Barbara Corcoran – The common traits of great superstars
Takeaway 1: “Real estate is an entirely fair business. The better you are, the more you are paid. You are not getting anything you don’t deserve.”
Day 2 of AREC kicked off with a lively satellite presentation from New York real estate queen Barbara Corcoran, who offered her insight into trust, resilience, rejection and the common traits of successful agents.
“As a young agent, the magic dust was that sellers trusted me and they deserved to trust me because I was trustworthy,” she said. “The trust factor was everything in building my initial customer base and having people recommend me to someone else.”
Meanwhile, of the 8,000 agents she has “trained, hired and fired” in her lengthy real estate career, she said specific traits are common to the most successful. These include:
- Aggressive pursuit of a goal
- Getting back up after a hit
- A competitive streak
- Something to prove
Discussing commissions, Barbara said fee cutting diminished the value of agents and, instead of succumbing to the pressure, agents should use the opportunity to showcase their skill.
“Fee cutting diminishes you and makes it appear as if all agents are equal,” she said. “They are not. I see it as an opportunity to explain to the seller why you’re different and how you’ll get them more money.”
She also offered an optimistic word of advice on the benefits of a weakened market.
“In the hard times when everyone else is laying low, you can make the most money. You need to realise people are buying in the dust and that’s to your advantage. When the market is suppressed, it’s open to new ideas, new people and new change.”
Michael Pallier – The secrets of one of Australia’s best
Takeaway 2: “Get the listing you want, do the best job you can to get the price for the owner, and then the word will spread.”
Sotheby’s agent Michael Pallier has sold some of Sydney’s most prestigious properties, but he’s never cold called, he doesn’t hustle, and it’s not about the ego.
In an interview with Tom Panos yesterday, Michael explained it all came down to steadily building a reputation.
“Instead of cold canvassing, you’ve got to offer something to owners and ultimately you gain a reputation,” he said.
Often that comes down to great service, meeting the customer’s needs, and being consistent.
In Michael’s case, that great service once saw him replace a broken toilet seat at James Packer’s house on settlement day. The Packers never forgot it and later returned with a $70 million listing!
Daniel Gonzales – It’s possible
Takeaway 3: “Achieving success in record-breaking time is simply the compound effect of hard work and consistent discipline over a short period of time.”
In his first year in real estate, Perth agent Daniel Gonzales racked up $1.1 million GCI. Last year he notched up $3.5 million.
Yesterday, Daniel told AREC he believed there was no right or wrong way to achieve success but it came down to goal-setting, hard work and mindset.
“Mindset is something I learnt, I implemented and practised,” he said, offering the following tips:
- Control the first two hours of the day
- Put yourself first physically, emotionally and mentally
- Invest in your brand.
“Overnight we were everywhere,” he said. “I knew it would only be a matter of time until we would get noticed and called in. It took three months.”
Scott Dutton – Difficult to connected conversations
Takeaway 4: “The harder you try to achieve your goals in a negotiation, the less successful you will be because the other person will feel compelled to push back to protect and defend themselves.”
In an entertaining keynote speech on having difficult conversations, ‘Conflict Whisperer’ Scott Dutton explained connection was the key, and there are multiple perspectives of any situation.
He noted there were three habits to avoid: blaming, seeing only one side of the story, and being judgemental.
“These create a disconnection where we lose the ability to create, empathise and connect with another, and if you lose that with your vendors and buyers, the conversation becomes so much harder,” he advised.
Instead, he urged agents to:
- Seek first to understand and then be understood
- Go in with the right intent, which means being authentic and curious
- Focus not just on the outcome but also understanding
“Consider the other person’s main concerns, what is important to them and their limitations and constraints,” he said.
Cindy Kennedy and Georgi Bates – Process trumps motivation
Takeaway 5: “Get the psychology right and the rest will follow.”
Cindy Kennedy and Georgi Bates might operate in different areas of Sydney, but as agents they share important traits for success.These include a positive mindset, a connection to their community, and a commitment to processes and systems that allow their team to perform well.
In a panel session with Tom Panos yesterday, Cindy noted she lived and breathed her community, and had built her local profile one street at a time to become the agent specialising in Roselle.
“I had the attitude,” Cindy said. “The more I worked, the more I learned. The more I learned, the quicker I could be a good agent. It started with mindset, and moved to processes and procedures as I got listings.”
Georgi also noted attracting clients was all about being involved in the local community.
“My business is the community. It’s about being active in the marketplace. I’m constantly thinking of new ways to be active in the community,” she said.
Chari Emirzade – How to build a real estate machine
Takeaway 6: “If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are willing to learn, no one can stop you.”
Geelong agent Chari Emirzade credits one simple tool with a successful career that has seen him notch up 797 sales in just five years: the telephone.
Chari explained it wasn’t until he picked up the phone and made more than 300 calls a week that he started to become known in his area and build a database.
“Did I have people telling me where to go? Yeah, on a daily basis,” he said. “But I knew what I had to do and within 60 days I had 400 contacts. My goal was to have the highest market share in my area. I concentrated on volume.”
Now, with more than 50 per cent market share, Chari said there are three key tips he has for every agent:
- Find a prospecting method that works for your area
- Have a bullet-proof CRM system
- Pursue and maintain knowledge
Mark Cohen – What’s next in real estate marketing technology
Takeaway 7: “Technology is the foundation, but the humans are the glue.”
As the Chief Technical Officer for Domain, Mark Cohen took agents through a quick tour of the top 10 technical trends landing in the industry over the next year. And the winners are…
- Blockchain
- Cybersecurity
- Virtual tours
- Sales process automation
- The Internet of Things
- Instant sales and rentals
- Drones and photography
- Chatbots and voice user interfaces
- Augmented reality and VR
- AI and machine learning
James Clear – Atomic habits
Takeaway 8: “Habits are the best methods for carving out the little advantages that we have. They are the things that we can control.”
In a presentation packed full of useful insight into the art of building habits, bestselling author James Clear explained success is the product of daily habits, not a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
“Excellence is not about radical change, it’s about accruing small levels of improvements over time,” he said. “If you get one per cent better each day for 365 days, you get 37 times better in a year.”
He noted the art of building good habits involved:
- Making it obvious
- Making it attractive
- Making it easy
- Making it satisfying
“If you want a habit to be a big part of your life, make the cues a big part of your environment,” he said.
“Habits are the entry point, not the end point. Make the entry point automatic. Make it easy.
“Whatever habit you’re trying to create, it should take two minutes or less to do. So rather than saying ‘I’m going to do yoga once a day’, the habit is ‘I’m going to take out my yoga mat’. You are becoming the type of person who does yoga, you are mastering the art of showing up.
“Any behaviour produces multiple outcomes across time.The cost of your good habits are in the present, the cost of your bad habits are in the future.
“Every action you take is like a vote for the type of person you want to become. The more actions you take, the more you cast a vote for the person you want to be.
“Habits are not a finish line to be crossed. It is a lifestyle to be lived.”
And with those final words of wisdom, AREC 2019 has concluded… but stay tuned, we’ll have more videos, and more of the highlights over the coming days…
