Elite Agent Issue 28 Apr May 2019 Preview

GREAT EXPECTATIONS PAGE 18

BEHIND THE SUITS PAGE 46

THE RIDE TO PROVIDE PAGE 52

LEARN FROM THE BEST #28 MAY 2019

50

LESSONS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER LEADER HAMMER HOME YOUR BRAND REBUILD REALIGN REIMAGINE MAINTAINING PEAK PERFORMANCE

'STAY THE COURSE'

OUR EXCLUSIVE WITH REA GROUP CEO OWEN WILSON

WORLD CLASS SERVICE Lisa Totaro

+ Industry magazines for Real Estate Agents and Property Managers

Issue 28 MAY 2019 eliteagent.com | eliteagent.academy

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Connect and share with a group of passionate and motivated industry professionals, read the latest online, see what our writers are talking about and much more.

SAMANTHA MCLEAN Managing Editor samantha@eliteagent.com MARK EDWARDS Publisher mark@eliteagent.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cassandra Charlesworth Kylie Dulhunty

KYLIE DULHUNTY Sub-Editor editor@eliteagent.com

STAFF WRITERS Sereima Tarogi Angela Naumovksa Jill Boniface

MARC NORRIS Designer, Art Director

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ON THE COVER 032 WORLD-CLASS SERVICE Lisa Totaro

ELITE AGENT 004 EDITOR’S LETTER Samantha McLean 006 CONTRIBUTORS 008 PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS 010 READER PROFILE Neil Webster 012 THE WATER COOLER

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT 014 ‘STAY THE COURSE’ Our exclusive with REA Group’s

CONTENTS

new CEO Owen Wilson

FIRST PERSON 016 REBUILD, REALIGN, REIMAGINE Josh Phegan 018 GREAT EXPECTATIONS Caroline Bolderston 020 HAMMER HOME YOUR BRAND Andy Reid 022 ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID Kylie Dulhunty

REGULARS 024 DATA INSIGHTS Eddie Cetin 025 PEOPLE PARTNER Sarah Dawson 026 MINDSET CORNER Jet Xavier 028 BUSINESS MATTERS John Knight 030 ASK THE COACH Claudio Encina

MAY 2019

056 THE HOME STRAIGHT Mark McLeod

42 FEATURES

52

036 50 LESSONS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER LEADER Sereima Tarogi 040 TO MARKET, TO MARKET David Stewart 042 MAINTAINING PEAK PERFORMANCE Tom Hector 044 WHY CREATIVITY MAKES BETTER LEADERS Pancho Mehrotra 046 BEHIND THE SUITS Adam Bryant and Bobby Reynolds 048 HOW TO KEEP DEPOSIT DETAILS SAFE FROM HACKERS Lee Bailie, InfoTrack 050 DO MORE, USE LESS Andrew Herrmann 052 THE RIDE TO PROVIDE Cassandra Charlesworth

EDITOR'S LETTER

WILL THE REAL LEADERS IN THE INDUSTRY PLEASE STAND UP?

D

oes great leadership have anything to do with sex, age or experience?

There are two leaders the world can’t stop watching right now - for very different reasons.

Jacinda Ardern, at age 38, has been tested like no other leader in New Zealand’s history. She has responded swiftly to the worst terrorism attack Aotearoa has seen, showing compassion alongside strength and decisiveness (and to our friends and readers in New Zealand words can’t describe the shock and sadness we still feel for you at the events that transpired in March).

Donald Trump, at age 72, continues to show a different brand of strength and decisiveness over the ongoing US Mexican Border Wall Issue through using his power of veto (and, of course, his Twitter account).

As the Leadership Diaries is about to turn one (see page 36) we’ve been looking closely over the past year at what makes a leader great. If Ardern and Trump have strength and decisiveness in common, is the big difference between good and great leadership the ability to be human and show compassion and empathy?

Actually, that’s not all.

By all accounts, Ardern is not just high on the EQ scale; she is also an expert delegator and knows what the best use of her time is.

4 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

Paul Buchanan, a security expert for the 36th Parallel, told The Guardian Ardern had also expertly delegated security reviews and enquiries to senior, trusted colleagues, allowing her to focus on healing a traumatised country.

Australian writer Peter FitzSimons said of Ardern, “…her poise, her steely resolve and, importantly, her language of inclusiveness and diversity was admirable.”

Ardern is not about herself right now. She is about her people.

Home-grown television host Osher Gunsberg wrote, “Australia has an election in a few months. Please, please give us someone like Jacinda Ardern to vote for. Please.”

Empathy – or emotional intelligence – was a word that came up a lot in all the leadership interviews we’ve done so far, and it continues to be raised. As does being the person people can look to for inspiration, light and encouragement.

So I would say that great leadership has nothing to do with any of the things I mentioned in my opening statement.

What lessons can you learn from both world leaders about your own leadership? There’s plenty in the pages you’re holding to inspire you and your team to greater things.

Enjoy the issue.

“By all accounts, Ardern is not just high on the EQ scale; she is also an expert delegator and knows what the best use of her time is.”

