A leading principal has created a system that allows him to carry 20 of his own listings, while allowing his agents to write $750,000 without a PA.
PRDnationwide Newcastle & Lake Macquarie principal Mark Kentwell, who placed 67th on this year’s Top 100 Agents ranking, said his listing and selling system isolates him from everything but the most specialised work.
Mr Kentwell told an REB Leadership Series event for Top 100 agents that he handles the strategy and negotiations for all his listings – but that he delegates campaign management for properties under $750,000 to one of his team members.
“It’s sort of extracting myself out of all the stuff that can be done by most people,” he said.
“If you look at a heart surgeon, they come in, they get their hands scrubbed for them, the diary’s booked, they don’t take the reception calls that come in and they perform that incision that saves someone’s life and then they say, ‘Stitch him up’, and off they go.”
Another member of Mr Kentwell’s team drives him around during the week, which allows him to work between appointments.
Mr Kentwell has also created scripts and rules that his office uses for every part of the sales process. These can be accessed via an in-house app.
“You can look up exactly how to answer the phone, how to qualify a buyer on the phone, how to find out if they've got a home to sell,” he said.
Mr Kentwell said he was forced to systemise the sales process when, after three or four years as an agent, he had grown his GCI to about $500,000 or $600,000.
“I just started realising as an individual agent and with the prices in Newcastle at that time, I was carrying 30 or 40 listings; as an individual agent the call-backs were killing us,” he said.
Mr Kentwell said that as he hired staff to help him manage the listings and, as they assumed more responsibility, he realised their responsibilities needed to be clearly defined, which is what ultimately led to his system.
“We've set it up so you can write up to about $750,000 without a PA in our business because we've got someone who handles the listings coming in, photos, copywriting, booking a pest and building report [and] liaising with the owner,” he said.
“So the first interaction the agent has is picking out their open house kit and seeing the owner at the open,” he said.
[Related: PRDnationwide Newcastle makes Top 50 Sales Offices list]