ELITE AGENT Issue 05 May Jun 2015 [FULL]

TACTICAL LISTING WITH JOSH PHEGAN PAGE 26

ANTICIPATE IS THE NEW EXCEED PAGE 28

THE GREAT INSPECTION ROUNDUP PAGE 62

LEARN FROM THE BEST #05 MAY/JUN 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

INDUSTRY REPORT PERCEPTIONS OF REAL ESTATE

INSIDE: INDUSTRY LEADERS

What your customers really think

TAKE YOUR EMAIL OPEN RATE THROUGH THE ROOF MAKE EACH DAY COUNT

Measuring property manager performance

31 May – 1 June, 2015 Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

Charles Tarbey Antony Catalano John McGrath Maria and Manos Findikakis

BEST NEW TALENT

Roxanne Paterson

AREC15

Speakers Tom Ferry / Brian Buffini / Wayne Dyer / Les Brown Tim Ferriss / Samantha DeBianchi / John McGrath Tom Panos / Michael Clarke / Matthew Hayson Wendy Alexander / Martin Cooper / Michael Coombs Mark Kentwell / Alex Waters / Mark Di Giulio Michael Sheargold / Lee Woodward / Peter Gilchrist Claudio Encina / Steve Carroll

GROW

AREC15 31 May – 1 June, 2015 Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

WTH T 1800 335 336 visitarec.com

GOING TO AREC15? HERE’S HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR CPD POINTS VIA MYREALESTATECPD.COM.AU Make your AREC 15 experience really count by using this map and guide to earning CPD points.

NSW Agents finish your points online Under the current guidelines of the OFT, 12 points are available for eligible learning activities greater than four hours, once you have completed an assessment. With the amazing speakers and content delivered at AREC15, this requirement is met once you have submitted and passed your assessment.

Finish your CPD requirement by completing the following steps: 1. Visit myrealestatecpd.com.au/arec15 2. Choose AREC15 ‘NSW’ from the list and complete the simple online checkout process. Make sure you include your full name and licence number to speed up the process of delivering your certificate.

3. Answer the multiple choice quiz. You will need an 80% mark to pass the assessment and you can have as many attempts at it as you need.

4. Once you have achieved the passmark in the quiz, you will receive a confirmation email from us and your CPD Certificate of Completion will arrive via email within 3-4 working days.

Other States of Australia and New Zealand Refer to the map opposite to determine the number of points you are eligible to claim. Then visit myrealestatecpd.com.au and choose the AREC15 WA, ACT, TAS option to pay your administration fee, complete your details and the checkout process, and your CPD Certificate of Completion will arrive via email within 3-4 working days.

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In addition to providing event CPD assessments, we have 12 fully self-contained CPD distance programs which you can complete online in your own time starting at just $89 for 12 points. Visit myrealestatecpd.com.au for more information. * CPD points are approved by BPG Training (Vic) Pty Ltd. These offers are valid until 30th September 2015, after which the normal assessment and certificate fee of $99 applies. This offer does not include the AREC15 ticket price, to book your tickets go to visitarec.com. CPD points are not applicable to SA and NT.

*

QLD

CPD points are only available at REI events, but come chat to us at AREC15 about license, registration and other things real estate!

NSW

12 points available on completion of an assessment online, see myrealestatecpd.com.au for details. Admin, assessment and certificate cost $57*.

ACT

4 points available on attendance as an ‘elective’.

Register at the My Real Estate Training stand or online at myrealestatecpd.com. au. Admin and certificate cost $57*.

(If you need the remaining 8 points, chat to our friendly team at the event)

VIC

CPD points are only available at REI events, but come chat to us at AREC15 about license, registration and other things real estate!

NZ

8 verifiable points available (keep your event tickets, air tickets and accommodation receipts).

WA

7 elective points available.

Register at the My Real Estate Training stand or online at myrealestatecpd. com.au. Admin and certificate cost $57*.

TAS

10 non verifiable points available.

You’ll need to register at the My Real Estate Training stand or online at myrealestatecpd.com.au if you require certification to be issued. Admin and certificate cost $57*.

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Visit corelogic.com.au or call 1300 734 318.

@eliteagentmag facebook.com/eliteagentmag eliteagent.com.au eliteagent.tv SAMANTHA MCLEAN – Co-Founder and Managing Editor samantha@eliteagent.com.au JILL BONIFACE – Sub-Editor editor@eliteagent.com.au MARK EDWARDS – National Advertising and Subscriptions Manager mark@eliteagent.com.au HERMANSYAH ASRORI – Web Master and Customer Service Manager newsroom@eliteagent.com.au CHORUS DESIGN – Art Direction/Design thegoodpeople@chorusdesign.com INDUSTRIE MEDIA - Feature Photography and Video industriemedia.tv

Please support Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org.au) for the wonderful work they do in building homes, communities and hope.

SUBSCRIBE eliteagent.com.au/shopnow (02) 8231 6669 subscriptions@eliteagent.com.au

ISSUE 05 MAY/JUN 2015 Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors

Agentbox, Century 21, CoreLogic, Easy Path, Eview Real Estate Partners, Express Commission Australia, Fairfax Media, Harcourts, hockingstuart, Homepass, HomePrezzo, Industrie Media, LJ Hooker, myrealestatetraining.com.au, PM Assistant, PPM, QREAS, Real +, Rockend, Slater and Gordon, Top Snap, Total Real Estate Training, VanguardGrafx, Vitrine Media.

Contributing Writers

Lisa B, Fiona Blayney, Tara Bradbury, Kylie Davis, Daniel Evans, Christina Guidotti, Natalie Hastings, Troy Hazard, Tanja M Jones, Alister Maple-Brown, John and Stephanie McCloskey, Jo-Anne Oliveri, Josh Phegan, Emily Schofield, Glenn Twiddle, Heidi Walkinshaw, Ray Wood, Jet Xavier.

Big Shout Out (Thanks to…)

Melanie Attard, Lee Baillie, Jen Barbour, Ralf Barschow, Hanna Burrows, Vivian Castelino, Antony Catalano, Nic Claase, Chelsea Corbel, Sarah Dickson, Richard Fay, Maria and Manos Findikakis, Iolanthe Gabrie, Brenton Gibbs, Tim and Fiona Gregory, Georgia Harrison, Heather Hilton, John Hine, Stephanie Holmes, Jabin de Keizer, Frank Knez, Mitchey Koper, Attila Kovacs, Nathan Krisanski, Tim Lawless, Tim Longmore, Eddie Lynch, Hannah MacMillan, Jess Mazzocato, Molly Mazzocato, Darel McBride, Scott McElroy, John McGrath, Daniel McShanag, Danielle Molyneaux, Sophie Mooney, Charlotte Norman, Cara Oliveri, Roxanne Paterson, Lucy Patrick, Hayley Power, Kaitlin Rees, Donna Roles, Tony Rowe, Emily Schofield, Sean Smith, Tony Stapleton, Maggie Stergiopoulos, Dean Summers, Charles Tarbey, Mike Toweel, Jane Wilkinson, Mike Yeo, Michael Zahn.

8 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

CONNECT WITH US @eliteagentmag BASS Publications Pty Ltd ACN 169 805 921

Postal Address: Suite 35, 4 Young Street, Neutral Bay NSW 2089 Telephone (02) 8231 6669 Registered by Australia Post/Print Post 100020180

Editorial Submissions

The publisher welcomes editorial submissions from individuals and organisations within the real estate profession. The publisher reserves the right to edit, modify, reject or contribute to the content of the material provided.

Some opinions expressed in Elite Agent Magazine are not necessarily those of its staff or contributing editors. Those opinions are reproduced with no guarantee of accuracy although Elite Agent Magazine endeavours to ensure those opinions and comments are factual.

Our subscriber list may sometimes be made available to relevant brands who might be of interest to our readers and from time to time we may be in touch to inform you of new Elite Agent products and services. Please visit eliteagent.com.au/privacy for details on how we collect and use your personal information. Please email subscriptions@eliteagent.com.au if you would rather not receive these communications.

We’ve done our best to acknowledge everyone involved in the production of this magazine; in some instances where we have left anyone out, it will be a genuine mistake made in the flurry of activity and mayhem close to deadline. Please let us know and we will give you a mention in the next issue. © Elite Agent Magazine 2015. All rights reserved.

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Contents

Regulars 013 EDITOR’S LETTER 014 READER PROFILE Tim Longmore 016 EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT The Equity Model 018 UPFRONT News from the Community 030 HEALTH SCIENCE Emily Schofield 032 TECH IN THE CITY Lisa B 033 LEADERSHIP John and Stephanie McCloskey 062 MY LOCAL Melbourne CBD, Scott McElroy 080 THE LAST WORD Fiona Blayney

34

First Person 024 WHAT LEADERS NEED TO DO TO INSPIRE ACTION Tanja M Jones 026 TACTICAL LISTING Josh Phegan 028 ANTICIPATE IS THE NEW EXCEED Troy Hazard

Cover Story 034 BEST NEW TALENT Roxanne Paterson

Elite Agent

44

038 PRODUCT REVIEW Could your cashflow use a boost?

040 PERCEPTIONS OF REAL ESTATE Kylie Davis 044 FACE TO FACE, ONE TO ONE With Charles Tarbey 048 YOUR BRAND, YOUR BUSINESS Maria and Manos Findikakis talk Eview 050 THINK BIGGER Part Two with John McGrath 052 WHAT SCHWARZENEGGER TAUGHT ME Glenn Twiddle 054 SMASHING THROUGH THE MENTAL BARRIERS Jet Xavier 056 TAKE YOUR EMAIL OPEN RATE THROUGH THE ROOF Ray Wood 058 POSITIVE DELUSION DELIVERS POSITIVE RESULTS Christina Guidotti 060 AGENT PROFILE: Tim and Fiona Gregory, RE/Max Property Services

Elite Property Manager

52 10 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

064 REALTY BYTES Alister Maple-Brown 066 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT MENTOR Natalie Hastings 068 BD MASTERY Tara Bradbury 070 GENERATION Y-ES! The RealEstate Precinct 072 VALUE AND PERFORMANCE Daniel Evans 074 PM PROFILE Melanie Attard, Century 21 The Property Shoppe 062 THE GREAT INSPECTION ROUNDUP Heidi Walkinshaw 078 8 TAKEAWAYS FROM ALPPPS Jo-Anne Oliveri

AREC SPECIAL

Important Numbers 000

Emergency Police, Fire, Ambulance

131 444

Police (non-emergency)

www.sellleaseproperty.com.au

RSPCA

(08) 9209 9300

Nurse on call

1800 022 222 1300 22 4636

Beyond Blue

Nola Tully 0408 545 559 nola@slpwa.com.au www.nolatully.com

Kids Help Line

1800 55 1800

Crime Stoppers Poisons Information Gas emergency and faults

1800 333 000 13 11 26 13 13 52

Electricity emergency Water and Sewerage

13 13 51 13 13 75

1000 DL OR LANDSCAPE HOUSE MAGNETS STARTING FROM

Honest, Informative, Professional service

School holidays Public holidays

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9448 5730

Mervyn O438 877 721 Paula 0447 222 895

www.century21.com.au/greenwood Shop 11, 18 Calectasia St, Greenwood WA 6024

c21alliance@century21.com.au

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500 BUSINESS CARDS STARTING FROM

Public Holiday

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JANUARY

2015

$649.00*

000 131 444 1800 333 000 9400 9400 13 11 26 13 13 51 13 13 52 9400 4000 13 13 75 13 13 30 13 62 13 9478 8888

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A 1/57 Wheatley Street, GOSNELLS T 08 9394 0555

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www.rh.com.au/mandurah

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EDITOR’S LETTER I’VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE once again of doing quite a few interviews this

issue, and as a result the subject I want to discuss right now is the simple topic of listening.

In days gone by interviews were about taking notes with a notepad and pen and then trying to remember what the person said (I never learned shorthand). Since then, technology has evolved; in our hands are phones that are also recording devices. Now I will record every interview and can have it transcribed in less than 24 hours and from there I re-read the script, plan and write the story.

The reason I want to talk about listening is this: I’m still truly amazed, when I get the transcript back, to read some of the important things interviewees have said that I missed in the original conversation. It’s not that I am not paying attention, but we all speak at such a fast rate these days that really listening, absorbing and remembering everything someone said is damn near impossible.

So I feel pretty lucky that we have these tools available to us in the publishing profession, giving us the absolute luxury of going back over what people have shared, word for word. Without doubt, it gives us a much better chance of getting it right.

We don’t have that same opportunity in real life. Not in sales, and certainly not in our personal relationships. If only we did! Imagine if you could listen to the transcript of your last listing presentation, analyse it and work out where you went wrong… or the last rushed conversation you had with a client or a colleague, where you didn’t quite get what they were saying because you weren’t all there. Not such a bad idea, maybe...

But listening is so important. Here are some wise (and exact) words from Roxanne Paterson, our cover agent this month, in an interview that was completed with 007-style secrecy. (We knew she’d won the award but we couldn’t let on to her or any of the rest of the world!) Anyway, her words were “Never waste a contact.”

Powerful words, and what she is means is that everyone you meet needs to go into the database with some sort of plan attached to them. And to know what your plan should be - you’d better make sure you have listened really well.

Having spent only a year in real estate and achieved some amazing results, Roxanne also told me that it made her kids really excited to see their mum on sale signboards in the local area, and that she was really proud of that. Well, to that I say: Wait until they see you on the cover of a national magazine! She also spoke about the privilege of sitting in someone’s living room talking about selling their home, and how it should always be treated that way, with that sense of importance. And to that I say, it’s a real privilege to be able to present this magazine to the industry with someone who sets such a great example on our cover. And, I am sure that with such a down-to-earth attitude and a style that is totally about relationships and communication, Roxanne will be one of the long-term success stories of the industry that we all admire.

eliteagent.com.au 13

READER PROFILE

WINNING CONSISTENCY Tim Longmore is a Senior Property Consultant and Auctioneer at Noel Jones’ newest office in Mitcham. He was an REIV Agent of the Year finalist in 2014, and runner-up Salesperson of the Year for the Noel Jones Group.

The Mitcham area of Melbourne, Victoria not only offers a diverse range of homes dating from the 1950s and 1960s; there are also many brand new apartments.

With the Dandenongs Valley Parklands on the doorstep at Vermont South, the outdoorsy lifestyle is a unique drawcard for those who relish natural beauty and space to wander.

With its selection of shops, restaurants and cafes satisfying those seeking laidback social outings, it’s also a great place for families, with good schools and parks, excellent transport links and a relaxed atmosphere. No wonder Tim and his wife Jess have chosen to live in this beautiful part of Victoria. Having experienced all the emotions of buying a property himself

he can identify with his clients, and his local knowledge means he can offer personal insights and practical advice.

What motivated you to get into real estate?

Real estate is both a lifestyle and a career where you are rewarded for the amount of effort and expertise you put in. I see it as the pinnacle of sales, underpinned by the knowledge that at the end of the day you’re assisting people, and for me this is the best combination!

Make your goals so big you think they are impossible!

What have been the biggest challenges for you so far?

One of the biggest challenges for me has been learning how to lead a team, and especially to remain consistent month in, month out.

my briefcase!). When the first issue arrived at our office I was instantly impressed with the current and relevant content.

Now I always enjoying reading it and hearing about the latest real estate news Australia-wide.

What or who inspires you?

John McGrath is one of my heroes – he never fails to inspire me.

What advice would you give someone just starting out in real estate?

The first thing I’d say would be to get a business coach or mentor immediately. Invest in your own future; have clear goals and unrealistic expectations to grow and be the best you can. Make your goals so big you think they are impossible! But I’d also point out that we’re here to serve and help the community so don’t have an ego. We help people move.

In your briefcase right now is …

Do people still have briefcases?

My briefcase is my iPhone. It has everything I need from business tools to books to banking.

I couldn’t live without...

I couldn’t live without my iPhone or my wife, Jess. Not in that order! I’d be lost without them.

What do you enjoy most about Elite Agent Magazine?

I first heard about Elite Agent Magazine on Facebook (via my iPhone, otherwise known as

14 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

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EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT…

THE AGENT EQUITY MODEL WHAT WAS IT THAT improved the level of customer

service at Telstra? A serious competitor in Optus. What caused Microsoft to lose their almost 100 per cent market share in the ‘90s? An experience users wanted more that was created by Apple. What allowed air travel to become more affordable for the average person? An alternative from a rival carrier called Virgin. Competition is common to all of these. In the real estate publishing space it’s no different, says Domain CEO Antony Catalano; there needs to be competition for better products, better services and to keep prices in check, and it would indeed be an ‘ugly world without it’. Interview by Samantha McLean.

DOMAIN HAVE GAINED significant ground

on their competition in the last 12 months with a 65 per cent year on year increase in audience. So I am very keen to learn more about how they are raising the bar against strong competition. One of their strategies is allowing agents participation, or equity, rewarding them for advertising based on value and volume.

16 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

In terms of agent participation in the portal space, you only have to pay a quick visit to some of the real estate groups on social media or read agent blogs to know that there is a strong desire to get involved.

But most attempts in the past few years, and even in the last 12 months, have not been that successful.

Expressions of Interest in the Equity Model

have been out with individual offices and groups for some time, and this seems like a good place to start. Catalano is clear. “The Equity Model serves a number of outcomes for agents. One of the key outcomes is that it gives agents something that they have long wanted, which is that involvement in the digital media space. This is not a new concept; the market leader even started by issuing shares to agents in its pre-IPO days. It is something that agents continue to talk about, and any dissatisfaction they may have with the market leader is always countered by the desire to have the industry come together to create an alternative.”

So while there is the desire, why is it that other attempts at industry models have not been able to gain traction? “I think it’s because the industry generally lacks core publishing expertise. Publishing requires very deep pockets. And it requires agents who have a core business of listing and selling real estate to distract themselves from their dayto-day operations to become publishers.”

Catalano has been CEO of Domain since November 2013, and prior to that was Chief Executive and Publisher of Metro Media Publishing (MMP). MMP was created to address this exact gap in the market, pioneering a partnering model with a group of agents to create a magazine (Review Weekly, which has now expanded to 32 magazines) and an online ‘hyper-local’ presence in the portal reviewproperty.com.au. Catalano himself also had a long career at Fairfax, starting as a journalist and working his way up to being appointed Director of Real Estate, and knows the publishing game well.

“When we started MMP we already had a deep understanding of publishing and the industry, and what we did originally did was to partner up with agents to deliver a better product to market. That success was immediate. The agents we were working with could focus on being agents, we focused on being publishers and together we focused on building a publishing business. Doing it together works; doing it on your own, as history has shown, is problematic.”

In July 2012, the CEO of Fairfax (Greg Hywood) announced there would be a 50 per cent acquisition of MMP, and at the time stated that Fairfax was ‘buying’ the Equity Model and was keen to roll out that model nationally. Today, Fairfax owns 100 per cent of MMP and it is this model that has formed the basis of Domain’s ‘Equity Model’. “We have now spent the last two years perfecting the model and ironing out any ‘bugs’ to ensure it was road-tested appropriately.

After two years of trialling it in the Victorian

market, we went live with equity models in SA, WA and simultaneously rolled out QLD and NSW. We are now in the process of doing it in NT and Tasmania. So this hasn’t been an overnight thing; MMP and the model are five years old now. In the digital sphere it’s approaching three years in July.”

And the model is growing in popularity, based on some numbers that Catalano starts reeling off the top of his head.

“We have hundreds of agents who are participating in the Victorian Market, and we have something in the order of 2,200 estate agents in the residential space that are either already active participants or have pledged to be participants through our Expression of Interest campaign.”

What do you see as the real benefit for agents? “As an agent, I’ve got something I have been asking for, which is an industry play. I have an alternative, with a very good publisher who has the longest history in the category. A publisher with relationships with agents right across the country and a deep understanding of the industry. I have the ability to work with that publisher through the advisory boards that have been set up in each state to make recommendations and to provide feedback that will be listened to because it is a joint venture. That will result in partnership, competition and potentially a share of profits.”

Catalano continues, “MMP from day one took a collaborative view of this business; we’ve had weekly and monthly meetings with our agents since we launched in April 2010. We don’t see ourselves as standalone publishers dictating to our client base what we think is good for them. We work with the industry to develop the products, and we take a very collaborative approach to this.”

We then go on to discuss aspects of competition in the industry. “We first conceived the digital model in February 2012. The market leader was in the market with their most expensive product at $2,300. At that time, it had never ever responded to the market as far as pricing was concerned. However, the immediate impact of industry participation in the Victorian market was for the first time the market leader dropped their price.”

“Agents need to embrace this for their future because the alternative is that they have one dominant player and no say in price. Domain can already take credit for helping the industry fight back. At one point, the market leader was charging $8,000 for a digital ad in Toorak; 12 months later it has come back to $2,500.”

Domain has also invested approximately

$150m of capital over last 12 months into acquisitions and another $15m in increased expenditure, adding 140 staff (a 216 per cent increase) since January of last year. Added to that, Catalano says, there has been a 65 per cent increase in the audience year on year, giving the industry real choice. “We will fight it out with our competition for market relevance and we will continue to invest heavily; we’ve got more staff coming in, millions of dollars more being invested in product and it’s a win for agents. This has given the industry a genuine alternative and with this comes a choice to have around the marketing schedule, or importantly push back against what could be a monopoly operation. The industry gets a better product and at a better price.”

Catalano continues, “Those who don’t embrace Domain are doing the industry and

“Our competitive stance brings about benefits for the industry and that is inescapable.” themselves a disservice because yes, we are absolutely in it for commercial benefit and profitability, but our very existence and our competitive stance brings about benefits for the industry and that is inescapable. It would be an ugly world for agents without competition.”

Recently the industry has seen some great initiatives from Domain, including coffee carts at auctions and increased consumer marketing with both the ‘Good Move’ campaigns and sponsorship of Paterson Stadium in Perth, which for

the upcoming AFL season will be known as Domain Stadium. Given the level of investment in people and products, what else should we look out for from Domain in the next 12 months?

