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Social media may have taken the property world by storm, but two Tasmanian principals believe that face-to-face conversations can yield the strongest successes.
In 2019, the iPhone 11 was released, TikTok was on the rise, and 5G was rolled out across Australia. That same year, in the Tasmanian seaside town of Devonport, Melissa Burtt and Michael Ziegler launched LJ Hooker Devonport with nothing but “some Facebook marketing” and a front door sign.
Just over four years later, the agency now manages more than 180 rental properties. What is the secret?
According to Ms Burtt, the answer is simple: human connection.
“Michael and I felt that the philosophy of ‘real estate is about people, not houses’ was the best fit for us,” Ms Burtt recalled.
“In this fast-paced world of instant gratification, social media and online presence, it is easy for anyone to market themselves as being the best or number one with data from whatever source they choose. But nothing beats the barbecue chat or a direct referral from clients who have experienced our services.”
In the early months of the new agency, which uses Managed App to process its rental payments, there was “a sign out the front of the LJ Hooker Devonport office with a larger-than-life portrait of their first property manager Tennille simply stating that LJ Hooker could offer rent payments paid quicker to owners”.
Ms Burtt shared that this simple sign “literally brought business through the door”.
In the near future, LJ Hooker Devonport plans to incorporate some social media marketing with videos, but for now their main digital footprint is on Google Reviews.
“We focus on Google as our review platform as it is the most transparent review platform that anyone can use,” said Ms Burtt. “We even have tenant reviews there, which is a testament to how our staff also relate to our company values.”
Ms Burtt and the LJ Hooker Devonport team are also careful to back up their good reputation with high-quality service.
From the beginning, the two principals made the conscious choice to focus on property management, knowing that this is “what we do best”.
Ms Burtt said: “There is so much opportunity within a rent roll to leverage sales, relationships with maintenance providers, provide employment and have regular cash flow. Properties needing to be sold within the rent roll provide a pipeline for our sales staff, and we highly encourage our sales staff to engage with our property management team.”
Thanks to the team’s regular communication with clients and tenants via phone, Ms Burtt stated that “we spend very little time managing awkward issues because we have very open lines of communication”.
“We are proud of our business and always look to uphold the brand values by caring about people that we work for and most importantly our team.”
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