Recognising women in real estate — Day 3

Betty Ockerlander, McGrath Epping partner

What drew you to a career in real estate?

I had a taste of real estate during my accounting career in the late ’80s. I felt it was something that I could do as I love property and all their large and small differences. But mainly, I saw real estate as something I could do to help people and do it better than many that I saw in the industry at the time. I am a fix-it sort of a person and love systems and processes, which helped.

What is a challenge you faced, and how did you overcome it?

I was very shy, and I thought it was necessary for me to talk to people if I was going to succeed, so my own personal growth was my biggest challenge.

What goals and milestones do you have for your career?

My main mission before I retire is to train my team to be world-class agents without me. I have been lucky to have won many real estate awards and also a state government award for Woman of the Year a couple of years ago. I spoke at AREC two years ago, even with a fear of public speaking. They all helped my confidence which does make me feel good and helps me grow.

Do you think real estate is a good industry for women to work in? 

When I started 26 years ago, women were treated very badly. This was one of the reasons I also wanted to move from accounting as women just weren’t respected. With real estate, I saw it as my own business within a business, and you can be your own boss and control your own destiny which is what also appealed to me. REINSW is working on all the right things to make real estate easy for everyone who wants to see their career as a profession.

Annika Bongiorno, Stone McMahons Point principal

How did you fall into real estate?

I used to live next door to McGrath’s head office in Edgecliff and I was previously working in the IT industry (which I absolutely hated). One day I went into their office and applied for a job — any job they had. I didn’t care what it was, I just wanted to get into the real estate industry. I was 27 at the time and had never found the career I thought I was any good at or actually liked. I have a degree in communications, so I thought my marketing skills may finally be useful and get me into a job I actually like doing. Three weeks later, HR contacted me and offered me a job at McGrath in their in-house marketing team. Three months later, one of the sales agents asked if I wanted to join his team as his assistant, which I jumped at. I worked alongside him for four years as his associate agent and then went out on my own as a standalone agent. I guess you could say I was at the right place at the right time and the rest is history!

What do you like about working in real estate?

I absolutely love what I do and don’t consider it to be a job. It’s a lifestyle to me, which means it is all-encompassing and there is no real off switch. However, it allows me to have the career I love, work alongside my husband and partner in crime Aaron, and still be a mum.

Effective planning and time management allows me to be able to do school drops-offs on my way to work, and also some school pick-ups which I love. I have three boys, aged four, six and 12.

The flexibility in the hours we can work are a massive bonus, as we can make calls and appointments around the hours we want to work and that work for us and our family commitments.

One of my favourite aspects of this job is the broad range of people we get to meet, and the relationships we build with our clients. A lot of our sellers become friends and I think that is largely due to the fact we actually really have an interest in our clients as people (and not just a transaction). 

You can work as hard or as little as you want and there is no limit on the amount of money you can make.

What impact do you think being female has had on the success of your career?

When I first started in real estate, there weren’t nearly as many female agents as there are now. Now it makes me proud to see that real estate is a level playing field. I once had a prominent male figure in the industry tell me I would never make it on my own as a standalone agent as I was a woman and a mother… nothing has ever given me more motivation or determination to prove him wrong. And I have. There was never a time I didn’t think I could do this or that I was at a disadvantage because I was a woman. I always believed in my self — which was hard at times due to the nature of the industry, but I was determined to prove that I was just as good, if not better, than any of my male competitors.

I love the fact that you can have it all in real estate. Just because you are a woman, and just because you may want to be a mother… you certainly don’t have to give up your career that you love and your profile that you have worked so hard to build. With hard work and good time management, you can be both. I never let anything get in my way to stop me achieving what I set out to achieve.

What would your advice be for a woman looking to embark a career in real estate?

You need to live and breathe what you do. Be prepared for lots of hard work with little reward initially as building your career and your profile can take some time.

Build as many relationships as possible and keep in touch with people. Don’t make every call to them be about real estate. Most of my calls are just checking in to see how they are and how their families are. People see through insincerity and there is a big difference between a cheesy desperate sales call and an empathetic friendly call.

Don’t see yourself as a female agent — see yourself as a real estate agent.

Rely on your network (family, friends and colleagues) to refer you business especially when you are new to the industry. 

Know your core area back to front.