“We do consider ourselves market leaders in a few different areas,” says Catalano, “Particularly at all the things we’ve done with school zones, enhanced listings, agent profiling. We’ve been first to market with the Apple Watch (just!), we’ve announced the Home Price Guide; every single property in Australia will be on our site, whether on the market or not. That ‘first to market’ philosophy is very much in our thinking now. We want to be first to market with new things and it’s a direct reflection of the investment that we’ve had.

“We have a very clearly articulated strategy in terms of priorities,” Catalano continues. “We talk about getting 100 per cent of agents on the platform as a priority; we’re at 95 or 96 per cent of the market at the moment. Once you get to 100 per cent every listing is either on our site or the competitor’s site, and it then boils down to user experience. Which site do people prefer? We focus very heavily on the development of our browser product and in particular our apps: 25,000 reviews of the app rate us more highly than our competition, with a four-star average on the App Store and 5.5 for Android. So, as a consumer, when you have that choice which one do you choose? The one you like.”

“In addition to that is the continuing rollout of the Equity Model; we will also look to integrate all our platforms, My Desktop, APM Pricefinder and Domain, into an easy to access ‘one-stop shop’ for agents.”

And then there is just one last bit of icing on the cake. “We will also continue to make sure the audience is engaged by having real journalism – we are a trusted source, we don’t have bloggers, we have real journalists reporting on property. Our content strategy leverages the fact that we have got the best real estate journalists in the country providing unbiased coverage and leveraging all the prestige outlets within Fairfax – for example the SMH, the Age, the AFR, and the hundreds of newspapers around the country – to provide better information for consumers on real estate transactions. We will continue to make sure that the audience is engaged, and that in return gives agents a better chance to engage as well.”

To find out more about the equity model and agent ownership, contact your Domain Account Manager or call 1300 799 109.

eliteagent.com.au 17

UPFRONT

LEARN FROM THE BEST – VISIT ELITEAGENT.COM.AU

Leading Lawyers Love Conveyancing Having acquired Conveyancing Works Solicitors in November 2011 to deliver an efficient, low cost, national conveyancing service, Slater and Gordon’s Conveyancing Works now has nine business development managers assisting agents nationally.

General Manager Lee Bailie is confident that the new service model will benefit agents in a number of ways. The nationwide team are focusing on the real estate industry to provide the local and personal level of service that agents and their clients need.

Having settled over 200,000 properties and with 70 Slater and Gordon offices nationwide, the firm has also had a lot of practice in keeping clients informed at every stage of the process.

“We have built the model this way so that there is one point of contact for all enquiries.

Agents get the benefit of a local service representative, strongly backed by the services of the national legal team,” explained Bailie.

“We find about 46 per cent of our business right now comes either from referrals or from previous clients, which I think is mostly down to the fact that we can provide a great service at a reasonable price.”

For the first time, Slater and Gordon will also be exhibiting at AREC15. Come and meet your local business development manager and discuss incentives on offer for your clients, including a $50 discount on a standard conveyancing service, as well as an offer to beat any comparable quote.* For more information visit slatergordon.com. au/conveyancing *Conditions apply.

Top Snap provide one-stop shop Top Snap, a leading company in real estate visual marketing services, has recently announced the launch of its real estate video services in partnership with Visual Domain. The video services will be available Australia-wide and will include high impact property videos, drone property videos and agency/agent/auction profile videos.

Top Snap Owner and CEO Ralf Barschow said, “We are delighted with our partnership with Visual Domain, an established and successful real estate video service production company in the Australian market. The team at Visual Domain is driven and full of energy, with a passion for ideas that transforms into outstanding property videos.”

As well as video, Top Snap is constantly developing and adopting other new services to create

Penelope Valentine

PM Assistant Appoints National Sales Manager

Lee Bailie

18 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

Leading software development company OurTradie, owners of the software platform PM Assistant, have announced the appointment of Penelope Valentine as National Sales Manager. PM Assistant streamlines many of the daily tasks faced by property managers, including receiving and responding to maintenance issues and managing rental payments.

truly unique and engaging experiences for its customers. Top Snap’s strategic partners include Snaploader, a new app that provides intelligent matching from print to digital and mobile.

Said Barschow about the Snaploader partnership, “The Snaploader app works by matching an image from a property with information about that property and its surroundings. Agents are also able to provide updates and message potential buyers with important and relevant information as it happens. We are really excited to be able to show these products to the Australian market.”

To get a live demo of how it all works visit the Top Snap and Snaploader stands at AREC15. Learn more at topsnap.com or call 1300 TOP SNAP.

Ms Valentine, who will be based at the company’s Sydney office, will help drive national growth of PM Assistant.

Ms Valentine brings to her position an extensive knowledge of the property industry, with roles as co-founder of The Real Estate Project Australia and national corporate partnership and events manager for LJ Hooker. She has also worked at Ray White and McGrath Estate Agents’ corporate office.

“Ms Valentine’s strong experience in sales and property and event management, her vast knowledge of the Sydney market and her extensive industry contacts make her the perfect addition to our team,” said OurTradie CEO Damian Hickey.

“Her passion, determination and customer-centric approach will ensure she plays a vital role in PM Assistant’s future development.”

Ms Valentine said she was excited to join a technology company that was delivering innovative new products for the real estate industry, particularly given her background in real estate, property management and business development management.

“Once I saw the efficiencies that PM Assistant created and the fact that it saved property managers so much time, I knew it was a gamechanger for the industry,” she said.

PM Assistant is a cloud-based solution working on web, iPad and mobile. For more information visit pmassistant.com.au.

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m on at A e an 31 th R d m st e EC e M Go 2 et ay ld 01 us -1 C 5 st oa Ju st ne .

We’ll guide your clients through the conveyancing process.

Buying or selling a house is one of the biggest financial decisions your clients will make, so it is important to get it right. + We’ve settled over 200,000 properties. + We’ll keep your clients informed at every stage. + Your clients can drop their contracts at one of our 70 Slater and Gordon offices.

Get in touch.

13 18 10 slatergordon.com.au/conveyancing

UPFRONT

NEW BUILDING INSPECTION NETWORK A GAME-CHANGER Easy Path Inspections has launched a new way of buying building inspection reports that reduce buyers’ costs and make life a whole lot easier.

Having observed first-hand how costs can quickly mount up when purchasing a property, Darel McBride, founder of Easy Path Inspections, came up with an idea to make it cheaper and more efficient for everyone involved.

“Speaking to buyers, and from my own experience, it’s all too common to find the property of your dreams, spend money having it inspected and then to be pipped at the post by someone else,” McBride said. “What’s worse, at auction you get to see how many people have done the same thing and soon realise the amount of time and money that’s been wasted.”

He started talking to inspectors about creating a service that would help customers navigate the myriad of inspection companies and reports on offer whilst saving them money in the process. “Getting inspectors

to openly advertise their prices was harder than expected. However, once they realised that this is exactly what the market wanted they soon saw the benefits both for the customer and themselves,” McBride added.

The real game-changer is the addition of a first-of-its-kind service, whereby customers allow their newly purchased report to be resold and earn cash-back if someone buys a copy of it.

“Reselling your report is a great way to minimise costs, especially in an uncertain purchase such as an auction. Copies are sold at a discount and the initial purchaser gets 30 per cent cash back - which makes the scheme very attractive as everyone gets to save money.”

McBride went on, “We recently had a customer in Sydney sell three copies of his report and earn 90 per cent back on what he originally paid, which was a significant saving.”

For more information, visit easypathinspections.com.au.

PROPERTYIQ TO BOOST PROPERTY INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY CoreLogic and Macquarie Business Banking announced the launch of a new software joint venture, PropertyIQ – www.propertyiq.com.au.

PropertyIQ will initially deliver three software solutions that will enable the real estate and strata industries to improve business efficiency by providing a single operational view of their businesses, integrating workflow with leading data, analytics and banking solutions.

“Members of the property industry are often challenged by dealing with a number of systems to manage their businesses and the needs of customers. PropertyIQ brings together all the systems they require into one package, integrating banking and data, and filling the gap between

the industry’s software, banking and data needs,” Mr Verryne said.

Graham Mirabito, CoreLogic Chief Executive Officer, said, “We see significant benefit in launching this business with Macquarie Business Banking, due to their experience and specialisation in the property services segment.

“In Australia we have over 60,000 real estate industry end users logging into our system 30,000 times each day. By deeply integrating our services with PropertyIQ we are able to deliver an end-to-end view of real estate sales and rental portfolios with actionable insights for growth opportunities.

Dean Firth, Macquarie’s Head of Business Banking, said

20 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

Macquarie is pleased to be working with CoreLogic. “The features and tools provided

by PropertyIQ will allow the property services industry to serve their customers more effectively and run their businesses more efficiently, enabling them to realise profit growth and cost savings.

“Our relationship managers know strata managers and real estate agents because they spend time in their businesses learning about how they work and what support they need to grow their operations.

We have used this deep industry knowledge to work with CoreLogic in developing PropertyIQ, so we know these technology solutions will provide real benefits to business owners,” Mr Firth concluded.

LEARN FROM THE BEST – VISIT ELITEAGENT.COM.AU

Local Area Statistics made Awesome with HomePrezzo Inbound marketing tactics are the most effective way of generating leads for real estate businesses.

Video plays a significant role in this by increasing client engagement by over 54 per cent compared to traditional marketing methods. Sadly, most agents lack the time and resources to create video content that’s of any value to clients. But that’s about to change.

HomePrezzo is an automated infographic video tool that presents market statistics and recent sales to clients in an animated, stylish and shareable way. This razor-sharp product is powered by CoreLogic RPData, the largest and most reliable data source, and comes with a pricetag that makes it attractive to all budgets.

At the click of a button, you can create a tailored CMA video or suburb snapshot to share via email, social pages, your website, your shop window and at listing presentations. As a bonus, you can customise the template so it suits the look of your brand. For agents needing to connect with the Chinese community, it’s available in Mandarin too.

Founder and Managing Director Nathan Krisanski said, “We wanted to build a product that enabled agents to generate professional and customised content quickly and easily, allowing them to focus on listing and selling more homes.”

“Wave goodbye to dowdy, generic videos that send clients to sleep. You don’t need a graphic designer or expensive motion animators to make this happen - you just need HomePrezzo.”

Homeprezzo is offering Elite Agent readers an exclusive 14-day trial to experience it for themselves. Visit homeprezzo.com and enter the promo code ELITE15 before 30 June 2015.

Over 1000 sales consultants

Mark Ellinghaus

Innovation and talent key to real estate success One of Victoria’s largest real estate networks, hockingstuart, has credited innovation and the right talent as key to its longevity and growth in the industry.

This year marks the 30th anniversary for the network, which expands across 50 offices in metro Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and Geelong.

The company has been at the forefront of innovation since it opened its doors.

When introducing its red magazine in 1986, it was the first agency to publish its properties for sale in a magazine format. When online came into play, hockingstuart was one of the first to launch a digital and social platform for their customers.

According to hockingstuart’s Head of Recruitment, Mark Ellinghaus, innovation isn’t just created; it comes from recruiting the right people from the start. As a result, the company launched its own internal recruiting arm to find the brightest minds to foster innovation in the business.

“When we relied on external recruiters, we often received feedback from our directors that candidates weren’t properly screened through a phone or face-to-face interview,” Mr Ellinghaus said.

“Very rarely were they tested for competencies, personal attributes or out-of-the-box thinking characteristics which are pertinent to what we do.”

Since the launch of the internal recruitment business, hockingstuart has been able to source talent that ticks off all boxes, and improve staff retention.

“We test for candidates through traditional HR methods such as phone screening, face-to-face interviewing and reference checking, but also via cultural fit testing and cognitive testing which are much more scientific and can provide a clearer synopsis of the person,” Mr Ellinghaus added.

According to Mr Ellinghaus, staff are attracted to hockingstuart because of the training and development programs on offer, and the reward and recognition that the brand provides to prospective new franchise opportunities.

He said the company welcomes more than just sales agents and recognises that there are many talented people in industries other than real estate.

“We’re always on the lookout for great administrators, property managers and assistants, as well as executives from office managers to general managers.

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eliteagent.com.au 21

UPFRONT

LEARN FROM THE BEST – VISIT ELITEAGENT.COM.AU

Marcus Williams

Diversification: The key to modern real estate To really differentiate your business from your competitors, offering your clients a full suite of real estate services is a must, says Harcourts Group Australia Operations Manager, Marcus Williams.

“As a business owner, you should have the ability to grow your business beyond residential real estate. For Harcourts, this includes the ability to offer our clients property management services, commercial services through our partnership with NAI Global, and rural and regional real estate services offered through Landmark Harcourts.”

“Property management in particular is an important part of our business. Given a business’s rent roll is one of its only tangible assets, the importance of being part of a group that can offer you industry-leading training, technology and systems to support the property management side of your business is incredibly valuable.”

“For us, we felt it was important to support our business owners and offer these services by investing in innovative apps for our agents, exceptional training programmes offered through the Harcourts Academy, which is also a registered training organisation, and through robust marketing tools and systems tailored for each area of our business.”

“But our focus will always be on the client and with that in mind we’re aware that it’s not only the direct real estate services that are important to clients, especially in today’s time-poor society. Added-value services such as finance, conveyancing, connection and insurance have also become a must.”

“It’s now vital to offer a full service business to clients, so it makes sense to ensure you have the support to be able to do this well. If you run an independent business, consider where you could take it and what you could offer with the right support, technology and tools in place.

22 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

Property data now available from your CRM dashboard ‘Always be working your database’ is the clear message from most of the top agents today. But it is important to make sure that you have the tools to do so.

Agentbox is a cloud CRM system that has been designed by real estate agents for real estate agents - so that you have access to all of your data in a hassle-free, single place even while out of the office.

And now the team at Agentbox have developed a next generation feature that enables richer prospecting: the integration of property data from CoreLogic RPData directly into the system.

Agentbox Managing Director Eddie Cetin said, “Typically an office would have a CRM system and a data company that sit separately to one another. What we have done is to integrate the data information from CoreLogic right into the software real time. This allows our customers to do all sorts of mapping and tracking of what is going on in their

GET DOMAIN UPDATES WITH GOOGLE NOW CARDS Domain has announced it is one of the first Australian companies to integrate its app with the Google app to deliver Now cards to users.

Home seekers with the Domain app and the Google app on their mobile will receive helpful, real-time information about properties they are looking at. Instead of flipping between apps, web pages and emails, Domain’s Now cards in the Google app give users the information they need, exactly when they need it, to stay organised and ahead in the property market.

Now cards also let home seekers know about significant updates to properties in their Domain shortlist, such as price changes, auction times or when a property is no longer available.

marketplace at any given time.”

This new integration means that when a user is looking at listings or past appraisals, or even properties that are not yet for sale, the relevant information is always to hand.

Continues Cetin, “This new functionality is really about making agents more efficient and to focus the number one dollar productive activity they need to be doing. Not all CRMs are the same. With Agentbox you can easily filter different listing prospects and perform a mail merge of their information; and this automates the process of getting a marketing campaign easily out the door, something which we think we do really well.”

“The other thing is about having a good clean database. We are very much about data integrity and our software is about offering our customers a system that doesn’t allow duplicate properties or contacts that create extra work and hassle in the long run. And the property data integration right to the core of the CRM just puts so much more prospecting power into our customers’ hands.”

To find out more about how you can enrich your prospecting with the Agentbox CoreLogic data integration, visit agentbox.com.

This kind of helpful information will empower those searching to make a good property move at the right time.

Domain’s Chief Executive Officer, Antony Catalano, said, “As one of the first Australian companies to partner with Google to launch Now cards, Domain will continue to lead the way in utilising mobile technology to improve how Australians search and find their next home.

“We know Domain users are big users of mobile technology, with more than 60 per cent of searching now conducted through our iPhone, Android and iPad apps, and our mobile site.

“Having the right information when looking for a new home is crucial.

It can mean the difference between getting a dream home and missing out.

Now cards will ensure that Domain users stay one step ahead.”

Find out more about Domain’s Now cards at domain.com.au/product/ google-now.

across more than 300 agencies

HOMEPASS HELPS WIN LISTINGS Are you ready to reinvent your customer experience? Homepass is a new breakthrough mobile app for open homes and is already helping top agents across Australia to stand out in their market and win more listings.

“Today’s customers expect outstanding experiences. They want everything to be simple, and they want it all on their mobile,” says Daniel Oertli, CEO and founder of Homepass. “Australia’s best agents are now transforming their open homes and raising the bar for customer experience.”

Once Homepass is installed on their mobile or tablet, agents can register inspection visitors with a few taps, send a personal SMS welcome and mobile brochure to their visitor’s mobile, and instantly see a rich customer profile – enabling a more informed conversation.

“With Homepass, our agents better understand who the client is, their needs and what relationships they already have with our team and agency,” says Dean Mackie, Managing Director of McGrath Lower North Store.

For agents who want to further extend the experience, Homepass also offers signboard beacons for 24/7 mobile marketing, a kiosk app for an impressive entry, and a free consumer app that even allows visitors to check in automatically – as they walk in.

“Homepass gives our clients a fast and convenient way to attend our open homes, and not have to line up to have their details recorded,” says Ben Horwood, Director of LJ Hooker Concord.

With agents competing in a crowded marketplace, Oertli believes tomorrow’s real estate leaders will continue to improve their customer experience as a competitive differentiator. “When you give visitors an amazing experience, they are more likely to choose you to sell their own homes.”

Craig Pontey, Principal of Ray White’s #1 agency Ray White Double Bay, clearly agrees. “Vendors appreciate they’re choosing an agent who not only has the right experience to sell their home, but also leverages the best technology.”

Homepass has made getting started easy. Simply sign up at homepass.com.

1300 505 539 industriemedia.tv Leaders in quality real estate digital media SYDNEY I CANBERRA I BRISBANE I GOLD COAST I MELBOURNE I ADELAIDE I PERTH

eliteagent.com.au 23

FIRST PERSON

Tanja M Jones

What leaders need to do to inspire action

WHAT QUALITIES DID Martin Luther King have that our industry leaders need to adopt?

Peak performance coach Tanja M Jones outlines the reasons why leadership in the real estate industry needs to get personal.

HOW DID American civil rights

activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr get over 250,000 people to attend his public address from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on 28 August 1973, without Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, a website or a glossy flyer?

According to international leadership expert and TED Talk sensation Simon Sinek, it’s because he spent his time leading up to the speech in sharing his vision. King consistently talked about what he believed and he passionately shared his dream.

Unlike many leaders, he didn’t walk around speaking about the problems, the hardship or struggles; he didn’t chastise the competition or blame external conditions. He invested his energy in speaking for a brighter future, a future that inspired people to stand for what was possible. He invited them to be greater than they knew themselves to be and asked them to take action to end racism in America.

Those who believed what King believed took his message and made it their own. They each shared it with their families, communities and friends. They then gathered more people who shared the same values and, on a sunny day in August, he gave the ‘I have a dream’ speech (not

24 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

the ‘I have a plan’ speech). It was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century, and he joined Jefferson and Lincoln in the ranks of men who have shaped modern America.

According to Sinek, there are leaders and those who lead.

In his TED talk ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’, Sinek says, “We follow those who lead not because we have to – we follow those who lead because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them but for ourselves.”

Over the past 30 years I have studied the world’s greatest thought leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and humanitarians. I have come to learn there is a formula to their success, and that five simple steps can increase our ability to achieve our goals.

VISION. We must have a vision, a ‘why’, and it must be fuelled by our belief for a better future. It needs to be clear and measurable. It also needs to be inspiring. It cannot simply be to dominate the market or increase offices from 50 to 100. It must be something that elicits a personal response from our people and it needs to have three parts: 1. The big picture: the future we are building 2. Positional awareness: we need to know exactly where we are. This includes our turnover, profit, market share, productivity, culture and so on 3. A detailed strategy on how to bridge the gap between our current reality and the desired end result. Our strategy then becomes the coordinates to reach our destination.

ENGAGE. The next step is to inspire our people to partner us in realising our vision and deliver the strategy. The vision must become a shared

dream. We must ask ourselves whether we know why our people come to work each day.

If it is only for their commission or pay cheque, it is not enough of a reason for them to stay and we run the risk and cost of high staff turnover.

Communicating the vision with our team, key stakeholders and clients gives them a reason to dedicate their time, energy and resources to our cause and make it their own. We must know what drives others, what lights them up and what they value most, and they need to know our ‘why’.

EMBODY. Inspiring leaders have strong values and they live them out loud. It goes far beyond a mission statement framed and hung on a lonely boardroom wall. Inspiring leaders walk their talk and bring their values to life, for it is who they are at their core.

the behavioural ‘how’ to the organisational ‘why’ so we must demonstrate integrity at all times.

ELEVATE. Knowledge empowers people to produce results. We need to let our people know the game plan and back it up with effective systems, procedures and tools to ensure accuracy, efficiency and high levels of productivity. Inspiring leaders want others to win more than themselves; they are the greatest servants. They proactively invest in experts who add value to the training and development needs of individuals and the collective.

ASSESS. Consistently evaluating the performance of our business and its people and always searching for ‘a better way’ helps us to achieve success. We must test and measure everything and

build their brand with

On a sunny day in August, he gave the ‘I have a dream’ speech (not the ‘I have a plan’ speech).

We need to communicate our values effectively and create an environment that enables our people to embody them as their own.

A core characteristic that all inspiring leaders have is responsibility; we must take full responsibility for the fulfilment of the vision and for the state of the current reality.

Inspiring leaders never blame or shame their people; this erodes connection and impacts performance.

Our job is to ensure the best quality communication, systems and processes, so our teams can simply get on with building the dream. It is imperative to create a safe space to learn, a place where mistakes are respected as a healthy ingredient for growth.

As leaders our values become

actively involve our team in the betterment of the business.

