Kathy Sweeney, Broker/Owner of REMAX Living in Burpengary and Woodford, has built a reputation for lifting agents to new heights through practical systems, hard truths, and a laser focus on client experience. Here’s how she helped turn sceptics into six-figure performers — and why she believes branding and consistency are key to lasting success.
When Kathy Sweeney took over an existing office nearly four years ago, she inherited a small team of long-standing agents — some of whom had been in the business for close to 17 years.
“It was a very male-dominated environment,” she says. “The agents had been there a long time and were set in their ways.”
Straight away, she noticed a mindset issue, especially around vendor-paid marketing.
“They didn’t get any VPA (vendor-paid advertising) from clients and didn’t believe in marketing or branding. They said it doesn’t work in a small country town and that no one else charges for it because the competition gives it away for free.”
But Kathy didn’t sugar-coat her response.
“They said to me, ‘Oh, you’re lucky. Your days on market down in the city are 30 days’ — and that office is only 30 minutes away. I said, ‘Your days on market are a year because your marketing’s sh*t.’
“If you can’t sell marketing, how are you going to sell a home?
It’s a moment that stuck, because one of those agents, Chris Wease, went on to win the coveted National Marketing Award for REMAX Australia last year.
“That was probably one of my personal quiet satisfaction moments … it was pretty cool when he won that award.”
So what changed?
“I think what’s really helped those agents and what I continue to push heavily with those agents, any of my agents, is your branding.”
“If you really wanna grow and be better, you’ve got to actually do a lot more personal branding. It’s tough, but at times, you’ve actually gotta pay and invest in that yourself.”
“My theory is: if you are a sales agent and you wanna sell, you know, a million or 5 million, $10 million home or a $700,000 home — if you can’t even sell marketing to your vendor, how you’re gonna sell a home?”
When it comes to marketing, Kathy’s team now thinks beyond just listing ads.
“Some of those agents never even had social media profiles. And now they’re all over it… they never would’ve been seen dead on a billboard — but now they buy billboards.”
She focuses her team on four platforms: Google, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
“You know, we don’t even eat at a restaurant before we Google it. So why would we pay an agent the fees that we pay them if we haven’t Googled them?”
From 80% Prospecting to 90% Referral
From a personal perspective, Kathy says the biggest turning point in her business came when she realised she’d been getting “client experience” wrong.
“I went to a retreat, and right at the start, they asked, ‘Write down what you think your client experience is with your clients.’ I thought, oh, that’s a seven or eight. But by the end of the three days, I’d changed it to a two.”
That wake-up call sparked immediate change.
“I employed two people straight away. I brought in monday.com and built a flowchart — I don’t even know how many touchpoints I’ve got in there now, from the moment I do an appraisal right through to a month after settlement…”
Her system includes birthday texts, settlement anniversaries, and suburb reports. One recent example of Kathy’s approach in action came off the back of a simple Easter text.
“I send five touch points a year to every past client, no matter how long ago they bought or sold with me,” she says. “One of those is an Easter message — just a quick text, but it keeps me front of mind.”
That strategy paid off when a former buyer called her on a Sunday evening. “She said, ‘Hi Kathy, my neighbour’s selling — her husband passed away 10 days ago. She’s had two agents out already, but they’re not moving fast enough. Can you go and see her? And by the way, thanks for the Easter text.’”
Kathy met the neighbour at 6:30 the next morning and signed the listing on the spot. “It all goes back to client experience,” she says. “I don’t go away — I stay in touch.”
The results?
“Back then I was probably spending 80% of my time prospecting and 20% referral. Right now I spend about 10% of my time prospecting… and 90% is referral business.”
Leadership, loyalty, and family-first llexibility
What does Kathy hope her team says about her?
“I’d like to think they think I care. That I’m here for them. I’d be really, really personally disappointed if they were disappointed in me.”
Her leadership style is grounded in availability and flexibility, and she’s also fiercely protective of her team’s families — particularly working parents.
“If there’s a child issue, I’ll always say, you know, take the time. You need to do what you need to do. Because if you try and come in between work and family, as a business owner, you’ll lose.”
The power of teams — and knowing when to step on
“I identify that they can’t grow on their own. So I get in before they hit burnout and give them support. The quicker you can get somebody into that space to help, the quicker the results will come.”
And her advice for agents looking for the next big prospecting trick?
“Stop asking what the next big idea is. How about you just spend time looking after the clients you’ve got?”
