Charlie leads from the front
haus & haus are proud to announce that we have recently appointed Charlie Bannan as our new Leasing Director for the company. Charlie fought off very tough opposition from 9 internal candidates from the current haus & haus team for what is the first senior management role outside of the original three Directors. He will be taking charge of the current team of 28 brokers from the 2nd April 2018 with a view to consolidating the current team before further future growth. Below is an overview of Charlies background and thoughts.
Background
Charlie is originally from Kent in England, and has been in Dubai since June 2016.
“I wouldn’t say I walked into haus & haus with the mindset of becoming part of the directorship, but within the first year here I noticed I had years of relevant experience which could allow me to lead and manage the business. Importantly, I built a very strong business relationship with the 3 Managing Directors; Luke, James and Simon. I could then see myself becoming part of the directorship and it’s a great feeling to be given the Leasing Director role.”
Charlie ’s experience before relocating to Dubai and joining haus & haus was very much sales and management orientated. Upon leaving school he joined one of largest high street banks in England with little experience.
“I joined at the lowest position possible and over the first 12 months I rose through the ranks to eventually become the highest performing sales person for the South East.”
After his 3rd year within the bank his network in the city was stronger and new opportunities were presented. He then joined a brokerage which dealt with more direct financial sales, which is where he learnt to sell. “Prospecting, opening questions and closing were things I knew how to do but this was a new level”
He was also taught and shown how important the need for self-growth was in terms of reading, audio books and general personal development: for not just sales specifically, but for mentality and he was also taught how important a positive outlook can help you succeed! After 18 months within this company he was offered the position to manage all junior brokers within the brokerage.
“The main 2 things I will bring to this role is time & experience. I’ll have the time to nurture and develop the existing team, and nurture the current highest earners – to ensure they have their goals set & everything they need to reach them." Charlie Bannan
He joined haus & haus in June 2016 as a leasing consultant having never worked in Dubai or worked in Real Estate previously. He was both excited and nervous initially but within the first 8 weeks the nerves had disappeared, as he noticed how transferrable all of his sales experience was! haus & haus decided to dedicate him to the Greens & Views as an area to specialize in – an area which hadn’t previously been dealt with by a haus & haus employee. Within 9 months Charlie successfully hit targets to cement himself ‘at the haus’ and become a senior broker. In October 2017, he moved across to the sales team and due to the new company kiosk at that time in Emirates Living he turned his focus to the Springs & Meadows, as well as the Greens & Views.
Why Dubai?
Charlie came on holiday to Dubai in 2014 with his brother and a friend. They knew some friends of friends who were living and working out here and when meeting them it became clear they were living a very good lifestyle; not only with work but in general!
“I wouldn’t say I left thinking I will work in Dubai but it definitely left me thinking, could I?! Whilst here it was not hard to notice all of the different developments which were being built so that led me to take a look into how real estate works in Dubai”
The main things that attracted him to the Emirate were the weather, lifestyle and the entrepreneurial culture. “Dubai seems to have history of hiring the right person for the right reasons and not letting emotion alter sight and vision”.
How haus & haus?
Charlie came to haus & haus through a recruiter in the UK and after 2 skype interviews with James & Luke he was convinced that there was an opportunity to earn good money.
“James and Luke came across as genuine and didn’t just talk about how great the lifestyle could be, but also about how the people that make it work are the ones that stay late, work weekends and fully commit from the outset to set themselves up for a successful time in the Dubai Real Estate market!”
He also reached out to a friend of a friend who was working in Dubai Real Estate and he assured Charlie that haus & haus was a credible company and had a solid history of hiring and creating successful agents.
What will he bring to the role?
“The main 2 things I will bring to this role is time & experience. I’ll have the time to nurture and develop the existing team, and nurture the current highest earners – to ensure they have their goals set & everything they need to reach them. The majority, if not all of the team are hitting their monthly targets but the consistency can certainly be improved. Having been there and done it myself I have relevant advice and a knack to lead. My focus is now the haus & haus employees and my sole objectives are where they now, where do they want be, & how can I assist them in achieving their goals!”
The final word
“Competition is rife in the Dubai Real Estate market whereby most landlords and tenants will be speaking with at least 2/3 brokerages at any time. So I plan make our biggest value the customer (whether a tenant or landlord); they NEED to be serviced correctly. This is already deep in haus & haus’ core values; however with more focus, I know we can do better! If every client of haus & haus has a five star experience not only will that help the haus’ bottom line month on month but it will also help individual brokers consistently achieve the results they need. Working in Dubai Real Estate it is inevitable that problems occur that couldn’t been foreseen. How we deal with those problems is what counts – this is what currently sets us apart in this competitive market and what will keep us ahead throughout coming years!
In my opinion haus & haus had a bright future since I joined nearly 2 years ago. Since then the team has more than doubled. We even knocked a wall down in the office for the newest recruits! We now have a property management team which has hit the ground running and we are already seeing the benefits of that – not only the leasing side of the business, but also on re-sale. We are already considered one of the best real estate companies in Dubai so it’s all about staying on track and getting better and better! We have some big things planned throughout 2018, so keep an eye out for us”
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