Celebrate success, the little wins as well as the big ones.

Don’t take things personally and never confuse failure with ‘being a failure’, as this is the number one cause for poor performance and low morale.

Finally, if we see people as the greatest asset of our business – not as the workforce but as the lifesource to fulfilling our dreams – and treat them accordingly, success can truly be achieved.

Tanja M Jones is a Leadership, Mindset and Peak Performance Specialist. Her clients are usually real estate COOs or GMs who want up to 40 per cent more time to grow their business. For more information visit tmjcoaching.com.au.

1300 505 539 industriemedia.tv Leaders in quality real estate digital media SYDNEY I CANBERRA I BRISBANE I GOLD COAST I MELBOURNE I ADELAIDE I PERTH

eliteagent.com.au 25

FIRST PERSON

Josh Phegan

Tactical listing

JOSH PHEGAN EXPLAINS HOW client-centred tactics and

preparation will win the listing every time.

TACTICS ARE the key to

delivering a winning listing presentation.

Just as footballers would never run onto a field without a game plan, real estate agents should not approach a listing presentation without preparing their tactical approach.

The listing presentation is your chance to win potential vendors over, to persuade them you’re the best agent to represent them. You need to be clear, confident and able to back up your sales pitch with real-life case studies that matter to your vendor. The best way to do that is to show them the numbers.

There is a difference between the presentation you want to

give and the information your customer needs to hear. It’s important to show your skills and back them up with social proof; key statistics, and what they mean to the client and their world, will win every time.

You might use case studies of properties you’ve recently sold and highlight the high selling price and low amount of vendor discount, for example.

Another good option is to showcase a low number of days on market or a high amount of enquiries, including inspections, second appointments, contract requests and offers.

Other examples may include auction bidding records where you link each bidder to a form of

marketing; open home registers with key buyers highlighted, or a list of your last 20 sales.

All of these demonstrate your ability to close a sale and deliver a great price, which shows your client they can trust your advice.

You can also use this method to pitch a sale type you want your client to consider. The key is to focus on showing what you can do for your vendor.

When delivering your presentation, back your verbal claims with strong visuals such as charts, tables and graphs.

Research tells us that people take in information better when they can see as well as hear it. If you take printouts with you, you can leave a longer-lasting impression and vendors can study your numbers multiple times.

Tactical listing also makes for a more complete and interactive presentation, which can help ensure your vendor feels comfortable with you and senses that you are listening to their needs. They feel part of the conversation rather than as though they are being ‘talked at’.

One thing to be cautious of is going over the top and

There is a difference between the presentation you want to give and the information your customer needs to hear. appearing to do the hard sell.

You can avoid this perception if you keep your presentation real. Don’t act; let vendors see the real you and keep all your examples genuine and related to them and their needs.

It’s also pertinent to ask questions of your vendor, such as ‘If one of those buyers made the decision to buy your home, what would that mean for you?’ Asking questions puts your client first, and if they know their needs and wants come first they’re more likely to choose you as their agent.

Now that’s a good tactic.

Josh Phegan is a high performance real estate speaker, trainer and coach to some of the best agents and agencies around the world.

For more information visit joshphegan.com.au.

26 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

FIRST PERSON

Troy Hazard

Anticipate is the new exceed

TROY HAZARD asks the question, “Is it enough to emphasise

excellent customer service, or can we do more to meet our clients’ needs?”

TWENTY YEARS ago businesses

all over the world were using the same catch-cry to their teams: ‘We need to exceed our customers’ expectations in order for us to be the (insert industry or business category) of choice’. And in the main they were right.

Today, that just gives you the skills to run onto the field. If you want to win the game you need to anticipate your clients’ needs and deliver on that anticipation well before they even think they have a need.

Consider this: in 2006 when you were looking for a mobile phone your sole need was for smaller and lighter. And leading your choices to fulfil that need were Motorola and Nokia. You didn’t have a need for the ability to store and sort hundreds of pictures and videos, nor did you need any ‘apps’ – largely because nobody knew what an ‘app’ was. Heck, you were just getting used to mobile email and colour screens.

Then along comes the iPhone.

Sure, it wasn’t smaller or lighter than the phone you had, but it was ‘smart’. It did stuff that you thought only your desktop computer could do.

Now you could hold that same power in the palm of your hand.

And you rushed to it with the reckless abandon of your first high school love. Apple didn’t

28 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

in less than four seconds. A company that not only delivers books to your home, but now pretty much anything you want to shop for without you leaving the lounge room. A website that allows you to connect with friends all over the world and at the same time follow your favourite things in life.

I don’t have to tell you the brand names, because you know the companies already.

Each and every one of them anticipated, and continue to anticipate, a consumer need and delivered on that well before their competitors.

Apple didn’t just exceed your expectations; they anticipated them and delivered before you thought you needed it. just exceed your expectations; they anticipated them and delivered on that anticipation well before you even thought you needed it.

When you think about it, that’s the way businesses win business in the modern economy. We often don’t consider, or even understand, that that’s what they are doing.

We just label them as trendy, cutting edge or cool.

A car that runs on electricity and can still do 0-100 KPH

This is what makes these companies distinctive to you and has you buying their products and services when you aren’t even really sure why. Anticipating a client’s expectation does not have to be hard. And it does not always have to be driven by technology, or neuroscience, or the ‘next big thing’.

It’s about understanding our client’s journey and seeking to be one step ahead of them on that journey. Our challenge in

relation to that is gathering the data that allows us to make the assumptions, to offer us the opportunity to anticipate what’s next. One of the key strategies to help us achieve that goal is to focus more on client intent and less on client instruction. Now, I’m sure you are thinking, ‘Isn’t that somewhat counter-intuitive?

Isn’t serving our clients’ needs what we are here to do? Isn’t that what you just said we should be doing?’

Think of it this way. Your clients are coming to you seemingly informed about what you can do for them.

They’ve Googled you, done some cursory research on the Internet, read some reviews and believe they have a balanced view of how you can solve a need they perceive they have. The challenge we have is that in many instances, while they are gathering information, we’ve not been part of that conversation to help them validate their findings. As a result, with the influence of self-managed information their instructions may be a departure from the reality of their intent.

To remedy this our task is to be the architect of the conversation, so that we can establish what they think they have learnt with what they think they need, all the while steering them to what we know they need relative to their real intent.

Next time you are sitting in front of a client, consider the journey you could take with them, the lifetime value of their business – if only we could truly understand their intent, anticipate their need and not just exceed!

Troy Hazard is a television host, international speaker, Amazon bestselling business author and serial entrepreneur.

Visit troyhazard.com.

TOPSNAP AND SNAPLOADER ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP YOU GET MORE OUT OF YOUR PROPERTY IMAGES.

LET YOUR CAMERA DO THE SEARCHING

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To get a live demo of how it all works visit the Topsnap and Snaploader stand #35 & 36 at AREC May 31st â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 1st 2015.

For more information visit www.topsnap.com email sales@topsnap.com or call 1300 TOPSNAP

Health Science Emily Schofield

Fit for the task To get to the top of the game you need to be at the top of your game. But if you’re stressed out, where do you start? Exercise scientist and personal trainer Emily Schofield provides her top tips to get you on your way to better energy, productivity, and health.

R

EAL ESTATE can

be a stressful, demanding profession. It’s no surprise that many of us find it difficult to spare a thought for our health and wellbeing. But there are many simple things we can do that will repay us for our time and effort by improving our performance and ultimately our business.

1

GET MORE SLEEP Probably one of the most common questions I am asked by new clients is, ‘How can I get more energy?’ The answer is quite simple: sleep better and longer.

Sleep influences weight, mood, appetite, stress and libido.

There’s almost nothing you could do that’s more important to your overall wellbeing and metabolic health than getting a good night’s sleep every single night.

Lack of sleep sees an increased production of the hormone cortisol, which is directly related to fat storage around the midsection.

2

STRENGTH TRAINING Strength training is a superior way to lose fat and attain an optimal body composition; that is, more lean mass and less fat. Strength training decreases blood pressure, increases muscle mass and bone density, gives you more energy and makes

30 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

you feel good. Strength training also stimulates the body’s antistress system, lowering cortisol and releasing endorphins.

3

EAT OFTEN Eating frequency is the first aspect of eating for weight loss and muscle gain that I explain to a new client.

Why is it so important to eat several small meals a day as opposed to three larger ones?

The human body is an incredible

(carbohydrates, fats, proteins) can’t be burned until alcohol has been removed from the system.

Instead they are often stored.

Alcohol also decreases quality of sleep, resulting in increased cortisol production.

5

GET MOVING Get out and see your clients face to face and be active where you can! The more exercise you do, the more energy you will find you have.

7

SUPPLEMENT WITH MAGNESIUM Magnesium is the most critical mineral for coping with all kinds of stress. If you are chronically stressed, you can become magnesium deficient even if you are eating an abundance of magnesium-rich foods – such as dark green leafy vegetables.

Magnesium is involved in several essential biochemical reactions, such as insulin

The little things count – walk to an open, take the stairs, get up for an early-morning jog. adaptogen; when you do not eat anything for several hours your body goes into ‘starvation mode’ and tries to hold on to energy stores (fat stores).

Your metabolism slows down significantly.

4

REDUCE ALCOHOL Alcohol is toxic to the body. It is energy-dense and nutritionally deficient.

It lowers testosterone and impedes your ability to build muscle. The body’s preferred fuel source is carbohydrate, followed by fats and protein; when alcohol is added to the equation, being a toxin it is the first thing to be removed by the body.

This means that anything else being consumed at that time

The little things count – walk to an open, take the stairs, get up for an early-morning jog. If you’re in the office all day, drive home and head straight for the couch, then I can guarantee you will continue to have low energy.

6

TAKE FISH OIL Supplement your diet with Omega-3s to decrease inflammation within the body, lose body fat, decrease cortisol and stress, reduce joint pain and support bone health.

Fish oil is anti-inflammatory due to its Omega-3 content and may assist in reducing stress.

Fish oil can also improve your insulin sensitivity; something that can make losing weight a slow process.

sensitivity, protein synthesis, calcium absorption, and regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Take magnesium any time after 4pm for an improved quality of sleep.

Don’t ignore your body’s needs. Take a little time to think about your physical and mental wellbeing, and see the difference a few simple changes can make.

Emily Schofield is an Exercise Scientist, having completed a Bachelor’s degree in Sport and Exercise Science. She is a Personal Trainer at Vision Personal Training, North Sydney. For more information visit visionpt.com.au/studios/ north-sydney.

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Tech in the city Lisa B

Six steps to jump-start your online marketing results Why is it that some business owners pour thousands of dollars into their online marketing efforts to see little or no return on their investment, while others seem to do exactly the same thing yet reap tremendous rewards?

S

EPARATING THE

men from the boys is a pre-determined success formula.

Smart business owners have a plan.

Follow the Six Steps to Success and you are guaranteed to see a major difference to your bottom line as you watch your returns on investment in your marketing budget increase exponentially.

1. Strategise Plan your online strategy and, most importantly, know your outcome. Always start with the end in mind. Spend time creating your marketing

complement your overall outcome. Success is so much easier when you focus on a structured outcome.

2. Prioritise What’s the use of running if you’re not on the right road?

(German proverb) Work out what’s important to the success of your business.

What are you great at and where should you be spending the majority of your time? What tasks are you prepared to let go of and delegate? Calculate what has the highest return on the investment of your time and money, and work out exactly what you want and what you

Always ask people how they found you. strategy for the content that you display and devise a formula that encompasses all facets of your online presence.

Have a plan for your website that involves all your social media content, and be prepared for how you will relate and interact with your networks.

Make sure that you also develop marketing plans relating to your online and offline content. Everything should supplement and

32 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

need to do to achieve those goals. Always be clear about what is most important to get you to your end goals.

Monitor what gets results.

Test your content. An essential way of testing your content is to install Google Analytics on your website. Write an article, distribute it through your marketing funnel and see

how many ‘hits’ you get on the article. Learn what parts of your marketing are working. Always ask people how they found you.

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss1 teaches you to be disciplined and to value your time. It gives solid advice and suggestions on how to free up your time and make more money in the process. I suggest that you buy this book and incorporate some of the principles; simple things, like delegating tasks to someone you can pay to finish for you. Another suggestion is to check your emails only three times a day. You will be astounded at the effect the suggestions in this book will have on your precious time resources.

“The key is not to prioritise what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

3. Organise Sort through your content. It must be relevant, so consider what is topical in the news.

What are some great stories that people will be interested in?

What will help you to be found on Google? Organise your content into topics or niches; there’s no point in having a system if you are not organised. The idea is to stay focused on your outcome, but remain flexible in your approach. Once we strategise, prioritise and organise, it’s amazing how people say we are lucky with our results.

4. Systemise Develop a plan. Model other successful people or businesses and their systems. Reuse your content and determine how you will distribute it. Remember to stick to your plan; develop your system then get your people to run your systems.

5. Monetise How will you obtain a return for your investment of time and money? How can you monitor the effectiveness of your efforts?

How many appraisals, listings and sales have you made as a result of your plan? Be sure to track the amount invested and how this has resulted in future income.

6. Energise As a business owner you may need to work in your business, but make sure you are always working on your business.

Resetting your business goals can give you not only purpose and direction but a new motivation. Unsuccessful business owners are not necessarily lazy; they simply have goals that do not inspire them.

Join Lisa B in her upcoming 10 week online course.

You can participate from wherever you live in the world.

For more infomation visit realestatemarketingacademy. com.au.

Tim Ferris will be speaking at AREC15 this year. To book tickets go to visitarec.com.

1.

Leadership John and Stephanie McCloskey

Grow together, grow your business John McCloskey recalls the ‘shock’ of going from being a listing and selling agent to being a manager, and then principal of an agency. Gone was the constant drive for personal results, and in its place was a never-ending process of back-patting and encouraging others. What should you expect if you are planning the same move?

T

HE MOVE from

being a listing and selling agent to being a manager can be a bit of a shock to the system. I knew I wanted it. But no one had told me about what to really expect as a leader. I had seen the glamour, but not the reality.

ONLY THE LONELY Then a friend shared with me: leadership is lonely. It’s not for the faint-hearted, or those who crave the good opinion of others.

At the start it seems that all the problems are brought to you, until you develop the skills to delegate better. You have to make the hard calls, silently and often unsupported.

To be a successful leader, you will move into a whole new mindset from the one that made you a successful agent. In fact, they are total opposites. In time you learn to handle people better, remembering that ‘people treat you as you train them to’.

It is okay to acknowledge that leadership is lonely, especially in the early stages.

EARN, THEN LEARN Most of us progress to leadership by being the top earner in a company, or by being entrepreneurial in nature; that is the earned bit. The next, learned, stage is to develop your leadership abilities, and that requires the humility to

admit that you need to learn a different skill set.

Growing yourself as a leader is the greatest service you can do for your team, your family and yourself. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Know how you like to learn; is it by reading, audio, DVDs or experientially?

Whatever the medium, commit yourself to studying everything you can about your craft.

They say ‘If you want to know what someone’s interested in, look at what they are studying’. Study the traits and habits of great leaders. There are plenty of examples, from John McGrath in Sydney to

many leaders try to shoulder the entire burden themselves.

We are all human; we make mistakes and so do our mates.

Otto von Bismarck said “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Having a select group of people you can trust is a must for every leader, regardless of how long they have been at the helm. Hiring a business coach is another worthwhile idea. They may be inside or outside the industry; the trick is to find one you resonate with, but who will see through your excuses as well! Once you grow past their level of experience, find another.

You have to make the hard calls, silently and often unsupported.

Milton Rendell in Perth, but we suggest you find a local leader to model as well. Modelling, matching and mind-mapping are useful tools from the fields of personal development that can help you integrate successful leadership habits.

SHARE THE BURDEN Whether in a franchise group, a marketing group or as an independent, find peers to bounce ideas off. A problem shared is a problem halved; and though this seems obvious, too

START WITH THOSE YOU CAN’T DO WITHOUT Leaders expand their minds; they are willing to notice what other industries are doing well and copy it. Don’t get stuck in the real estate mindset, because you are actually in the business of leading people.

You can have ‘trusted advisors’ who are in the insurance, car sales or even personal development fields.

One of my favourite employment ideas came from Richard Branson. His advice

on hiring and firing is that he ‘always started with those he couldn’t do without’. I learnt from SAS Airlines to make every point of contact with the client the number one focus for the company. Getting that right lifted our business; it improved customer experience and the bottom line and, frankly, our enjoyment in what we did. So be constantly on the lookout for the next great idea from anywhere and everywhere.

LEADING VERSUS MANAGING Managers are results focused; leaders are people focused. To be a great leader, start with you. Leadership comes from within, is expressed through your actions and determined by your focus.

Knowing who you are allows people to follow you. It’s a decision, a way of being every day. It is not an on/off thing. You are responsible for the people you lead. You make decisions and take actions that benefit the whole and don’t shirk from the hard calls. You grow together, so it never has to be lonely again.

John and Stephanie McCloskey run Get Real Estate Training to activate engagement and leadership competencies in agents and provide coaching for real estate business owners. Contact them at getrealestatetraining@ gmail.com.

eliteagent.com.au 33

cover story

34 ELITE AGENT â&#x20AC;¢ MAY-JUN 2015

INTERNATIONAL BEST NEW TALENT

Roxanne Paterson ROXANNE PATERSON, WINNER of International Best

New Talent this year for LJ Hooker, is most certainly one of the network’s rising stars. Starting her career in the industry last year at 27, she has already become a member of the prestigious Captains Club. In an honest and frank interview about starting from scratch, Roxanne talks about her prospecting secrets and what it really takes to gain recognition in the community when you are just starting out. Interview by Samantha McLean.

R

OXANNE PATERSON’S local area is Bracken Ridge, about 11 km north of the

Brisbane CBD. It’s an area that she has lived in for many years and she already had a significant amount of knowledge of the surrounding areas.

Prior to joining the industry and LJ Hooker Bracken Ridge Roxanne managed several large fitness chains. I ask her what her first few months in real estate were like and she is refreshingly honest with me. “Very hard. It is a hard, hard slog, and I guess anyone who thinks it’s going to be easy is just never going to make it in this industry. Mentally it’s hard. There were a few times where I drove home in tears, thinking, ‘It’s dark, I haven’t seen the kids. I feel like I’m getting nowhere’. But I’d sacrificed so much, and my family had too, that I just set myself a six-month timeframe. I said to myself, ‘I’ll give this all I’ve got for six months, and if I still feel like this at the end I’ll walk away knowing that it wasn’t for me and I tried my best.’”

Six months came and went. For Roxanne, the wheels definitely started turning as hard work and dedication to her goals played a part. She now carries 19 listings and averages nine new listings each month, with a strong forward pipeline. She does this on her own without an assistant, although admits to being pretty busy and thinking about taking that next step.

“I usually leave home by 7am and I’m in the office from 7:30. More times than not, I am walking in the door at 8 at night. When I first started this role, I had an honest conversation with my principal, Derek Collins, about how big a transition it would be for me, my kids and my husband. So to keep some balance I try to work at home on Fridays.

Yes, I’m on the phone most of the day, but it’s just a day that I can be present with the kids, and still get things done.”

But for the the days in the office it is full and absolute focus. “When I walk in the door of a morning, it’s ‘game on’ until I go home. There is no waste of time.

My husband often laughs. He’ll call me throughout the day to ask questions and sometimes sit at the other end in silence, because he knows my mind is elsewhere! (laughs) But it is definitely game on from the moment I walk in the door.”

When you’re coming in from scratch, as Roxanne did, there has to be a solid focus on prospecting. “Every day I focus on new contacts that I haven’t already entered into my database and, more importantly, keep in touch with some of the existing clients who are in my database. I am a big believer in not just selling on a Saturday. I think a lot of agents ‘cruise’ through the week and do what they have to do on a Saturday, but I try to be a bit more proactive. I do mid-week open homes and I find them quite successful.

I use that traffic as well. I sell every day of the week, and I think that allows me to transact the amount that I am, because I’m in charge of my time. If you’re transacting every single day that you’re in there, it just opens the doors to do so much more.”

Has being a part of such a large network like LJ Hooker helped you along the way?

“I only have positive things to say about the brand,” says Roxanne. “I guess being one of the most recognised brands in the world, in the beginning I thought ‘I can’t go wrong joining LJ Hooker’, and that proved to be true.

“To keep some balance, I try to work at home on Fridays.”

“LJ Hooker are very big on training. They truly are. There is probably not a month that goes by when we are not invited to some sort of training session or event. From the get-go, I was attending these events and participating in the training to assist me in getting to where I am. And these events cover off on everything: prospecting, database building, auctions; you name it, they do it. Everything I did and continue to do was well worth it.

eliteagent.com.au 35

cover story

“One of the most valuable things in the LJ Hooker network has been the technology. I didn’t walk into the office with an existing database. Anybody in my database now is someone I’ve tracked down, had a conversation with over time and is now essentially a client of mine. They have the background and the systems in place that allow me to maintain that, so from day one there is not one person I’ve spoken to who isn’t now in the database. And the tool itself is fantastic; I can enter some details about the person, I can set the follow-up period, I can set everything in there. And it’s at my fingertips everywhere I go.”

Earlier in our conversation Roxanne had talked about being involved in the community, so I ask her to tell me a bit more

in the community. If you don’t go to those events, then really you’re left behind in this industry, you truly are. I walk into the local shops now and I’d be lucky if I didn’t have four people stop me and say hello and want to chat, which is fantastic. I love it.”

What advice would you give someone who is just starting out in real estate? “Firstly, just be open-minded. Secondly, you’re not a real estate agent for the first half of your first year. You’re really not. You’ve got to earn your stripes in the industry. You don’t go out and just start selling houses for that first period of time. You’re a telemarketer, and you have to be.”

“I found so much success on the phone.

It’s time-efficient. You can contact more people than you can’t. Then you can

“ Never waste a contact. Never waste an opportunity.

