Having joined Middleton in 2010, Mark Crampton is our longest-serving Advisor.
As well as advising our clients on Surrey and Sussex property, Mark has a second role as guardian of the company’s culture and standards.
“The role was created to really define and set in stone our standards, protocols and ethos – things that we’d always lived and spoken about, but without formalising into company policy. This enabled us to ensure consistency across the whole business – which is particularly important now that we’ve expanded to 30 or so people. On top of that we are much more dispersed – with two offices, as well as some working from home – so our all company calls and codified standards are vital.”
“Commitment to client-service is at the absolute core of Middleton.”
“Our execs routinely attend Harvard Business School’s ‘Achieving Breakthrough Service’ course, something that I found a hugely valuable experience as a way of benchmarking ourselves against the world’s best service businesses. For us, the art of service is starting afresh every single time, because no two people have exactly the same aspirations or drivers.”
“Lockdown has certainly been the most challenging period in my time at Middleton.”
“At one point, I had to find a last-minute, short-term rental for a client because the restrictions meant the vendors of the house they had bought couldn’t move out!”
“One of my more gratifying moments was buying a farm directly from the owner who had lived there his whole life. We’d spent a long time refining the search area, and so by the time we posted a letter through the farm letterbox, it was the ultimate direct mail-shot – practically a personal invitation between a motivated buyer and potential seller.”
“Some of the most satisfying commissions are buying plots of land for clients, and returning later to see their completed dream-home.”
“Another great moment was buying the pub for a client in his village. Let’s be honest – who doesn’t want to own their local pub!”
“The market is always changing.”
“High-quality stock is at an all-time low which makes our work more relevant than ever. In the last 2-3 years, I’ve been doing a lot more searches for rental properties, which is a great way to try out a new lifestyle for a few years, or get into a school catchment area, for example.”
To speak to Mark directly, click here.