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After 38 years in business, Acton remains the dominant force in the real estate market in Western Australia because of the original vision: commitment and innovation of two extraordinary people - John Davies and John Martin.
For the record, both men are the founding partners of Acton . Even after 38 years, they still play an active role in the company. John Davies acts as a consultant to the Company and John Martin remains the Chairman.
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Real estate companies until that time were built around an individual and had the name of that licensee incorporated into the overall name of the particular real estate company.
"It was something which even REIWA insisted upon. However, with the success of Acton, REIWA dropped this requirement in 1973 and this ensured that the overall real estate industry in Western Australia could take a more corporate approach," adds John Davies.
Through the influence of John Martin and John Davies, Acton not only broke the mould of real estate in Western Australia by setting very high ethical and professional standards, but it also changed the way real estate was marketed in the State.
Both men understood the importance of connecting with the local community and developing a strong reputation with their client base.
According to John Davies, most real estate companies after the Second World War who serviced the Western suburbs tended to operate from the CBD area of Perth.
"We made a strategic decision during the early years of Acton that we would locate in the community. In addition, we also made the decision that we should buy the property rather than lease to show our long-term commitment to the community.
"As a result, we purchased an office site in Dalkeith during 1970 which is currently the location of our Dalkeith office," he said.
Innovation was also a hallmark of Acton when it began to auction properties in Perth after a visit by both men to Melbourne in 1971 where they saw the success of this sales technique for higher priced properties.
Auctioning properties also proved to be an excellent marketing tool for Acton itself, particularly when the company set Australian and state record prices many times over.
Looking back over the past 38 years, both men agree that the success of Acton has been no surprise to them.. That is perhaps the best tribute to their dedication and innovation over the past 38 years - making an extraordinary vision become a reality.
Circa 2007
Fit,energetic!
Standards unchanged!
Ethics unchanged!
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However, the success of Acton was also based on a clear vision both men shared when they established Acton back in 1969. That vision was to create a professional real estate company which set a benchmark for high ethical standards.
"We wanted to develop a real estate company that was an integral part of the local community since we knew many of the people who would use our services. Is was therefore important that we always were seen to do the right thing by our clients and as a result we developed a very good reputation," says John Martin..
When both men established Acton in 1969, the real estate industry in Western Australia was highly unregulated and open to abuse.
At the time both men were business friends - John Davies had a highly successful sales background and John Martin was an engineer. However, both men wanted to establish a new business together and after careful examination they decided to enter the real estate industry. It was to prove a winning formula since John Martin's management experience in the office was to complement John Davies sales experience.
From the outset, they were determined to set professional standards, which set a benchmark for the entire real estate industry in Western Australia.
It is a subject that John Davies speaks with passion about when he says Acton was determined to set itself apart from other real estate companies through this commitment to professional standards.
"From the outset, we took a military approach to our presentation by insisting that all of our sales executives dressed in smart business attire and started work promptly each morning at 8:30 am. We only selected people to join our business who could demonstrate four characteristics - honesty, enthusiasm, energy and commitment," he said.
Both men also reinforced this corporate and professional culture, which was to permeate Acton, by giving their real estate business a company name.
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