Blue Circle Diaries - Tim & Caron Upton

Sep 18, 2020 10:58:04 PM

BC DIARIES GRAPHIC - UPTONS
Tim & Caron Upton of Harcourts Dunn make an unstoppable team. Both agents are simply machines when it comes to getting the real estate sales formula right – marketing, communication, and putting in practice the Harcourts core values.

Why did you decide to join Harcourts?
Tim is an avid golfer and he was approached at the Bellville Golf Course by his colleague Etienne Labuschagne (previous Business owner of Harcourts Select) whom we have known for a few years.  He intrigued us with the Harcourts way and spent a good few visits at our home in Kenridge encouraging us to join this incredible brand.

Etienne ran his business by cherry-picking strong realtors who have run successful real estate companies. At the time, we had just celebrated our 10th anniversary as Home and Away Properties.  As we all know, running a boutique realty business comes with its challenges and we had reached a stage where we felt surrounding ourselves with other real estate champions would be more beneficial and some of the reasons we chose to join Harcourts was the value system which stood out for us.

People first, doing the right thing, fun and laughter.  We were invited into the Harcourts Academy where we learnt a lot from Jan Myburgh, who is such a great team leader.  The technology platforms and systems is way above anything we have ever seen and we have both worked for other South African brands.  We have enjoyed every single day at Harcourts where we have been for the past 6 years, it truly is a family business where we network, share and care for each other country wide. 

What is your favourite thing about being a Harcourts team member?
Being part of an incredible team not only countrywide but internationally, too, where we all truly have an amazing connection and support for one another. Harcourts Dunn being recognized as the no. 1 Harcourts office in the country gives us such pride when wearing our blue tie and scarf daily, which makes us look professional, where we stand out from the crowd.  We are recognized as a company with culture, ethics, and professionalism.

What do you enjoy most about being in real estate?
This industry is not for the faint-hearted, it can be very challenging at times because you are dealing with the human factor, this is the part that we thrive upon because there are no two clients that are the same. We absolutely love meeting new families and helping them with their sale or purchase of their new home.  We also love seeing new properties and we are privileged to work in a sought-after established area with old and new architecture. 

What advice would you offer people new to the industry?
Be courageous, be trustworthy, give constant communication to your buyers and sellers and always do the right thing.  Know your area, know your product, always arrive well prepared, always be on time and give constant honest feedback.  Don’t forget to have fun and laughter, if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. 

What is your most memorable career moment to date?
We achieved Blue Circle Status, which is awarded to the top 10 Harcourts real estate agents in the country. Being ranked 9th Nationally and being part of Harcourts Dunn – currently the No. 1 Harcourts Office countrywide is such an honour. 

What activities have led to your success?
We pride ourselves on being excellent communicators. Getting yourself and your brand into the marketplace, which will ultimately bring in valuations, which is where it all starts. Knowledge of your marketplace is extremely important and one of our values is to always do the right thing, which is crucial in putting across the market price at the time. Clients will see the honesty and professionalism, which leads to trust in obtaining an exclusive mandate. We also believe to have professional fun and laughter with our clients which leads to a relaxed atmosphere.

What is your secret to maintaining a strong relationship with clients?
We are very passionate about people and forming an instant bond comes easy to us.  Over the years we have stayed in constant communication with our clients, which in return leads to repeated referral business with their family and friends. We have endured this vibrant industry for the past 20 years. We have always believed in having a Personal Assistant as the background work involved can consume much of your time. Our Jodi is invaluable in setting up systems and it is important to showcase a client’s property in the best way possible, thus we believe in always creating HD media videos/phots/digital marketing. Jodi has received the Private Property Online Excellence Award for the past 3 years consecutively, and this gives us more time to be in the field where an Estate agent needs to be, it is all about the human contact. 

Topics: Property, Harcourts Real Estate, Harcourts Dunn, Entrepeneur, Blue Circle Diaries, Team Upton