Insights - AREAs Top Agent Habits

ELITE AGENT

WINTER 2021

THE HABITS OF TOP PERFORMING AGENTS

Contents 04 03 04 05 06 07 08

Samantha McLean Managing Editor samantha@eliteagent.com Mark Edwards Publisher mark@eliteagent.com Kylie Dulhunty Magazine Editor kylie@eliteagent.com

OREWARD F Kul Singh

Renee Reid Operations Manager renee@eliteagent.com

ICHELLE STEPHENS M Top agent Victoria LEXANDER PHILLIPS A Top agent NSW

Amy Dabek Executive Assistant amy@eliteagent.com

HO ARE THE AREAS W TOP AGENTS? Survey results

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AM LINN Top agent S Northern Territory ROSPECTING, P LEADS AND COMMUNICATION Survey results

09 10 11 12 13 14

13 2 INSIGHTS

ELITE AGENT

15 16

Marc Norris Art Director, Designer

BASS Publications Pty Ltd ACN 169 805 921

RETT HAYMAN Top B agent ACT

PO Box 2013 Southport BC QLD 4215 Telephone: 1300 601 099

ORK ENVIRONMENT W AND PRODUCTIVITY Survey results

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EREMY WILKINSON J Top agent Tasmania PPRAISALS AND A LISTINGS Survey results ICK PSARROS Top N agent South Australia EADERSHIP AND L TEAMWORK Survey results

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LEX JORDAN Top A agent Queensland

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ARKETING AND M SOCIAL MEDIA Survey results

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FOREWARD

W

e are fortunate in Australia to have a buoyant real estate industry led by some of the best agents in the world.

Words that come to mind are hardworking, innovative, customer centric and resilient. In the following pages you will read about some agents who demonstrate these qualities.

These agents were named the inaugural winner of the Annual REA Excellence Award for the Top Residential Salesperson in their state or territory for 2020.

The awards were driven by REA’s data focusing on agents’ onsite performance and ratings and reviews, illustrating the dedication and service that these agents provided to every one of their clients and properties.

It’s an award we at REA hope brings recognition for their dedication and tireless work ethic in 2020.

To say 2020 was one of the strangest and most challenging years many people have faced is an understatement.

Real estate agents had to react and act quickly, cope with lockdowns and use new technology to conduct property inspections and online auctions.

We were all pushed outside our comfort zone, but when we worked together, great things happened and we saw a significant amount of resilience across the industry at large.

At REA, we’re proud to be a part of that journey, and we wanted to pay homage to that, which is why we’ve partnered with Elite Agent to find out the habits and traits of the top performing agents across the country.

We’re excited to share with you the statistics and data revealed within this Insights Survey and hope that they will be thought-provoking, inspiring and importantly, lead to positive change in the careers of other real estate agents.

I hope that every one of you will find something to take away from the survey that you can implement in your business.

It might be that between 30 and 70 phone calls a day seems to be the magic number top agents make to generate leads, secure and close new business, whilst fostering strong relationships with clients.

Or maybe, if you’re new to the industry, you’ll find confidence in the fact that top agents say if they were in your shoes again, they’d still pick up the phone.

One data set I found pleasing was the age range of top agents in the industry.

Of course, it should come as no surprise that many of the top agents have been in the industry for many years, but I was pleased to see that age is not a barrier to success.

Young agents can and do make it to the top.

Real estate offers a sound, steady career at any age and offers longevity in the one profession.

You just need good work ethic, a lot of dedication, a touch of tenacity and a splash of innovation.

KUL SINGH REA GROUP CHIEF SALES OFFICER

eliteagent.com 3

AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT VIC

MICHELLE STEPHENS R Michelle Stephens was named the Top Residential Salesperson in Victoria at the 2020 REA Excellence Awards. But despite selling 210 homes and writing about $2.5 million GCI last year, the OBrien Real Estate Carrum Downs agent isn’t about to start resting on her laurels.

M

ichelle Stephens remembers her first day in real estate, 11 years ago, like it was yesterday.

She was a fresh-faced, nervous, 20-year-old who, it’s safe to say, had a handshake a little like a wet fish.

“I went around and met everyone in the office and shook their hands, only to later have this older lady pull me aside to talk to me about my handshake,” Michelle recalls.

“She said, ‘Shake my hand,’ and when I shook her hand she told me, ‘That’s not how you shake a hand. We’re in a male-dominated industry. This is how you shake a hand.’

“What she was telling me was to be assertive, and that has always resonated with me.”

more about checking in with them and asking how they were going.”

Michelle says it’s her dedication to customer service that sets her apart.

She ensures that she, or a member of her team, is at every appointment throughout a vendor’s sale campaign,

A TOP EFFORT More than a decade later, the OBrien Real Estate Carrum Downs agent is at the top of her field, taking out the Annual REA Excellence Award for the Top Residential Salesperson in Victoria.

Despite the accolade, Michelle admits one of the biggest challenges agents face, especially when they’re just starting, is self-doubt.

“Everyone, in every industry, has self-doubt,” she explains.

“I remember in the beginning thinking, ‘Why would anyone entrust a 20-year-old with selling their home?’

“But then I realised that if I didn’t believe they could trust me with their biggest asset, then I couldn’t expect them to trust me.

“So I started to believe that while I was young, I brought a lot to the table, and I would work my ass off to get them the best result.”