You’ve obtained all that information: don’t waste it.” about the sort of things she gets involved in.

“My children go to the local school, so that’s huge. I find that so beneficial, just getting involved in their activities and events, and people start to recognise you. And from the community point of view, I guess they look at me and say ‘Okay, she’s taking the time out. She’s not a big frightening person like some real estate agents seem to be. She’s just like one of us. She’s a mother and she’s taking the time to be here.’”

“At the end of the day, we have to know exactly what’s going on in our patch as well,

36 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

personalise your marketing efforts; you can follow up that prospect with a handwritten letter, or whatever it may be.”

“My advice to grow your business more quickly would be never waste a contact.

Never waste an opportunity. You’ve had a conversation with someone, you’ve obtained their number, you’ve obtained their address, you’ve obtained all that information from them: don’t waste it, and more importantly, don’t drop the ball with it. Don’t let that person drop off your radar.

If someone has had an operation, call them

in six months’ time and make sure they’re recovering okay, or for whatever it may be. If they put in an extension, don’t sell them something but just call them and say, ‘How’s the extension going? I drove past, it looks fantastic’. That’s the biggest thing, not to waste contacts; because all of a sudden, when that person wants to sell, you’ll be kicking yourself in five months’ time if you haven’t maintained that contact.”

“But if you’ve maintained it, if you’ve earned their trust in that period of time, then you also then get to dictate more of your own terms with, for example, a marketing plan that you put forward, because you are their choice. You don’t have to compete so hard with five other agents.

Your database is everything. I can’t stress that enough. It comes down to those little things along the way.”

I ask Roxanne how often she keeps in touch with her prospects. “It depends,” she says. “It varies from two weeks to three months to six months. There is no rule of thumb; it just depends on the conversation that is taking place. If someone indicated that they’re not loving the phone calls, for example, I will provide them with market information and a personalised letter. Some people love the calls, and I’ll chat to them once a month. It really depends on the person, but I never leave it longer than a five-month period by any stretch.”

“Its funny,” she muses, “When I first started, I used to sit with my head in my hands thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?

I’m starting new in this suburb; no one’s heard of me, no one knows me. How am I going to be that person who’s recognised?’

But everything I put out there had my photo on it and my name; and if I speak to someone I’ll probably say my name, Roxanne Paterson, three times.’ My theory with my marketing is that when it goes into someone’s letterbox, even if they throw it out, they’ve at least hopefully caught my picture and my name. I’ve consistently done this for a 12-month period, and now it seems to have worked. Now if you say ‘Roxanne Paterson’ the majority of people will know who I am and where I am working. That was my aim, to be recognised and to push past others who are actively selling in the area.”

“But it’s amazing what comes back around over time. All those appraisals and listing appointments that I did when I very first started, when I thought the vendors weren’t going to sell – I’m selling them now – and that is from those first few meetings. Once you get momentum it’s a follow-on effect. You just can’t at any point drop the ball, you really can’t, because to hold the market share in the area you need to keep it up. I had 30 groups

through my open homes last Saturday, and 28 the week before. They are pretty big numbers, but had I not got the 19 listings that I’ve got at present you lose that power. It’s important with the competition that you don’t lose that power of the market share.”

What is your secret to winning the listing?

“I think when you’re a real estate agent and transact property all day every day, sometimes we can forget how enormous it actually is, and how important what we are

works for LJ Hooker, who people see every day. That in itself is very powerful. I’m just me. There’s no fake, there is no rubbish, just honest conversation, and you’ve got to remember what you’re transacting.”

Who in the business inspires you? “I was in one of the early training sessions and I heard Paul Moore (Head of the LJ Hooker Captains Club) approach someone in the crowd; a Captain from another local area, so they were close to me but not quite in the same area, so

“You’re not a real estate agent for the first half of your first year. You’re really not. You’ve got to earn your stripes in the industry.” doing is to those two clients. I keep that at the very forefront of my mind when I am sitting there in people’s living rooms as well as when I am transacting the property. If you hold that thought, when you pick up the phone, you then naturally treat the process with the respect that it deserves.” And she is adamant about the value of authenticity. “I’m a big believer that I am Roxanne Paterson at home, mum to two kids with a husband, and I am the same Roxanne Paterson who

I could relate to the amount of property that they were transacting, as well as the area.

Paul was bouncing questions off them, and all these new people who were eating out of his hand as a trainer! I wanted to be the person that he was asking the questions of, at some point down the track.”

The LJ Hooker Captains Club is a prestigious program that recognises the top performers in the LJ Hooker network. To achieve this recognition you need firstly to

gain at least 20 hours of training, and also to be in the top 15 per cent of the network according to actual numbers written. Says Roxanne, “I set myself a goal when I first started that I wanted to reach Captains myself within the first 12 months of starting. It was probably from that very first training session: I wanted to be that real estate agent who people looked up to and respected. That’s probably how it began and what’s kept me going.”

“I’ve got a great working relationship with boss Derek Collins as well. There’s been many a time I’ve sat with him and said, ‘I’m facing a brick wall. Help me through. What do we do?’ We talk it out and we overcome it.

I guess being able to do that with someone you work with every day was probably what pushed me through to get me where I am.”

What are your goals for the next 12 months? “Well, certainly to maintain Captains for the second year in a row. I would love to be pushing for ‘Multi’ (the top seven per cent), which is the next step up. I am working hard towards it. It’s just got to be onward and upwards; I don’t ever want to take a step back. So obviously to maintain where I am but just to take on a little more area as well, one suburb at a time.”

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sponsored

Could your cashflow use a boost?

WITH BANKS IMPOSING inflexible

and restrictive lending criteria, it can sometimes be difficult to get cashflow for your agency at the times you really need it. If you are looking for a standby finance line or a working capital facility that can grow in line with your sales, Express Commission may be able to do what the banks can’t.

We spoke to Managing Director Richard Fay to find out more.

T

ell us a little more about Express Commission.

We provide agencies with a confidential working capital/cashflow solution very quickly (that is, within hours) without loans, financials or hassles. No ‘bricks and mortar’ security is required. The solution is a commission advance based on pending commissions for unconditional sales.

An agency principal might want the cash early for a variety of reasons; for example, to cover unexpected settlement delays and business expenses. Recently we had one client use our services to change franchises and branding, which they would otherwise not have been able to do. It was about a fresh start and we made that possible sooner for this client.

In many cases agency principals are transacting with us to keep their sales force happy by paying sales commissions on

38 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

exchange; as we know, happy sales people are more productive and successful.

Since we commenced in 2005, we have funded over $100 million in commission advances.

What sort of fees do you charge?

There are no upfront establishment fees or lock-in contracts; our fees are based on the amount advanced and the term, and are paid on settlement.

How do you work with agency principals?

We look at the agency’s entitlement to the commission, rather than taking the approach the traditional lenders do. We don’t ask for detailed business plans, cashflow statements, financials and trading history. We ask for information about the commission and, depending upon the time until settlement, we can advance up to 90 per cent of the commission.

Once the facility is set up, agency

principals can use it as they like. They determine when they might require the funding; it can happen any time after a contract has gone unconditional and prior to settlement. It is possible to have multiple commission advances at any one time.

Once the contract has gone unconditional, how soon can commission be accessed?

For existing customers it is super-fast; clear funds are guaranteed to be deposited into the agency’s bank account within four hours, although it can be as fast as two hours. We do take our name “Express Commission” very seriously! Applications for new customers take a little longer, but are generally turned around the same day.

Does it affect relationships with banks?

We consider ourselves to be an additional product to a bank facility or, in some instances, an alternative.

How do agency principals complete an application?

New customers may complete an online application or download an application form.

Existing customers simply log onto our site; it’s probably around one minute’s work, or for a really organised person around 30 seconds! We then send them a one-page Commission Advance agreement to sign and return. Providing everything is in order, the funding is almost instantaneous.

When is the Commission Advance repaid?

Once settlement has occurred, the principal contacts us for the closing figure, which we advise based on the amount of the advance plus our fees.

For existing customers it is super-fast; cleared funds can be deposited into the agency’s bank account in as fast as four hours, sometimes two.

Is there a limit to the amounts that can be advanced?

One of the many great features of the Express Commission service is that the facility may grow in line with agency sales growth; the more sales commissions pending settlement, the larger the advance facility may be.

To find out more about how Express Commission can help your business visit expresscommission.com.au or phone 1300 738 211.

industry report

PERCEPTIONS OF REAL ESTATE WHO IS BETTER AT REAL ESTATE, men or women? What

do consumers really think of the real estate profession?

Are your customers listening on social media? Some stereotypes and industry assumptions have just been smashed by a landmark survey analysing vendor experiences with agents. Kylie Davis from CoreLogic reports on the findings.

T

he Consumer Perceptions of Real Estate Agents survey conducted by CoreLogic attracted nearly 300 respondents who had recently sold a property.

They were asked to rate their experiences and rank the behaviours and skills that they thought their agents had excelled at - or done poorly.

The aim of the survey was to understand the quality of real estate agent performance and service in Australia and how it matched - or missed - the expectations vendors have when selling their homes.

Respondents were sourced from around the country from the MyRPData client base and social media, with 54 per cent having sold their home within the past two years and 26

Only three per cent of vendors said they had been influenced by an agent’s social media. per cent having sold in the past six months, ensuring their experiences with agents were fresh in their minds.

First up, the survey identified that the stereotype of real estate agents being untrustworthy smooth-talkers who put their own needs above those of their clients is not the same as it used to be. The overwhelming majority of vendors – 66 per cent - rated their overall experience when selling their home as either ‘excellent’ (31 per cent) or ‘good’ (35 per cent), with 20 per cent claiming the experience was ‘average’ and 14 per cent

40 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

‘below expectations’.

A huge 68 per cent of respondents said they would recommend their agent to friends or family, with 36 per cent claiming they expected to stay in touch or use him or her again and an additional 26 per cent saying they would consider it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HONEST PRICE CONVERSATIONS

what agents should do to improve their services. “Agents need to advise about prices realistically, and not inflate them to get the listing and then tell us we need to come down,” said another.

The survey also identified a gap in agent behaviour in this space.

When asked what information the agent had provided to show their market knowledge when presenting to win the vendor’s business, 79 per cent said they had been shown information about recent sales and 74 per cent were given an estimated value of the property in the presentation – identifying that one in four vendors were not provided with information about their property value during the presentation.

Even fewer agents (52 per cent) demonstrated to potential vendors their own recent sales and just over half (54 per cent) demonstrated their ability to sell homes similar to the vendors’ by showing recent sales of similar properties.

Just over half (55 per cent) of the agents delivered information about the suburb, such as median prices, growth rates and so on, and only 28 per cent delivered information on the current time on market to vendors as part of their presentation.

Nevertheless, 66 per cent of vendors rated the standard of presentation given by the agent about their property as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. Only seven per cent said the standard was poor.

“Agents need to be honest and realistic – even if it means they don’t get the listing” – survey respondent.

The survey also identified that real estate FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICE agents are managing price expectations OF AGENT well, with 50 per cent of those surveyed “Next time I sell, I will do more research myself selling for the expected price and 23 per and ask a lot more questions in order to be cent selling above. One in four sold below sure the agent was achieving the best price” – the expected price. survey respondent.

The time it took a property to sell was also How many agents did you interview/meet with directly related to the before you chose who to use? satisfaction vendors felt about their agent. Of those surveyed, 39 per cent sold Just one agent their property in less than 30 days while 24 per cent sold between 30 and 45 days. Only five per cent took a year or more to sell.

Two agents But vendors also highlighted the importance of Three agents transparency around price conversations.

“Agents need to be more honest about the price More than appraisals upfront so they three agents don’t have to condition you down,” said one 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% respondent when asked

One of the surprises of the survey was the approach vendors took when selecting an agent. Just over half those surveyed (52 per cent) interviewed two or more agents (34 per cent interviewed three or more) while 38 per cent interviewed just one agent before deciding who to use.

When asked to choose which influences had helped them decide upon their agent, 58 per cent were influenced by seeing an agent successfully sell a local property and 36 per cent relied on recommendation by friends.

These two elements were significantly more influential than traditional marketing, such as seeing the agent on a property website, newspaper advertising or signboards. Only three per cent of vendors said they had been influenced by an agent’s social media.

The need to do their own homework

bank or mortgage broker, or purchasing one themselves.

6 behaviours that improve service

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT Honesty was identified across the survey as the number one imperative that agents needed to demonstrate to vendors from day one to build trust. This was achieved through regular communication and behaviour that was accountable and dependable. Respondent after respondent identified the need for regular feedback and communication with their agent.

“Agents need to communicate with the seller. Keep the seller continually informed with what’s going on and what needs to be done,” said one respondent. “Agents need to communicate more honestly and effectively – even when the news is not good,” said another.

A huge 68 per cent of respondents said they would recommend their agent to friends or family. was a factor. An average of 18 per cent of respondents said they were completely reliant on their agent to provide information on their local market, such as median prices, time on market and top sales, with 82 per cent of vendors conducting their own research to some degree.

But 79 per cent of those surveyed researched similar properties online to see the competition, 55 per cent read up on local market conditions and 37 per cent attended open for inspections of properties similar to their own. The survey also flagged the rising importance of property reports. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed had sourced a report, either free from their

The customer service and response time delivered by agents was rated as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ by 65 per cent of respondents, with 79 per cent of vendors stating that the help their agent provided to ensure they understood all the elements of the sales process and knew what to expect was either ‘good’ (45 per cent) or ‘excellent’ (34 per cent).

Agents were consistently rated very highly by vendors for their ability to handle open for inspections and the sales process, following up potential buyers, marketing and negotiation.

However, these were largely regarded as ‘hygiene factors’ by vendors and part of the minimum service level that agents were expected to achieve in order to do the job.

Market knowledge was also regarded as essential, with 40 per cent of respondents stating their agent’s knowledge of the market was ‘excellent’, and a further 36 per cent and 20 per cent saying it was ‘very good’ or ‘good’ respectively. The bulk of vendors surveyed rated their agent’s marketing materials and presentations as ‘very good’ (38 per cent) with 26 per cent categorised as ‘excellent’.

Nevertheless, the confidence that vendors had in their agents to achieve the results expected changed throughout the sales process.

Before the sales process began, 57 per cent were confident the agent would do a good job and they would get a good price; 39 per Which of the following influences helped you decide which agent to choose?

How well prepared did you feel before you went through the sales process?

Very well prepared (male)

1. No bull$#!t - vendors smell it a mile off. It is the fastest way to guarantee an angry and disappointed client.

2. Be honest, open, transparent and realistic – especially when discussing price expectations.

3. Listen to and understand the needs of your vendors. Take them into account when determining a sales and marketing strategy; don’t force people into your model.

4. Be accountable – do everything you say you will do.

5. Communicate: regular contact and follow up is essential, especially if the news is not good.

6. Improve customer service after the sale. The relationship is not over until the new buyer has moved into the home.

Recommendation by a friend

Prepared but would have liked to have known more (male)

Seeing the agent successfully sell a property

Not at all prepared (male)

Newspaper advertising Seeing the agent’s listing online

Very well prepared (female)

Local signboards

Prepared but would have liked to have known more (female)

Seeing the agent on social media

Not at all prepared (female) 0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

eliteagent.com.au 41

industry report cent were hopeful and just 4 per cent dubious that the agent would succeed in selling the property and meet their expectations.

During the sales process, this level of confidence slipped to 50 per cent, with the number of vendors becoming dubious jumping to 11 per cent.

Once the property was sold, only 41 per cent reported being delighted with the performance of the agent, with 42 per cent feeling okay about the experience and 17 per cent unhappy with the final result.

There were marked differences in the way male and female agents performed in this space.

CHAMPION THE VENDOR “Our agent got us a higher price than even he expected through good negotiation skills.” – survey respondent Vendors were more likely to identify themselves as being impressed and delighted by their agents when their agent had demonstrated behaviours that ‘championed’ their needs as a vendor.

This included suggesting improvements to the property – and helping coordinate the work needed – from things as simple as window washing and small styling recommendations through to organising minor renovations, painting and repairs; alternatively, demonstrating marketing and sales techniques to get the vendor the desired outcome.

Vendors also highly valued agents who were empathetic to their situation and offered emotional support.

“Our agent suggested a marketing strategy

7 services you can provide to delight clients 1. Identify repairs and improvements that can be made to present the property in its best light; connect vendors with tradesmen to fix the problems, or use your property management department to coordinate.

2. Offer basic home styling advice.

3. Offer storage to help declutter homes.

4. Provide a small gift at the successful conclusion of the sale.

5. Organise a cleaner on moving day 6. Ring the vendor six months after they have sold and moved into their new home to see how they are settling in.

7. Help the vendor find their next home – and offer to bid at auction or develop a pricing strategy to win it.

42 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

8 lessons for impressive service In the survey, 32 per cent of vendors said the service of their agent had underwhelmed and even angered them. But an overwhelming 68 per cent indicated they were delighted and impressed with the service offered, highlighting behaviours that were easy to deliver.

1. Be professional. The number one behaviour highlighted by vendors as essential was professional behaviour, demonstrated by being proactive, pre-empting their needs and delivering as promised.

2. Regular feedback. Vendors stressed highly the value of agents who were proactive about delivering a transparent sales process.

3. Be friendly and approachable. Vendors appreciated agents who were easy to talk to and with whom they felt safe to ask questions at any time.

4. Know your market. Vendors felt confident they were in good hands when agents demonstrated their market expertise and took the time to explain market behaviour to them.

5. Provide advice and support. Vendors highly valued advice on presenting their homes in the best possible light, especially when it was supported by recommending and helping coordinate tradesmen.

6. Be on their side. Vendors felt championed by agents who negotiated hard on their behalf and offered to assist them with the purchase of their next home.

7. Be thoughtful. Vendors were impressed by agents who demonstrated thoughtfulness – from ensuring multiple agents were located around the home during opens, to offering bottles of water to buyers on hot days, through to thank you gifts at the conclusion of the sale.

8. Don’t dump them at the end. Many vendors flagged they felt dumped by their agents as soon as the sale was signed, while those whose agents who stayed in touch were more likely to be delighted and to recommend them to friends. which I wasn’t aware of and it worked wonderfully. Obviously the strategy had been developed by him through experience and local knowledge,” wrote one respondent.

“My agent organised a dinner voucher for my husband at a local restaurant while I was away during a weekend of inspections – I was touched by their thoughtfulness as it was a stressful time,” wrote another.

The survey showed 28 per cent of vendors rated their agent’s negotiation skills as ‘excellent’ and 32 per cent said they were ‘very good’. Forty per cent of agents demonstrated ‘excellent’ knowledge of their markets, with a further 36 per cent classified as ‘very good’.

WHAT THE SURVEY IDENTIFIED The surprises: • The survey identified some surprising behaviours that many agents do not do when working with vendors, especially in light of the importance that vendors placed on better transparency and communication around price • Nearly one in five agents did not present any information about recent sales to the vendor.

• One in four agents did not estimate the value of the property to the vendor as part of their presentation • Just under half the agents did not present any recent sales to their vendor that their agency had achieved • Just over half the agents (54 per cent) did

present to vendors homes similar to theirs that had recently sold on the market • Only one in five agents did demonstrate the average time on market to vendors.

What some agents do just plain wrong : • Just over one in 10 vendors rated their agent’s skills as a negotiator as poor • Fifteen per cent of vendors rated their agent’s ability to follow up as poor • Twelve per cent of agents were rated as poor in their ability to handle the sales process.

MALE AND FEMALE AGENTS – IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? The survey revealed there is a significant difference in the satisfaction levels that vendors experienced when dealing with a female agent compared to a male agent.

Female agents were more likely to be recommended by a friend (47 per cent) than their male counterparts (33 per cent) while male agents were more likely to be chosen after being seen successfully selling a local property (59 per cent for men compared to 53 per cent for women).

Female agents were more likely to deliver an ‘excellent’ quality presentation, compared to just 22 per cent of the male agents, and 66 per cent of vendors with female agents felt they were very well prepared before going through the sales process, compared to 56 per cent of vendors with a male agent.

Women were also perceived as more

helpful by vendors, with 40 per cent of respondents rating their agent’s ability to ensure they understood all elements of the sales process as ‘excellent’ compared to 32 per cent of male agents.

The most significant difference, however, was in the consistency of experience vendors had across the sales process.

Before the sale process started, 59 per cent of female agents and 58 per cent of male agents were able to inspire confidence in the minds of their vendors that they would do a good job and get a good price for their property.

Once the sale had started, however, while confidence levels in female agents eased to 55 per cent, male agents fared much worse, falling to 48 per cent.

Once the property had sold, 45 per cent of vendors with female agents reported feeling delighted with the final outcome, compared to just 39 per cent of those with male agents.

Nevertheless, the proportion of respondents who reported moving from confident to disappointed across the sales process was higher for women than men. Female agents started out with just one per cent of respondents worried about their ability before the sale began; but this number jumped to 19 per cent of their vendors later reporting they

“Agents need to communicate more honestly and effectively – even when the news is not good.” were disappointed – a movement of 18 per cent. The figures for male agents went from five per cent at the start of the process to 17 per cent afterwards – a movement of 12 per cent.

However, female agents were consistently more likely to be rated ‘excellent’ at key skills than their male counterparts.

Female agents significantly outperformed their male counterparts in the skills of handling open for inspections (41 per cent of women agents rated ‘excellent’, compared to 33 per cent of men), providing regular feedback (45 per cent of female agents rated as ‘excellent’ compared to 31 per cent of male agents), following up of potential buyers and leads (43 per cent of female agents rated as ‘excellent’ compared to just 29 per cent of male agents) and negotiation skills (38 per cent of female agents rated ‘excellent’

compared to 28 per cent of male agents).

Female agents were also more than twice as likely to be identified as excellent at managing the sales process – 42 per cent for female agents compared to just 28 per cent for male agents.

