Raine & Horne: From proud history to modern leaders
PROPERTY
Property group Raine & Horne is a stand out in the real estate world, which is underpinned by its longevity stretching back to 1883 when Tom Raine and Joseph Horne opened their first offices in Wentworth Court, Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
Back in those halcyon days, before the likes of world wars, booms, busts and depressions became the norm, they settled on a set of business practices that have been maintained to the present day.
The property pioneers committed to personalised service and to meeting a client’s property needs across sales, leasing, management and consulting services for all types of property.
By the 1970s, the company had expanded across Sydney, but had greater goals and they embarked on becoming only the second property group to pursue a franchising business model.
This proved a major watershed and they opened their first franchised office, Raine & Horne Liverpool NSW, in 1976. They now have offices in the ACT, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, as well as offices in countries such as Indonesia, India, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji.
It is now into its fourth generation of family ownership, with Angus Raine taking over as CEO in December 2006.
Now, 136 years later, another milestone is being celebrated with Raine & Horne Port Douglas Mossman’s 10th anniversary.
This is an achievement directors David Cotton, Travis Schumacher and his Property Manager wife Jocelyne are extremely proud of.
When the partnership was formed a decade ago, quality and experience went hand-in-hand and their successes over the years, when it comes to the number of sales, deservedly places them among the leaders in their industry.
Cotton joined forces with the Schumacher’s in 2008 to form Raine & Horne Mossman/Port Douglas which is consistently ranked among the top three in Queensland throughout the Raine & Horne network.
Driven by his passion, Travis has developed an intricate knowledge of the area ensuring his success, while Jocelyne is a leading Property Manager in her area with various local and regional awards to her name.
With sales and property management experience, Jocelyne is able to manage a successful Property Management team spread over two offices and also co-ordinates running the business as Co-Owner of Raine & Horne Mossman/Port Douglas.
Their success has been well documented and last year they were ranked as the leading agency in Queensland and proudly hoisted the Highest Achiever Award Trophy. They, too, pride themselves on retaining a team that receives the necessary support and guidance to ensure they have secure futures.
“There is no questioning we are in a cut-throat industry and performance is paramount to our success.
“However, we are cognisant of the importance of a work-life balance, and strive to provide a good culture, introduce fun and social events, treat our staff as a team and reward them. We can boast having long-term staff with limited turnover. We are proud of this approach as it has proven successful,” says Jocelyne.
Like most growing concerns, Raine & Horne Mossman/Port Douglas is seeking every opportunity to enhance its product and for this reason they have embraced a new marketing product called Amplify. It is based on Artificial Intelligence and is exclusive to R&H.
This advanced and innovative digital marketing tool offers the following:
- Targets web users based on their interests and behaviours, going beyond demographics to tailor a suite of ads to users' online profiles.
- Creates up to 72 different advertisements from just one property upload, and displays these ads across multiple online platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Google.
- Drives increased traffic to the property listing on your office website via rh.com.au, with results demonstrating significantly higher reach than existing real estate marketing platforms.
- Finds those in active and passive property mode, showing them the aspects of the property that align with their online profile to drive sales.
- Provides a 24/7 digital marketing assistant, with real-time updates on easy-to-read dashboards and hourly updates to ensure users are seeing the best performing ads.
“This live dashboard provides detailed analytics, providing the real-time insights into a property’s performance.
“This advanced technology is learning and evolving in real time. It improves targeting, performance and reaches a wider audience. And it’s working. Results can be 17 times better than traditional, digital or mainstream marketing channels,” says Travis.
Amplify has the advantage of creating 72 different online ads, putting a property ahead of the competition. The software, from Danish company CCT, uses social channels including Facebook, Instagram, Google Ad and LinkedIn for commercial property.
The driving forces behind the success of Raine & Horne Mossman/Port Douglas, arrived in the shire more than two decades ago and hail from different locales. Jocelyne is from Lincolnshire in the UK, Travis from the Clare Valley in South Australia and Cotton from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
Coming together to form R&H in the Douglas Shire 10 years’ ago, they all brought their own set of skills, experiences, and even colourful anecdotes. Cotton’s introduction to the local market and well before joining Raine and Horne, is well worth a mention. It is a story he enjoys telling.
“I was waiting on tables at Salsa and while serving real estate guru Tony McGrath – then with LJ Hooker – I overhead him saying he was looking for a traineeship. I saw this as a great opportunity and said I could do the job. He told me to be at his office at 8.30 the next morning. I arrived at 8.00 and never looked back,” said a maturer Cottton, who felt a break into real estate was better timed after first working in the industry at the tender age of 18.
Now, as one of the directors, Cotton continues to play a significant role in the success of the company and the awards it has picked up in their 10-years of operation.
Their most recent successes include the 2018 Raine & Horne Queensland Award for Excellence as the top office from the number of sales; Top Coastal Office (dollar value); Product Engagement, for use of the Amplify technology, and the Graham Skarratt Award, for excellence beyond expectations within the industry, among many more over the years.
Staying at the top of their game is central to any business, but the Raine and Horne team is insightfully cognisant of the challenges they face.
“This is a volatile market affected by numerous factors, and we need to be showered with good news – none more so than the much-awaited refurbishment of the Crystalbrook Collection Reef Marina.
“We need to see diversification and it is concerning when you consider Coconut Grove has been the most recent development in 13 years. But we will continue to watch with close interest and remain positive,” they said.
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