TRIUMPHING OVER ADVERSITY Michelle recorded her best year in real estate in 2020.

She sold 210 properties and wrote about $2.5 million GCI, up from about $2.3 million in 2019.

“My median sale price, of $650,000, wasn’t as good as a lot of the other agents that I was up against, so when I found out I had won (the award), I was over the moon,” Michelle says.

“Everyone knows realestate.com.au, and to be able to say I was the winner for Victoria carries a fair bit of weight.”

Michelle recorded the standout year despite the real estate market essentially stopping dead when Melbourne suffered through multiple COVID-19 lockdowns.

KEEPING THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN But Michelle kept in touch with her vendors weekly to support them so that as soon as lockdown finished, she was working tirelessly to sell their property.

“I didn’t have anything to tell them about real estate,” she says.

“There’s only so many times you can call them to say there are no inquiries on your home and no one wants to buy it, so it was

4 INSIGHTS

I couldn’t do what I do without my team behind me,” she says.

Michelle says the COVID-19 experience was instrumental in her hiring Tamara and changing some processes.

Unable to hold open homes due to COVID-19 restrictions, Michelle says she suddenly had hundreds of phone calls and emails from buyers wanting to inspect homes privately, but she couldn’t respond to everyone in a timely fashion.

“I’d go into an appointment and come out and I’d have 10 missed calls,” she says.

“Now, with Tamara on board, she will babysit my phone when I’m on appointments, she will reply to emails and she also gets all of my packs ready for appraisals.

“Today, when people want something, they want it now.

They don’t want to get your voicemail, they don’t want to wait for an agent to call back, they want to know when they can look at that house, and they want to know now.”

BUYERS MATTER Another key area of focus Michelle and the team concentrate on is buyers.

In the current seller’s market, Michelle says buyers need a good relationship with agents more than ever, and it’s vital agents remember that buyers one day become sellers.

“I REALISED THAT IF I DIDN’T BELIEVE THEY COULD TRUST ME WITH THEIR BIGGEST ASSET, THEN I COULDN’T EXPECT THEM TO TRUST ME.” including building and pest inspections.

Michelle is the first to admit she couldn’t do what she does without her team, which includes her husband Lenny Bellinger, her sister Kirsty Stephens, Jae Lukey, Bree Tainton, Michelle Ferguson and Tamara Yeoh.

“I’ve got an amazing team and

“Even if they miss out on buying with you at one stage when it comes time for them to sell, they remember you,” she says.

Despite her success, Michelle wont rest on her laurels.

“I really want to do $3 million GCI this year,” she says.

“Once I do that I’ll probably want to do $3.5 million.” n

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT NSW

ALEXANDER PHILLIPS

R Alexander Phillips has won just about every award going, but that doesn’t mean the PPD Real Estate partner doesn’t appreciate the accolades. Even 20 years on, he knows winning awards provides social proof to would-be clients that they’re dealing with the best.

W

hen you’re widely considered Australian real estate royalty, you could be forgiven for doing a Harry and Meghan and taking easy street.

Not if you’re Alexander Phillips.

The 20-year industry veteran is widely considered the nation’s best agent, and recently took out the Annual REA Excellence Award for the Top Residential Salesperson in NSW. It’s a feat that the PPD Real Estate partner is still excited about despite his ongoing success.

“It’s rewarding in that it shows your hard work pays off,” Alexander explains.

“It shows you’re a frontrunner in the industry and, particularly, in a very competitive environment.”

Ever thinking on a practical, business level, Alexander notes that winning such awards helps build his brand, that of the agency, and secure more listings.

“These days, a lot of vendors are researching online,” he says.

“I recently signed up a house in Randwick and the vendors had already made their decision on us before going there because of all of the research they’d done.

“So I think having a profile through such websites and awards gives a really good level of social proof for vendors that have similar type properties.

“It’s definitely something that helps us with securing more business.”

A RECORD YEAR Selling multimillion-dollar properties in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, including beachside Bondi and Clovelly, Alexander and his team of five assistants recorded a record year in 2020.

Despite the hurdles COVID-19 presented, the team sold 223 properties worth a combined $727 million.

“That was up about 20 per cent from the year before,” Alexander says.

“I think because of our skillset, when the market changed, we changed a lot quicker than others did.

“We had a big following of clients that came to us, including people we knew and clients we had never dealt with, because they wanted someone with more experience.

“Particularly in difficult markets, and I’ve sold in the Global Financial Crisis, having experience on how to navigate through

uncertain times is appealing to vendors.”

One key strategy that worked for Alexander and the team last year was creating a hot buyers list, which comprised those buyers in each price bracket who were mentally and financially ready to move quickly in buying a property.

“With the one-on-one inspections, we probably had a one-in-five strike rate of securing sales because we weren’t showing buyers through that would go, ‘Yeah, we like it, but we’re too nervous, or we don’t want to buy’,” he says.

“We really qualified them, and they had to be buyers ready to go and immediately make that leap.

“Having that list in front of you all the time and continually adding to it meant we could always reflect on it and show our upcoming vendors.

“It helped secure more sales quicker than we would have otherwise.”

A SMART APPROACH With open homes restricted due to COVID-19, Alexander says he created competition for properties by scheduling oneon-one inspections one after the other at five-minute intervals.

That way, as one buyer was

“PARTICULARLY IN DIFFICULT MARKETS, AND I’VE SOLD IN THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS, HAVING EXPERIENCE ON HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH UNCERTAIN TIMES IS APPEALING TO VENDORS.”

leaving, another was arriving and sighting each other.

