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Jun 20, 2008:
SETTING yourself up as a commercial broker is not always easy. But if successful, it can be very rewarding.
Take Graham Alexander, for instance. Starting as a commercial broker in Bellville in 1987 Alexander worked for various commercial brokerages and became a director of JHI for five years, running a team of eight brokers.
When RE/MAX opened in South Africa in 1996, Alexander saw the benefits of working “for yourself but not by yourself” and became one of the founder members, joining the RE/MAX City bowl office as the specialist commercial broker.
During this period Alexander’s growth in the market matured into large investment building sales such as 31 Heerengracht, Standard Bank, ABC Building and Nedbank on St Georges Mall.
He also successfully launched into marketing new developments such as The Avenues in Parklands and a new 2 000sq m warehouse for Tile Africa in Montague Gardens.
In 2006 Alexander opened his own commercial franchise in Cape Town under the RE/MAX banner –RE/MAX Commercial City was born.
Based in Milnerton, the brokerage has grown to 11 staff members and covers the whole of the Cape Metropolitan area. Marketing is under way of four new industrial developments selling on sectional title. Two are in Somerset West, one in Atlas Gardens and one in Atlantis Industrial.
The RE/MAX brand has proven to be a winner in the commercial and industrial sector as well and the office is expanding at a rapid pace.
Alexander’s approach to recruiting is “if you’ve got the enthusiasm, we’ve got the training”. He works closely with each of his brokers and nurtures them to become the best performers they can be.
This is another winning feature of the RE/MAX system - the management works for the agents and not the other way round, he says.
