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Simon Parker
More agents should focus on getting the basics right if they want to survive in today’s tougher property market, a number of industry figures have said.
Nigel O’Neil, CEO of Victoria-based group hockingstuart, told Real Estate Business he wanted his 50-office network to “get back to the basics”.
Talking on the sidelines of the Australian Real Estate Conference (AREC) on the Gold Coast, Mr O’Neil said hockingstuart had brought along a group of 15 agents that aspire to be directors with a view to helping them develop their skills.
“Most of these guys are younger, and they probably haven't seen a market as soft as this over the last 18 months, and so, for me it's them understanding getting back to basics, and what that means,” he said.
“It’s making the calls, it's getting up that little bit earlier. It's all those simple things.
“My goal is to help them set goals after this conference. They all have a coach that we pay for [who] coach them every month, and who calls them to hold them accountable to the goals they set.
“We'll have goals set from AREC and we'll hold them accountable to those goals.”
Real Estate Results Network (RERN) founder Michael Sheargold said a number of strong independent agencies he worked with highlighted how important it was for real estate companies to be agile and move with the times.
RERN provides training and support to more than 30 independent agencies across Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Sheargold, who has conducted more than 6,000 coaching sessions in the past 20 years, said the paradigm has shifted to such an extent that a new methodology must be adopted when buying and selling real estate.
“The results of these incredibly successful independent agencies are testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners when market conditions are altered,” he said.
“Real estate is as much about educating and informing clients as it is achieving results and as such a return to basic common sense and values is re-emerging.
“This is great news for buyers and vendors and also provides a real boost of confidence for principals who have adapted and are moving with the times.”
Christopher Stear, director at Fltechers Gold Coast South, told Real Estate Business that AREC helped provide the industry with a "wake up call".
"Like all conferences like this, there are some terrific take outs that really resonate for some.
"Other people [conference speakers] can show us that our best isn't really our best. It's really easy to have a dinosaur agency. In the climate we live in at the moment, the technology, the instant communication climate, you can become a dinosaur [very quickly]."
Amber Pantano, property consultant and personal assistant at Victoria-based O’Brien Real Estate, told Real Estate Business that AREC provided her with a healthy dose of motivation.
“I’m getting back into sales again after being away from it for two years,” she said while at AREC.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been to anything like this. It’s really good to get a cross section of everybody else’s input, and then just take from it what will work with your personally. If you’re motivated, there’s plenty of stuff out that will work.
“I don’t mind doing the hard sell and the cold calling, I did that a couple of years back and got some results out of it,” Ms Pantano continued.
“It’s getting back to basics. As some of the speakers said, you’ve just got to know your people. And once you get your face out there, and do community-based activities, things like that, cold calling does work.”
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