Preparing the vendor and educating them on the current market conditions was another vital strategy Alexander and the team used to great effect.

“We prepared the vendors that it wasn’t a marketplace to wait and see how you go,” he says.

“We had to prepare the vendors that the buyers we were showing through were going to make offers immediately and wanted decisions immediately.”

A GREAT COMBINATION Alexander says his team is integral in every process and every award he wins belongs to them as well.

Streamlined processes, efficient time management, a tireless work ethic, and the ability to have “short and sharp, not fluffy” conversations with clients is the recipe for success.

Alexander also advises new agents to build solid product knowledge on their selling area.

“Also, make sure that you’re building a reputation through buyers and focusing on buyer work as it’s probably your best way of making sure that you’re starting to build your own brand and momentum,” he says.

Alexander says many agents focus purely on vendors and listings, forgetting that buyers will, one day, become a seller.

Alexander says he’s got a list of personal goals that he reads every day.

“Hopefully we can hit 250 sales this year, build our brand and continually get better and evolve,” he says. n

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AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

THE 2020 TOP AGENT

R

aven’t you always wondered what H the country’s best real estate agents do (and don’t do) to make it there?

W

hen REA Group released its list of top agents ahead of the 2020 Annual REA Excellence Awards, Elite Agent recognised a unique opportunity to get inside the minds of the best in the business.

We surveyed the top agents in each state and territory on everything from how many calls they make to how many properties they sell and at what price points.

On the following pages you'll find data insights from this survey to help guide you in prospecting, brand-building and more, along with inspiration from the top AREAs agents in each state.

WHO ARE THE AREAS TOP AGENTS?

of agents are male

46.7%

21%

79%

sell between 51 and 100 properties a year

of agents are female

52% 66.7%

2.28%

list homes valued between $500K and $1M

is the average commission

48.7%

are dual principal/selling agents

50%

of agents are aged 41-60

16%

work 7 days a week

46%

of agents are aged 26-40

86%

37.3%

work more than 61 hours a week

40%

69.3%

have been in the industry 16+ years

only take Sundays off

R The majority of top agents may still be men, but women are increasingly successful. This bodes well for the profession attracting top talent.

R Of the agents surveyed, 96 per cent were between the ages of 26 and 60, so age is not a factor in potential success.

6 INSIGHTS

40.7%

of top agents take 2-4 weeks off a year

work out of a traditional shopfront real estate office

INSIGHTS

say private treaty is their main sale method

R The traditional shopfront is still the most popular work environment despite hype around mobile working.

R Experience counts, with 90.7 per cent of respondents in real estate for five years or more.

R Most top agents (85.4) sell between 51 and 150 properties a year. Higher volume agents, who sell more than 200

properties a year, made up just 5.3 per cent of respondents.

R 71.3 per cent of top agents sell in the $250,000 – $1 million price bracket.

R While many agents love auctions, private treaty is still the most used sale method. (Private treaty may have proved more popular in 2020 due to COVID-19.)

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT NT

SAM LINN

R When a serious car accident quashed Sam Linn’s dream of becoming a police officer he turned his attention to his other love – real estate. It’s a move that paid dividends, with 2020 proving to be a watershed year. Not only did Sam sell $28 million worth of property, he became principal of LJ Hooker Alice Springs and won the Annual REA Excellence Award for the Top Residential Salesperson in the Northern Territory.

L

ooking back on 2020, Northern Territory sales agent Sam Linn notes it was a watershed year professionally and personally.

Not only was 2020 the year that saw COVID-19 shift the real estate landscape, it was the year he became principal of LJ Hooker Alice Springs, and the year he and his partner welcomed their first child into the world.

Ultimately, it was one of his most successful years to date with Sam named the top residential salesperson in the Northern Territory at the Annual REA Excellence Awards.

EXPECTING THE WORST As COVID-19 became a daily headline, Sam concedes he was expecting the worst.

Coming off the back of a quiet time, the market was sluggish, and there was no telling the impact a pandemic would have.

“We worked harder and smarter as best we could,” he says of his team’s approach.

Despite his concern, the number of transactions in Alice Springs almost doubled as a direct result of COVID-19.

“Alice Springs is a great place to work with a very easy lifestyle, and I think people just thought, ‘Well, if we don’t know what we can do over the next two, three, four years with COVID, we’ll invest in Alice Springs and have a home sweet home for a while’.”

The increased activity, combined with working harder and smarter, saw Sam sell 62 properties in 2020, valued at $28 million in total.

BUILDING A LOCAL PROFILE A local lad who was born and raised there, Sam notes a town like Alice offers both benefits and challenges when it comes to building a real estate career.

Benefits include the connection he has with people and the fact it’s a community that rallies behind its members.

“People want to help each other out and introduce people to pleasurable experiences they’ve had - that goes from real estate to buying a pushbike, or a car,” he says.

On the flip side, Sam notes there’s the potential to become stale.

“You have to keep reinventing yourself as an agent,” he says.

For Sam, that reinvention comes down to networking and authenticity, and it’s something he has been committed to throughout a 16-year career.

His advice to agents starting out, is to “get over the fear factor”, knock on doors and talk to people.

“For every 99 no’s there’s one yes, and that’s a very lucrative yes. But the only way to get that yes is to get out there and be known,” he says.

