To transform requires more than to simply make a few changes. ‘Transformation’ implies a metamorphosis into a new state that bears little resemblance to the original. It’s now time to unpack the journey’s the teams have taken and discuss with the directors their before and after milestones.
All four agencies that participated in Transform PM are different in size, structure and geographic areas. Says Fiona Blayney, “All four of you [directors] had a different clarity around why you’ve got your business and what it is that you’re attempting to achieve. It’s been fascinating dissecting that with each of you and then watching the light bulbs go on around, ‘Hang on a minute. I could probably get to that outcome a lot quicker than I realised. Even my outcome has far more possibilities than I’d thought.’”
WHAT DID THE LEADERS TAKEAWAY FROM TRANSFORM?
PHILIP BELL, ZELLE ALBURY, NSW
“Put more accountability into the staff to report back to the BDM [Rob]. For the property management team, and in particular Kira, I think the ability for her to know where she’s spending her time and how it’s being spent, which I believe she’s found invaluable. She’s a happier person as a result of being able to organise her day better and think about that. That’s been so noticeable.
“I’ve leant more towards treating property management as the most important thing. Someone said it [at ARPM 2016], I think, it should be number one. That mindset and focus on that department. I’ve seen dividends of it already in the way we’re growing, and probably the things we’ve changed.”
LOOKING FORWARD
“Focusing on the numbers a bit more. That gives you a vision of where you can get to, rather than flying by the seat of your pants each month…it wasn’t quite like that, but it was pretty close! For us, now, the goals are set in place. I also think just having a to-do list, time frame, who’s responsible for what… Putting some of that ‘stuff’ onto other people, rather than me trying to go and do it all.”
TRENT SHORLAND, HARCOURTS ADELAIDE HILLS, SA
“There have been lots of things over the journey. We had a new BDM; for me, that was a new role. Trying to, I guess, understand her and manage her was probably my biggest challenge. She’s an excellent salesperson but I’m used to doing that job, so I was trying to work out what I should be doing with her to manage her. Now with Fiona and Lauren, who worked with us there, it’s been terrific.
“Probably one of the biggest ‘holes’ in my business was the data capturing part. We’ve got 33 staff in the Adelaide Hills. It’s a medium sized business, with 15 salespeople. There’s a lot of information there that was just flying out the door through realestate.com.au, through open homes. We weren’t capturing it. I was doing the job, but I was just using my contacts. Being able to implement a growth plan that with some structure behind it has been great. To me, there’s been a whole lot of good.”
LOOKING FORWARD
“The future for us is bright. Part of that is because now, the people that I’ve got in my life and business, Fiona and everybody else that we’ve met over the last nine weeks, are going to keep us at the forefront. For me, I’m excited about the prospects of our business going forward. I know that my opposition’s not going to be doing these things so I’m genuinely really excited.”
ADRIANA DENDRINOS, RICHARDSON + WRENCH MARRICKVILLE, NSW
“When I came into this, I thought, ‘This should be pretty easy!’ Well, not easy, but it’s been quite eye-opening for us. In the short term, we’ve applied a few things straight away. We put Keylog in for our key systems; the landlord portals, we finally unleashed them, I’ve let go of my control on that. Little logistical things.
With the staff, as I said, Julie and Neil have helped me understand them and where I should be deploying them better. I realised there’s another level I need to get to. I need to withdraw and empower my staff. They’re really good staff. I’m just micromanaging them at my expense. I should be doing other things.”
LOOKING FORWARD
“I’m pretty excited. In retrospect, we’ve been surviving, and I think we can amp it up a level. I’ve been working with Fiona, restructuring our team to what Charles [Tarbey] is talking about, having more account managers, a finance department, just really looking at the structure. It’s going to take me a while to do it, but that’s where I think it’s exciting.”
KELLEY SEATON, PMHQ, CENTRAL COAST, NSW
“We had a big change in our business. Back before this started, we had a small portfolio in Brisbane and then another portfolio in the Hunter. We don’t have either of those any more. We’ve removed some waste. Moved to an area where we want to be, and pretty much back to a start-up business. We’ve only got under 30 properties now. I think this has highlighted the fact that we now have this opportunity to start it all again, wipe the slate clean and do it better.
“The confidence that has come out of both of the girls, both the BDM and the PM, is amazing. They’ve done certain things with their coaches that I couldn’t have done with them.”
LOOKING FORWARD
“I’m moving into a new market, so that’s a little bit nerve-wracking for us. We’ve run the analytics, the data and stats, and all that sort of stuff. We’re aware of what’s out there; we just need to be able to do it ‘the best’. We’re going to do the simple things well, rather than trying to cover everything. Just take it back a few notches and be the best at those one percenters, and doing that one per cent more than everybody else.”
WHAT WAS TRANSFORM PM?
The main components of Transform PM included:
- Attending ARPM 2016, a two-day specialist property management conference
- Access to Rockend’s new industry-first benchmarking tool, realbenchmark
- Eight weeks of coaching from industry coaches, plus Elite Agent contributors and partners, with some of the best technology business tools available
- A personal coaching session each week for each of the participants based on their role, provided by Real+, with Fiona Blayney coaching directors, Lauren Kirk coaching the BDMs and Heidi Walkinshaw with the PMs
- Access to the Real+ system, with coaching, training, templates and more
- Compete team profiling and debriefing from Agent Dynamics, ensuring that the right people in the teams were in the right roles
- The Amazing Race finale, a fun and educational team building experience where the teams were able to put some of their new-found skills to the test.