However, there was little difference in the final price performance. The survey shows male agents were slightly more likely to sell a property above the expected price of a vendor than female agents (24 per cent to 22 per cent respectively) with 49 per cent of male agents selling around the expected price compared to 52 per cent of female agents, and both sexes evenly represented at 21 and 22 per cent in selling below expectations.

And the gender of an agent made no difference in the likelihood of a vendor recommending them to friends and family, with 68 per cent of vendors with male agents and 69 per cent of vendors with female agents saying they would happily recommend.

Kylie Davis is the head of Real Estate Solutions at CoreLogic RP Data. Follow her on Twitter @RPData_KDavis

REAL ESTATE IS OUR WORLD IT COULD BE YOURS Career opportunities available in: • Sales

• Administration

• Property Management

• Management

To join Victoria’s largest real estate network and make real estate your world, email your CV and covering letter to: Mark Ellinghaus | careers@hockingstuart.com.au

HOCKINGSTUART.COM.AU

eliteagent.com.au 43

marketing

4 4 ELITE AGENT â&#x20AC;¢ MAY-JUN 2015

FACE TO FACE, ONE TO ONE IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW for Elite Agent Magazine,

CEO of Century 21 Australia Charles Tarbey spoke with Samantha McLean about marketing, communication and what it takes to have a successful real estate career with future-proofed longevity.

The biggest changes in our industry in the last few years have really been in delivery. Delivery of our product, and delivery of our marketing and presentation to the market. When you look at the industry itself, the most most successful people in real estate are the ones who really know how to communicate one to one; whether it’s voice to voice, face to face, or belly to belly, they’re the ones who are really the most significant and successful people in the industry.

But what’s really changed is how we deliver our message. In the past it used to be by fax or by mail, sometimes flyers; but even now in the digital age it’s still about delivery, whether it’s by post or an email or a broadcast – although with digital I think some agents lean on that a bit too much. When you send out several thousand emails and you think you’ve done your job, the person who gets on the phone and speaks to five people will

probably do more business than you. So it really is all in the delivery.

There are ‘stars’ and ‘celebrities’ being created out there because of the way in which social media marketing works. But I still think that the reality is when you get out of the marketplace that we’re in right now (and we will, it will change) it will be the agents who go back to the basics, the nurturing, the customer service where human contact is maintained, who will be the most successful. The agents who have been relying too much on online marketing strategies without the human content will struggle when the market changes, because real estate isn’t just about promoting yourself; it’s about being a good negotiator and putting yourself in a position to negotiate.

Think about this: You’ve got lots of real estate agents out there who are saying things like, ‘We achieved $104,000 over reserve!’, and it’s just completely wrong.

It had nothing to do with them. It had a

lot to do with the market. And when that market changes, then I’d like to see those agents still be able to say, ‘we achieved $104,000 over reserve’. It’s the agents who can do that in any market, the good negotiators, who will have longevity in their careers.

When I was listing and selling real estate full time, I would visit two to three clients on the way to the office, have my cup of coffee and some conversation, and before I knew it it would be noon.

So my day starts the same way now. I get in the car, and I move into prospectmode and talk to people who will help me grow my business and grow their experience in real estate. That’s the very first thing. I then have block-out times, and this allows me to communicate with people who have asked me questions. So I shut the door and start that process of maintaining the relationships I already have. If I do this well I’m able to add to my existing relationships, rather than adding new ones.

I still do sell a bit, actually. But as far as my ‘ideal day’ goes, nothing has changed for me; whether it’s selling real estate to what I do today, I still work from the same platform. These are very simple rules I follow, pretty much every day. It’s also what we teach, which is that today started last night. It started before I went to bed, in preparation for today. When I started, just as I do today, I plan what I’m going to

eliteagent.com.au 45

marketing do; so as soon as I get in the car I already know who I’m going to call. I always say to people, ‘Do the things you dislike most first.

Get those out of the way and the rest of the day seems to be a breeze.’

When I’m talking to people, the method of introduction is critical. If you wanted a job in real estate and you called or emailed me directly, as the owner of Century 21 Australasia, I’d chat to you, I’d email you back, I’d give you some direction on where you should go. However, if you rang me after an introduction from somebody who knows me, my conversation with you would be very different. So I do say to our people, ‘It’s not about running out and throwing flyers everywhere. It’s getting out, meeting the people you’ve done business with first, doing work for the people you promised you’d do work for, and then building your relationships with

says to me, ‘Which agent should I pick?’

I say, ‘Number one rule is don’t pick the agent with the most signs, because all you’re doing is believing in the perception that they’re successful! If they’ve got a significant number of signs out there, they aren’t successful. You go to the agents that have ‘Sold’ stickers. That’s where you go, because they need your stock. If you want to find out how good they are, you knock on the door of the property that sold and you find out from the person who’s had the experience.’

For me, activity versus performance is a critical indicator in our industry. Most of our industry is activity-based: Facebook, podcasts, emails, all the social media marketing that makes it look like you are significantly successful. It’s like seeing people on television who are actors and actresses and you think, automatically,

“When you send out several thousand emails and you think you’ve done your job, the person who gets on the phone and speaks to five people will probably do more business than you.” the people from within your organisation already, using a method of introduction that would take you straight to where you need to go.’

But I also don’t see any point in knocking on a hundred doors (as I used to) and asking people if they want to sell.

Eventually I’m going to be right; but now I can knock on twenty doors and know that there are four or five things I look for: whether it’s overgrown, whether the gutter is falling down or whether there’s somebody who might have a relative who wants to move into that street that I can help buy a home. It’s looking for different things with a smaller group of people, and expanding the questions that I might ask that has changed the way I do things, and that’s what I would recommend as a real estate practitioner today.

In my view there are two types of real estate agents, and there are two types of real estate businesses: activity-driven and performance-based. I can make you super busy as a real estate practitioner, have you work seven days a week every week; or I can get you to be performance-based and do a lot less, in a lot less time, and achieve a great deal more.

The majority of agents are activitydriven; they believe that the more For Sale signs they put up, the more successful they are. When somebody

46 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

they’re successful. Trust me, a lot of them are struggling to buy a home, and the image they have to upkeep costs them more than buying a home, but you believe they’re successful. So that to me is the same in our industry. There are all these agents who are activity-driven and promoting themselves as successful. When the market changes (and it will), they are the ones who are going to be disappearing off the face of the real estate industry.

As far as the market is concerned, there

are only two types of markets. There’s the one where you get the buyer up to meet the vendor’s ridiculously high price, and that’s called a ‘boom’. The other is where you get the seller down to meet the purchaser’s ridiculously low offer, and that’s called ‘real estate’; and that’s what we’re in 90 per cent of the time.

Right now, parts of Australia are going through a boom; but the reality of real estate is your job as a real estate practitioner is to take a property to market, and then bring the buyer up to that seller’s price. Now, at that point in time, the buyer’s saying, ‘You’re too high’, and then you’ve got to try and negotiate that path. That’s real estate. We haven’t been in that for a long time, so this is why, when more stock comes on the market, we’ll find ourselves in that position. And this is where the real estate agents who are simply trained social media marketers, who are untrained in the essentials like diary control, client retention, negotiating, are going to struggle.

So our challenge at Century 21 is to consistently present to the consumer a product about our brand and what we can do. We think there are three levels in business, in my industry and probably in others. There’s a creative mechanism, there’s a service mechanism and there’s the administrative mechanism. Now, most agents are creative – too much so; their service thins out and the administrators are standing on the top of a pyramid. I see it the other way. Our focus, our marketing is so that people can clearly see what we do as an organisation, and what we offer. Give people service greater than they expect; and alongside have a platform that administers the entire process, so it’s smooth.

My objective for the next 12 months is to continue to go down the road of ensuring that our core foundations, which were there when I started my company, are firmly in place. To grow as an organisation, but not just in terms of number of offices.

That’s not necessarily a true indicator of success. It’s also about the office that goes from five to 10 sales people, which is in effect doubling their business. I really admire the people in the industry who have been in it for a long time; the agents who, 20 years later, are still driving real estate businesses successfully. It’s not just building business; it’s keeping that business and maintaining it. Those guys who drive these businesses and are able to build their teams and maintain their teams continue to inspire me, and their success is really all about that delivery.

sponsored

IF YOU ARE THINKING about taking

your career to the next level by becoming a business owner but have been a little daunted by the thought of the administration and upfront costs, then talking to the Eview Group may be a good option for you. Samantha McLean met up with business owners Maria and Manos Findikakis to find out more about their exciting business model, ‘Your Brand, Your Business’, and how it can help you take the next step in your career.

Your Brand, Your Business

M

y job today is to find out a bit more about how it’s possible to have the best of both worlds as an agent: my name on the door, and an experienced solid back office that handles all of my administration.

The whole Eview team comprises approximately 130 people, from administration to property management and sales agents, and is managed by owners Maria and Manos, who have been in the real estate industry for about 12 years.

Their enthusiasm for the industry and the business is obvious as they start talking about the model they have created from what they saw as an ‘obvious gap’ in the market. I start by asking them how

48 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

long Eview Group has been operating.

Maria says, “We’re eight years old already!

It started as an idea Manos had one day about giving people the opportunity to be in business for themselves, but not by themselves.” Manos continues, “We were in a traditional franchise, and we felt it was simply outdated. Eview is a platform that has been designed so people can excel.

Whether you are an agent, in property management or a business owner, our model is designed to let everyone perform to the highest standards.”

“We also saw a revolving door in the industry,” continues Maria. “There were a lot of good people coming in and then leaving. There was clearly something missing; people were not being looked after financially. We also saw people getting bogged down in a lot

of administrative things that kept them away from what all agents love to do, which is listing and selling real estate.”

How did you come up with the idea?

Maria explains, “Manos and I are really lucky - I’m a true salesperson, and Manos has a head for business. Our partnership worked really well because I was able to tell him what I didn’t want to do as a salesperson; for example, loading properties onto the internet, trust accounting or talking to any solicitors. I didn’t want to have to worry about marketing either. I wanted it to look really good (of course!), but I wanted a marketing department to do that for me as well. Manos was able to go away and put this amazing system together, and that is what Eview is today.”

The Eview promise to its agents is ‘Your Brand, Your Business’ (YBYB). I ask how

that works alongside the Eview brand itself.

Manos answers, “Individual branding has been discussed for many years in the real estate industry. YBYB was established so that we could take the traditional branding of a franchise group away, and put the agent in the forefront. The brand then has the individual’s own logo, their own identity, but it is backed by the Eview Group.”

We know that outsourcing is popular in terms of increasing agent productivity. I ask Maria and Manos to tell me a bit more about how the backend administration works from a central point. Manos answers, “It was a challenge to get the technology right; we knew we needed to make an investment to ensure the platform was rock solid and easy to use. We’ve developed customised programs to enable our sales agents and our property managers to have a seamless flow of work. Some people want us to do everything, right down to financial accounts; some only want us to do some administration and bookkeeping. We’re very big on having those processes in place, with a great cloud-based CRM system which is easily accessible for all users.”

How does the marketing side of things work? Maria explains, “We have a graphics department, Jelly Bean Media.

They sit down with an agent and construct their whole business. The marketing of that business will be a direct reflection of the agent and the area where they work.

Jelly Bean will design their brand so it reflects them in the best possible way, and continue as their marketing department to ensure consistency.”

How long does it take to get up and running? Maria explains, “Within two weeks we can have someone in their own business, as long as they’re a fully licensed estate agent and they’re a good fit.”

Do you look for a consistent culture for the agents that who join the Eview Group?

Maria says emphatically, “Culture is very important to us and culture starts from the top. We know that a lot of people pay lip service to culture; we create it. Culture is family, actually. I know it might sound a little bit over the top, but that’s what it’s all about for us. It’s family. We have a lot of events. We have a lot of food at our events too!” she laughs. Adds Manos, “I always say this business is about three things: Culture, Money, and Freedom. They are the three big words that underpin this business and the people in it.”

What if I’m having a bad day, or a bad week? Maria smiles and says, “We send you home! (laughs). No, we’re always here for our team. We don’t micro-manage our people. They’re in business for themselves,

so they’re a different calibre of person. But the door is always open for quick chats. We don’t have one-on-ones or anything like that, but we’re always there for the team.”

Manos adds, “The support is also there if you wanted to go away on holiday or needed someone to look after your clients; we’ve got people who can do that for you too. I know some small businesses where the owners have to take their laptops with them to do their trust accounting and pay people. It’s not really a holiday then, so we aim to look after all that.”

So let’s get down to business. How much does it cost to become a member? Manos says, “We structure our pricing model based on what services are required.

We made a conscious decision when we started Eview that if anyone was to join us it had to be more profitable for them to be with us than not. We have our group buying power that offsets a lot of the costs, and a reward system.”

Is the Eview model applicable to property

management as well? Maria confirms, “The way it works in property management is similar to sales. The property manager owns the rent roll so they own that business. We provide services so they can look after their customers better. That way they can spend their time looking after their landlords and tenants, rather than worrying about doing the trust accounting and all the administration.”

What’s next for Eview? “I do believe that the market will stay strong throughout the rest of the year,” says Manos. “With respect to ourselves at Eview, we truly believe we can double in size in the next twelve months. We’ll continue to improve on our systems and our offerings, and our search for finding the right people to join us in our business.”

For more information about the Eview Group, visit eview.com.au. If you are keen to talk to someone about joining Eview, please contact Maria Findikakis on 0417 301 875.

“Within two weeks we can have someone in their own business, as long as they’re a fully licensed estate agent and they’re a good fit.”

eliteagent.com.au 49

sales

John McGrath

Think Bigger PART TWO

IN PART TWO OF OUR EXCLUSIVE interview, John talks

about the success of the McGrath business in the last 12 months. He takes a stand on community, culture, property marketing and where agents should be focusing their energy for the next year.

M

cGrath as a business has had a very strong 2014, with a strong focus on culture. Can you tell me a bit about that, and why that’s important to you?

We focus primarily on two things - values and skills. Some agencies don’t focus on either; some focus on one or the other.

We’re very fixed on values. Integrity is non-negotiable. If you step outside, you’re swimming outside the flags and we don’t want to have you on the team. We really walk our talk here. If someone doesn’t live up to our expectations, we show them the door. We push for excellence: better marketing, better open for inspections, better auctions. Everything that we do, all the key touch points in our business, we’re pushing hard on a daily basis.

Coaching, training and development are all really important. Not only are we doing a lot of workshop training in groups, but we do an enormous amount of

50 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

one-on-one personal development with each individual. The numbers at the other end, be it two billion or whatever you do as a business in a good month, are a manifestation of lots of good people doing lots of good work on a daily and hourly basis. We’ve got product teams who are working on our innovations and the kind of products we’re representing, making sure its the best photography we can do, the best floor plans. We’ve got a quality control team that’s ensuring that everything we’re putting out into the marketplace is as good as it can possibly be.

What is your focus for the next twelve months?

Digital is one of the big focuses for us, as it should be for all agents right now.

We’re launching a new website; working with REA and Domain, we’re focused on how we can have our clients featured as prominently as we possibly can. That’s a very big part of our future.

Looking at the next one to three years.

we’re also hoping to become more familiar, and hopefully more successful, in the social space. We’re up to about 50,000 Facebook likes. We’re really focused on building a customer base that likes to keep in touch with us via social platforms. We have Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.

While we see social media as a terrific way to keep in touch with our customers; those who want to hear what we’re doing and read about the latest activities, we don’t use the social channel as a sales tool but more as as an information and education tool.

Community is always on our radar as very important; not just the environment, but what could we be doing as good corporate citizens? We’re now in 60-odd regions around Australia, so two to three hundred communities. Who could we help? It’s not just about writing a cheque to sponsor a soccer team. It’s about what else can we be doing, within the community? We’re very fortunate: the communities support us, but you have to give back to keep that cycle going.

Let’s talk about digital marketing and the portals. What advertising strategies should agents be using in the market today?

We have a philosophy of ‘less is more’ as far as the portals are concerned. We try and focus on the activities, the partnerships and the channels that give us the best return.

If you try to do too many things with too many people you end up getting distracted,

so we’ve placed our bet very firmly on REA and also Domain. I’m on the board of REA so I know that they are absolutely focused on providing the most traffic, the most eyeballs, the most visitations and the best quality technology experience for REA’s customers. Domain is still a very important channel for us in a lot of our markets, especially in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and North Shore, and parts of the inner west.

It could be that as many as 98 per cent of listings are now online, are either on REA

everything, is being incredibly laserfocused on the few things that make the greatest difference.

As a vendor, you’ve got to accept that if you’re going to sell your property this is not the time to be nickel-and-diming, and trying to get the marketing cost down as low as possible. You should be saying to the agent, ‘Is there anything else I need to invest in? Any other publication, you think?’

One extra buyer could make you $20,000 or even $50,000. It’s an interesting time,

“If you don’t put some very firm boundaries up, work out who you are as a business and what you want to support and believe in, you’re going to end up being distracted, diluted and confused.” or Domain. We educate and encourage our client base of vendors that investing one, two, three, four thousand, depending on the area you’re in, to be at the top of REA and Domain is vital; just like in the old days when, unless you were a full page in the Wentworth Courier, you probably weren’t serious. You’re probably still going to be a full page in the Wentworth Courier; but you’ve also got to be a premier or a highlight property on the two major portals.

As a vendor, you sell a house every ten years. You’ve got to bite the bullet and invest what you have to invest to make sure every potential buyer around the world looks at your property. Our job as agents is to steer them the best way we possibly can.

There are lots of other smaller players in this space now; and one of the great things about our lives is technology, and social media and connectivity. One of the greatest distractions, and therefore detractors, of our life is also connectivity, social, media and technology. If you don’t put some very firm boundaries up, work out who you are as a business and what you want to support and believe in, I think you’re going to end up being distracted, diluted and confused. Let’s focus on the vital few, rather than trying to keep pace with every single option in the marketplace.

Apple is one of the great businesses in my lifetime to have emerged and triumphed in the world of commerce. One of their great skills is innovation, but a greater skill is discipline and focus. A lot of people think of Apple and say, ‘Oh yeah, they’re very innovative and a great customer experience’, which is true. But if you dig deep into Apple, their greatest skill, above

because the agents who really understand marketing and can sell it well, and educate their clients about the real benefits to them, are going to get the better result. They’re going to get more sales. Agents who are not comfortable with selling marketing need to review their selling strategy and realise that marketing is, now, a core skill, and a core part of selling.

Is there is a role to play for print, moving forward?

Certainly, for the time being, the answer is yes. Some vendors say to us they don’t want to be in print, especially the younger ones. It seems that you get a lot more interest if you’re in both than if you’re just in one. If you’re only going to be in one, it should be digital. If you’ve got the money to invest to be in both, my recommendation to every client is to be in both. They say, ‘John, you have 75 per cent of your inquiries coming from digital.’ I say, ‘I know, but 25 per cent are coming from somewhere else. That can mean a lot of money for you. It could be someone who’s not online. They’re not actually even looking. They pick up the Wentworth Courier, or Inner West Courier, from their local newsagent or from their door, start flicking through it, and find their new home.’

What would you say to agents who feel as though the future is a place where they may be cut out of the transaction by the portals?

Oh, stop worrying about it - I’d be far more worried about my service levels! I think the portals have no desire to be real estate agents and the transaction will not happen without the personal involvement of agents. Vendors need good advice.

There’s plenty of information online about medicine, and law, and accounting, but people still go to doctors, lawyers and accountants, because they want to speak to an expert who can talk them through the options and help them decide. They just do plenty of research online. That’s a fantastic thing.

We’re finding that clients who are coming to us nowadays are better educated than ever before, both buyers and sellers. I’m not losing any sleep about the role we play, because I think that role will always be an important one. Properties don’t show themselves. Properties don’t negotiate themselves. Vendors don’t really want to try to negotiate. They’re not expert negotiators. People need to be told about styling, and how they should best present, and what the buyers are looking for. People need to understand the right pricing. If you go to market at the wrong pricing, you can burn all your potential interest in the first four weeks.

I believe you still need, on top of all the great information available online, an expert to help you diagnose the situation and give you daily advice. All this chatter about real estate agents being made redundant – the ones who are going to be made redundant are those who are not connected, because they’re not utilising databases, they’re not giving great service, they’re not accessible, they’re not providing enough information in real time. That’s nothing to do with the internet cutting them out. It’s going to be due to their

“Don’t worry about the internet. It’s not going to take your job away. What is going to take your job away is failing to reinvent yourself elsewhere in your business.” inability to change. I say to people, ‘Don’t worry about the internet. It’s not going to take your job away. What is more likely to take your job away is failing to reinvent yourself elsewhere in your business.’

Book AREC15 tickets at visitarec.com.

Elite Agent has more from John McGrath online in an extended piece where he talks about what he would focus on right now if he was starting out in real estate today.

Visit eliteagent.com.au.

eliteagent.com.au 51

personal development

What Arnold Schwarzenegger taught me about success HAVING PERHAPS PULLED OFF THE greatest ‘coup’ in Australian real estate events,

Glenn Twiddle reflects on the things he learned from the Hollywood superstar turned politician at this year’s QREAS conference.

W

hen I decided to invite Arnold Schwarzenegger to Australia, I really didn’t think it was ever going to happen.

But one of Arnold’s rules is ‘Have a vision’, so I put that principle to work. Lo and behold, the signature of the most famous person in the world came through.

What many people don’t know is that Arnold was a millionaire property investor before he made his first movie. This is the reason why you don’t see Arnold playing bit roles, and he only played the leading man.

He turned down all the lesser roles, because they weren’t part of his ‘vision.’

So here are Arnold’s rules for success which have helped him become the world’s best in three separate fields: bodybuilding legend, Hollywood superstar and US state Governor.

RULE 1 – HAVE A VISION AND THINK BIG As a farm boy in Austria who couldn’t even speak English, Arnold had a vision to be the biggest movie star in America. Undeterred, he then set about following his other rules to make that happen.