THE ROAD TO REAL ESTATE Sam entered real estate shortly after completing high school, but it wasn’t necessarily his first career choice.

“Originally I wanted to get into the police force, but I had quite a serious motor vehicle accident probably about six months out of high school,” he explains.

“That sort of changed my life where I couldn’t do those high impact activities anymore and I needed to get into something new.

“I already had a couple of properties under my belt and I was desperate. So, I looked into something that I was quite passionate about and here we are today.”

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE LJ Hooker Alice Springs currently comprises a team of about 20 handling all facets of real estate.

Sam explains it was an honour to be invited to step into the role of principal last year when former principal Doug Fraser retired from the position after more than 40 years in the industry.

The new role motivated Sam to improve as an agent, but he says he was fortunate to have a strong staff base with team leaders who excel at what they do.

Now he’s looking to the future and what the group will achieve, and his business goals include increasing LJ Hooker’s local market share.

“As a company, we’ve held 40 to 55 per cent of the Alice Springs market, month-on-month for a long period of time,” he says.

“I’d like that to consistently be over 50 per cent every month over the next 12 months.”

As for his advice for other agents, Sam says it’s important to appreciate success isn’t about the money.

“Try and take the money side out of what you’re doing and just focus on helping people achieve what they’re trying to do. Help more people, and you’ll be all right,” he says. n

“FOR EVERY 99 NO’S THERE’S ONE YES, AND THAT’S A VERY LUCRATIVE YES. BUT THE ONLY WAY TO GET THAT YES IS TO GET OUT THERE AND BE KNOWN.” eliteagent.com 7

AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

How many hours a day do you spend prospecting?

How many calls do you make a day?

2-3 hours

50%

14% 3-4 hours 4+ hours

34%

10% 3.3%

1-2 hours

40%

less than 1 hour

44.6%

30%

36%

20% 10% 0%

38.7%

10.7% <10

Question 1. In the past year what has been the most effective in generating leads?

Question 2. When you started out how did you mostly generate leads?

Question 3. If you were starting out today what would you focus on?

8.6% 10-30

30-70

>70

How many hours do you work per week?

38.0%

51-60 hours

37.3%

61+ hours

20.7%

41-50 hours

60%

4.0%

30-40 hours

50%

What about holidays?

40% 30% 20%

INSIGHTS

R Top agents pick up the phone a lot, and it seems between 30 and 70 calls a day is the number that gains solid traction.

R Most of these top agents have been in the business for a while, so it makes sense these calls are speaking with past clients as well as progressing new leads to the next stage.

R Speaking of which, ‘playing the long game’ really pays dividends, with 50.7

8 INSIGHTS

Other

Targeted digital ads

Email marketing

Letterbox drops

Phone calls

Social media

Past clients

0%

Lead generation services

10%

per cent of top agents saying talking to past clients was their top form of lead generation in the past 12 months.

R Traditional phone calls and letterbox drops were the most successful forms of prospecting for the top agents when they first started.

R If they were starting their careers now, top agents say they’d still pick up the phone to prospect but social media has jumped up the ladder, with agents saying a presence on Facebook and

45.3%

2-4 weeks

30.7%

< 2 weeks

24.0%

4-6 weeks

24.0%

6+ weeks

24.0%

None

Instagram is increasingly important.

R If you are spending a lot of hours prospecting it seems to lead to fairly long hours overall: more than one-third of the 2020 AREAs agents told us they average more than 61 hours in a typical working week.

R For most, this happens over 6 days with the vast majority (69.3 per cent) only taking Sunday off.

R 16 per cent told us they work 7 days per week to achieve their results.

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT ACT

BRETT HAYMAN

R As a three-time World Champion and Olympic silver medallist, Brett Hayman knows a thing or two about discipline. Here, the Hayman Partners director explains how adopting the same approach in real estate has seen him rise to the top of his field.

“So it’s rewarding to know that you can actually do it on your own without a franchise model.

“In fact, our business has grown about 35 per cent.”

A RECORD YEAR Brett says 2020 was a record year, and, together with team member Martin Faux, he sold 132 properties and wrote $1.6 million gross commission income.

That’s about 10 sales and $200,000 more than the previous year.

Brett says focusing on their auction strategy and keeping their auction clearance rate in the 90 per cent range helped achieve the stellar results.

“Our average auction

T

o the average person there wouldn’t appear to be much of a connection between real estate and elite rowing.

But when you talk to the ACT’s best-selling agent, Brett Hayman, you quickly realise a calm but strategic and competitive mindset is needed in both professions.

A three-time World Champion and dual-Olympian rowing coxswain, Brett has swapped winning a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics for taking out the Annual REA Excellence Award for the Top Residential Salesperson in the ACT. “I wouldn’t be half the agent I am today if I didn’t have that background in rowing,” he says.

“You learn a lot from those types of experiences. You learn time management, you learn how to communicate, and you learn sheer competitiveness.

ACTIONS ACHIEVE RESULTS

“I WOULDN’T BE HALF THE AGENT I AM TODAY IF I DIDN’T HAVE THAT OLYMPIC AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGROUND IN ROWING.” “You learn a lot about mindset and not to let outside influences affect you because you can’t control those things.”

It’s sage advice from a 23-year industry veteran.

GOING OUT ON THEIR OWN But despite Brett’s success, the Hayman Partners director is still excited to receive such an award.

