Buying a property is a long-term investment decision. For most of us, it is probably the most expensive item that we would purchase in a lifetime. Propnex Realty is very focused on this aspect and want to add value to people in this critical decision that they will make.

PropNex started as Nooris Consultants. The name was coined using my wife’s and my initials (NOORaini and ISmail). Within two years, Nooris Consultants grew from a team of six associates, to an organisation with 200 salespersons. We became the largest Malay/Muslim real estate agency in Singapore. While we understood the importance of expansion and the need to continually stay relevant, the limitations of the Muslim demographic in Singapore was a potential stumbling block.

We knew that we had to tap into markets outside of the Malay/Muslim community. Hence in 1999, we merged Nooris Consultants with fellow real estate agency, Prulink Realty. The company was named First Class Consultants. With First Class Consultants, we redefined the industry with a dual-career path system, projecting a company that was more people-centric and less profit-centric. PropNex is an acronym of Property Network of Excellence. We wanted to bring together and create a large network of property agencies to give more options to clients and also to enjoy economies of scale.

IMPORTANCE OF A FIRM FOUNDATION
Since PropNex’s establishment, we have stood our ground in facing countless trials over the years – from the Asian Financial Crisis, to the SARS pandemic, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the seven rounds of measures to cool the property market.

The most important trait to have is a steely determination to overcome the odds and an unyielding spirit in the face of adversity. PropNex has managed to overcome these great challenges without compromising our core values which are based on our CARE principles:

Continuous self-improvement;
Autonomy and entrepreneurship;
Respect and concern; and
Ethics, honesty, and integrity.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
The company grew quickly, which gave us tremendous bargaining power and the ability to realise economies of scale. These savings in costs enable us to spend more on other crucial activities such as training and development, technology and innovation. PropNex holds quarterly conventions attended by thousands of our salespersons to keep themselves informed about policy changes, market trends and new initiatives. In addition, the company has in place an insurance scheme to protect its team leaders. We ensure that our partners are being looked after, as we recognise this is a lifelong career for many.

We moved our focus away from maximising profit to that of building relationships and started many firsts in the real estate industry. We have, among other things:

• Pioneered the Dual Career Path system for those who aspire to move into a management position instead of focusing only on sales. Today, this is the market practice across all major agencies in Singapore as we set the standards in the industry for the rest to follow.
• Introduced the Pension Programme in 2006 for all team leaders. This pension is additional funds channelled from the company’s profits to the team every year and is accumulated over time. Leaders can draw out part of this fund for specific uses. This is a long-term plan in sharing the company’s profits in recognition of the leaders for their loyalty, contributions and trust in the company. Over the past nine years, the fund has accumulated millions of dollars ready to be distributed to the leaders when they reach their pension maturity period.
• Started the Team Leaders’ Beneficiary Protection Scheme to provide protection for the families of team leaders in the event of any mishaps.

PropNex is the only agency in Singapore that holds four conventions annually to empower salespersons with the latest policy changes, current market trends and newest initiatives. The company is committed to conducting briefings for its sales force so as to ensure that all salespersons understand the changes to the policies and to better advise their clients. This is one of the contributing factors in the company’s growing volume of transactions.

Besides empowering our salespersons, PropNex has also reached out to over 100,000 home investors in the last three years by conducting Consumer Empowerment Seminars and distributing Consumer Guides to educate them about the market. Many of these consumers are more confident of making informed decisions after attending our seminars.

DUTY TO PROTECT CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS
Right from the beginning, PropNex’s top priority has always been our responsibility to our customers; and we have never wavered on this. We have been championing the protection of consumers and greater professionalism among agents, and decided to part ways with those who did not share our company’s vision. I also instituted mediation and disciplinary boards to help facilitate customer concerns and feedback, and manage agents who breached our code of conduct and practice.

We have also instituted self-regulation and positioned the company to be trustworthy, dependable and responsible – as the real estate industry had been known for a lack of standards and professionalism in the past. As a result, we terminated 2,800 inactive agents and put in place measures to audit their performances biannually.

With PropNex’s image transformed, a new motto was introduced – “Service You Trust”. This marked the beginning of a period of incredible growth as the company resonated well with the public and people could relate to it as an honest company that puts their interests ahead of just purely pursuing profits.

We have also taken a more pro-active approach to reach out to the consumers to educate them, instead of using traditional methods or hard selling, cold calling, and so on. We distributed consumer guides, organised empowerment seminars, and became more active in social media so as to bridge the gap between us and the public. In terms of technology, we developed apps such as Virtual Office Mobile and the Co-broker app, which increased productivity.

Such forward-thinking initiatives have certainly borne fruit. The company was recognised for its customer engagement and service at the Asia Responsible Corporate Awards (ARCA) in 2013 and the Top Noveteur Award in 2015 at the Asia Enterprise Brands Awards. Such recognitions have also translated into performance. We successfully achieved exceptional stakeholder engagement levels and saw record breaking performances due to investment in nurturing a culture of innovation and technological advancement.

PropNex’s unceasing emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness enabled it to clinch the Singapore Service Class (S-Class) and Singapore Quality Class (SQC) certifications this year. This marks a commendable milestone in our organisational excellence journey.

Since 2000, PropNex has continued to emphasise on inculcating a culture in which our people are involved and inspired to innovate and continually seek to improve daily work processes and systems – whether in operations, training or administration.

We achieved these results because our people understand the importance of establishing and sharing best practices at the workplace, which allows processes and transactions to be effective, efficient and error-free – enabling us to continually add greater value to our clients and our people.

These brought about phenomenal growth to the company. To date, PropNex Realty has grown to be the largest homegrown real estate agency with over 6,000 salespersons. The company has expanded to include other subsidiaries, namely PropNex International, PropNex Property Management Consultancy, Singbuilders, Singcapital, Life Mastery Academy and P&N Investment – providing a one-stop shop of real estate services.

FUTURE OF PROPNEX
Moving forward, PropNex is optimistic on its growth path. Although cooling measures and the establishment of the Personal Data Protection Commission’s Do-Not-Call Registry (DNC) has created challenges for consumer engagement, our emphasis on educating consumers, people-centered practices and strong value sets will allow the company to grow exponentially.

My plan is for PropNex to expand its reach overseas. By going international, we hope to bring PropNex to more countries. The first steps have already been set in motion – PropNex International has partnered renowned international property consultancy JLL. This partnership brings together JLL’s global platform and clientele with PropNex’s unrivalled local sales network and project marketing expertise.

Today, our Malay/Muslim community is better educated, with greater purchasing power that comes with better jobs. I see them as being no different from other consumers – always wanting the best for themselves and their loved ones. Entrepreneurs, regardless of race or religion, should embrace the OMG concept: You must first have an Obsession with your goals and what you hope to achieve in your life. With that obsession, you must then take Massive actions. And finally, you must follow the Guidance of God to do the right thing every time. ⬛

Colonel (NS) Mohamed Ismail Gafoor is the CEO of P&N Holdings Pte Ltd, parent company of leading homegrown real estate company in Singapore – PropNex Realty Pte Ltd and other subsidiaries that include PropNex International, PropNex Management Consultant, SingCapital, SingBuilders, Life Mastery Academy and P&N Investment. PropNex Realty, being the flagship subsidiary of P&N Holdings, has one of the largest sales force with over 5,500 real estate professionals who serve the private residential and public housing segments but also has a growing global clientele that includes markets in Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.