We started out in Lambeth, Ontario in 1979 in a small renovated garage with a sales force of three. At that time we sold primarily farms and small rural properties in Middlesex and Elgin Townships. As additional people joined the office we started to sell more in London and surrounding areas. In 1982 we changed our focus to new-home sales; London was booming and growth was tremendous in new subdivisions. In a short period of time we became the leader in new home sales and subdivision sales throughout the City of London and became the go to company for builders looking for expertise in design and location for their new product.
In 1985 Oliver and Associates added meaning to the term Associates. As an independent broker I knew that experienced long-term sales associates could add more value to our organization and we selected eleven of them to help manage the company. This internal management team were given the designation of “Associate”. This select group of individuals has grown along with the company. This group of “Associates” is truly one of the reasons why this corporation is so unique. Our common goal is be the most professional in the real estate business and above all to strive to have all the people around us become better day after day.
Over the years Oliver has gained a reputation as the originator in marketing innovation. We had such things as Realty Radio; in London it was called Radio Oliver. We had our own newspaper called Oliver Real Estate Advertiser, another one called London Homes magazine and our own GSP which stands for Guaranteed Sales Plan. Progressive marketing has been the key to growth.
We continue to concentrate on what adds value to the customer and eliminate what does not. We introduced what we called precision shopping. We opened two unique locations; one in the Westmount Shopping Centre and one in the Masonville Place mall. These two locations provide satellite offices for our staff but more importantly allow our agents to be where people are on a day to day basis. In Westmount 20,000 people a week pass our kiosk and in Masonville over 50,000 a week pass by. The kiosks provide information on all of our listings and are equipped with online computers so that customers can stop by and research product anywhere in Canada. These kiosks are professionally staffed 12 hours a day, seven days a week. This alone puts our real estate professionals in front of more people and more opportunities than anyone can imagine. This unique way of marketing has allowed our company to grow to more than 60 professionals. Providing walk-in business on a day to day basis is almost unheard of in the real estate industry.
All of these unique differences have aligned our people with independent realtors across Canada and the United States. Being the number one independent company in this city allows us entry into a group of similar companies throughout North America. Being an independent real estate broker is somewhat unique in this city. By holding onto our independence other brokers in Canada recognize us as a company to refer business to on an independent to independent basis. This independent alliance of realtors surpasses any franchise operation available today. We are proud to be an independent real estate corporation and are proud to be one of London’s foremost corporations in the real estate industry.
Quite simply we provide proven quality professional service to every client we meet and back it up with unsurpassed value added experience.
Dennis C. Oliver
President