It’s validation that he, and business partners Shane and Sue Killalea, made the right call when they decided to go it alone almost three years ago.

The trio had been working as part of a leading brand but decided to start Hayman Partners after realising they wanted to create a more bespoke offering for Canberra vendors and buyers, with a clear focus on customer service.

“We were in a franchise business for nearly 20 years, and then we decided to break out and go out on our own almost three years ago,” Brett says.

without selling a property and that security was a relief.

“One of the most important things we did was send out an email to everyone saying, ‘No matter what happens, no one is going to lose their job’,” he says.

“The directors took no fees and no pay during the COVID period we were locked down, so it just gave the staff a little bit of enthusiasm and knowledge to go and educate the clients as well.”

Brett says while he was reluctant to put just his surname forward as the brand, Shane and Sue were fully supportive, and the research companies they engaged in helping develop the name, Hayman Partners, recommended it as Brett’s name has a solid standing in the community.

But that doesn’t mean Hayman Partners is a one-man show.

“We’re really well aligned and support each other in different ways,” Brett notes.

“When you work on each other’s strengths, and you can pool them into a business relationship, you’re 99 per cent of the way there.”

campaign is about 28 days on the market, but our average auction at the moment is selling within 19 days,” he explains.

“Homes are just selling prior.

There’s very limited stock in Canberra.”

QUICK DECISIONS Being a smaller agency stood Hayman Partners in good stead during peak COVID-19 months last year, with Brett noting they could make decisions and adjustments swiftly.

He says with a large rent roll, they knew they could survive

Brett says the Hayman Partner’s team works on the philosophy of backing up their words with actions to achieve results.

“We don’t promise our clients the world and then give them an atlas and say, ‘Thanks, sign up, see you later’,” he explains.

Hayman Partners takes service seriously, and Brett says they take a personalised approach.

“We have some clients that might say, ‘Ring me twice a week’, and we’ve got other clients that we need to ring twice a day and organise absolutely everything for,” he says.

Moving forward, Brett says the goal at Hayman Partners is for everyone to continue to build on their careers and improve as individuals and together as a team.

“Our goal is for everyone to improve 10 per cent every year,” he says. n

eliteagent.com 9

AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

Where do you work?

What type of group do you work for?

Sole agent

2.55% Large (21-50 offices)

56%

36%

8%

Metropolitan city

Regional city

Rural/country area

7.67% 9.8%

Boutique (6-20 offices) MAJOR (51+ offices)

Small (2-5 offices)

14.7% 22.8%

Single office (1 office)

42.4%

Productivity tips

64%

of top agents have a non-negotiable morning routine.

36%

of top agents exercise 3-4 days per week for 30-60 minutes.

43%

57%

of top agents make calls on the way to work.

say they do not spend any time at all on networking events or groups.

INSIGHTS

R The larger proportion of top agents are in metro areas, where there are more sales, higher prices and a much larger generic market.

R It's in these metro markets you also more likely to attract an investor demographic and, when there’s not a worldwide pandemic, migration population.

10 INSIGHTS

44%

of top agents get up after 6am and 42.7% between 5am and 6am.

58%

58%

of top agents have an ideal day plan they adhere to.

of top agents watch 4 hours or less of TV a week.

24%

do not drink alcohol, and 45.3 % only indulge 1-2 nights per week.

R Having the backing and branding of a major franchise appears to pay large dividends.

R You don’t have to be a 5 am clubber to be a top agent but starting the day earlier than most allows top agents to fit in exercise, and set up for the day ahead.

R It's interesting that a large percentage of top agents don't follow an ideal day plan, but with the level of

experience in this group, they clearly know what works for them.

R The top agents appear to be a reasonably healthy bunch, with more than 85 per cent doing some form of weekly exercise.

R In addition to making calls in the car, a large percentage of top agents use this time in otherwise productive ways, for example, listening to podcasts (19 per cent).

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT TASMANIA

JEREMY WILKINSON

R When Jeremy Wilkinson started 2020 he had no idea about the challenges and the spoils it would throw at him.

Here, the Harcourts Launceston director explains what he did to be named Tasmania’s Top Residential Agent at the 2020 Annual REA Excellence Awards, and what goal he plans to conquer next.

gutsy enough” to ask.

“Don’t be scared, that’s our job,” he says.

Like his routine of phone calls and appraisals, Jeremy has set times in the sales process when he asks for a review.

“Do it as soon as it’s basically sold. Have a go at it then and have a go at the unconditional stage, but have a system in place around that,” he suggests.

GOALS AHEAD With the top residential salesperson award for 2020 neatly ticked off his to-do list, Jeremy’s next “big, hairy, audacious goal” is to be the

AN APPRAISAL A DAY Jeremy’s perspective on 2020 might make it sound easy, but behind the scenes two decades in real estate have taught him the value of systems, procedures, and following the process.

His reputation is forged on relationships, his routine is built around achievable goals.

Each day he aims to obtain one appraisal, in the knowledge that momentum quickly adds up.

“I take all numbers and dollars out of it. The dollars come if you work hard and I know that sounds a bit silly, but it’s the truth,” he reflects.

“All I have to do is one appraisal a day, because if I do 285 or 265 appraisals a year, I’m going to get my 110 to 140 listings a year, and that’s just going to be good for everyone.”

GOOD PEOPLE AROUND HIM Each day, Jeremy’s team presents him with a folder of people from his database who he needs to ring personally.