SAMANTHA MCLEAN MANAGING EDITOR samantha@eliteagent.com

1

2

WORTH A READ Atomic Habits by James Clear. Leading the AREC 2019 line-up for me has got to be James Clear. There are so many gems in this book about how the small things add up to big successes, seeing him in person may end up a fangirl moment for me! elite.ag/readapr19

3

WORTH A WATCH “Make an appointment to ask for a raise even if you know you’re not going to get it.” Another speaker we are excited to see at AREC 2019 is Barbara Corcoran. We found this great video of her discussing the best way to ask for a raise, and actually get it.

Also some good advice for leaders on what to do if you’re the one being asked. elite.ag/watchapr19

EDITOR'S

picks

WORTH FOLLOWING

4

The Digital Live ‘Ride to Provide’ finally gets underway in April, giving 30 or so agents some big lessons in leadership while wearing Lycra. You’ll find their stories on page 52 – and make sure you are subscribed to The Brief to follow their journeys. elite.ag/subscribe

5

WORTH REMEMBERING We will be talking a lot in Transform this month about productivity, delegation and good uses of your time. But when doing all that remember this quote from Warren Buffett: “Never risk what you have and need for what you don’t have and don’t need”. elite.ag/transform

WORTH TRYING Process Street. During the last month or so, as people have been signing up to our VIP membership (thank you to you all), I’ve been asking – what is the problem I can solve for you today? Overwhelmingly a number of you are still saying setting up repeatable processes – there is a great tool out there we use called Process Street. You can put them online, schedule them, repeat them, grant access to them and more. elite.ag/lookapr19

eliteagent.com 5

CONTRIBUTORS

KYLIE DULHUNTY Kylie Dulhunty loves writing real estate.

News stories, feature pieces and property editorials all come across her desk. But she loves nothing more than finding the story within the story for Elite Agent. Initially a police and court reporter, Kylie shocked everyone when she turned to writing real estate more than a decade ago. She hasn’t looked back and knows there’s new and exciting developments happening in real estate every day. This edition, Kylie spoke with Tom Hector about how he maintains high performance long after his first sale.

She also checked-in with David Stewart to find out how it’s possible to buy a house while doing your grocery shopping with private treaty website Market Buy. For something a little different Kylie also used her recent experience as a bridesmaid to analyse leadership from a different angle.

“At the end of the day, before you lay your head on the pillow you need to ask yourself, each and every night, if you’ve done enough activity that day.” (Page 42)

6 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

SEREIMA TAROGI

CLAUDIO ENCINA He may not quite be an ‘agony uncle’ but for top coach, Claudio Encina, offering real estate advice is second nature. A long-time Elite Agent contributor and a Transform coach since 2016, Claudio also travels the country helping leading sales teams to perform at their peak. Claudio examines how agents can best control their emotions to achieve solid results in a tough market. He also looks at how agents can manage the tricky waters of vendor and buyer tension.

“The most successful agents I know take full responsibility for who they are, where they are and everything that happens to them.” (Page 30)

Sereima is a new in-house features writer and digital content producer.

Examining the industry from the inside out has changed how Sereima looks at real estate. She loves putting together stories aimed at agents and not just buyers or sellers, and is genuinely excited to motivate and inspire people with her words. For this issue of Elite Agent she dived into the Elevate podcast archives and curated 50 of the best leadership tips from The Leadership Diaries series.

“Conflict is not a bad thing; it can actually be a good thing. To quote J. Willard Marriott, ‘Good timber doesn’t grow with ease - the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees’. You should want to have people with different opinions, to shake things up and say, ‘I think we can actually do this better’.” (Page 36)

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ELEVATE The official podcast of

s t h g i l h g i H

ANTON BABKOV

JOHN KNIGHT

CEO, Rexlabs “The difficulty for most small businesses is they only look at things like cash flow. The problem with that figure is it’s an after-the-fact figure.

It doesn’t give you a warning and it doesn’t give you any indication of what needs to happen on a go-forward basis.”

How do you continue to identify what issues need to be improved to ensure continuous growth in your business?

Taking a page out of the playbooks of the Silicon Valley giants, Anton Babkov sat down with us to discuss how real estate businesses can learn to growth hack just like Facebook and Uber. elite.ag/babkov

CEO, businessDEPOT “If you can create a culture where you don’t tolerate waste, there’s always these little improvements that you make within your business that gradually add up to some very big numbers.”

In this episode, John Knight offers helpful tips on small changes you can make in your business to improve productivity. With a proven track record helping companies set and achieve goals, he let us in on some of his secrets. elite.ag/knight

ELITE.AG/PODCAST 8 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

PANCHO MEHROTRA CEO, Frontier Performance “If I’ve got a goal in my head and I can’t sit there and jot down 20 reasons why I want that goal, it’s probably not my goal.”

As a leading expert in communication, influence and the psychology of selling, we welcomed Pancho Mehrotra back to the podcast to discuss goal setting and motivation. He also touches on why the ‘right kind’ of stress can be just what you need to get going. elite.ag/mehrotra

TOM PANOS Coach, Speaker “My first job was working at Luna Park as the wizard; I learned to make people feel good about their age and I loved the job.”

Real estate coach and AREC 2019 host Tom Panos gives us the inside scoop on who he’s most excited to hear from at this year’s conference, what you can expect at the Gold Coast event and, by popular demand, we hit him up with questions from The Leadership Diaries series to find out more about what makes him tick. elite.ag/panos

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READER PROFILE

BREAKING THE MOULD A former strategic projects manager at the University of Wollongong, Neil Webster joined the real estate profession later in life. That hasn’t stopped the Stone Real Estate sales executive from making his mark quickly, with a focus on community.

