COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS

Courageous Conversations: How Louise Barton created a successful real estate career in Sydney with mindset, self-belief, and a commitment to customer service

Sydneyโ€™s a competitive real estate market at the best of times, but what if you knew no-one and were looking to recreate a successful real estate career half a world away from where you started out? Louise Barton is testament to how quickly that can be achieved. Here, she shares the story of what drew her from Scotland to Sydney and the skills and self-belief that saw her attain success.

Imagine moving halfway around the world to restart your real estate career from scratch.

Thatโ€™s exactly the position Louise Barton found herself in when she took the plunge and booked a ticket from Scotland to Sydney.

Armed with a working visa and the belief Sydney was one of the best real estate markets in the world, Louise set out to forge a fresh career in a town where she knew no-one and had nothing but a suitcase worth of clothes.

She would either make it or come home, tail between her legsโ€ฆ

Five years later and Louise has built a readily recognisable brand as an agent with Richardson & Wrench North Sydney.

But it wasnโ€™t always easy or without its hurdles. There were temp jobs along the way and the temptation to shift careers totally.

However, persistence has well and truly paid off for an agent who had an unshakable belief in her skillset and an unwavering faith she could make it in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world.

In this Courageous Conversation with Leanne Pilkington, Louise shares what drew her to Sydney, how and why she backed herself, and what changed the playing field to see her interviewing agencies, rather than vice versa.

She offers an insight into the mindset that helped her attain success, along with how sheโ€™s used social media to build an established brand.

Along the way, Louise talks about her approach to customer service, the skills that translate regardless of what market youโ€™re operating in, and how sheโ€™s setting her team up for success in a Sydney market thatโ€™s quickly turning.

โ€œI’m up against people that have been born and bred here. They’ve done it for a very long time, but luckily I always believed in my ability and failing wasn’t an option. And I think if you’ve got that mindset, then you are going to make it. You’ve got to believe in yourself. And then everyone else around you will start believing in you.โ€ – Louise Barton.

Louise and Leanne also discuss:

  • How Louise went from Scottish standalone agent to a stint in recruitment then found her feet in Sydney real estate sales.
  • Why Louise felt Sydney was the place to be, and how she overcame the challenge of no local network and little market knowledge to build a successful Australian real estate career.
  • What Louise did to find an agency that aligned with her vision and how she used that to build her own social media brand.
  • Why Louise never lost sight of the fact she had the sales skillset required, and how she shifted the power balance to select the agency she wanted to work for.
  • What inspired Louise to take a major leap, and why she knew she was in need of a totally new challenge.
  • Why culture and vision emerged as the most critical agency attributes Louise was looking for and how she avoided falling into โ€˜the sharkโ€™s pitโ€™.
  • How Louise re-started her sales career at the height of the pandemic, and why true real estate skill is all about shaking off property market hype.
  • How Louise is building a Sydney team that gets back to selling basics, regardless of what the property market is doing.
  • Why real estate skills are transferrable to any market, anywhere, and how Louise is using that knowledge to build her own brand.

And much, much moreโ€ฆ

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Leanne Pilkington

Leanne Pilkington is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Laing+Simmons.

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To contact the editorial team at Elite Agent email editor@eliteagent.com.