“If I can do 30 calls a day, I’m happy,” Jeremy says.

The calls are a brief and friendly chat, drawing on detailed notes

“WE KEPT DOING WHAT WE DO, WHICH IS MAKE THE CALLS AND TALK TO THE CLIENTS. WE JUST TOOK MARKET SHARE OFF OTHER PEOPLE BY BEING THERE READY TO DO THE JOB.” of every conversation Jeremy’s had with that person in the past.

Each two-minute call is designed to build genuine rapport with people, and the routine reaps results.

THE VALUE OF THE TOUCHPOINT Jeremy’s daily calls are part of his commitment to personalised touchpoints that also extend throughout the selling journey.

He proactively contacts his vendor at every stage of the process; when the property is loaded online, when the first inquiries come in, after every single appointment with a prospective buyer, and after a contract is signed.

The latter is critical, Jeremy notes, and it’s at this point that he is

in contact with the vendor more than ever.

“I wasn’t doing that back about five years ago and it reflected in the numbers,” he says, explaining the simple act of touching base regularly after a contract is signed has seen his numbers double.

STELLAR SERVICE AND SOLID REVIEWS In addition to selling 115 properties last year, Jeremy also received 61 five-star reviews on realestate.com.au.

These reviews are a natural result of his personalised service, but he explains obtaining them is about “being

number one agent for Harcourts Tasmania, and in the top 10 Harcourts agents nationally.

Next financial year he aims to be in the top five, and he says these goals are important as they compel him to keep improving.

The art to achieving them involves having the systems in place along with the right people, he adds.

Meanwhile, he notes the real magic trick of his success lies in simply being himself.

“It’s showing that you’re enthusiastic, you love what you do and not deviating from that,” he says. n

eliteagent.com 11

AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

How many appraisals would you do each week?

What is your appraisal to list percentage?

35%

30%

30%

25%

26.7% 23.3%

20% 15%

23.3%

0%

5% 0%

4-6

6-8

8-10

10+

23.3%

22.0%

10%

8.0% 2-4

20% 15%

16.7%

10% 5%

32.7%

25%

10.7%

2.7% < 30%

8.7%

3050%

5070%

7080%

8090%

90100%

Average GCI by typical sale value TYPICAL SALE VALUE

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

AVERAGE COMMISSION RATE

AVERAGE GCI

AVERAGE SALES PER YEAR

COMMISSION SPLIT TO AGENT

MEMBERS IN THE TEAM

Up to $250k

1%

2.90%

$710k

100

20%

0

$250-500k

21%

2.85%

$1.25M

120

65%

1.79

$500-750k

32%

2.28%

$1.82M

120

63%

2.21

$750k-1M

21%

2.14%

$2.05M

112

63%

1.97

$1M-1.5M

12%

2.03%

$2.75M

106

64%

2.08

$1.5M-2M

4%

1.79%

$4.18M

130

78%

3

$2M-3M

5%

1.85%

$3.45M

75

71%

3.2

$3M+

4%

1.72%

$5.14M

100

77%

3.33

Marketing spend versus end result PERSONAL MARKETING SPEND P/A

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

AVERAGE GCI P/A

AVERAGE COMMISSION RATE

AVERAGE NUMBER OF SALES

AVERAGE SALES VALUE

None

7%

$2.02M

2.38%

103

$844k

Up to $1k

7%

$2.17M

2.32%

110

$1.04M

$1-$2k

6%

$1.03M

2.23%

88

$566k

$5-$10k

16%

$1.93M

2.25%

100

$1.02M

$10-$20k

18%

$2.07M

2.14%

120

$894k

$20k+

36%

$2.63M

2.32%

122

$1.06M

INSIGHTS

R 9 out of 10 of the AREAs top agents do one appraisal per day, and at least four appraisals every week.

R 23 per cent of top agents do 10 or more appraisals per week.

R It makes sense that the more appraisals you do the more listing appointments you get, with 70 per cent

12 INSIGHTS

of agents completing at least four listing presentations a week.

R Among the top agents the appraisal to list ratio is high: 32.7 per cent say their conversion rate is between 70 and 80 per cent, and 23.3 per cent say its between 80 and 90 per cent.

R The higher the property value, the bigger the team needed to support the transaction.

R More than 50 per cent of respondents spend more than $10,000 a year on personal marketing. The data tells us they sell, on average, 10 properties more a year than their counterparts that spend less on personal marketing.

R The agents who spend more on marketing earn almost 40 per cent more GCI than their counterparts who don’t spend as much.

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT SA

NICK PSARROS

R An unpleasant experience with a missing-in-action real estate agent meant when Nick Psarros joined the industry in 2007 he knew what kind of agent he did and didn’t want to be. An agent that prides himself on hard work, honesty and keeping his clients “in the loop”, Nick’s efforts were recognised when he was named South Australia’s Top Residential Agent at the 2020 Annual REA Excellence Awards.

I

ndustry veteran Nick Psarros has amassed dozens of awards over the past decade-and-a-half, and he’s recently added another to his trophy cabinet.

As Ray White’s No.1 international salesperson of the year, the principal of the group’s Port Adelaide office was named South Australia’s Top Residential Agent at the 2020 Annual REA Excellence Awards.

THE KEY TO HIS SUCCESS Nick says the key to his long-term success is consistency.

“I’ve won many awards, and if you’re consistently doing the same thing over and over again - if you’re doing a good job - then the better you do, and the more accolades, the more referrals and the more business (you get),” he says.