What was your first job and what did it teach you?

My first job was working behind the bar at the local tennis club. It taught me many things that have proven to be invaluable in my working life, namely risk assessment, customer service, multi-tasking and communication skills.

The last factor has been the major one. If you can deal with intoxicated patrons when they’re disgruntled and unreasonable, dealing with vendors is usually much easier.

How long have you been in real estate?

I’ve been in real estate for a little more than three years. I’ve just moved office after accepting an offer to work for Stone Real Estate in Wollongong as a sales executive.

What do you love best about Wollongong?

I love the sense of community the region has. It’s a big city with a small town feel. It’s very easy to make connections and if you do things well (or poorly), word spreads quickly.

Where would you like to be by this time next year?

I aim to have an associate working with me next year to help increase my productivity

10 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

You are passionate about community work - what has been your favourite community project to date?

I’ve been lucky to have been involved in many community projects that help to fundraise for those who most need it. The one that give me the most pride is the Santa Claus Pub Crawl for Charity (thesantaclauspubcrawl. com). I’ve been coordinating this event for more than 25 years.

Last year we donated more than $175,000 to local charities, including the Salvation Army (we fund specific children’s based programs through them), the Disabled Surfers Association and The Disability Trust.

I’ve also danced on stage to raise funds for the Cancer Council

vendors. I’ve learned to separate work and family time better than in the beginning, but I think for anyone starting new, I’d advise them to get this balance right from the start.

It’s probably OK to let it go if you’re single and have the time to be selfish, but without my family to support me I wouldn’t be who I am today, so making sure I spend uninterrupted time with them is important. There’s no point being successful and having no one to share that success with.

I would also call my friends more often. They are usually my most significant source of referrals, so I’d advise anyone starting out to make it a habit to call 10 of their friends each day.

and listing capability. I’ve set some goals to achieve in the next three, five and 10 years.

Each of these goals has a monetary target in terms of GCI as well, so I can’t achieve one without the other.

What does your ideal day look like?

I’m up for either a run or a quick gym session before my wife leaves for her office. I do the school drop-off every day, so my mornings revolve around phone calls and emails while getting organised. I prefer to do all my outbound calls first-up, to get them out of the way. Then I focus on current or prospective clients and leave the appraisals/ appointments for afternoons/ evenings. Of course, this is all completely flexible as children, clients and vendors can all have different priorities in their minds.

If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing in the industry, what would it be?

The past perception that we’re all overpaid, used car salesman sharks. I’ve come into the industry later in life than most and with a pretty good reputation due to my past work roles and community involvement, but I still find the general perception is of the old school agents.

“ There’s no point being successful and having no one to share that success with.” in a local version of Dancing with the Stars. I dance as well as a potato, so it was a challenging evening. There have also been charity car drive events, corporate fun runs and, more recently, novice auctioneer competitions.

If you had to start from scratch in real estate tomorrow, what would be the first thing you would do?

As much as I was warned I would become attached to my phone before starting in real estate, I don’t think my family was prepared for how much time I would spend communicating with prospects, clients and

Just talk and find out how they are. The conversation is worth it and it’s surprising how many of my friends call me back later with a referral.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Be who you are. Coming into real estate with a little profile, one of my first principals advised me to be myself. I was already known for being friendly, honest and hardworking and they told me not to change from being that person. There was no point in following other agents’ paths when I could create my own just through being myself. n

THE WATER COOLER D

Our daily newsletter #THEBRIEF brings you the latest real estate news, tech and marketing tips straight to your inbox.

Here are some of this month’s trending stories.

Subscribe to #THEBRIEF eliteagent.com/subscribe.

A NEW CEO FOR CENTURY 21

Century 21 Australasia has announced the appointment of Warren McCarthy as their new CEO. McCarthy is an industry veteran of 35 years having held senior roles with LJ Hooker (as CEO) where was instrumental in growing the network across Australia as well as into India and South East Asia.

Charles Tarbey, Chairman of Century 21 Australasia said, “We are very fortunate to have Warren join Century 21 where he will help us leverage the brand and system superiority we have built over the past 24 months to drive revenue growth for our franchisees.’’

McCarthy says he is all about the people and ready to roll his sleeves up to help franchisees grow market share and profitability.

“The investment Century 21 in branding is key in its timing; it’s looking great and something I’m looking forward to growing and developing,” said McCarthy.

ANDREW BELL PREDICTS AN URGENCY AMONG PROPERTY BUYERS IN THE ELECTION LEAD-UP

The Gold Coast property market may be getting a surprise boost from the federal election, according to Ray White Surfers Paradise Group (RWSP) CEO Andrew Bell.

“The market is well and truly factoring a Labor victory and the likelihood of major changes to the taxation regime for property owners,” Mr Bell said.

Labor’s plans include the abolition of negative gearing on established properties and a reduction of the

capital gains discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent.

Mr Bell thinks these proposals have prompted many buyers to bring forward their plans to step into the market.

“We tapped into this thought process in the planning for The Event at the end of January, which led to an exceptional clearance rate during and following the auction program.”

