The power of family, hard work and creating competition was on display at the inaugural The Tesolin Conference today.
Almost 1000 attendees from across Australia, New Zealand and as far away as Hungary filled The Star in Sydney to hear from some of the nation’s best agents and industry leaders.
You could hear a pin drop at the event when Ray White Group Chairman Brian White, AO, spoke about the power of family and how it has underpinned the Ray White Group’s success for so long.
“Families have so much more integration and togetherness and shared purpose than any other structure,” Mr White said.
“Families create a consistency of reputation and define what is so critically important.”
Mr White said Josh Tesolin, after which the conference is named, had followed in the same footsteps his family had walked by having his wife, Sophia, and his mother, Annette working with him.
“My grandfather Ray set up his first business in outback Queensland, and on the shed under his name it says ‘auctioneer’,” Mr White said.
“Auctions have never wavered in its centrality. Look at the success Josh is achieving, he’s adopted the same language and the power of family.
“Family is our great asset, and what is it that our family stands for? We trademarked the term competition creators as we believe in the power of auctions.”
Mr Tesolin, the principal at Ray White Quakers Hill and host of the conference, also took to the stage to share how he became the highest earning business owner across Ray White Australia and New Zealand last year, selling 370 properties.
He gave attendees a detailed breakdown of his prospecting, marketing, reviews, text message system, testimonial and auction processes.
“Consistency and frequency builds trust,” Mr Tesolin said.
“If you don’t prospect, you can’t list and you can’t sell, and you might as well not be in real estate.
“You’ve got to understand, prospecting can take numerous forms. You can do it.
“You can cold call, you can letterbox drop, there’s literally 1000 ways you can prospect. If you do it consistently enough, you’ll be successful.”
Mr Tesolin said hard work was more important than being perfect straight away.
“The more you do something, the better you will be and the better you are, the more business you will attract,” he said.
“It all starts with one sale.
“A lot of people think to themselves ‘I need 10 listings to be successful’. I knew I needed signboards literally everywhere for people to notice me.”
Mr Tesolin noted that he also asks every seller for a RateMyAgent, realestate.com.au and Google review, as well as video testimonials too.
He said he expects all sales associates to spend two years with him before becoming a solo agent and he expects his team to work hard.
“We have an apprenticeship system in the office, if they are getting leads and showing promise,” Mr Tesolin said.
Brisbane property developer and NGU Real Estate Group Founder Emil Juresic also shared his story of success and how he came to Australia from Croatia when he was just 16.
“When I came to Australia as a 16 year old, my heart was always so big and I wanted to conquer the world,” he said.
“I asked myself what industry I would work in so that I would learn quickly and make money, so I started in the construction industry and worked seven days a week like a bulldog.
He says he made $120,000 on his first development, and by age 24, he made $4 million.
“My ego was the size of Mt Everest and I thought I was a good businessman.”
Mr Juresic, 43, said he started NGU, which stands for Never Give Up, seven years ago and he urged his fellow agents to grasp every opportunity with both hands.
“Real estate agents need to capitalise on the industry that they know so well and buy property.
“Utilise the industry that you guys are in, full stop, you are already in the industry.”
Mr Juresic also said one of the keys to success was doing what you love.
“When it comes to sales, I still sell for fun, last year I sold $174 million worth of property for $500,000 GCI for fun,” he said.
Ray White NSW/ACT Chief Executive Officer Tim Snell also revealed the power of the perfect auction.
He said deadlines, competition and urgency removed the price problem.
“Follow the process and the price becomes inevitable,” he said.
“We are confidence creators. We are competition creators. This market is the rebirthing of the sales agent. It’s an educational time for any vendors and buyers.
“Stop looking for the best buyer, they will always reveal themselves, you need competition, you need underbidders.
“But how do you get the best buyer to pay the best price when there’s no confidence in the marketplace? You need competition. You need the under bidders.”
“This wasn’t all roses by the way. We had a few lessons to learn. One of the major lessons was the importance of controlling the core marketplace.”
