executive of AIPP. He has more than 14 years of board-level experience in the international property industry. Visit AIPP at:
www.aipp.org.uk
enough to be self regulating; that can work collectively, able to stamp out the bad practice we hear of? Can we make something of
working together, so that we are truly representative of an industry that suffers badly from its perceived morals and work-ethics? The answer is yes but it is is hard to
Shake hands on it | Together you will stand fi rm, but divided you will fall, and everyone needs all the help they can get today eople often run the
international property market down, saying all of us who work in it are as unpopular as double glazing salesmen. How wrong they are. It is reassuring to know that whilst
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there are hundreds of thousands of properties sold each and every year, there are far fewer complaints in the international property market than in the domestic one.
And, by ensuring that those involved in
the selling of international real estate are appropriately briefed and have a code of conduct, a collective ensemble of realty people can make a difference. Yes the AIPP is here to ensure that agents and developers behave in a way that supports professionalism. But the association goes much further than this. It was a real pleasure at a recent
exhibition in Birmingham to be approached by people who have taken AIPP advice and who use AIPP members to undertake their own due diligence. And guess what? It actually works. No matter how good your product is, if the public are not aware of it ... you won’t
“Together we are able to make a stand on things that are unjust for the industry”
the clouds which cross over the ocean and the scatter the ‘sand’ on the rainforests (yes, it takes approximately 100,000,000 modules of silica Si 02 to make a grain of sand) the important thing to remember is that the silica is rich in the essential ingredients that go to make the rainforest so vibrant and so lush. Sand blown from the desert allows the rainforest to sustain the thousands of life forms that we all rely
sell anything. The power of potential returns lies in the fact that collectively they are more powerful than when presented individually. What’s more, the whole global system
from nature to property works on the same principle. Actually, nature serves as a very good example of a collective. As the sands gather because of the sand storms and the silica is taken up into
on. The point is this: if we are to be taken seriously as an industry it is about time that we banded together as a collective, when we can really make a difference. We can make a difference to
consumers who, in a sense, are like the silicon to us. As individuals they ensure that the ground is fertile in terms of money and reserves such as houses and apartments. Collectively, we can gain credence with governments instead of individuals making no impact. We are able to make a stand on things that are unjust for the industry: hence my letter to the Business Secretary last month.
The same goes for buying leads. Approach lead-gen companies and you will be paying anything between £10 - £40 per lead, collectively we can have a far greater impact on lead generation. Perception is everything. If you were on the outside of the industry, how would it look to you?
Are we a disparate, disassociated industry (a term that is frequently used for the UK’s construction industry), or are we an industry that is responsible and mature
prove. You don’t need to be too long in the tooth to see how badly the pension industry has been managed, even with its regulation. It still hasn’t stopped the richest capital pool in the world from being decimated by fund managers at the mercy of the markets. Pensions are not alone – just think of the vast number of UK councils who lost millions due to their exposure to Icelandic banks. The reason why these things happened is because, on the whole, they were looked at individually. There are, therefore, many reasons why collective schemes work and it is diffi cult to see a reason why these things would not work. However, as a note of caution, it is not empire building we are looking to achieve here. The key here is we are looking to develop an industry that is responsibly motivated and able to be proud of itself. You may think that because you offer a service you will be able to make the best of the current market alone. You would not be right in this assumption. The AIPP not only acts as a collective,
but also runs exclusive business opportunities for its members. Not only are consumers assured of the
high quality of service, but members are given access to business opportunities. Together, we are stronger.
AIPP COLUMN | 33
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