The Event 2019 had a clearance rate of 60 per cent and rising.

To read more: elite.ag/wcapril19.

REAL ESTATE ‘CLICK BAIT’ IS GREAT FOR NEWS BUT BAD FOR THE ECONOMY With 50 years in the industry, Barry Plant has seen a lot of property cycles.

So when he says the current property correction is being driven deeper by a media whose revenue is driven by clicks and views, he might be onto something.

12 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

“The person on the street could be forgiven for thinking the current property market in Victoria is headed for Armageddon,” Mr Plant said.

Mr Plant believes some media outlets need to exercise some social responsibility and

understand that their actions affect not only the real estate industry but also conveyancers, lawyers, landscapers, hardware stores, furniture stores and State Government revenues.

To read more: elite.ag/ wcapril19.

VISIT ELITE.AG/WCAPRIL19 FOR FULL VERSIONS OF THESE WATER COOLER STORIES

realestate.com.au launches agent ratings and reviews realestate.com.au has launched Agent Ratings and Reviews, a free platform to help agents get noticed by more people on the website.

All reviews pass through quality checks to ensure they are from real clients and agents can challenge a review and have the right to reply on all reviews.

According to REA Group General Manager – Leads, Rachel Morley, the response so far has been positive.

“We know there is a big desire from agents to migrate reviews from other platforms onto realestate.com. au and we’re looking into how we can achieve this,” she said.

To read more: elite.ag/wcapril19.

Real estate agents rise to help Christchurch In the wake of the Christchurch massacre in March 2019, the city and its people have demonstrated Kia Kaha, a traditional Maori affirmation which means ‘stay strong’. Determined to rise together under the banner, ‘We are one’, New Zealanders and their friends around the world have become resolute to unite in peace.

The example has inspired a Trans-Tasman movement from within the real estate industry to support and nurture our Christchurch colleagues in their time of grief. RISE has a goal of raising $1,000,000 through the conference event and donations.

Join an incredible line-up of speakers such as Peter FitzSimons, Phil Harris, Chris Hanley, Megan Jaffe, Shannan Whitney, Mark McLeod, Dane Atherton, Gavin Rubenstein, and many more as they explore themes of resilience, compassion, leadership, and grit on 2 May in Christchurch, New Zealand.

For more information, visit riseconference.com.au.

‘BEYOND THE BLING’ - A NEW PROPERTY CONVERSATION While location and luxury features are usually on the top of everyone’s property shopping list, a new discussion paper from the Centre for Liveability Real Estate shows an increasing number of buyers are valuing a prospective home’s energysaving features.

As a consequence of rising energy costs, consumers are looking for a deeper level of information that goes ‘beyond the bling’.

“The questions that people ask have changed dramatically in the last five years,” says former Real Estate Institute of NSW President John Cunningham.

“The consumer is well aware that energy prices are rising and they know that’s not going to change, so we are finding that people are more interested in the day-to-day costs of living as well as the costs of running a property.”

LJ Hooker Ormeau sales agent Deb Frinke, a trained Liveability Real Estate Specialist from QLD, agrees – saying that house running costs have become a growing issue of concern for many would-be buyers over the past 18 months.

“These are your first-home buyers, and their main concern is not just, ‘can I afford the mortgage?’, it’s also, ‘can I afford to live in the house?’”

The discussion paper states that 90 per cent of consumers would like energy information provided as part of the sales and leasing process and 83 per cent have a strong interest in receiving energy information at house inspections.

Ms Frinke says to achieve this agents require new knowledge through training to execute property campaigns which include the benefits of any energy saving features.

“If you’re not selling the value of those features, you’re not connecting with the owner on something that’s extremely important, whether it’s a solar panel or brand new plantation shutters that have cost them $20,000,” she says.

“Using the Liveability Real Estate Framework, we’re having general conversations with buyers around the 17 Things™ in terms of how a house is situated on the block, and how the actual cross-ventilation is positioned, the shading, the vegetation around the house, and how this all impacts to reduce their bills.”

Real estate agents wishing to find out more about Liveability Property Features and how they deliver affordability can download the discussion paper or book training at liveability.com.au/book. eliteagent.com 13

EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT…

‘STAY THE COURSE’ OWEN WILSON STEPPED into the real estate spotlight

when he moved into the role of REA Group CEO in January this year. Ahead of this year’s annual top customer forum in Queenstown, NZ, he exclusively talks with Elite Agent Editor Samantha McLean about his immediate goals for the company, where he sees the opportunities in the industry and his plan to lead the group into the future with optimism and authenticity.

O

wen Wilson stepped into the top job at realestate.com.au in January - amidst arguably the worst downturn in the property market in the past 10 years.

With an uncertain year ahead and global players such as Facebook making their own plans in real estate, Wilson’s overall philosophy is that it’s time for REA Group and agents to

14 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

work together for the common good.

“Our customers’ success is our success; my view is that we have a symbiotic relationship with our customers and together we will succeed,” Wilson says.

SO, WHO IS OWEN WILSON? Wilson recalls the day, about four years ago, he received a tap on the shoulder inviting him

to become the CFO of REA Group, saying, “It was probably the luckiest opportunity I’ve ever had in my life to join this fantastic company.”

While, up until now, many agents may not have heard too much about Wilson, he is a highly accomplished and, by all accounts, authentic leader.

