Dean Mackie has run successful agencies since 2007 and his Di Jones real estate agency is the current agency of the year for REB. Chris Mercer co-founder of REAP Dashboard spoke with Dean about running this big operation.

So Dean, how have the demands on your reporting changed after the merger? 

"Oh, the demands have changed massively. We previously had two entities across multiple offices, now we have multiple companies with different shareholders and getting the financials completed and accurate is a big challenge."

Dean, we have worked together for 12 years, how has the REAP Dashboard product help deliver your results to your stakeholders? 

"It’s a really clear report. It simplifies and makes it easy to communicate with everyone how the business is performing in a common format. It's not a spreadsheet, it shows the financials and non-financials in charts and graphics which are easy to see by everyone."

How about good news and bad news? How important is it to look at reports regularly, good or bad?

"I believe you have to have visibility and transparency in all aspects of your business, so when you find results that are not what you want them to be, you can dig deeper and learn why it's happening. 

The quicker you see the bad results the quicker you can improve. We learn and compare offices performances (good and bad) to get a gauge on what is working or not."

It is no secret the market has been great, how has the REAP dashboard tool helped in this current market? 

"Agreed, there has definitely been a lift in average sales price and volume, but the dashboard shows me how many productive agents have done the deals, and how many haven't. This has helped me keep focussed and not get carried away with headline results."

Dean, what's your message to people about the difference between profit and cash? 

"A LOT, is the short answer, it's like change. The benefit of change does not always land at the time of you make a change, but at some time in the future, but there is a gap between."

Finally, Dean, you have been running your business for over a decade, how long was it before you received reports that you trusted to represent your actual business performance? 

"It did take a while, but what I'd say to anyone who is getting going is that the Dashboard tool is an easy way to get good reporting into your business."

Visit www.reapdashboard.com 

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