Nick sold 184 properties in 2020, earning just over $1.32 million in commission in the process.

“The award was based on not only the number of sales, but how many reviews you get,” he adds.

SOME SALIENT LESSONS Before entering the real estate industry in 2007, Nick had been renovating and selling properties.

He says negative experiences he had with agents provided salient lessons on how not to conduct himself when entering the industry.

“I remember one guy was on my doorstep every day saying, ‘When are you going to be finished? When can I list the property?’” Nick recalls.

“I gave him my listing and then he disappeared; there was no communication, no nothing.

“I had no idea what was taking place and then, finally, two weeks later, I got hold of him and I said, ‘Mate, where have you been?’

“He said, ‘I’m the kind of agent where you’re not going to see me or hear of me until I’m sitting with you around a kitchen table with an offer in my hand’.

“I said to him, ‘Well, you’re the kind of agent I don’t want.’”

A CLEAR VISION Nick also knew exactly what he did want.

“When I got into real estate, I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to be like that’,” he says.

“I’m going to work for my vendors and keep them in the loop every step of the way, give good communication, good reporting, and let them know the truth upfront.”

When asked what helped give him the winning edge in a year with as many speed bumps as 2020, his answer is simple – he just kept working.

“We had the pandemic, and all of my competition went into hibernation or suspension mode.

“I maintained a positive attitude, it’s not the end of the world, there’s a lot of things we don’t understand about what we’re dealing with, but I’m still going to service my buyers and sellers because a lot of people wanted to sell in this market.”

“I had qualified buyers, and I said, ‘Look, my vendor’s happy for me to open the property’,” he says. “‘We’re obviously going to be COVID-safe and all the rest of it, but if I show you this property, which is a lot of work in preparation, are you in a position where you can put an offer in and secure this property if you like the property?’”

A PEOPLE-FIRST APPROACH Although Nick says a solid knowledge and understanding of market conditions underpins everything he does, he is quick to add that it’s only part of the puzzle, and he sees interpersonal skills as being his most valuable asset.

“It’s about people, it’s not about houses,” Nick says. n

QUICK TO PIVOT Nick was also quick to adopt virtual solutions, particularly when communicating with prospective buyers and sellers.

“I did a lot of Zoom and I did a lot of Skype calls and a lot of videos, so I could get all the information that the buyers needed to make an educated decision if we sold properties to interstaters,” he says.

“I also ran my auctions online; I was one of the first to offer auctions online.”

Despite the relative success of South Australia’s public health response to the pandemic, there were still social restrictions in place when it came to regulations around holding open houses.

Inspections had to be arranged by appointment and adhere to strict COVID-safe guidelines, so it was vital Nick was dealing with qualified buyers.

“I’M GOING TO WORK FOR MY VENDORS AND KEEP THEM IN THE LOOP EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, GIVE GOOD COMMUNICATION, GOOD REPORTING, AND LET THEM KNOW THE TRUTH UPFRONT.” eliteagent.com 13

AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

Leading from the front The top agents rated the support from the business they work in an average of

The top agents rated their leadership on average

8.2/10 92%

8/10 84.7%

of top agents plan 1-5 years ahead

of top agents set personal goals

53.3%

Top agents rated the culture of their workplace an average

8.4/10

of top agents have used a coach at some point

Do you work in a team?

10% No

Do you have a partner/ spouse at home?

90% Yes

How many in your team?

GCI

Sales P/A

3.0M

2.75

2.8M 2.6M 2.4M

2.23

2.2M

117

2.0M 1.8M 1.6M 1.4M 1.2M

2.40

138 125

112

No

120

Do they work?

110 100

45.3%

Yes, full time

30.7%

No, they don't work

24.0%

Yes, part time

90

1.49

80 70

1 2 team 3 team 4 team 5+ team assistant members members members members 18% 24% 24% 13% 10%

INSIGHTS

R Our survey shows leadership is a major factor in an agent's success.

R Strong support from the business or brand is also key to becoming a top agent, meaning the agent can handle the dollar productive activities while others help with the admin.

R Top agents mostly work in teams with

14 INSIGHTS

10.7%

140 130

1.26 I'm on my own 10%

Yes

150 2.74

100 89

89.3%

very few solo agents making it to the 2020 list of top agents.

R In-house, executive support is crucial to the success of top agents, with 74.8 per cent of respondents employing an EA or PA. R At the other end of the scale, just 5.2 per cent employ a VA, which largely does the same role, but from a remote location.

R Support at home appears to be a factor with nearly 90 per cent of those surveyed telling us they had a partner at home, with 54.7 of those only working part-time or not at all.

R Our data interestingly shows that when you go from four to five team members there appears to be diminishing returns in both GCI earned and number of transactions.

AREAS 2020: TOP AGENT QLD

ALEX JORDAN

R Alex Jordan thought 2020 was going to be a hard slog, but a quick pivot and innovative use of technology has seen him take out the Annual REA Excellence Award for the Top Residential Salesperson in Queensland.

J

ust 12 months ago Alex Jordan was poised for what looked like being the most challenging year of his two-decade career in real estate.

Instead, the McGrath Paddington sales agent has been named the Top Residential Agent in Queensland at the 2020 Annual REA Excellence Awards.

The judging criteria is based on sales volume, price and other statistics, as well as reviews over the 2020 calendar year.