Wilson started his career straight out of school on a scholarship with BHP while completing his degree at Deakin University.

From there, he moved into the ‘big four’ world with KPMG, where he learned the craft of chartered accounting, both here and abroad in places such as London, Russia, Hungary and Poland.

He then honed a specialty in company turnarounds, trading rooms, and mergers and acquisitions with companies such as ANZ and Chandler McLeod.

Although his efforts were a little more behind the scenes, during his tenure as CFO Wilson was instrumental in a number of accomplishments for the REA Group including the move into Asia, which he describes as a “great long-term growth offering,” as well as adjacent products and services (eg financial services), and increasing consumer engagement through a lifestyle offering.

But if you ask him what he is most proud of, he will tell you it’s all about the evolution of the product and the people behind it.

“When I joined, we’d only just moved into apps, and if you look at our app today, and the consumer experience today versus five years ago, it’s remarkable how far that has come in five years,” Wilson says.

CHALLENGE OR OPPORTUNITY? With various markets coming off around the country by an average of six per cent1 in the past 12 months, Wilson says he is still optimistic about the next nine months particularly once the Federal Election has been decided.

“I think when we get to Christmas we will be looking back on better market conditions,” he says.

“The Royal Commission is now behind us; I think we’ve probably got a rate cut coming at some stage this year.

“And I hope our customers will feel like we have supported them through this time.”

The plan to support customers comes by a focus on ‘widening the gap’ on audience numbers, which Wilson says is currently at three times the nearest competition. And it’s also to tweak the current product to support agents through this part of the cycle.

“We keep achieving record visits to our site; and are now at 80 million per month, which I’d

like to see keep growing.

“We’re now at three times our competition and I’d love to see that lead even bigger at Christmas.

“In Asia we are getting to a tipping point where consumers are really starting to see that we are the place to go for property in key markets, particularly Malaysia, Indonesia and in Hong Kong.”

As far as product evolution is concerned there have been some tweaks to generate more enquiries for agents on properties, including extending the number of days on Premiere from 45 to 60, and adding the ability for agents on Premiere to cross-sell other listings.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can to stimulate the market – not just for promoting listings, but by bringing as many consumers through the site as we can for both the buy and sell part of the transaction.”

GLOBAL VS HYPERLOCAL Wilson states there are also challenges and opportunities ahead for REA Group to navigate.

He says Facebook is an example of other global players in the space looking at companies like REA Group and what they do for customers.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, in an announcement last month, said, “We’re building a tool so you can search for and view all current housing ads in the US targeted to different places across the country, regardless of whether the ads are shown to you.” 2 The same announcement also states that anyone who wants to run housing, employment or credit ads will no longer

be allowed to target by age, gender or zip (post) code.

Facebook’s past 12 months have been rough and Sandberg’s statement about the new ‘tool’ could mean anything.

But it appears Wilson is one step ahead in his thinking about how to combat that with the industry sticking together and providing better experiences for the consumer.

“It’s always been important for us, that we’re in this together,” he says.

“Our customer’s success is our success, and vice versa.

“We need to play a part in helping build a moat around our industry and helping stimulate that industry in keeping it strong.”

Part of the advantage REA Group has over the global platforms is knowing that what works in one market may not work in another.

“Our view is that we need to go hyperlocal in terms of property data and the experiences we can deliver to a consumer so they choose us as the place to go for property and not somewhere else,” Wilson says.

In April, for the sixth year running, realestate. com.au will host an Industry Leadership Forum in Queenstown, NZ, a forum where ideas can

“My message is stay the course; if we work together, I think we’re going to succeed long after this cycle has become history.”

be shared and validated.

“The industry forum is probably one of the most important things we do each year,” Wilson says.

“It’s an opportunity for us to find out from our customers what is going on in their world, and for us to take those learnings into how we provide value to the market.”

THE FUTURE OF REAL ESTATE In the future, the biggest changes will occur in the way consumers want to interact and Wilson says the recent launch of ratings and reviews is a great example of leaning into what consumers want.

“We’re so used to rating everything we do now, whether it’s your Uber, or your restaurant or your hotel, agents are the same thing,” he says.

“So the way that consumers want to interact with both agents and property will change going forward as tech allows it to.”

Wilson also says he sees a world down the track where consumers are going to want digital experiences such as augmented reality – and the way that properties are presented to consumers will be very different from today.

But he is also confident that the role of the agent won’t change, given 96 per cent of consumers still choose to use an agent because they value the price tension only an agent can create.

In terms of the value an agent brings, Wilson says, “you can’t digitise that.

“In the future that value that agents bring will be the thing consumers look for – and a lot of the other peripheral things that can be digitised will be (digitised).”

In terms of where the industry is at right now, Wilson says that like all cycles it will turn; and the conversation comes back to the idea of focusing on the customer and working together.

“My message is stay the course; if we work together, I think we’re going to succeed long after this cycle has become history.” n SAMANTHA MCLEAN

This interview with Owen Wilson was recorded as a ‘Leadership Diaries’ podcast.

To hear more on Owen Wilson’s leadership philosophy – including how he balances the demands of being a public company CEO with a family of four teenagers plus some other tips for aspiring leaders – visit elite.ag/ep83.

