Table of contents
Wim de Leeuw sold De Leeuw Real estate agency in 2020, as part of De Leeuw Group BV, to Heilbron. Almost three years later we take stock. How is retirement life treating him? How does Wim look back on his career and life?
The birth of De Leeuw
De Leeuw Real estate agency started off improbably. Forced by the post-war housing shortage, the newly wed parents of Wim de Leeuw lived with his father's mother. From that house, his father started his own administration office in 1951. Insurance mediation was added quickly. Only in 1971 did the office also become active in real estate.
At the birth of Wim in 1962, his father had to promise his mother not to force him into the business. There was never any coercion, but the fact that Wim eventually entered the business is not surprising.
Child at home home office
The business eventually outgrew the house and moved to its own location. However, everything in the house where Wim grew up still revolved around the business. Mother looked out the window to see if an applicant wasn't secretly throwing a cigarette in the garden, and on New Year's Day all the employees came over for the New Year's reception. Wim himself was often found at the office. As a child he played with calculators and at seventeen he combined holiday work at the company's reception with obtaining his first insurance diploma.
The step to university
From secondary school, to high school, via professional education, Wim ultimately succeeded in starting Law studies at the University. This was a personal victory, because his school career had previously always suffered from absenteeism due to his asthmatic problems. At university, Wim found his groove and started to get high grades. Unlike at secondary school, it was no longer about cramming, but about understanding the system. Wim liked that.
'When a burn mark from an iron was suddenly classified as fire damage, it led to the expansion of home contents insurance'
He was able to link the expansions in liability law one-on-one to practical examples from the insurance world: 'When a burn mark from an iron was suddenly classified as fire damage, it led to an expansion of home contents insurance. For thousands of customers, the premium went up by tens of euros per year.'
During his student days, Wim got his first sales job. At Integrand, he called companies with vacancies to place students. This turned out to be valuable experience later on. In addition, Wim became active at the legal aid shop. He was familiar with the world of employers and landlords, but now he got to know the other side: tenants of slumlords and employees with terrible bosses.
The start at De Leeuw Real estate agency
You can be called De Leeuw three times. If you think for even one moment that you have an advantage because of your last name, you're wrong.
After obtaining his master's degree, his father's health deteriorated. Wim therefore chooses to start directly at the family business. The daily management was already in the hands of a general manager. He didn't have to count on a red carpet: 'You can be called De Leeuw three times. If you think for even one moment that you have an advantage because of your last name, you're wrong. You'll have to prove yourself three times as hard.'
From landlords to slumlords
Wim starts as a real estate agent in Leiden. At that time, De Leeuw Real estate agency did something that Wim had already learned during his student job at Integrand. In the newspaper, Wim looked up advertisements from people who were selling their house themselves. He called these owners and suggested that he would do the sale. This was something that other NVM real estate agents turned their noses up at at the time. For Wim, it suited his approach. De Leeuw Real estate agency quickly dominated the advertisement page of the Leids Dagblad: 'supply creates demand'.
Organizing, hot potatoes and resistance
After the field service, Wim became active in the internal organization. Under his direction, the first automation wave followed within De Leeuw Real estate agency. After this organizational task, Wim was asked to open a branch in Hoofddorp. They were not happy about this in Hoofddorp:
'I see that you are open on Saturday, and on shopping evening. We don't do that here. And you publish a housing newspaper, that is also forbidden here.'
'Before 2000, before the title was released, the NVM had many characteristics of a cartel and an old boys network. In Leiden I had obtained my diploma and passed my professional test. While my application for NVM membership was being processed there, I moved my activities to Hoofddorp. Suddenly, the Leiden department was no longer in charge of my membership, but the Haarlem department could decide whether they wanted a new competitor and I could join. I then had a conversation with a proverbial hot potato from Aardenhout. 'What are you doing, as a real estate agent from Rijnsburg, here in Hoofddorp? Why didn't you introduce yourself properly to the other real estate agents first? I see that you are open on Saturday, and on shopping evening. We don't do that here. And you publish a housing newspaper, that is also forbidden here.' My response was: 'I get paid by my clients, not by my fellow real estate agents'. The result: I was labeled 'arrogant and aggressive' and had to prove myself for a longer period. In the end, I remained a candidate real estate agent for many years.
