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Fiona Yang and Peter Li founded their business just two years ago, but they have already crafted a winning strategy that helped them achieve success beyond borders.
Established in February 2021, Plus Agency has achieved strong growth in a short span since they opened their doors.
In addition to boasting over half a billion dollars of exclusive listings, the Sydney-based business has impressively sealed over $180 million in sales within just two years.
Notably, their agent team has experienced significant growth, expanding from a humble five to a thriving team of 20 professionals.
With their numbers doing the talking, it’s not surprising Ms Yang was named a finalist for REB Awards 2023 Marketing Professional of the Year, alongside Plus Agency’s own nomination for New Office of the Year.
Mr Li said their success can be attributed to getting “three things done right”.
“The golden triangle in real estate consists of the vendor, the buyer and your staff,” he stated.
In this REB exclusive, he explains how they facilitate the processes that ensure all parties involved in a transaction are not overlooked.
“We provide a full solution for developers, including a showroom, marketing, a sales enablement platform and agent teams that are exclusive to their projects.
“For the team, we offer very attractive commissions and always, always pay on time. We also work hard to provide a good culture because culture comes before results,” he stated.
With clients hailing from various countries (and different time zones), Mr Li highlighted their commitment to going the extra mile by providing 24/7 support and services tailored to their needs.
“If a foreign buyer has a question in the middle of the night [in] our time, we have someone on hand to provide an immediate answer,” he said.
But their commitment doesn’t end with round-the-clock customer service alone. Ms Yang emphasised the agency’s true strength lies in their cultural sensitivity when engaging with clients from diverse backgrounds.
“Our team speaks at least seven languages, with English and Mandarin being the most utilised. But language is only step one. You also have to understand buyers’ different cultures, so you know how to achieve your results,” she said.
She underlined closing deals “requires more than the words”.
“For example, for Chinese buyers, there is the feng shui culture. You can’t just use Google Translate to translate your marketing materials; you have to respond to each buyer’s specific culture. With the combination of our language skills and cultural insights, we can market to people more efficiently,” she explained.
While their global scope gives them a bigger market vantage, working with clients from different parts of the world also presents its own set of challenges, according to Mr Li.
“The first problem is the time difference, especially when buyers are in the US or Europe. Our team has to work long hours, so we try to balance it out by letting them work just 11 months a year and giving them four weeks of paid holiday over Christmas,” Mr Li stated.
Mr Li cited examples where distance can also affect how smoothly a deal goes down.
“The second difficulty comes from working with one spouse who is here and the other who is overseas. We use video and VR to get both spouses on the same page,” he shared.
Additionally, Mr Li pointed out foreign buyers face additional hurdles compared to locals, including additional costs.
“In NSW, they have to pay the 8 per cent foreign buyer stamp duty and the FIRB application fee of $26,000 upfront. We create urgency by putting all the buyers into a room at a party or seminar, so they understand they have competition,” he explained.
Balancing the needs and expectations of international clients with the unique characteristics of the local real estate market requires due diligence, according to the agency’s founder.
“For anyone who comes from overseas to buy something, education is the most important thing. We always educate the buyer,” he said.
To give further insight into how the agency operates, Mr Li shared his latest engagement with a foreign buyer. “Last Thursday, we had a Chinese couple come in that had no idea about anything. Instead of selling them, I spent an hour giving them an education about Sydney, the costs, the market, the suburbs,” Mr Li shared.
According to Mr Li, establishing this rapport will not only help bring in a one-time transaction but also set up the foundation for a longer business relationship.
“If you help them, they will want to do business with you. It’s all about trust. I have a buyer with whom I have been working for three years. She would ask about every single project but would never buy. Now, three years later, she bought seven apartments off me in one go,” he concluded.