1. corelogic.com.au/news/australian-housing-valuescontinued-trend-lower-february-corelogics-nationalindex-down-07 2. newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/03/protectingagainst-discrimination-in-ads/

eliteagent.com 15

FIRST PERSON

JOSH PHEGAN

Reimagine, realign, rebuild Imagine you were fired and a new CEO was installed. What would they do next?

Josh Phegan examines the hallmark question great CEOs ask when rethinking what’s possible, reimagining, realigning and rebuilding.

T

he number one thing leaders need to do in turbulent markets is to reinvest - in people, process and resources. You’ll never cost-cut your way to greatness.

To build a great business, you need to be super clear on your operating system.

That operating system is built on three foundations:

1

PURPOSE – why you’re here, what you do for the customer and the ultimate quest. Nintendo’s – make people smile. Compass – to help people find their place in the world.

Ours – to help estate agents achieve their potential and reach financial freedom.

MISSION – a set of specific numbers. Think about the number of sales, properties under management and customers served.

VALUES – the set of rules by which we play the game. If people don’t know the rules they can’t play by them. If leaders don’t live the values, neither will anyone else.

You can get by without them for a while and you can spend a lot of money creating an exceptional brand, but if it’s not underpinned by those essential values it starts to break. You won’t know why people grate on you, why certain behaviours keep happening and you can’t

2

3

16 ELITE AGENT • MAY 2019

align your team to achieve the mission. Even worse, you can’t hire, manage or fire to that set of values.

Values aid in fast decision making. You’re taking all the decision making responsibility out of your arena and placing it in everyone else’s, so more people are making significant decisions more often.

The mission is critical as you become clear on the intent of the organisation. What’s incredible is that we measure market share of listings and sales, but we don’t measure market share of properties under management.

Instead, we have people go on quests to gain a net 100 properties per annum, but is that an audacious goal? What if the market is 10,000 properties and we have 300 under management? What happens if we have 3,000 and the market size is 3,200? You have to know where to grow. Is it about

building saleable value, cashflow or a mixture of both?

When you are clear on the mission, you deploy the right resources in the right spaces, with the right people. You then use those values to ensure the right behaviours. You realise that essential business processes need to be in play and understood.

Simple things like: 1. how we generate our revenue 2. the markets we serve 3. how we generate leads 4. our listing pitch 5. how we sell properties in less than 28 days 6. how property management

and sales work together 7. how we recruit 8. how we grow people 9. the payment models for teams 10. the growth drivers of the business 11. the meeting rhythm, consistency and overall atmosphere.

So where do you start?

Bring your executive team together and set aside 13 days a year for planning, including a two-day annual planning session as well as a quarterly and a monthly planning day. Aligning focus is incredible.

Keep the mission the mission.

It’s that simple. Will this or

MARKETS PAGE 16

PAGE 36

PREMIERE ISSUE

SMSF INVESTORS PAGE 42

TRUTH PAGE 26

A DOT COM? PAGE 24

PLAN PAGE 18

KEYBOARD WARRIOR

THE WAY OF THE FUTURE?

BUSINESS ON TRACK

READER SURVEY:

FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 31

LEARN FROM THE BEST #01 JUL/AUG 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

LEARN FROM THE BEST #06 JUL/AUG 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

#10 APR/MAY 2016 AU$13.50

4 RULES FOR BUILDING A WORLD CLASS REFERRAL NETWORK

THE GIFT OF LISTENING and the power of presence

PREPARING FOR SPRING SELLING SEASON

IT TAKES TWO

Michael Clarke & Cherie Humel

with Stuart Benson

INSTAGRAM Every picture tells a story

TACTICAL LISTING WITH JOSH PHEGAN PAGE 26

FIVE TACTICS TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN ZERO ARREARS

LEARN FROM THE BEST

ANTICIPATE IS THE NEW EXCEED PAGE 28

5 TRENDS THAT MAY INFLUENCE PROPERTY IN AUSTRALIA COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

5 ways to build your profile

IS YOUR DATABASE FIT OR FAT? THE AWESOME HUMAN MANIFESTO

THE TRUSTED ADVISOR

Stefanie Dobro

BEYOND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

THRIVING IN A TOUGH LEASING MARKET

HANNAH GILL

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RENT.COM.AU CEO MARK WOSCHNAK

A GUIDE TO THE ULTIMATE BRAINSTORM

How to get what you’re worth

THE GREAT INSPECTION ROUNDUP PAGE 62

#03 JAN/FEB 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

2015 ARE YOU

LEARN FROM THE BEST #02 OCT/NOV 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

READY?

The resolutions you need to make this year

VICTORIA’S TOP GUN

Mark Di Giulio

HOW TO STAND OUT ON THE GLOBAL STAGE PAGE 20

THREE QUESTIONS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

How to get more productive… Fast!