Arnold suggests that it isn’t any harder to think big than think average. Whether in bodybuilding or Hollywood, Arnold didn’t just want to succeed; he wanted to be the world’s best.

Even in politics, Arnold didn’t run for local council or even mayor; he went for, and attained, the highest office for which he was eligible. Only native-born Americans can be President, otherwise we would be calling him President Schwarzenegger.

RULE 2 – BREAK SOME RULES No one ever succeeded by doing what everyone else does. You have to break some rules; not the law, but the industry norms, to reach the pinnacle of success.

If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get what the norm is when it comes to your results. And with the average earnings in

52 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

If you’re sleeping too much – more than six hours – Arnold’s advice to you is ‘Sleep faster!’

our industry so low, the last thing we want to do is the same thing as everyone else. So while still acting within the law, and always working in the best interest of your clients, break some rules.

RULE 3 – IGNORE THE NAYSAYERS Following rule 2, breaking some rules will inevitably leave you open to naysayers.

We Aussies, it seems, are quite famous for collectively knocking down anyone striving to reach too high, so any degree of success is going to attract criticism. Some people just wake up wanting to complain, so let’s make their day and give them something to complain about – or let’s just ignore them, as Arnold says.

Eric Thomas, touring Australia later this year, says, ‘What does the moon do when a dog barks up at it? It just keeps on shining, baby!’

RULE 4 – NO ‘PLAN B’ Don’t be afraid to fail, and put all your eggs in one basket. Arnold said, “If you have a plan B, on some level you are already a naysayer of your own because you’ve accepted that the plan might not work. And by the way, if you fail, really how far can you fall? The floor’s right there, it isn’t that far.”

So set your vision, plan and prepare intelligently, then don’t be afraid to go for it.

RULE 5 – WORK YOUR BUTT OFF There’s no substitute for hard work. “It’s all about the reps,” as Arnold put it. Whether it’s bodybuilding and doing reps in the gym, or countless acting classes, accent removal classes (for which Arnold thinks he deserves a refund) or business classes, he crams more into every day than most people would think possible.

And if you’re sleeping too much – more than six hours – Arnold’s advice to you is ‘Sleep faster!’

RULE 6 – GIVE SOMETHING BACK The salary for state Governor was several hundred thousand dollars, which Arnold

donated back. He spent seven years of his life giving back, and still to this day he claims it is the most fulfilling job he has ever had. “You will never be more fulfilled than when you do something for someone else”, he says.

These are the rules that took Arnold to the heights of success in three separate and disparate industries.

As Arnold finished speaking, leaving us ready to take on the changing market ahead of us with gusto, he gave us a few motivational quotes that resounded throughout the auditorium.

“Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women” - Conan the Barbarian.

“Get to the Choppa” - Predator.

And (of course) “I’ll be back!”

No doubt I’m not alone in saying he’d be welcomed back to join us any time.

Glenn Twiddle is the ‘Rebel Real Estate Coach’ who helps Australian real estate agents with a step by step, fill in the blanks system for becoming the #1 agent in their area in three years or less. For more information visit glenntwiddle.com.

eliteagent.com.au 53

mindset

Smashing the mental barriers ASK ANY ATHLETE, NEAR-DEATH survivor, Everest

H

aving the skill set to be a great athlete does not ensure greatness, nor does knowing how to climb a mountain get you to the top of it. The same goes for being a great real estate agent. Just having a great skill set does not guarantee you phenomenal listings and sales success.

When the time comes – and it does come –that challenges everything about you, pushes you to your limit and causes you to want to stop and shrink at the challenge ahead, or walk away from the obstacle in front of you, or give up putting the effort in that is required – then it is your mental toughness that rises to the top and takes you beyond your physical capability or skills.

You need to have control over your life and a belief that you can do anything with it.

At moments like this it is your mental toughness that steps in and takes over. It says ‘this can and will be done and it is going to happen’.

Burns survivor Turia Pitt was in an endurance race when a fire swept through the bush and engulfed her, trapping her and burning 80 per cent of her body. She should have been burnt to death. However, as she says, “there was a piece inside me the fire couldn’t get to.” Turia is now one of the most inspiring people on earth. Why did she survive? Because of her mental toughness.

54 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

summiteer, or even a successful real estate agent what is, the key to their success. Why were they able to withstand and push through the challenges and obstacles that defeated others? They will tell you that having the mental toughness to overcome obstacles was the key.

The best real estate agents in the world understand this. They epitomise the saying, ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going’. When there’s no way out they make a way out; when it appears to be all over they find a way to make it happen.

“WHEN OPPORTUNITY DOESN’T KNOCK… BUILD A DOOR” MILTON BERLE So what is mental toughness and how do you develop it for real estate sales success?

University of Pennsylvania researcher Angela Duckworth studied over 2,500 candidates at the United States Military Academy, West Point. These cadets were attempting to complete what they call the ‘Beast Barracks’. Beast Barracks is designed to test the limits of the cadets’ physical, emotional and mental capacities.

What Duckworth found was that it was not the bigger, stronger, smarter cadets or those who showed great leadership potential who finished. It was those who had what is called grit, ‘the perseverance and passion to achieve long-term goals’.

This defined their mental toughness.

A pioneer on research into mental toughness from Manchester Metro University, Professor Peter Clough, defines mental toughness as “a mindset that describes the default response we make when faced with stressors, pressures or challenges, irrespective of the prevailing circumstances.”

He identified four key areas to improve mental toughness.

1

CONTROL

You need to have control over your life and a belief that you can do anything with it. You also need to be able to control your emotions and the emotions of others.

2

COMMITMENT

You need a commitment to keep the promises you make and do exactly what is you said you would do to achieve your goals.

3

CONFIDENCE

You need confidence in your abilities in order to do whatever you want to do, or confidence that you can acquire and learn the ability if you need to. You also need confidence that you can influence others and stand by your decisions without question.

4

CHALLENGE

You need to challenge and push yourself and be driven to succeed.

Be prepared to take risks and embrace setbacks as opportunities to learn.

Based on Clough’s research, if you already have all these key areas operating at a high level, or you are able to develop them, then you are likely to have a strong mental toughness.

So how do you measure up over the four key areas? What does your mental toughness look like? If mental toughness is the key to succeeding, what do you need to change to become mentally tougher and achieve greater success? Let me leave you with this thought from Washington Irving: “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above them.”

Jet Xavier is one of Australia’s leading Mindset Coaches for real estate sales professionals.

For more information visit jetxavier.com.

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marketing

NINE SIMPLE WAYS TO TAKE YOUR EMAIL OPEN RATE THROUGH THE ROOF! DID YOU KNOW THAT

increasing the open rate of your email broadcasts by just a few percentage points has the potential to win you a heap of extra listings? Anything north of a 20 per cent email open rate is considered good.

If you have a thousand contacts and you can nudge that up to 25 per cent, you’ve just connected with 50 more potential clients.

D

one correctly, email is the most powerful and affordable direct response marketing there is. In the last 10 years I’ve sent millions of emails and I’m always checking and testing to make sure my open rate stays high.

We now have amazing software programs that let you customise your message with the recipient’s first name, include images within the email body, add specific links for the call-to-action and, perhaps most importantly, tell you which recipients actually opened your message.

In fact, the more you customise and personalise your message, the greater the chance that your email will be opened. If your recipient suspects a generic ‘blast’ or is not engaged by your subject line, they’ll trash it before even getting to your content.

So why go to the time and trouble of creating an awesome message if it’s only going to be opened by a few potential buyers or sellers on your list?

56 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

Here are a few tricks and tips I’ve picked up along the way to help you take your email open rate through the roof.

1

WHO IS YOUR MESSAGE FROM?

Sending emails from an address like info@ or sales@ will guarantee you a poor open rate. Your recipient can tell when the message is part of a bulk send.

It’s too impersonal and you’ve just missed a great opportunity to give them the VIP treatment.

Effective email that cuts through the white noise to connect with your target is also about effective brand building. I’m not talking about the colours of your logo; I’m talking about you. Your email is a great opportunity to speak one-on-one with a valuable contact and build your brand with engaging copy and an interesting message. Promote yourself, not some faceless admin email.

2

ENGAGE WITH YOUR SUBJECT LINE

When President Obama used email as a central marketing method for his second term campaign in 2012, the subject line with the highest open rate simply said ‘Hey’.

because you’ve just personalised the message.

If you want to slaughter your open rate, use ‘March Newsletter’ in your subject line.

Nobody has time to read stuff any more.

We are all time-poor and battle the clock on an hourly basis in the never-ending fight to boost personal productivity. The word ‘Newsletter’ has hard work written all over it and will quickly be dismissed. You’re better finding something within your news and creating an interesting angle around it. Get creative, have fun and watch what happens.

I believe the ‘from’ name and email subject are the two main reasons why email is or isn’t opened.

3

REACH OUT WITH INTERESTING NEWS

If you receive an email from someone you know, chances are you’re going to open it because you believe it contains news a friend thinks is important to you. It’s worth spending the time to come up with an interesting angle for your subject line.

Mystery or intrigue in a question works well (‘She said what?’), as does numbering your message in points like the way I’ve presented this article. I’ve learned odd numbers work well and will increase readership (‘7 ways to guarantee a higher sale price’ or ‘5 things you must do before going on the market’). Ten never works, for some reason.

Increasingly, video is a compelling way to connect with your market. It lets you communicate your passion, authority and expertise. I love what luxury seaside agent Christian Bartley at Bellarine Property (Vic) is doing with video. He promotes his brand beautifully in a fun and innovative way while showcasing some awesome listings.

His passion and authority shine through.

When President Obama used email as a central marketing method for his second term campaign in 2012, the subject line with the highest open rate simply said ‘Hey’.

When it came to fundraising, his digital marketing team tested dozens of variations each time before email blasting the tens of millions of subscribers on their list. Some of the subject lines they used were: ‘Some scary numbers’, ‘Do this for Michelle’ and ‘I would love to meet you’. Interestingly, the single email that raised the most money (almost 2.7 million dollars) had the subject line ‘I will be outspent’.

Using your contact’s first name in the subject line will also boost your open rate

4

AVOID THESE!

Avoid all capitals. Sending a message with a word or words in caps is the email equivalent of screaming at your recipient. And nobody wants to be screamed at. If you need to emphasise something, use bold or italics. Also avoid using the words free, help, per cent, off and reminder in your subject line, as tests show these words will have a negative effect on open rates and also wake the fire-breathing spam-filter monster.

5

GET TO THE POINT

Waffle kills. Trust me! If you’ve seen my Direct Mail Power program, you’ll understand the formula used to arouse interest and curiosity with your offer to generate a response. The important thing is to get to the point with your email. Write like you speak. There’s no need to be formal. You’re looking to become a trusted friend and build a relationship here, not serve a subpoena.

People feel they need to supersize their lists with lots of words, but long copy is a brutally painful chore few people will tackle unless it’s a story they can’t put down. The mission is to connect and engage. You want your reader to leave thinking they’ve got value and that investing time to read your message gave them something.

6

GIVE TO GET

Some of the most productive real estate prospecting emails cut through by offering something of relevant value.

Remember to use the word ‘complimentary’ instead of ‘free’ or a phrase like ‘On the house’.

Your offer may be a report offering recent sales in your area or advice for buyers and sellers packaged in a report, book or ebook.

7

USE EVENTS AND DEADLINES

‘We just want to share the love’ could be a good Valentine’s Day email. ‘Cheap money’ would talk about an interest rate cut. Event emails work because you are leveraging your message by using the power of a well-known day or event. When it comes to deadline marketing, one of the best emails I have ever used employed the subject line ‘Do you want to be sold by Christmas, (first name)?’

8

USE EMAIL AS JUST ONE PART OF YOUR TARGET MARKETING.

Most agents rely solely on email and ignore the other awesome contact methods. At Bestagents, some of our best prospecting campaigns use a combination of email, SMS and phone calls.

Don’t forget, your contact is being bombed with a zillion messages every day.

When you increase the ways you reach out, you increase your chances of connecting on a much higher level. Most agents just use email because it’s cheap and easy. Getting on the phone and following up is harder and more time-consuming – but that’s where the gold is, folks.

9

DOES YOUR EMAIL SOFTWARE GIVE YOU STATS?

It’s impossible to test the effectiveness of your message if your email strategy consists of copying and pasting a bunch of email addresses into the Bcc field of an email. Let me give you the heads-up: If you’re not using the very best real estate marketing software, your competitor probably is. No doubt he’s impressing the heck out of a potential seller who’s probably on your list as well.

Top agents are top prospectors, and top prospectors set themselves up with the very best tools and systems. Your real estate CRM is your future business pipeline. If you don’t have one, can I suggest you get one? If you have one but every time you use it you feel like throwing something, get rid of it and find something you love to use.

Seriously… life is too short!

Ray Wood is the CEO of real estate marketing group Bestagents, a founding partner of real estate software company LockedOn and the bestselling author of How to Sell Your Home for More.

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eliteagent.com.au 57

personal development

Positive Delusion Delivers Results

CHRISTINA GUIDOTTI’S SECOND book The True Believers

was released in 2014. Sharing an extract, she demonstrates how the courage and conviction of a ‘true believer’ can overcome inertia when it comes to achieving in real estate.

O

NE YEAR AT the

Australasian Real Estate Awards, I remember sitting with my team watching the winners go up on stage and feeling inspired. We decided we wanted our office to have that success. We had a vision that we would get there.

But although the desire was strong, there was an underlying fear and doubt as the current reality was so different to our belief for a better tomorrow. There was fear of whether we could do it and fear of the disappointment if we didn’t get there, particularly considering that our starting point was a sales office that had never exceeded $75,000 net profit per year.

My new appointment as leader that year brought opportunity, but there were doubts.

Regardless of these doubts, we set two specific targets: 1. To reach $300,000 net profit by the end of our first financial year.

2. To win The Most Improved Office of The Year at the next awards.

We had a lot of work to do but it all started with the belief that it was possible, followed by the decision to act. It was a challenging year but we pushed through. After 12 months the sales team of three made an astounding 412 per cent increase in net profit, or $384,000, and we won The Most Improved Office of The Year award. What a great result! The net profit increased further, to $518,000 the following year in the sales department alone!

Believe it’s possible, allow self-doubt to exist and act anyway.

There are four steps to manage doubt and cure mental paralysis: they are my four Ds: 1. Decide what you want.

2. Act with discipline regardless of self-doubt.

3. Keep moving in the right direction.

4. Focus on your vision – your destination – daily!

Even when we know what we want, stress

58 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

outcomes we want. With positive delusion we are creating positive narratives to hold us until success shows up.

In the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” Think about your current reality for a moment. Now imagine what it could be. Close your eyes and feel what it would be like to live in a new and different reality – the one you really want. Using visualisation we can create a mental image of what we want and feel the emotion as we move closer to our vision.

When the inevitable doubt arrives, what helps us to focus back on our belief is our ability to feel our vision in advance. This quality of feeling it in advance provides us with the resilience and trust we need to manage fear and doubt as we go in relentless pursuit of our goal.

There can be a gap between making a decision and overcoming inertia, and arriving at your vision or destination. What often sits in this gap is either trust or lack of trust.

Believe it’s possible, allow self-doubt to exist, and act anyway.

– often caused by doubt – can overwhelm us and ‘freeze’ our ability to achieve. As we push through our fear a new mental state can emerge, bringing with it greater conviction and hope. It’s not self-belief that’s essential to success; it’s having the courage to act in the face of self-doubt until self-belief turns up.

Self-belief is a by-product of taking action, and action is what takes us to our new reality.

And what bridges the gap between our vision and our new reality is hope.

POSITIVE DELUSION: FEEL IT IN ADVANCE Delusion is a belief held with conviction, regardless of the strong evidence to the contrary. In most cases you will hear about delusion in the context of a mental illness.

But there is a type of delusion that is not an illness, and that is positive delusion.

Positive delusion allows us to remain in a positive state in our own mind, contrary to the reality around us. This is the key to maintaining the vision. This overconfidence – believing you are better than you are in reality – has its benefits, as it serves to increase your ability to persist towards your vision and to influence outcomes.

This positive delusion, where we hold the dream alive, bridges the gap until the reality shows up. Visualisation, where we feel the desired outcome in advance, combined with positive delusion, helps to fast track the

Trust is an essential and powerful ingredient for our belief and momentum. A lack of trust can bring doubt and paralysis.

How many times have we given advice to a client who has decided they want our help and yet they question, they doubt, and consequently don’t take action? How many times have we done that ourselves: appointed an advisor, made the decision to invest time and dollars yet don’t take action?

It’s often not labelled as such, but inaction can be a lack of trust. What binds together all our learning with relentless execution is trust. Trust in the process, trust in the advisors, and above all, trust in yourself.

Bridge the gap between decision and action with trust. Trust and take courageous action in the face of fear and self-doubt until the evidence of success and belief shows up. True believers cure mental paralysis with physical action!

Christina Guidotti is one of Australia’s leading experts on belief, conviction and commitment in the areas of sales, leadership, productivity, achievement and fulfilment. As a powerful and inspiring speaker, author and mentor she partners with individuals and teams to create sustainable outcomes. For more information visit christinaguidotti.com.

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agent profile

Tim and Fiona Gregory

RE/MAX Property Services Caloundra, QLD Tim and Fiona Gregory work as a husband and wife team with RE/MAX in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. In a career already spanning 36 years, Tim has successfully negotiated the sale of over 1,500 properties in Sydney, Tasmania, rural New South Wales and on the Sunshine Coast. Fiona began her career in real estate in 2001 after serving for nine years as a Detective in the Queensland Police Service. Joining a prominent national franchise on the southern outskirts of Brisbane, she was soon recognised as an Elite Performer in the group’s top 100 agents nationally. They are both involved in a number of local community groups, and, like so many who choose to make the Sunshine Coast their home, love live music, healthy food, a glass of good wine and the perfect sunny coast lifestyle.

What were your first jobs, and what were the most important things they taught you?

Fiona’s first job was in sales in a camera store; Tim’s was in sales in a drapery. The most important lessons for both of us were about listening and asking lots of questions to get a clear understanding of what a client is ultimately hoping to achieve.

We know working with your spouse is not for everyone, but we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses and it works for us. With just on 54 years’ combined real estate experience we’ve seen the good, the bad and the downright disastrous in couples working together; we’ve learned to stick to what we’re good at.

What do you like most about your work now?

The magic for us is flexibility and being able to work together, selling as a team.

What do you still find the most challenging about what you do, and how do you deal with it?

We’re both quite opinionated, given we each had a lot of real

estate experience individually even before we teamed up!

We found that in order to work together we needed to align each task with whoever had the stronger relevant core skill, or who loved that task the most (or hated it the least) to get things done efficiently.

In terms of the industry, the most challenging thing for us is working in a really tightly held area. There’s major infrastructure development going on which is due to be completed at the end of 2016, so sellers are holding on waiting

for a magic wand to be waved over values in the area. What are we doing? It’s really just a process of working extra hard to uncover the sellers who are ready to act in the short term and building relationships with the rest.

Describe what a typical day looks like for you.

We’re usually up early for a quick whirl around the garden and time with the pets, then it’s coffee at the beach to plan our day. Mornings are usually admin and office-based, then we’re out talking to people and doing appointments and prospecting in the afternoon.

We’ve started a community Facebook page and website for our local area called We Love Currimundi, so at the moment we’re introducing ourselves to all the local business owners and getting their details to put in our free business directory.

We end the day the same way we started, notwithstanding any late appointments. It feels great to get your bare feet on the ground, with a glass of wine in hand, and pat a pooch!

It helps to keep a healthy perspective on your day.

Define ‘success’ for you personally? What will you have achieved?

For us it’s in maintaining the balance between career,

60 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

family, health and lifestyle.

That’s what feels the most aligned with our values. We have six children and four grandchildren, so apart from financial goals our biggest hot buttons are spending quality time with them on a regular basis. It can be logistically challenging just getting them all in one space!

The other measure of success is how often we get away to travel. At the beginning of each year we plan two one-week trips inside Australia, plus two weeks at the end of June and December, at least one of those being overseas. That discipline keeps us energised, striving for goals, interested and interesting!

That may not sound all that grand to people who are super-ambitious, but we’ve found we have a very different perspective on what makes us happy after our shared experience of losing our first partners [to cancer] and having to be both Mum and Dad to our kids. Being happy and feeling successful is represented by different things to different people, and that’s okay.

Is there one thing that’s not obvious about you that you wish more people would ‘get’?

We genuinely care about our clients – in fact, we’re more attached to what is right for our client than what is right for us. Everything else falls into alignment when you put the client ahead of your own interests.

What’s your secret skill or superpower that makes you so good at what you do?

Listening; and then asking the high-mileage questions that drill down to the heart of what a

WE’VE STARTED A COMMUNITY FACEBOOK PAGE AND WEBSITE FOR OUR LOCAL AREA CALLED ‘WE LOVE CURRIMUNDI’, SO AT THE MOMENT WE’RE INTRODUCING OURSELVES TO ALL THE LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS AND GETTING THEIR DETAILS TO PUT IN OUR FREE BUSINESS DIRECTORY. client’s hopes and motivations are. The most powerful tools are questions and silence.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received, and why?

The best compliment is when a client says, ‘I trust you absolutely, just tell me what we need to do next.’ You might think that means you have free range to do whatever you want, but it actually imposes a responsibility that matches the level of trust given. That sort of trust definitely brings out the best in both of us.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger selves, what would it be? What would you do differently?

We’re in agreement here.

Our advice would be ‘Don’t take your foot off the pedal just because you’re earning a comfortable living; push through to the next level.’

One thing we would do differently if we had the chance would be branding ourselves. More and more we feel it’s about relationships, as well as the company you’re working with.

What are your goals for the next 12 months?

In the short term we’re working on a personal branding project in the digital space; we’re so fortunate to work in a very collaborative office where that is openly encouraged.

