“What’s with the name? Beans?”
Even some of our closest friends are asking this question after two years in business. We thought it was obvious.
We were Bevans, now we’re Beans.
We took out the V!
Lots of things have changed, but others haven’t.
So, who was Bevans and who are Beans? Why do you care?
Bevans was a family-owned franchise real estate brand that peaked at the beginning of this century. As with all things property, it was there, it burnt bright and then moved to another location.
Bevans became the benchmark for boutique brands in the property market in the Illawarra. Often copied but never surpassed, the business introduced a style and personality to the business of property marketing with offices, marketing campaigns, brochures, signs and photography all executed in the name of brand building and personality. Everything about Bevans’ marketing was considered and engaging.
Bevans invested cleverly in the creation of content for all campaigns. The notion of caring about what you say, and following it up with conviction, has a lasting impact on the client and the presenter. By making the message important, and worth caring about, it followed that the transaction took on a special value, one that many were happy to pay for. Surprisingly.... This care and attention led to repeat business.
Bevans was much more than a series of quality productions. There was a well-oiled sales machine under the hood. Many of the agents that make up the elite of Illawarra agents, started their journey at a Bevans Real Estate office.
The focus was to create an experience that sold itself, one that agents could recreate in their own image. Practices that could be replicated. Bevans Real Estate invested heavily into the training of staff and believed that every employee had the potential to be the best salesperson. And every role had an element of sales to it.
As might be expected, Bevans approached the implementation of group policy and procedure with a sense of flair and attraction. There is no point in popping out compliance manuals and ‘How To’ text when no one cares about or reads them. Each and every one of the brochures, booklets, blogs and bibles that Bevans created had an engaging plot and a sense of the target audience.
Something that could be grabbed on to and spoken about, outside of the staff session.
Many systems that are introduced to sales centric businesses tend to take a lot of time but don’t necessarily guarantee results. It is through the investment in, and experience of, using CRM across a broad personality based industry, that Bevans solid experience in the implementation and best practice of using databases was formed. As they say: you can lead a horse to water. We are qualified to audit your business and advise on the horse. Or the donkey.
Another novel quality inherent in the property industry is the use of the gimmick and the idea bubble. Maybe because of the enthusiasm for the sale (or just the drugs they take), every single fad and fiction came passing through the Bevans marketing offices. We think that any idea is worth pursuing and testing. As long as it fits into the long term strategy and best practice of the business. And it is completed with intelligence, craft and quality.
As the aspirations and ambitions of the business owners changed, so too did the direction and destination of the Bevans Real Estate franchise. Our family found more to love in the creative aspects of the business. The brand building, the marketing, the ideas. And, less to love in the competitive cupidity of the real estate landscape.
The decision was made to pursue these parts of the business more than others. Bevans Marketing was born. A small and selective marketing practice that brought the principles established at Bevans Real Estate, into the offices of other businesses. There was still an abundance of ideas for property, but also other interesting and associated businesses.
In late 2020, a new vision was formed. The business was to change, new blood was entering. A new name was needed. It was decided; Beans.
The name would change, the business would too - but the history and experience of three generations in real estate would carry on. Beans brings this real estate experience and the legacy of the Bevans Real Estate brand to the table every time we sit down with a client.
Two years on, we still carry the lessons learnt from three generations leading the real estate industry in the Illawarra with us like a battered up old notebook. In an increasingly segmented marketplace, where everyone says they’re different but they do the same things, we like to ask ourselves: What would Bevans do?
Let us do the thinking for you.