Amy Bennett loves to make connections.
It doesnโt matter whether itโs finding the perfect tenant for an investor client or introducing a potential vendor to a selling agent, the McGrath Caloundra business development manager thrives on recognising business opportunities and making them happen.
โUltimately, I almost feel like a matchmaker,โ Amy says.
โIf I have a great tenant moving to the area, I think about what properties I have in my pipeline and how I can introduce the two parties.
โIf I have a buyer who has never been through the process of having a mortgage, then I introduce them to our mortgage brokers.
โFacilitating connection is what my passion is.โ
Amyโs journey into real estate was anything but conventional.
A former pharmaceutical company retail services manager and Caloundra Chamber of Commerce client services and event manager, Amy joined McGrath Caloundra a little over four years ago.
Initially, Amy was the operations and marketing manager before moving into her current role in the latter part of 2020.
โMy title is business development manager, but I see myself as a concierge for the office,โ she explains.
โI like to see myself as the first point of call for anyone thatโs going to be interacting with the business, whether thatโs a buyer, a seller, a landlord, a tenant or a business partner.
โI talk to all of those different stakeholders, and then I introduce them to the team member most appropriate.โ
Itโs a role Amy says her past employment prepared her for perfectly as she has a background in customer service, a honed ability to problem solve and extensive networking capabilities.
During her stint at the chamber of commerce, Amy was โin the thick of the business communityโ and helped grow membership from 250 to 700.
โBringing businesses together and working collaboratively is one of my passions,โ she says.
Amy takes a conscious approach to her work, deliberately adopting a โget curious, not furiousโ mindset, which means sheโs always looking for the missing piece of the puzzle that explains why someone, be it a client or a colleague, is behaving in a particular way.
There might be friction with a client until Amy realises that the clientโs solicitor hasnโt explained something fully, or a grumpy tenant who has had a previous poor experience with the industry.
โI always ask, โwhat piece of the puzzle is missingโ?โ Amy says.
A current gap in the industry that Amy is working to smooth out is the abundance of tenants disheartened by continuously missing out on rental properties.
With a short supply of properties and up to 100 applicants for each one, Amy says the 99 renters that miss out are โhaving a really bad experience in the marketโ.
Instead of just lamenting the situation, Amy sees this as an opportunity to help and educate tenants, even if they donโt end up renting one of her properties.
It means ensuring they have a cover letter, have their 1form account set up and other seemingly simple things that can make the application process easier.
โItโs about engaging with them and letting them know, โthese are some things you can do to better your chance of finding a property,โ Amy says.
The property management department at McGrath Caloundra comprises four employees, with Amy working alongside senior property manager Belinda Kleidon and assistant property managers Alyce Stimpson and Bianca Zorzetto.
โBelindaโs had more than 25 yearsโ experience in property management here on the Sunshine Coast, and she oversees the whole portfolio, which our clients love because thereโs a dedicated person to speak to,โ Amy says.
โBianca manages our leasing process and conducts our open for inspections, processes applications and then she does the induction for new tenants.
โThen we have Alyce who looks after our maintenance and inspections.
โSo we have different team members doing different roles at different times of the day, so thereโs always someone in the office who can answer the phone.โ
Amy says dividing the teamโs workload via tasks instead of each person managing a certain number of properties means if someone is away ill and a landlord or tenant makes contact, the other three team members are up to speed on that property.
It also provides greater job satisfaction, with each team member working in the area they are best skilled for and enjoy.
โWe meet every week to talk through each of our roles, where each client is at, and then we make sure nothing falls through the cracks,โ Amy says.
One area Amy consistently devotes time to is looking for new business opportunities and nurturing those relationships.
Four times a year, absentee owners in the area receive a mailout from Amy containing relevant information.
โI think itโs quite unique to have that collaboration between the sales team and myself,โ Amy says.
โWe want to provide a complete solution to absent owners whether they intend to sell or put tenants in their property.
โThe most important thing is talking to every group, so I talk to my investors, my tenants, prospective tenants and prospective landlords.โ
Amy also advises BDMs to contact their local chamber of commerce as business owners can often provide referrals, as can local banks, mortgage brokers, conveyancers and developers.
The team also likes to give back to their clients and support the wider community through their charitable initiatives.
As well as adopting the mantra of โunder-promise and over-deliverโ to continually surprise and delight their clients, Amy and the team host movie nights and send them small gifts.
โWe have โfeel-good Fridayโ where we identify someone we spoke to through the week that needs something,โ Amy explains.
โWe had one lady during COVID-19 that was isolated in Sydney, so we sent her a little hamper.
โIf someone needs their lawn mowing, we organise that.โ
Amy has also been instrumental in ramping up the Community Giveback program where a portion of each property sale is donated back to the community.
โWe have been able to contribute more than $200,000 to about 150 not-for-profit and community groups,โ she says.
Other initiatives have included an animal refuge fundraiser and offering their office space to community groups for their meetings.
โThe community is at the core of everything we do, and itโs really important to all of us here at McGrath Caloundra to give back,โ Amy says.
When we spoke to Amy in 2020, the forecast for the property management team for the rest of the year was also looking bright.
With 250 doors currently under management, Amy said the goal was to hit 300 by the end of the year.
โOur region has been unaffected by COVID, and weโve actually seen a migration of people moving to the region,โ she says.
โThe other great thing for us is we still have growth areas, such as the Aura community, which will be 20,000 homes over the next 15 years.
โWe have a great level of properties in our pipeline, which is good.โ