Into the management
In 1991, the point came that Wim, together with the general manager, took over the company from his father. 'I was twenty-nine and had to conduct salary talks with people who had been working there for twenty years. I thought I was ready for this beforehand; that turned out to be a big disappointment.'
'I was twenty-nine and had to conduct salary talks with people who had been working there for twenty years.'
He could really mold the office to his liking, when he bought out his partner and fellow director in 2000. That was the moment Wim started building his own team. He hired Holland Consulting Group to examine the organizational structure. 'If I'm going to take a critical look at my middle management, I also have to turn myself inside out.'
The right partners
For Wim it became clear that he needed a partner. The consultancy firm advised Wim to look for a tough guy for the front line. 'When the results of my assessment were shared with me, I sat on a rock in the evening with a glass of whiskey. I still have that glass here in the cupboard.'
'When the results of my assessment were shared with me, I sat on a rock in the evening with a glass of whiskey. I still have that glass here in the cupboard.'
Wim eventually found his 2 partners. 'When you find a good partner, it complements who you are. That also means that it's going to chafe at points. But friction brings shine.'
In that period, the new management team focused more on return instead of volume. Much more was measured within the organization: internal referrals to mortgages and insurances, how quickly the phone is answered and customer satisfaction. 'We always paid our real estate agents well, but we also expected a lot from them. Sometimes applicants were taken aback by the revenues our real estate agents make. As an organization, we ensured that the support was such that our real estate agents could also achieve those kinds of revenues. Focus was also brought to the organization. The printing company, his father's pride and joy, was let go.'
The sale
'My wife had a stroke in 2019. Fortunately, she didn't suffer any damage from it in the end. I, on the other hand, did. The fright was intense. A month later, my partner Terry Bloemert and I received an offer we couldn't refuse from Heilbron. They had knocked on the door a few years earlier, but we were busy with our own succession.' Both my son and my son-in-law have considered taking over the organization. Now the situation was different. I knew immediately that I had to do this.'
'I knew immediately that I had to do this'
Informing employees
The way Wim then dealt with the takeover characterizes Wim's attitude towards his people. 'We had signed the letter of intent, but the due diligence investigation only started in mid-February. Every year I held a New Year's speech and I just couldn't give a standard story there without saying something about the takeover.' And so Wim informed his staff about the impending sale even before the transaction was final. 'I don't think the employees at De Leeuw realize that. Then you must be bonkers as an entrepreneur', says Wim himself.
'Then you must be bonkers as an entrepreneur.'
'Fortunately, we had our affairs in order so well that I never worried for a moment about that audit. The people from Heilbron said afterwards that they had never encountered so little in a takeover.'
Life after the sale
'When the sale was completed, I mainly set about telling people what I was all planning. In the end, very little came of it.' Wim started a project to put the company history of De Leeuw on paper. 'In the meantime, I did realize that probably no one is going to read that book. Still, I enjoy working on it regularly.' In addition, Wim now plays table tennis fanatically every day. Once a week, he even gives lessons to a small group of seniors. Wim is still involved in some local committees, but he secretly thinks that's still too much like work.
What is your tip to other offices?
'I don't understand why offices don't all add insurance and mortgages. With insurances, you always stay top-of-mind. I don't know if I would have dared to run a real estate agency, without the stable income from insurances.'
Which other offices do you admire?
I like offices with colour. Most of them look so much like each other, but there are some nice exceptions. Frits Wilbrink of Wilbrink & v.d. Vught Real estate agents for example. He sells the gems on the market from one branch in Lisse throughout the region. And he dares to say no when he has to defend his commission. I like that. In Leiden I like Ralf Lek. He stops when he has enough assignments. Then he just doesn't do it. Then people go on the waiting list. He also only sells houses that he likes, like monuments. If you have a newly built house, he just doesn't do it. That's colour.'
This interview is part of a series of interviews with the key players in the real estate industry and the housing market. A new interview is published every month. Do you have suggestions for who we should interview next? Email us at info@mijnverkoopmakelaar.nl