SERVING A NICHE MARKET PAGE 50

#05 MAY/JUN 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

INDUSTRY REPORT PERCEPTIONS OF REAL ESTATE

LEARN FROM THE BEST

INSIDE: INDUSTRY LEADERS

What your customers really think

TAKE YOUR EMAIL OPEN RATE THROUGH THE ROOF MAKE EACH DAY COUNT

Measuring property manager performance

31 May – 1 June, 2015 Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

Charles Tarbey Antony Catalano John McGrath Maria and Manos Findikakis

BEST NEW TALENT

Roxanne Paterson

#05 APR/MAY 2016 AU$13.50

3 TECH TRENDS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS

ACCOUNTING FOR SUCCESS

CAMERON GARRY

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS An exclusive outsourcing case study with Miles Real Estate

7 FUNDAMENTAL REALITIES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE THE ART OF PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

MAKING INSPECTIONS EASY

SAFETY TIPS FOR PMs

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CONVERSION RATE PAGE 20

LEARN FROM THE BEST

INSID THE TOP COACHE

#04 MAR/APR 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

PASSION FOR PEOPLE

Emmy Thies

John McGrath • Josh Pheg Michael Sheargold • Tom Pan Caroline Bolderst

PL An exclusive w Glenn McGr

CLOSE COLLABORATION Successfully linking PM and Sales

SKIMMERS, SCEPTICS AND SOAKERS Are you covering them all?

31 May – 1 June, 2015 Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

AREC15

THE ART OF STORYTELLING PAGE 54

A DAY IN THE OF A PROPE MANAG WITH HAY MITCH

MARKETING SPECIAL

WHAT REALLY WORKS FOR SUCCESSFUL PM MARKETERS

LEARN FROM THE BEST #07 OCT/NOV 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

#03 DEC/JAN 2016 AU$13.50

Red Bull racing champ Matt Hall talks mindset

NO SALES AWARDS

GET READY FOR

2020

The agency that puts client satisfaction first

STRONGER THAN STEEL

CONNECTING EMPLOYEES IN THE CLOUD

Clinton Knop

Virtual reality agents

LEARN FROM THE BEST

SLIDIN DOOR

#08 DEC/JAN 2016 AU$13.50

2016: READY, SET, GOAL!

LEARN FROM THE BEST

AUSTRALIA’S TOP GUN

EQUITY: TO SHARE OR NOT TO SHARE

AREC15

IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGY AS A TEAM

WHO’S BEHIND THAT DOOR? HITTING A HOMERUN PAGE 16

FEATURE INTERVIEW NAOMI SIMSON SPEAKS ON PRODUCTIVITY AND LEADERSHIP LEARN FROM THE BEST

LAURA LEVISOHN

5 STEPS TO DESIGNING THE IDEAL WEEK

Get noticed for the right reasons

SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT CARD PAGE 14

FRONT DESK TO BUSINESS OWNER

LESSONS LEARNT IN REALLY BIG BUSINESS

THE SCIENCE BEHIND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

FEE NEGOTIATION

THE MATHEMATICS OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WITH BOB WALTERS

LEARN FROM THE BEST

THE EXTRA 1%

THE FOUR PILLARS OF PERSONAL BRANDING

ANTHONY CARDINALE

EXTREME PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

HOW THE APRA CHANGES MAY BE AFFECTING YOUR LANDLORDS

OVERCOMING OWNER OBJECTIONS

READER SURVEY:

Find out more on page 47

SALES STAFF PAY PACKETS

WHY 3D REAL ESTATE LISTINGS WILL BE THE NEW NORM

What’s working?

BARRY PLANT

From Bell Ringer to Master Auctioneer

30 BUSINESS BOOSTING IDEAS FOR

2016 12 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

HAVE YOUR SAY IN OUR

DO YOU HAVE EXIT STRATEG

LEARN FROM THE BEST #04 FEB/MAR 2016 AU$13.50

MAK YOUR SM BUSIN APPE LARG

HOW TO PULL OFF THE PERFECT LISTING PRESENTATION

MAKING THE MOVE

PAYIN REVENUE SP – THE PR AND CO

SUZIE Kate HAMILTONFLANAGAN PLAYING T0 WIN

Strickland

TO CONTINUE READING THIS PUBLICATION AND OTHER BACK ISSUES VISIT ELITEAGENT.COM EXPANDING TO NEW MARKETS PAGE 16

A GAME OF DRONES PAGE 36

SELLING PROPERTY TO SMSF INVESTORS PAGE 42

PREMIERE ISSUE

• HOW ARE THE TRANSFORM SUPER SIX GOING? FOR UPDATES AND COACHING TIPS SEE PAGE 16

MOMENTS OF TRUTH PAGE 26

WHEN SHOULD YOU BECOME A DOT COM? PAGE 24

MARKETING BATTLE PLAN PAGE 18

WHY NO ONE LIKES A KEYBOARD WARRIOR

ARE DIGITAL PRE-LISTING KITS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE?

5 KPIS TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS ON TRACK

READER SURVEY:

FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 31

LEARN FROM THE BEST #01 JUL/AUG 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

LEARN FROM THE BEST

#10 APR/MAY 2016 AU$13.50

4 RULES FOR BUILDING A WORLD CLASS REFERRAL NETWORK

THE GIFT OF LISTENING and the power of presence

PREPARING FOR SPRING SELLING SEASON

IT TAKES TWO

Michael Clarke & Cherie Humel

with Stuart Benson

INSTAGRAM Every picture tells a story

TACTICAL LISTING WITH JOSH PHEGAN PAGE 26

FIVE TACTICS TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN ZERO ARREARS

