Most agents are taught to get into the vendor’s living room. Sit at their kitchen table. Build rapport on their turf. Tony Morrison, CEO of Harcourts Tasmania, spent decades proving the opposite works better.
His network now facilitates one in every four property transactions in the state. The approach that helped him get there? Flip the script entirely and bring vendors to you.
The Home Ground Advantage
Think about what happens when you walk into a vendor’s home for a listing presentation. The baby cries. Kids run through. Dinner burns on the stove. Only one decision-maker shows up. And there’s a decent chance the next agent is already waiting on the footpath. All factors you cannot control.
Tony developed what he calls the “Home Ground Advantage” – a concept borrowed directly from sport. Your office is your home ground. You know the environment. Your resources are there. Your team surrounds you.
“When I sit down and have a bit of a chat, I set it up,” he explains. “I say, this is how we go about things. I like to have a look through, take a few notes. Then I’d like to invite you into the office tomorrow.”
The key is framing it as standard procedure, not a special request.
Why This Changes Everything for Average Closers
Here’s where it gets interesting for agents who aren’t natural closers.
When vendors walk into your office, the receptionist greets them by name – because they know the appointment time. Coffee appears. They walk past trophies and certificates on the way to the meeting room. These don’t even need to be yours; they belong to the whole team.
Halfway through the presentation, someone knocks. The marketing coordinator introduces themselves, explains how they create campaigns, and leaves. The business owner drops in to say the vendor is in great hands.
“If they’re a bit 50-50 on the salesperson, they’re thinking, you know what, this is the place I want to do business,” Tony says. “They’ve met the whole team, not just the salesperson.”
The result? Your closing rate improves because you’re no longer operating solo. The office becomes part of your pitch.
When a New Agent Hasn’t Made a Sale in Six Weeks
Tony’s advice for agents in a slump cuts against another piece of conventional wisdom: stop chasing listings.
“If you are relatively new, you probably don’t have a lot of listings and listings are hard to come by,” he says. “But you probably have more opportunities to deal with buyers.”
His suggestion is radical. Work buyers so well that you take them through other agents’ listings – even if you earn nothing from the sale. Ring neighbouring offices for conjunctions. If they refuse, ask to show the property anyway, with all commission going to the listing agent.
“You’ve won the loyalty of the buyer,” Tony explains. “They think you’re amazing because you’ve found them a house, and they know you’ve got nothing out of it. When they want to sell, this is the person they want working for them.”
Buyers become listings without a listing process.
The Price Conversation That Protects the Vendor
When a vendor won’t budge on price, Tony removes himself entirely from the equation.
“This is not a personal comment. You’re just relaying feedback from the market,” he says. “The longer the house sits, the more negotiating power shifts from the seller to the purchaser.”
His framing reframes the entire conversation: “I am asking you to adjust the price, not because I want a quick sale, but because I want to protect your price.”
He’s seen it play out countless times. A property sits at an unachievable price. The vendor finally drops to market value. Competition emerges. The final sale price exceeds what they couldn’t achieve before.
The One Thing That Matters Most
After 37 years in the industry – from carrying 100 listings with handwritten weekly reports to running Tasmania’s dominant network – Tony’s advice for 2026 is remarkably simple.
“Get out of the office. Talk to people. Get in front of as many people as you can,” he says. “The people who have more relationships earn more money. Simple as that.”
For property managers, the message is identical: stop hiding behind emails and have the tough conversations.
Technology changes. AI transforms workflows. But the fundamentals remain stubbornly human.
Listen to the full episode:
– YouTube
– Spotify
– Apple Podcasts
Connect with Tony:
– LinkedIn
– Website
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