Despite his success over the past year, Alex says winning the award – which 8500 agents from across the state were automatically in the running for – came as a total shock.

“I wasn’t really aware of the award, I didn’t expect it, so it came as a bit of a surprise - and a nice one at that,” Alex says.

“We’ve had the best selling year in 2020 that we’ve ever had and 2021 looks set to be even better.”

A PRESTIGE APPROACH Alex has been at McGrath for more than seven years, and is based in Paddington, in inner-city Brisbane.

His primary focus is the prestige market, including suburbs like Indooroopilly, St Lucia, Fig Tree Pocket and Chelmer.

Some of his most outstanding sales in 2020 included a riverside estate at 500 Jesmond Rd in Fig Tree Pocket, which traded for $5 million in June last year, and 57 Sutton St in Chelmer, which sold for $2.75 million in October.

Alex says he and his team at McGrath Paddington topped $160 million in sales for the calendar year and are on track to top $200 million this financial year.

“The areas I sell in are all surrounded by some of Queensland’s most reputable schools, in primary, secondary and also tertiary education,” he says, referring to the University of Queensland at St Lucia.

“A lot of the market I’m selling to is families, and what’s interesting is people are willing to invest more in their home at the moment.

“They’re saying, ‘If I’m going to be here all day doing Zoom meetings and working from home, I’d like to live in a nicer home’ and because money is so cheap at the moment, they’re able to do that.”

MARCH ON Alex says March was unquestionably the low point of 2020, with forecasts predicting low levels of confidence, fewer buyers and a correlating drop in house prices due to the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic.

“The anticipation was that we were going to have to reduce our costs, spend some more time with our families and take advantage of

this quality time, since we’re not going to have a situation like this again,” he says.

“But what happened was the exact opposite.

“We factored in a market correction, we factored in low buyer demand and a really tough market, and instead we saw an increase in demand, we saw an uptrend in prices, business became a lot busier and time off became more difficult.”

In fact, Alex says he has never seen a stronger market in Brisbane.

“In my 21-year career, I haven’t seen a trend this strong and that’s mostly as a result of our stock levels,” he says.

Alex puts part of this demand down to increased interest from interstate and overseas buyers.

“The notion of the interstate buyer in our industry in Brisbane has been spoken about for many years, but the only real evidence of that happening has been in the past 12 months, and particularly in the past eight months,” he says.

“The interstate market, in terms of buyer demand, has been a big influence on our property sales process and prices.

“There are also expats moving back to Australia from places like Singapore, the UK, the US and Hong Kong, and that’s been more noticeable than I’ve ever seen in my 21 years in the industry.”

“I just sold the property for $2.95 million to an expat in San Francisco, just using the same technology - a FaceTime walkthrough using a gimbal.”

SECURING THE WINNING EDGE

PLAYING THE LONG GAME PAYS DIVIDENDS

Alex says technology has had a big impact on the way the industry does business over the past few years and agents have had to move with the times.

Like many, he has relied heavily on Zoom and says video-streaming apps have been vital tools, especially for interstate and overseas buyers.

“A lot of these buyers didn’t have anyone else look at a property on their behalf, so they made their decision purely based on a WhatsApp or Facebook video from behind the lens of a phone,” Alex says.

Alex says he ultimately sees real estate as “being a human-to-human interaction business” and if you can leave a transaction knowing you’ve conducted yourself with honesty and integrity, and left a positive impression on both the seller, then you have done your job well.

“Playing the long game in this industry will pay dividends, so rather than focus on the ‘now money’ and be transactional, just think about the long-term outcome,” he advises. n

“I JUST SOLD THE PROPERTY FOR $2.95 MILLION TO AN EXPAT IN SAN FRANCISCO, JUST USING THE SAME TECHNOLOGY – A FACETIME WALKTHROUGH USING A GIMBAL.”

eliteagent.com 15

AREAS 2020 TOP AGENTS

How do you communicate with clients in 2021?

63.3%

PHONE

38.7%

19.3%

SMS

It doesn't

WHATSAPP

4.7%

Do you use social media for marketing?

What social media platforms do you use?

To market my listings

79.3% To market myself

61.3% To market my agency

46.0% I don't use social media

6.0%

16 INSIGHTS

I'm still a bit nervous about using video

I send video messages to clients instead of email

2.0%

R With 38.7 per cent of top agents not using video in their marketing, there is a huge opportunity for competitive agents to amplify their brand and their listings via video. After all, renowned real estate coach Tom Ferry says video is king and 81 per cent of consumers

Video all the way for everything, baby!

9.3%

I do Facebook/Instagram lives each week

2.7%

INSIGHTS

18.0%

11.3%

12.7%

EMAIL

OTHER

How heavily does video feature in your marketing plan?

watch a video online before they make a big decision.

R Top agents use social media to market property with 79 per cent using it to market listings and 61 per cent promoting their personal brand.

Facebook is the most popular with 96 per cent of AREAs top agents leveraging the big blue.

96.0% 87.3% 45.3% 32.0% 28.0% R WhatsApp messages and groups make an appearance when top agents consider client communication.

Anecdotally we’ve heard agents use the platform to inform groups of prospective buyers about listings. It's also a handy tool to keep groups of stakeholders in the loop when it comes to marketing and transacting property.

Data was extracted from the 440 top agent finalists, with detailed analysis of 150 responses to an in-depth survey of these agents.

2021

Watch this space