LEARN FROM THE BEST

#06 JUL/AUG 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

ANTICIPATE IS THE NEW EXCEED PAGE 28

5 TRENDS THAT MAY INFLUENCE PROPERTY IN AUSTRALIA COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

5 ways to build your profile

IS YOUR DATABASE FIT OR FAT? THE AWESOME HUMAN MANIFESTO

THE TRUSTED ADVISOR

Stefanie Dobro

THRIVING IN A TOUGH LEASING MARKET

BEYOND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

HANNAH GILL

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RENT.COM.AU CEO MARK WOSCHNAK

A GUIDE TO THE ULTIMATE BRAINSTORM

How to get what you’re worth

THE GREAT INSPECTION ROUNDUP PAGE 62

#03 JAN/FEB 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

2015 ARE YOU

HOW TO STAND OUT ON THE GLOBAL STAGE PAGE 20

Mark Di Giulio

LEARN FROM THE BEST #05 MAY/JUN 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

What your customers really think

TAKE YOUR EMAIL OPEN RATE THROUGH THE ROOF MAKE EACH DAY COUNT

Measuring property manager performance

31 May – 1 June, 2015 Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

LEARN FROM THE BEST

INSIDE: INDUSTRY LEADERS

Charles Tarbey Antony Catalano John McGrath Maria and Manos Findikakis

BEST NEW TALENT

Roxanne Paterson

#05 APR/MAY 2016 AU$13.50

3 TECH TRENDS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS

ACCOUNTING FOR SUCCESS

CAMERON GARRY

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS An exclusive outsourcing case study with Miles Real Estate

7 FUNDAMENTAL REALITIES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE THE ART OF PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

FRONT DESK TO BUSINESS OWNER

LESSONS LEARNT IN REALLY BIG BUSINESS

VICTORIA’S TOP GUN

LAURA LEVISOHN

5 STEPS TO DESIGNING THE IDEAL WEEK THREE QUESTIONS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

How to get more productive… Fast!

SERVING A NICHE MARKET PAGE 50

IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGY AS A TEAM

WHO’S BEHIND THAT DOOR?

MAKING INSPECTIONS EASY

SAFETY TIPS FOR PMs

HITTING A HOMERUN PAGE 16

FEATURE INTERVIEW NAOMI SIMSON SPEAKS ON PRODUCTIVITY AND LEADERSHIP

INDUSTRY REPORT PERCEPTIONS OF REAL ESTATE

#02 OCT/NOV 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

The resolutions you need to make this year

Get noticed for the right reasons

SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT CARD PAGE 14

LEARN FROM THE BEST

READY?

THE SCIENCE BEHIND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

FEE NEGOTIATION

THE MATHEMATICS OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WITH BOB WALTERS

LEARN FROM THE BEST

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CONVERSION RATE PAGE 20

THE ART OF STORYTELLING PAGE 54

LEARN FROM THE BEST #04 MAR/APR 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

PASSION FOR PEOPLE

Emmy Thies

INSID THE TOP COACHE

John McGrath • Josh Pheg Michael Sheargold • Tom Pan Caroline Bolderst

PL An exclusive w Glenn McGr

CLOSE COLLABORATION Successfully linking PM and Sales

SKIMMERS, SCEPTICS AND SOAKERS Are you covering them all?

31 May – 1 June, 2015 Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

AREC15

• WIN ONE OF SIX PLATINUM AREC16 TICKETS SEE PAGE 2 FOR DETAIL

MARKETING SPECIAL

WHAT REALLY WORKS FOR SUCCESSFUL PM MARKETERS

LEARN FROM THE BEST #07 OCT/NOV 2015 AU$9.95 + POSTAGE

LEARN FROM THE BEST

AUSTRALIA’S TOP GUN

#03 DEC/JAN 2016 AU$13.50

Red Bull racing champ Matt Hall talks mindset

GET READY FOR

2020 CONNECTING EMPLOYEES IN THE CLOUD Virtual reality agents

EQUITY: TO SHARE OR NOT TO SHARE

NO SALES AWARDS

The agency that puts client satisfaction first

STRONGER THAN STEEL

Clinton Knop

HAVE YOUR SAY IN OUR

READER SURVEY:

THE FOUR PILLARS OF PERSONAL BRANDING EXTREME PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OVERCOMING OWNER OBJECTIONS

LEARN FROM THE BEST

THE EXTRA 1%

ANTHONY CARDINALE

HOW THE APRA CHANGES MAY BE AFFECTING YOUR LANDLORDS

LEARN FROM THE BEST

#08 DEC/JAN 2016 AU$13.50

2016: READY, SET, GOAL! WHY 3D REAL ESTATE LISTINGS WILL BE THE NEW NORM 30 BUSINESS BOOSTING IDEAS FOR

2016 12 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

#09 FEB/MAR 2016 AU$13.50

SALES STAFF PAY PACKETS

EFFECTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT How to get the most from your team

What’s working?

BARRY PLANT

From Bell Ringer to Master Auctioneer

PLAYING T0 WIN

Kate Strickland

THE TOP 10 MISTAKES OF NEW PRINCIPALS 8 STEPS TO OWNING YOUR MARKET IN 2016 BATTLE OF THE SEXES

Who’s better at selling real estate –

THE REFERRA SYSTEM THA REALL WORK

YOU SA

Our 20 Sentim Surv

LEADIN THE CHARG

Glenn Curran

STARTIN OU RIGH

The ro