Van Davis is the former CEO of one of the nation's largest franchise organizations. Now's he's itching to implement the ideas he was precluded from trying in the more structured franchise environment. He's the new CEO of Foxton's North America, a full-service, reduced fee brokerage firm.

"Coming from a traditional franchise environment," explains Davis, "I could see when I came here that the company has gone through challenges. The founder Glenn Cohen was an energetic and creative guy, and he introduced the limited service/FSBO model under the name YourHomesDirect, but he couldn't get it to click. The company was growing slowly and it wasn't profitable. Foxton's John Hunt, the owner of Foxton's UK was impressed with the model, and he invested 20 million for significant ownership and changed the name to YHD Foxton's. Last year, when Foxton's UK bought controlling interest they changed the name to Foxton's.

"In 2004, Glenn left the company, and they went on a search to find new CEO to take the company to next level," continues Davis. "They needed someone who understood the real estate industry at the macro-level, and who had more of a operational background - running a company in all of its aspects."

Davis went to England to observe Foxton U.K's business model first hand. Now the leading real estate company in London, he says, Foxton's UK's urban success convinced him that the model could work in the U.S., with some slight modifications for the American market.

"We have a new service platform for Foxton's that is an evolution of what we've been over the past five years. Historically the model is modified FSBO service. For two percent commission, you get signage, some exposure, perhaps on some newspaper sites, some technical support in negotiating a contract, but you hold your own open houses, and you're responsible for selling your piece of real estate."

Foxton's business model is transitioning to a full service three percent model, says Davis. "I came on in June, and the first thing I did was spend a week in the saddle trying to get a feel for what was working and what wasn't. I discovered there is a group of people dedicated to the brand, but the two percent model was flawed. The vast majority of consumers are looking for full-service Realtor. They want stress and burdens off their shoulders. And Foxton's wasn't addressing those needs, we weren't able to bring the business model to the next level."

To bring the model forward, Foxton's hires agents as employees, but doesn't recruit from the industry, instead finding candidates among sales professionals in other fields. The agents are then trained for about three weeks to "specialize," as lead capturers, listing agents, or buyers' agents.

"Through the full-service model, all properties will go in Realtor.com and the MLS," explains Davis, "and they didn't go in the MLS or Realtor.com. We will list it, show it, negotiate, insure the property is on Realtor.com and other significant real estate sites."

One thing that is unique is Foxton's presentation of listings. Each listing has multiple photos, a virtual tour and a floor plan. "We have a photographers do the photography and they have the laser room measurement devices, and then we have a company that does a rough sketch with the room dimensions and in about 24 hours, they turn around a complete digital floor plan."

With innovations like these, Davis feels Foxton's can give consumers the traditional services they want, with a higher quality of execution, and still make a profit on a reduced fee. The company also plans to expand its army of buyers' agents to better serve consumers.

"We will make more than the average Realtor and make a profit," says Davis.

Published: September 17, 2004

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