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While COVID brought the need for tech tools into sharper focus, a Tamworth-based agency has revealed why the telephone trumps all when operating in remote locations.
In a time and age where businesses are largely technology-driven, the team at rural real estate group McCulloch Agencies is familiar with operating in regional areas with limited access to technological tools.
Indeed, the agency has offices in Tamworth, Quirindi, and Wauchope in NSW and opened an office in Sydney last year with the objective of connecting metropolitan investment with regional and rural opportunities.
The agency offers residential and rural property sales, livestock, hobby farmers sales, as well as property management services.
Managing director Daniel McCulloch said that because his agency has a diverse and remote footprint across NSW, it has had to implement strategies to continue operating without technology in some locations.
“The biggest thing with our businesses is the remoteness of it,” he told REB.
“A lot of our clients live anywhere between 20 and 100 kilometres out of a town. When we go out there to conduct our service, we may not have Wi-Fi or even a telephone signal. So, we’ve got to implement things that you can do without technology.”
When signal is available, however, Mr McCulloch is a staunch believer in communicating with clients using the “old-fashioned” telephone.
“You cannot beat the old telephone,” he asserted.
“We’re a very traditional business because we have clients for life. Our business is not just based on one or two transactions with clients. We’ve got lifelong relationships with them because a lot of the time, they will be farmers or investors who have lived in their town all their lives. Their kids would have gone to the same school. It’s a very different clientele to a metropolitan-based real estate business.”
Mr McCulloch spoke to REB ahead of its REInnovate conference in Melbourne in October, where he will partake in a panel discussion about how agencies can run a remote agency while maintaining trust through personalised virtual interactions, and some of the common mistakes to avoid and strategies to implement when delivering virtual auctions.
Can’t beat the vibes of in-person auctions
Similar to agencies across Australia (particularly in Sydney and Melbourne), McCulloch Agencies had to navigate the use of technology during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to conduct virtual auctions.
McCulloch Agencies held in-room auctions in Sydney and Tamworth and simultaneously broadcast them across the two locations to create the atmosphere of an in-person auction.
However, with the removal of restrictions, Mr McCulloch said his agency does not conduct virtual auctions, although the facility is still available.
“The biggest element of an auction is it creates an atmosphere, which can’t be replicated in virtual auctions. You can’t gauge people’s emotions online,” Mr McCulloch said.
Let the team do their thing
Alongside prioritising communication with clients, Mr McCulloch also said open communication between his team members is essential, particularly given that they operate in Sydney and different towns across NSW.
“We have constant communication with all of our staff over all our locations, whether that’s through weekly team meetings, instant messaging, or phone calls,” he said.
“We operate like a large family-owned business across a lot of locations.”
The key to operating in multiple locations for Mr McCulloch is providing his team with autonomy and delegating functions, he said.
“As the managing director, I have employed staff that, I suppose, cover my weaknesses. I don’t try to do everything because I can’t be everywhere at once,” he said.
He concluded: “I let our staff run their own show like it’s their own business within a business.
“We don’t micromanage people.”
To hear more from Daniel McCulloch about how to operate an agency in multiple and remote locations while still effectively communicating with clients and your team, come along to REB REInnovate 2022.
It will be held at the Pullman in Melbourne on Tuesday, 25 October 2022.
Click here to book your tickets and make sure you don’t miss out!
For more information about the conference, including agenda and speakers, click here.
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