In this age of mega franchises, Wayne Hanlon has successfully transformed a small, independent real estate company into a flourishing alternative for customers and sales reps alike. Word even has it that he is soon likely to find himself listed among Atlantic Canada’s top CEOs.
Hanlon is the owner of Hanlon Realty in St. John’s, serving Newfoundland and Labrador. When you consider that the city’s previously booming economy has slumped due to dropping oil prices, the fact that Hanlon has steered his independent company into a steady growth curve is even more startling.
“We’re now the largest independent in Newfoundland. We’ve exploded,” says Hanlon, who was formerly a top producer with Coldwell Banker. He explains that Hanlon Realty, now with close to 50 licensed agents, has almost doubled in size since its launch six years ago.
“Being locally owned, everything we’ve done has a personal and unique touch,” says Hanlon. “Local works for us.”
He says several key factors besides commitment to clients and sales reps are responsible for Hanlon Realty’s success, among them strong branding, product positioning and the development of cutting-edge technology, with online and web presence near the top of the list.
Guided by a business model focused on keeping ahead in the ever-evolving real estate industry, the company is investing heavily in technology to offer one-stop real estate shopping for clients and support and lead generation for agents.
Aware that technology such as responsive web design and mobile apps are changing the way people shop, Hanlon says he is taking things to the next level by implementing technologies with the help of local marketing agency John Atkins and Company (JAC), which he says will change the way customers get listing information and interact with agents.
The brokerage’s website incorporates features such as customized search profiles and the capability to save search results. New applications will be coupled with frequent online marketing campaigns to generate leads for Hanlon agents.
That’s only the start, says Hanlon. “We are reaching much higher than that.”
He won’t elaborate much on the technology currently in the works for the company, although he notes that it’s “exciting” and could in some ways impact the entire industry as well as the old model of how companies support agents.
Adds business strategist David Yetman, who is helping with the company’s business plan, particularly as it pertains to technology: “Hanlon Realty is one company getting ready for the next generation of house shoppers and they are using their independence to harness the power of new technologies. The idea is about meeting the consumer in 2015. Consumers want easy and quick. They want the answer within three minutes. They don’t want to scroll through a lot of information. If we give them that, we get clients…We are convinced that technology will change the way leads are brought in.
“Wayne has a vision,” Yetman says. “He has the ability to be innovative and creative because he is not locked into a franchise model.”
Shane Bruce, president of ACME Group of Companies in St. John’s and a business consultant for Hanlon Realty, says while there are potential pitfalls in not having the national recognition and corporate support that being part of a franchise can provide, he also believes “it can be a good thing not to be handcuffed by franchise branding restrictions.”
Hanlon Realty “has taken all this by storm” with its unique branding, ranging from “its industry-leading website” to quality education for its sales reps. The latter includes an industry first, says Bruce – a hands-on, new home construction course called Construction Buyer’s Agent (CBA).
“Wayne has poured every resource possible into this brand,” says Bruce. “If you add all of this to his commitment…you have a true sales culture with an office poised to provide better skills and service.”
As well, Hanlon’s involvement in various corporate sponsorship and charitable endeavours shows that “it doesn’t take being a big franchise to become a great corporate citizen,” says Bruce.
Training, education and loyalty are integral to his company’s growth and success, says Hanlon. “There is no magic in creating a successful company. It takes hard work, dedication and believing in the people who work for you,” he says.
“It’s all about the right fit, professionalism, loyalty and being committed to the brand and the clients…We’ve got superstars here who have not done so well in other systems. That’s a testament to how we do things.”
Finding the right people “to execute decisions and manage operations is equally important,” he adds.
By Hanlon’s own reckoning, he has spent hundreds of thousands on branding alone. And the company will soon begin construction on a new 5,000-square-foot facility. The plan is to move the Hanlon offices there, complete with fully upgraded systems and equipment, by late 2016.
“We’re going into a $2.5 million investment,” says Hanlon. “And we will branch out from there. My goal is to franchise within five years.”
That’s a bit of a surprise. As an independent and a successful alternative to traditional franchised models, will franchising be the right step for Hanlon Realty in future?
We will just have to wait and see.
Susan Doran is a Toronto-based freelance writer who has been contributing to REM since its very first issue.