In the longer term we see ourselves going all-out for the next 10 years, until we retire right here in our own patch on the Sunshine Coast. There are some exciting things about to happen in our office and we’re really looking forward to being a part of that as it all unfolds.

eliteagent.com.au 61

MY LOCAL

1

MELBOURNE CBD Scott McElroy is the Director at hockingstuart Melbourne and is one of hockingstuart’s longest serving Directors.

Scott and his team have been at the forefront of the city’s residential revitalisation, having sold many converted buildings and new residential developments over the past two decades.

The Melbourne office offer a full suite of residential property services that include residential sales, property management, strategic development advice, project marketing and buyer advocacy. Who wouldn’t love to work in this local?

2

3

1. ARTS AND CULTURAL PRECINCT – With great views over the historic Flinders Street Station, Southbank is the perfect position to see the city light up at night whilst relaxing at a waterfront restaurant or bar. One of my favourites is Ponyfish Island, a hidden bar with a great view which floats under the pedestrian bridge. It’s only a short stroll to the Melbourne Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria for your cultural fix.

2. DOCKLANDS – One of Melbourne’s best lifestyle locations is Docklands, featuring the new Melbourne Star Observation Wheel that will give you a unique bird’s-eye perspective of the city and surrounds. Plus Medibank Icehouse is actually Australia’s largest ice sports venue, where you can spend the day learning to ice skate or catch a game of ice hockey.

4

3. SPORTS PRECINCT – With Melbourne being the sporting capital of Australia and the MCG and AAMI Park a short stroll from the city, Friday nights are always abuzz. Passionate fans flood the nearby pubs and restaurants wearing jerseys or scarfs of their favourite teams, whether it is for AFL, rugby or soccer.

4. LANEWAYS – One of the CBDs greatest attractions is its laneways. It seems every time I walk to an appointment and take a different route down a laneway I discover a new bar, restaurant or funky retail outlet. It never fails to surprise and is a feature that really sets Melbourne apart when compared to other capital cities. Some of my favourite lanes include Hardware Lane, Oliver Lane, Hosier Lane and Russell Place. With Melbourne renowned for its love affair with coffee, it is hard to find an average brew. The number of specialist cafes now on offer is amazing.

5. QUEEN VIC MARKET – Melbourne’s Vic Market certainly holds its own with other markets around the world. People come from all over Melbourne to experience the buzz it generates and with the best array of fresh seafood, meat and delis to choose from, it is little wonder it is the destination for Melbourne’s foodies. As an agent lucky enough to work within a short walk of the market and a keen cook, it isn’t hard to find inspiration when visiting the market. I can often be found suited up early on a Friday morning before work mixing it with the passionate traders.

6. FLINDERS STREET STATION – Works are set to begin on the always bustling and historic Flinders Street Station this year, which is the oldest station in Australia and serves the entire metro rail network. The renowned façade and clock tower will be upgraded to ensure it continues to remain a prominent landmark in Melbourne’s CBD.

62 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

5

6

EPM

GENERATION Y-ES!

Meet the young dynamic team from RealEstate Precinct PAGE 70

ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER

If I Only Knew...

16 & 17 AUGUST 2015 S Y D N E Y H I LT O N | W W W. T R E T. C O M . A U

Realty Bytes Alister Maple-Brown

What’s your disaster recovery plan?

New South Wales recently experienced some of the worst flooding and storms we’ve seen in over 10 years. Many businesses were left without electricity for days, and some were completely destroyed in the horrific flooding. Alister Maple-Brown, CEO of Rockend, discusses how you can take better precautions to protect your critical business data.

A

s you can imagine, unexpected events like the NSW floods can have a detrimental effect on a business. How would you cope if you suddenly lost all your management agreements, leases and condition reports as a result of something over which you had no control? Does your company currently have a disaster recovery plan? If not, now’s the time to implement a strategy to safeguard your business. There are a variety of ways to store data; which option suits you best?

SERVER STORAGE There is a common misconception that data backups consume too much time and cost too much, but the time and money costs of the downtime your business would face if you lost all your data are immeasurable. To maintain an effective and structured backup system it is best your business implements a data plan and backup schedule. Having a dedicated schedule will eliminate data duplication and ensure all backups are completed daily. It is important to ensure the entirety of your business’ data is backed up and stored offsite.

How often do you currently back up your data? It may come as a shock to you that all data should be backed up at least

64 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

once per day. Australian law requires all businesses to store a copy of their data offsite, in case of incidents such as flood, fire, power or disk failure. Data storage and backups should be a priority in your business, especially around mid-month or end of month processing.

ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS First National Oxley experienced flooding firsthand during the 2011 Brisbane floods. The entirety of their office was

but offers a secure, centralised location to store documents safely, with virtually unlimited filing capacity, protecting your most valuable assets. By having an electronic document management system in place First National Oxley were up and running far faster than expected. “We were back in business as soon as the water cleared from the office, thanks to our ability to retrieve documents from fileSMART and the assistance from the First National network.”

suffer data loss. Researching and selecting a reputable cloud provider is highly recommended to ensure your sensitive data is stored with a trustworthy service provider.

Alternatively, your office could switch to a cloud-based software system, such as PropertyTree. Many cloudbased software programs back up your data for you, some as frequently as every 15 minutes.

Data backups in cloud-based software eliminate the need for servers, backup disks or

Australian law requires all businesses to store a copy of their data offsite, in case of incidents such as flood, fire, power or disk failure. inundated with water, destroying all their paper files. Luckily, the business had stored all of their documents electronically using fileSMART. Principal Geoff Hawker explains, “Without our use of fileSMART over the past five years it would have been impossible to reconstruct all the files that were destroyed during the floods.”

An electronic document management system, such as fileSMART, enables the scanning, electronic filing and fast search and retrieval of documents. Implementing such a system not only backs up data

CLOUD STORAGE Many people but do not understand ‘the cloud’, or how it can benefit their business. The cloud is essentially the offsite storage of your data, accessible via the internet. You may be familiar with the data storage service Dropbox, a remote storage solution for users. There is a variety of cloud platforms that provide a similar service but on a much larger scale, providing offsite data storage for the entirety of your business.

Cloud storage is accessible 24/7 via the internet, eliminating downtime if your business does

drives, freeing up time to run your business. To ensure this is an effective backup system it is important that all paper documents are scanned and stored electronically.

There are a variety of ways to store and maintain your data.

Take the time to evaluate your current system and determine the best system for your business moving forward.

Alister Maple-Brown is the CEO of leading property management software provider Rockend. For more information visit rockend.com.au.

If I Only Knew...

Join us at ARPM 2015 and hear from the experts who have been there, done that. Lear n how to look ahead and embrace p r o a c t i v i t y, r a t h e r t h a n w i s h i n g f o r h i n d s i g h t .

YOUR HEADLINERS INCLUDE

John Sweeney

Fiona Blayney

Robin Banks

Tim Sharp & Judy Sharp

16 & 17 AUGUST 2015 AT S Y D N E Y H I LT O N

Book your tickets now to receive early bird discounted rates (ends June 30): Early Bird Single Registration: $845 Early Bird Group Registration (3 or more): $795

B O O K AT: W W W. T R E T. C O M . A U

Marty Wilson

Property Management Mentor

Natalie Hastings

Make each day count: measuring property manager performance Improving a property management department so often comes down to measurables: setting your property managers KPIs and following up on their progress. Natalie Hastings from hastings + co offers a technology-fuelled roadmap to measurable success.

A

S ANY REAL estate

veteran worth their salt is well aware, successful property management and sales departments are the result of a numbers game played with finesse.

The most successful operators in the real estate industry always know their ‘numbers’ – they’ll be aware of how many calls they’ve made in any week, their average amount of conversions to conversations, the minimum amount of outgoing interactions necessary to improve their business’ net position. In short, if you can count it, you can measure it.

GOING FOR GROWTH, SUPPORTED BY SYSTEMS Property management as a discipline is becoming increasingly competitive as landlords and tenants become better informed and more demanding of our teams. Many real estate principals now look for massive growth in their rent rolls using aggressive prospecting or rent roll acquisition – but struggle to maintain customer service standards while improving their asset.

Until recently, PM department heads have relied upon manual measurement tools (weekly paper-based reports, spreadsheets) to monitor their team’s performance.

66 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

Such manual reporting can be inaccurate and even skewed, as it relies upon the property managers reporting their own activity. Today, setting KPIs and measuring genuine property manager activity (and thus, the projected growth of your department) can be assisted by intelligently calibrated property management software.

SETTING KPIS WITH SOFTWARE Team KPI Summary Reports provide all property managers’ portfolio information in one

The most successful operators in the real estate industry always know their ‘numbers’. simple, concise report: just the thing you need to hold a meaningful meeting. You can also produce individual property manager portfolio and KPI reports which break down each manager’s responsibilities – ideal for using in one-on-one accountability and coaching meetings.

These reports are so useful, detailing managements gained and lost, vacancy rates, arrears, inspections, rent reviews, new business and property maintenance. With a little software training, you’ll soon be able to filter through your PM department data to ensure your team is meeting each of their Key Performance Indicators.

Say goodbye to those print-offs and whiteboards and get ready for growth!

MONITORING MAINTENANCE, ARREARS AND INSPECTIONS It’s enough to keep you up at night: what lurks neglected or forgotten in your property management database? By using your PM software to its full capacity, you’ll be able to ‘REST’ easier – furnished with complete reports which offer an overview of maintenance items, arrears and inspections across your portfolio.

In many instances, property maintenance reports are used as a valuable indicator to review staff performance, with constant outstanding maintenance items a reason for concern and a sign that staff require further training or even more balanced portfolios. Use your property management software to examine maintenance jobs overdue by property and by creditor: learning to produce these reports is

simply a matter of education.

Similarly, monitor arrears with effective arrears reports filtered by property manager, class of tenant, days, type of rent, rent, invoices or invoices only. You may also use reporting features to monitor routine inspections due, outstanding and completed – yet another indicator of property manager performance.

As real estate agencies build their rent rolls into super-portfolios, department managers require intelligent systems now more than ever to manage their teams and improve their businesses. Supported by industry-bespoke technology as never before, you now have the capacity to access information about both your portfolio and your property managers’ performance.

Complex property management software requires thorough training to utilise correctly, but once you understand how to produce in-depth reports you’ll feel more in control of your department than ever before.

With knowledge and the help of your property management software, you’ll soon be able to make decisions based on accurate data – allowing you to train your team and finesse your portfolio as you go. It all adds up!

Natalie Hastings is the Managing Director of Hastings + Co. For more information, visit hastingsandco.com.au.

Looking for more time, profit and growth in your Property Management Business?

Not sure where to find it?

Our members know where it is.

You could too.

Call us today on

(02) 8355 4999

to book in your free demo

Learn more. Do more. Make more. w w w. r e a l p l u s . c o m . a u

Business Development Mastery

Tara Bradbury

The clock is ticking: are you on target for 2015?

A quarter of the way through the year, Tara Bradbury reminds us of the time management skills we all need if we’re going to meet our targets.

W

E HAVE now

come to the end of our Innovate 2015 Tour and one of interesting comments I heard along the way is ’I was so busy in January and the start of February, and for some reason it has become really quiet. We don’t seem to have the same amount of leads coming in.’

While it is very important to continue to prospect during the busy times and make sure you have a strong pipeline of hot contacts each month, you must also make sure you are aware of how you spend your

The funny thing about the phrase ‘time management’ is that you can’t really manage time. What you can do is manage yourself and the activities you carry out on a daily basis. No matter how organised you are, there are only ever going to be 24 hours in a day. This is why it is so important to have an Ideal Week in place to make sure you are 100 per cent accountable for where you spend your time.

Many of us seem to have an addiction to being time wasters and tend to catch the vicious procrastination virus during our daily routines. Do you find yourself spending

It is important you are 100 per cent dedicated to starting and finishing each task and do not deviate from your plan. time each day and that every minute is devoted to incomeproducing activities.

I hear so many BDMs say ‘I wish I just had more time,’ and ‘If only I just had an extra couple of hours in my day I would achieve so much more’.

But, as we all know, we are unable to change time – and if we could, would it really solve our problems?

68 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

time on activities that are meaningless to the outcome you are hoping to achieve at the end of the day? Have you ever considered keeping a daily track record of the activities you are performing?

If you are searching for ways to improve your time management skills, here are seven steps that will help.

1

CREATE A NEW HABIT Like many bad habits, poor time management is a behaviour that BDMs develop over time. The first step to ‘kicking the habit’ is to recognise that you have a problem and then to make a firm commitment to do something about it. BDMs, you must invest in yourself. It takes 21 days to create a new habit and after 21 days your new routine will be like second nature.

2

CREATING AN IDEAL DAY/WEEK Similar to other disciplines, effective time management is a discipline that can be learned and mastered over time. The key principle to effective time management is planning. The first step is to plan each day in advance. Use any form of online calendar; find the tool that works best for you.

Towards the end of the day you should carefully take the time to plan out your activities for the next day. Ask yourself: ‘What is the most important use of my time?’ and ‘What are the income-producing activities I should focus on?’

3

HIGHLIGHT PRIORITY TASKS Prioritise the key tasks that must be accomplished (based on the answers to the two questions above). Once you have your list of tasks for the day, then prioritise them

highest to lowest.

Planning your day the afternoon before has other strong benefits. You will find it easier to sleep at night, as your conscious mind can rest. This is because you’ve written down your set plan and don’t have to worry about remembering every task.

4

IMPLEMENT BLOCKOUT SESSIONS BDMs, think about the appointments in your day that seem to be moved because they may be too hard or you just don’t feel like you have the time. A few that come to mind are cold calling and prospecting.

It is very easy to just think ‘I’ll get to that later’ if you don’t have the task blocked out in your calendar. It doesn’t matter how many leads you have coming in, you should always have prospecting time blocked out every day.

5

EAT YOUR LIVE FROG FOR BREAKFAST Morning is usually the best time to tackle your most difficult and highest-priority tasks. As the day progresses and you slow down, you can then work on other tasks that require less mental effort. Don’t avoid the hard tasks. Make it your mission to tackle them head on when you first walk into the office. You will be surprised how great you feel once you can tick them off your list.

6

PRIORITISE AND COMPLETE Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to jump right in and focus on your top priorities first.

It is important you are 100 per cent dedicated to starting and finishing each task and do not deviate from your plan.

One of the biggest enemies of time management for BDMs is starting several tasks but never finishing any of them.

When you feel like you have gone off track, a great way to steer back is to ask yourself: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Is the most important thing I should be doing in front of me right here, right now?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let yourself derail from your plan and always stay focused on the income-producing tasks.

7

MINIMISE DISTRACTIONS Distractions like the phone, internet, email, other people, daydreaming and so on can and will work against your plan. Make the necessary arrangements to keep these distractions to a minimum.

A great example is emails. I find that they can control our day if we allow them to. A lot of us have a five-minute send/ receive alarm set up in our email account. Imagine how productive your day would be if you checked your emails when you arrived in the morning, at lunch time and right before you go home. I encourage you to give it a go â&#x20AC;&#x201C; start by trialling it for a day. You will be

surprised at where you spend your time and how much time you do waste.

Finally, make sure you block out the appropriate time to speak with employees and co-workers, as well as time to return phone calls, emails, etc.

Doing these tasks when they are scheduled is much easier said than done, but I challenge you to have a go.

Schedule several breaks during the day and take â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;five-minute power breaksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. During this time you can walk outside or around the office, stretch your legs and clear your mind to recharge your mental batteries. This will allow you to re-focus on your work and get back to your ideal day.

I challenge you to start

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today by implementing these techniques. If you learn to do them and do them well, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to use some of that newly freed time for much needed personal and family enjoyment.

Respect your time and come to work each day knowing you not only have the best career but also an opportunity to live your chosen lifestyle. You are the only person who can take control of your day and the way you manage your time!

Tara Bradbury is the Director of the BDM Academy. She shares her business development ideas and strategies with property management BDMs and principals. For more information visit bdmacademy.com.au.

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eliteagent.com.au 69

ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER

Generation Y-es!

Three young professionals. A growing rent roll. Loads of youth and enthusiasm. With a lively and interesting presence on social media that made us take notice, these ladies are all about having fun while building a serious business. Just over a year ago, aged 21, Jess Mazzocato, Director of RealEstate Precinct, started her own property management company by recruiting her sister Molly and good friend Kaitlin, and has not looked back. Samantha McLean spoke to Jess, Molly and Kaitlin to find out more about how their youthful, fun and ‘just do it’ approach has created a thriving specialist property management company.

F

Jess Mazzocato

70 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

IRSTLY A QUICK run down on

roles and responsibilities.

Jess, 22, is the Director of the business and handles most of the business development, inspection and other client facing duties. Kaitlin, also 22, is the Marketing Manager, and Molly, Jess’ sister, is just 16 and is personal assistant to Jess and Kaitlin.

I firstly ask Jess what led her into starting her own business. “I started in real estate at 16, and went straight into a reception role for just over a year. And then went to another and worked from assistant to property manager. I just felt that property management needed to have more focus. I wanted to create a business that isn’t your typical property management business. I wanted to do things differently and have fun doing it”.

I ask Molly how she came to be in business with Jess. “One day during the holidays Jess was really busy; she asked me if I could come in and do some admin for her. So I came in for a week and enjoyed it, and I’ve been working with her pretty much ever since.” Do you

think you’ll stay in real estate, or are you considering other career options? “I’m thinking that I’ll go to Uni next year to study nutrition and health science. But I do like real estate, and while I’m in Uni I’ll continue to work in real estate.”

Having found these young dynamos on social media, I was keen to know a bit more about their approach to marketing the business. “We do make the time to put something up every day that is clever and a bit interesting, to make people want to come to our page and look at what we’re posting. We do plan it out though and then schedule our posts for the entire week at once.”

Do you find it’s successful for bringing in leads? “Yes, we are increasing the number of people who follow us, particularly on Instagram and Facebook. We post things that show we are constantly working and constantly busy, but with a fun edge. We wanted to create a good vibe there, and I think we’ve been successful in what we set out to achieve.”

Their rent roll has grown to 160 properties under management in the past year and Jess has a goal of reaching 300 in the next year. I ask Kaitlin what other types of marketing she focuses on to build the rent roll. She explains, “As well as social media, we do lots of flyers and letterbox drops where we have rented properties. We do a lot of handwritten prospecting letters so it’s really personal.

Jess is also involved in the community, and it helps that a lot of people already know her. And that, mixed with our social media, is what is working right now.”

What sort of things do you get involved in? Jess says, “Anything and everything!

Molly and I coach the local netball team;

we grew up playing netball so that’s something that we wanted to do anyway.

We do a lot of things with local schools where we can help, and a lot of charity events as well. We’ve just finished one.

It wasn’t so much for our community, it was actually for an orphanage in Bali. But we just got everybody in our community involved; we had a lunch, and everybody brought an item.”

What have been your biggest challenges to growth? Do you find your age any sort of a barrier to what you’re doing? Jess says, “We don’t let it stop us. If someone ever says, ‘you’re young’, to me when I’m out there, it’s a case of ‘yes, I’m young, but Im a business owner!’ - It’s never stopped me, to be honest. And I just wouldn’t let it stop me.

“We aren’t your typical 22-year-olds, I suppose. We’re actually serious about what we do, but we make everything fun.

So if we’re at a listing presentation, it’s not the typical listing presentation that most other agents do. I think people enjoy the personal experience we give them; we make it enjoyable, and I think that shows.

And Molly - well, she’s really mature and no one thinks she’s 16. When they find out people love it; they’re like, ‘Wow, I actually can’t believe it!’

I ask Jess if she was scared at all, taking the leap to start her own business. “Yes, there were times, but I’m really lucky

Molly Mazzocato

that I have the support of my whole family. If I fail, it doesn’t matter; I just keep on going. There’ve been plenty of times when I’ve called Mum and Dad and had a mild freak out, and they just say, ‘What do you need us to do?’ Mum sometimes helps deliver flyers, Dad will go out and put ‘For Lease’ signs up; they just do whatever they can to do to make it work for me. So I’m pretty lucky. There’s no need to be scared – I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? That’s the way I approach it!”

What are the big challenges that you face on a day to day basis, and how do you deal with those? Jess says, “Definitely branding is a challenge. When people think of a real estate agent, they think, ‘We’ll ring Ray White’, or somebody like that because that brand has been around

IF SOMEONE EVER SAYS, ‘YOU’RE YOUNG’, TO ME WHEN I’M OUT THERE, IT’S A CASE OF ‘YES, I’M YOUNG, BUT I’M A BUSINESS OWNER!’ - IT’S NEVER STOPPED ME. forever. So that’s why we’re so focused on building our brand; that’s why Kaitlin is full time, just building our brand so that when people think real estate, or property management, they think us. We’re constantly researching branding, and how to do it better. It’s definitely the biggest thing for us, but it’s something that we can overcome, and quite easily overcome, I think.”

What do you think are the key things for success for anyone in property management today? Jess says, “I would think consistency.” Molly agrees and adds, “I would say being determined and just not giving up when the first thing knocks you down. You’ve just got to keep getting up.” Kaitlin chimes in, “I’d say customer service. That aspect, the people aspect, that’s everything in most endeavours.

If you don’t have that, then it doesn’t matter what you are providing; if you can’t provide customer service you don’t have anything.”

I’ve also noticed the girls at a few training events recently and I ask them how important ongoing education is to them.

Jess says emphatically, “It’s one of the top

Kaitlin Rees

things that you need to be doing daily. We do some sort of education and/or training every single day, as a group, whether that’s studying one of the Acts, or reading books.

We don’t have radio on in the car; we have an audio book, for example. It’s really important. And the industry changes every day, so if you’re not learning I think it would be very hard to keep up!”

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? “I guess it wasn’t advice, but Richard Branson’s quote, ‘Screw it, just do it.’ I love that!” says Jess. “There are things that I really want to do, and think, ‘Let’s just do it; let’s just try!’. So that would be mine.” Molly says honestly, “I get so much advice because I’m so young!

