More than 40 Ray White Commercial top performers from across Australia and New Zealand filled Hamilton Island’s Yacht Club as powerful interviews and specialist sessions took place for 2019’s Summit conference.
Former Navy diver and shark attack survivor Paul De Gelder was a keynote speaker on the day and had the audience in the palm of his hand as he described his mantra of improvising, adapting and overcoming any challenges that come along.
Those three notions were echoed by Ray White Managing Director Dan White, who followed the inspirational talk given by Mr De Gelder.
“It’s easy to say that this year is going to be tough, but we believe 2019 is going to be better than the last. We’ve started every year in our 117-year history this way,” Mr White said.
“Our energy, creativity and our ideas make a massive difference to our vendors in our ability to create competition.
“The best thing about Ray White is that when things are difficult we can find answers internally. You have members beside you and around you who are doing things quite remarkable, so look inside our group for support,” concluded Mr White.
Ray White CEO of Growth Mark McLeod took the audience through the power of auctions and how converting listings from a private treaty can re-energise stock.
“We need to make sure from an early stage that discussions align, the vendor reports need to align and discussions and sourcing are required when properties are open for inspection,” Mr McLeod said.
“Moving from private treaty to auctions is a powerful tactic, because the data is telling us that it’s a better way to get an outcome for our clients.
“It also allows us to move and control our stock better and creates capacity for our teams to take on more listings,” Mr McLeod told agents on the day.
“There’s sometimes misplaced scepticism around auctions, but it’s one of the best ways to create competition for listings, and great things happen when that’s the case.”
Ray White Whitsunday Principal Mark Beale said building a team that was a right fit for the company’s culture and delivered the best client service was critical.
“The priority is someone who fits the culture of the team, someone who always strives for better and, looking at my team, most of them have been with me for more than five years,” Mr Beale said.
“I believe it’s important to be friends with your work colleagues, to know what’s going on in their everyday lives because that insight and trust really do benefit in the long term.
“The customer experience is at the forefront of everything we do. For example, during Cyclone Debbie we hired a full-time person to handle all feedback straight away, so we were able to manage people’s concerns as quickly as possible.
“I spend at least 20 hours a week doing things in the community. They have given us a lot and it’s important that we continue to give back to them,” Mr Beale concluded.