But I take on board as much as possible.

And I think not giving up is the key. If you persist at something every day, if you think about it all the time, you’re working on it subconsciously, and if you just keep working at it you’re going to succeed.”

Last question. What do you think the future holds for RealEstate Precinct? Jess says, “I think in the industry in the next few months and years people are going to become a lot more aware that they have to step up their game. Property management is no longer ‘collect the rent and do the occasional maintenance’. There’s so much more to it; it’s about education, so I think there’ll be a lot more property management training becoming available, which will just be fantastic to see.”

eliteagent.com.au 7 1

ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER

Value and Performance In a market where investors are playing an increasingly large role, Daniel Evans from Macquarie Bank looks at how you can make some of the latest trends in property management work for you.

O

ver recent years we have seen a structural change across the real estate industry, with agencies increasingly recognising the importance of property management despite strong property sales. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re seeing more agencies rely on property management to increase profits and reduce risk, so how might you go about achieving best practice in this important area for your business?

This trend became even more apparent to us last year in our Residential Real Estate Benchmarking Report, which highlighted that

the number of properties under management had significantly increased over the last five years, from a national average of 375 per agency in 2009 to 508 in 2014.

In a market where property investors are playing an increasingly large role, building a close relationship between property management and sales could present you with significant revenue opportunities. Longterm relationships need to be developed as investors often sell to other investors, allowing you to capture multiple property management and sales commissions across the life of each property. In addition, tenants are increasingly owners of investment

OUR BENCHMARKING RESEARCH INDICATED THAT

BY HAVING STAFF FOCUSED ON THE QUALITY OF THE PROPERTIES YOU TAKE ON AS PROOF OF A STRONG VALUE PROPOSITION, YOU CAN ADD MORE VALUE TO YOUR BUSINESS.

72 ELITE AGENT â&#x20AC;˘ MAY-JUN 2015

properties themselves and may provide you with listings or managements, as well as being potential buyers.

With more and more businesses looking at property management as a way to create a sustainable income across various market cycles, there are a number of things you could consider to help make this work harder for your business.

PRIORITISE Fine-tune your business by looking at the factors that impact revenue. Look at how much time you spend on property management versus sales and whether the time you are investing is matching your desired revenue split. For property management this could mean looking at how you grow the number of properties you are managing, increasing the average weekly rent and letting fees, as well as adhoc and ancillary fees.

ENSURE THE WHOLE TEAM IS ON BOARD An efficient property management team is critical in developing and maintaining a

high-performing business. Our benchmarking research indicated that by having staff focused on the quality of the properties you take on as proof of a strong value proposition, you can add more value to your business.

Focusing on volume first can lead to price competition, whereas a strong belief in the value you offer to landlords and tenants will give your staff the tools they need to maintain high standards.

Be clear about what your vision is for the property management department, whether it is for your agency to have a certain number of properties under management or to have fewer properties at an average management fee.

REVIEW THE VALUE OF YOUR RENT ROLL The growing importance of property management has seen the value of rent rolls rise across the country. Rent rolls continue to provide business value and stability of cash flow. Unless you are in a position to acquire, the best way to benefit from your asset is to drive efficiencies and improve profitability, with a well-run property management department able to drive double the profit margin of a sales department.

With tight stock levels nationally, rent

rolls provide another source of strategic advantage. According to our research, 19 per cent of total sales for the average real estate agency nationally were sourced from the rent roll. This dynamic is especially clear in areas with a high concentration of investment properties, as it locks in potential sales commissions when properties change hands. This is keeping the acquisition multiples buoyant, as there is strong demand and limited supply of businesses for sale.

The competition to grow rent rolls is leading some agencies, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, to discount their management fees. Doing this may decrease the value of the asset by reducing management fee income, despite the number of properties under management rising.

IMPORTANCE OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SET TO CONTINUE We believe property management will continue to become more important over the coming years, helping to fuel further sales growth in low volume sales markets.

The industry now recognises that property management can assist in making a

business more profitable, as well as more able to withstand a downturn. In turn, this is increasing competition for managements and property managers.

Evidence suggests that those of you whose management teams are focused on property management, efficiency and growth will ultimately run the most profitable businesses and deliver the most value when the time comes to sell your business.

Daniel Evans is Head of Real Estate for Macquarie Business Banking. For more information, visit macquarie. com/au/business-banking.

This information has been prepared by Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence no 237502 (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Macquarieâ&#x20AC;?) for general information purposes only and is based on statistics and information sourced from the 2014 Macquarie Business Banking Real Estate Benchmarking Survey. Before acting on this general information, you must consider its appropriateness having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. Nothing in this article shall be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any product, or to engage in or refrain from engaging in any transaction. The information provided is not intended to replace or serve as a substitute for any accounting, tax or other professional advice, consultation or service.

eliteagent.com.au 73

property manager profile

Melanie Attard

Century 21 The Property Shoppe Windsor, NSW Melanie Attard has been in the real estate industry in the Hills and Hawkesbury areas since 2005. She is a Licensed Real Estate Agent and Strata Managing Agent. She also holds a Diploma in Property and a Certificate IV in Strata Management, and has recently won the Century 21 Property Manager of the Year award. With her sincere, enthusatic approach and ability to build rapport with her clients, she is also passionate about the need for property managers to educate themselves to further their careers.

Melanie, when did you start in real estate?

I started working in real estate 10 years ago, in 2005. I had a passion for real estate from a young age and I enjoy working with people, so I find that property management fits these passions well.

What are your qualifications?

I’m a Licensed Real Estate Agent, Accredited Auctioneer, Licensed Strata Managing Agency Agent and Licensed Stock and Station Agent.

As a property manager, what are the biggest challenges you face?

Technology has allowed many people to be available for contact 24/7. This is generally very positive, but some clients now expect me to be constantly available, which can sometimes be impractical!

What do you enjoy most about property management?

I really love the variety of the job; I’m never bored and no two days are the same. I find there’s always something new happening!

I also enjoy establishing and maintaining relationships with clients; I’m fortunate to have many long-term clients and I enjoy catching up with them.

What do you think your point of difference is in your agency?

I believe we are unique because we’re a small boutique agency operating with the strength of a global brand. This means we’re able to offer personalised service as well as having

I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MY JOB AND LOVE SHARING MY KNOWLEDGE WITH OTHERS. WITH THAT IN MIND, I’D LIKE TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING A REAL ESTATE TRAINER ONE DAY. the support, training and technology of a large company.

Tim Keegan (flickr)

What are your most important values?

The most important thing for me is always to be honest, and try and do the right thing by everyone.

74 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

I have come across many inspiring and successful people within the Century 21 network who are more than willing to share their knowledge and experiences with anyone who needs guidance. I like to think of many people in this network as mentors.

What are the key features in maintaining healthy relationships with landlords and tenants?

Regular communication is vital.

Not only that, but I find it’s very important to be honest and friendly (even if you’re having a bad day!).

Do you have a mentor, or someone who inspires you?

What’s the best advice you have been given?

To always learn from difficult situations.

What are your goals for for the future?

I’m passionate about my job and love sharing my knowledge with others. With that in mind, I’d like to explore the possibility of becoming a real estate trainer one day.

How do you relax outside real estate? Are you able to maintain a good work/life balance?

Exercise is very important to me - I train most days and I believe this helps to keep my overall mood positive, with a good sense of wellbeing. It’s

the best way to start a day! I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends.

If you could have any three people at your dinner party, who would it be and why?

There are so many successful and knowledgeable people I have met throughout the Century 21 network. I couldn’t just pick three!

Ben Newton (flickr)

What are your predictions for the real estate industry for the next year?

Currently in the Hawkesbury area the sales market is extremely hot. In my experience, many purchasers are investors and in turn the amount of properties available for lease is growing.

However, the property market is always changing; if interest rates remain low the sales market should continue to grow in the short term. I believe that high quality

properties will always lease if landlords are prepared to meet the market and be realistic with their rent expectations.

What advice would you give someone starting out in property management?

Educate yourself! You need to have an in-depth knowledge of the Residential Tenancies Act and ensure that you are aware of any changes in legislation. A certificate of registration does not cover the intricacies of legislation.

I always encourage people to undertake further education – a Certificate IV in Property as a minimum.

I also believe that in property management you will come across situations in which you can’t please everyone. When this happens, it’s important to remember to learn from the experience and not take it personally.

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ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER

The Great Inspection Roundup Heidi Walkinshaw from Real Plus offers some tips and suggestions to make your inspection rounds that little bit easier.

R

outines, periodics, ingoings, commencements, vacates, finals: whatever you like to call them, when it comes to office tasks we often find this is one that tends to take a segue into Neverland and is sometimes forgotten.

Your inspections don’t need to be a nightmare task. It’s a great opportunity to check how the property is being maintained and advise the owner of any maintenance that may be needed now or in the future to maximise the potential of their investment.

There now exists a wide variety of apps and technology to assist in making the inspection task much easier and provide a step towards a seamless process. It’s just a case of carrying out your research and finding out which one suits your team and requirements.

THE INGOING INSPECTION This inspection sets the foundation for the tenancy and the condition of the property.

We rely on this inspection at the end of the tenancy, so it is vitally important that we get this right from the beginning. Take a look at your procedure in place for your ingoing; ensure that you have all your bases covered and even a checklist in place to assist in making the process easier. Some essential steps in this inspection would be: • Identify that the property is vacant – you cannot carry out an ingoing inspection for a new tenancy of the property unless it has been vacated and you have a clear view of all aspects of the property. Also ensure that all cleaning and repairs have been completed.

• Ensure you have copies of all keys,

76 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

security swipes and remotes for each of the tenants and a copy for the office.

• In any properties that have pools, ensure they are completely compliant with state legislation, registered and with correct fencing, signage and security.

• In furnished properties, take an inventory of the furniture, the condition of each item and the room it is located in, including colour, brand and number of items.

• Check that smoke alarms and light globes are all working.

• Make sure all boxes on the report have been completed and that descriptions and details are recorded with size of flaws, including marks, scratches, burn marks, dents and also fixtures such as hooks, screws and nails. Check that all appliances are in good working order and record colours, make, models and serial numbers.

• Take as many photos as required to cover everything.

Explain the condition report in full at the time of issue and have the tenant sign off, acknowledging receipt of the report and any other documents they receive on a separate form. It is not compliant to have the tenant sign the office copy of the condition report, sight unseen, and then give them a copy to complete.

Follow up with the tenant within seven days after issue for their returned, signed report and compare it with the original report completed by you. Follow up on

IT IS NOT COMPLIANT TO HAVE THE TENANT SIGN THE OFFICE COPY OF THE CONDITION REPORT, SIGHT UNSEEN, AND THEN GIVE THEM A COPY TO COMPLETE. any discrepancies in the two reports and handle any identified repairs and maintenance. These should also be followed up with the owner.

A well prepared Condition Report will protect both the owner client and the tenant against avoidable issues at the end of the tenancy and may just save you the additional stress.

THE VACATE INSPECTION Tenants vacating can bring out all manner of emotions, which can very quickly turn those once lovely tenants into monsters. A few tasks to consider to try and maintain a civil relationship may include:

• At the commencement of the tenancy, lay down the ground rules. Let the tenants know how you expect the property to be looked after, stressing the conditions of the lease regarding care of the property.

• Pre-vacate inspections are a perfect opportunity to sort out any potential problems that might be present at the property and give the tenant the chance to fix these before the vacate inspection.

• Invite the tenant to the vacate inspection at a time that is suitable for you. If they cannot make it at that time, then carry on the inspection without them. Make sure that you call or email the tenant after the inspection to inform them of the result.

Communicate with the tenant throughout the process and explain the bond refund procedure. In most cases a reasonable person will understand the situation once it has been explained to them; however, there are those other cases in which you are left with a neglected property and a difficult tenant, which may mean a bond claim and possible tribunal action if it all goes pear-shaped.

THE ROUTINE INSPECTION With winter on its way, it’s tempting to hibernate in the warmth of our office

environments and try and avoid the outside world. However, it is important not to forget the crucial task of routine inspections in this period.

• When it comes to routine inspection frequency, it is important to check the legislative requirements for your state. For example, in NSW you are not allowed more than four inspections in a twelve-month period, which can make it interesting should you be carrying out quarterly inspections and need to go back for any reason. You may find that you hit your quota faster than you think.

• Create an inspection schedule for your properties, allocated by due month or by geographical zones, and plan to send it out a month ahead. Your property management software can assist in automating this process.

• Don’t get locked into individual times and allow yourself flexibility by allocating a time range.

• Give yourself plenty of time. Most visits will take around fifteen to thirty minutes.

This will allow time for you to explore issues that are concerning the tenant and inspect the property.

• Ensure that you provide the correct notice

in writing to the tenant to advise them of the inspection. Include information such as the use of a master key and that you may take digital images of the property at the inspection. Adding an information guide of the expectations of condition and a maintenance form can also be helpful.

The most important point when it comes to your inspections is to stay safe.

This industry deals with some volatile personalities and it pays to trust your instincts. Don’t ever put yourself in a situation where you may be in harm’s way; if you feel threatened, take someone from your office with you. Your safety and sanity are paramount in this game.

Heidi Walkinshaw has been immersed in property management for over 14 years, dealing in all aspects of leasing, property management, business development and team management. Heidi brings enthusiasm and energy to Real Plus and is passionate about system implementation, procedures and staff training that can assist in reducing stress and saving time while helping clients.

For more info visit realplus.com.au.

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ELITE PROPERTY MANAGER

takeaways from ALPPPS

Well, that’s a wrap! After two massive days at the Annual Principals and Property Professionals Summit (ALPPPS), event organiser Jo Oliveri provides the top eight business, technology and leadership takeaways to help your property management business achieve game-changing success.

1

COACH YOUR TEAM When it comes to leading your team, act like a sports coach. This differs from simply being a ‘boss’. When you act like a boss you lead from the front and, as a result, are not in control of what your team are doing behind you. Instead, sports coaches lead from behind as they nurture

2

TECHNOLOGY THAT GLISTENS IS NOT ALWAYS GOLD Just because there is new technology it does not necessarily mean it is right for your business. It’s important that you plan your property management business vision first, before choosing the technology you need. When choosing technology consider the following: what is the real cost? Where is the data stored? How will it create value?

How will it impact security, and what is the exit strategy? When licensing or integrating technology consider whether it will scale with your growth or simply be obsolete before you start. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon when it comes to new technology. Instead, be strategic and selective and you will stand out far more than competitors using lots of shiny, costly and, ultimately, ineffective gadgets.

3 and direct their team towards achieving their season’s goals. To coach your team, work with each player on their personal strengths, weaknesses, PBs and KPIs. Coach them one-to-one and one-to-many to ensure that you celebrate success at both an individual and team level. That way you build respect with each individual and develop a united team.

78 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

BUILD YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE Your property management business’ digital presence is one of its most valuable assets, so it’s important that you invest in building it. To do this, ensure that you design a ‘responsive’ website – one that detects the device and changes size accordingly. Providing this optimal viewing experience for your clients will make it easier to lead them through your sales funnel. Next, invest in Google AdWords. Doing this not only helps bring highly targeted traffic to your website, but it helps grow your rent roll too. And finally, select social media platforms that best align with your brand. Delivering high-value content on a few platforms is far better than trying to be across all of them. In essence,

‘build it and they will come’ best sums up what a digital presence can do for your property management business.

4

LOYALTY IS CHEAP It’s a well-known fact that keeping existing clients is less expensive than acquiring new ones. So why are more property management businesses hiring BDMs instead of rolling out loyalty programs?

While it is important that your team spends

DESIGN A ‘RESPONSIVE’ WEBSITE – ONE THAT DETECTS THE DEVICE AND CHANGES SIZE ACCORDINGLY. time prospecting, more time should be spent ensuring that your current clients feel satisfied. Your goal should therefore be to retain more existing customers. You can retain clients by, for example, implementing an ongoing client induction process, using set maintenance providers, providing purposeful communication and asking for feedback.

Making your clients feel valued is not exactly a new concept, but with so many unsatisfied property owners and tenants out there you do begin to wonder! So why not stand out by being the agency known for rewarding loyalty?

5

SYSTEMISE, SYSTEMISE, SYSTEMISE! Systemising your property management business’ operations is the

WITH AN INCREASING NUMBER OF REPORTED INCIDENTS WHERE PROPERTY MANAGERS HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO DANGER, IT’S TIME YOU STEPPED UP AND INVESTED IN KEEPING YOUR TEAM SAFE.

only way to achieve sustainable success.

To do this you must design every process, document each one as a program, procedure or template, and then teach it to your team. This is how you can achieve service consistency, increase productivity, recruit with ease, and know that even when you are away from your business it is still operating efficiently. Implementing a system therefore not only puts you in control of your business, but allows your team to feel in control too as they’re able to make decisions according to the process they are following.

6

MARKET YOUR MANAGEMENTS You should market your managements in the same way that sales agents market their properties.

To do this, invest in professional, highquality photography, floor plans and copy.

Your photos should showcase a property’s distinguishing features and benefits; it’s a good idea to use props which help highlight them, including people who represent the property’s target market. The description and headline should also promote the main features and benefits, using suitable pronouns to help prospectives visualise themselves enjoying these advantages. Start marketing your managements like sales agents and you’ll start attracting the right tenants.

stepped up and invested in keeping your team safe. To help minimise the high levels of risk your team could be exposed to, you should invest in a GPS tracker app. Such apps provide personal protection for your employees when working offsite by ensuring you know where they are at all times. Another way to help protect your team is to invest in self-defence courses. Such courses give your employees the tools to escape high-risk situations should they arise. You know safety is serious, so prove it by protecting your team.

8

BE UNSTOPPABLE As you know, building a successful property management business is hard work. But the difference between success

and failure ultimately comes down to your attitude. Successful principals choose to be unstoppable. This means they are solutionsdriven, proactive and persistent, no matter what. Successful principals know what they want to achieve. They visualise their dream and take the necessary steps to bring it to fruition.

It’s a simple message, yet one so many forget.

The bottom line is: if you want success then be unstoppable and your hard work will pay off.

Implement these top business, technology and leadership takeaways into your property management business and achieve game-changing success.

Jo-Anne Oliveri, CIPS, TRC, Founder and Managing Director of property management business solutions company ireviloution, is an international real estate identity who has trained over 500 agencies and thousands of agency owners and property managers worldwide. Visit ireviloution.com to find out more.

7

SAFETY IS SERIOUS Everyone agrees that safety is a serious matter, but few principals prove it. With the increasing number of reported incidents where property managers have been exposed to danger, it’s time you

eliteagent.com.au 79

The Last Word Fiona Blayney

The Advice Boomerang Have you been hit by the Advice Boomerang? Are there things you say to others that are really meant for you, and how do you stop that boomerang from coming back?

H

OW MANY times

a day do you dish out advice?

Have you ever considered the regularity in which you share your opinion? I’m sure you’ve already shared some of your insights today. Quite often we don’t even know that we’re doing it.

It may be a quick tip to your partner or kids as you’re running out the door or a comment to someone en route to the office. It may be that long conversation that so many females have, where you deconstruct the world you live in and assist someone else to rebuild theirs with your pearls of wisdom. Of course, advice extends into the office, to our colleagues and our clients every day. And let’s be clear; much of the advice that’s dished out hasn’t been requested, wanted or appreciated.

It can be dangerous giving advice, and not just in the way we think. Sure, if someone doesn’t like your advice, didn’t want it or even, heaven forbid, follows it and it doesn’t work out, well none of that is bubbling with positive results.

The danger I am talking about has far greater repercussions; repercussions that are far closer to home and more personal. It’s the danger that I call the Advice Boomerang.

Now you’d be mistaken for thinking a boomerang is an indigenous toy. It is in fact a weapon used for hunting;

80 ELITE AGENT • MAY-JUN 2015

it has the ability to travel at great velocity and hit a moving target. I’d go as far as to say that with the Advice Boomerang we are hunting a better version of ourselves through the advice we provide to others, and the Boomerang returns when we least expect it. It’s been my experience that it’s not until that advice comes hurtling back towards you at great speed that you realise some of the advice you give is actually meant for you.

Of course, you have to be open to the Advice Boomerang; and to do so is to be open to an experience that can have amazingly positive effects on your own life. The Advice Boomerang hits you at that moment in time when you actually hear your own advice, either in the moment or on replay. This happens to me regularly. I generally find the Advice Boomerang comes to me in business, sometimes on a weekly basis. Whilst it can arrive when I least expect it, it’s often when I need it the most. Perhaps you have already experienced it.

Every day I give advice, and in business it is an element of what I am contracted to do. Advice in general reflects opinions, values, recommendations and guidance. As those who know me will tell you, I put everything into my clients, and this leaves me, more often than not, in the Advice Boomerang danger zone.

I know the Boomerang is coming as I start to hear my

It’s not until that advice comes hurtling back towards you at great speed that you realise some of the advice you give is actually meant for you. own advice. I’m not just saying words; I am actually listening to myself speak as if my words of wisdom are being said back to me. It can feel like the conversation you’re having is happening in slow motion, or like an out of body experience where you are an observer of yourself. You may finish a conversation and reflect, knowing your advice is meant for you too.

Perhaps you’re reading this smiling as you recount the instances when you’ve been hit by the Boomerang. And if you delve a little deeper I’d suggest there are a couple of pieces of advice that just keep coming back to hit you. How do you

get that Boomerang to stop coming back?

For most of us, we overshoot the mark in terms of our expectations on ourselves. We spend more time attempting to perfect our areas of weakness than playing to our strengths.

We’ve taken other people’s goals and made them our own, or at the very least we’re not true to our own sense of self.

The next time you give advice and the Advice Boomerang hits you in the head, grab it and do something with it. Make a decision and put your advice into action, or decide that particular piece of advice wasn’t actually meant for you – getting hit with a boomerang hurts!

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