What’s a special place in your local area?
My aunty’s old deli, that she owned for more than 30 years.
It was my first job stacking shelves and started at the age of about five. It certainly taught me hard work!
Did you choose real estate or did real estate choose you?
I came back from the UK, after spending some years away, and went into a trade assistant role at a glass company.
Before long I was doing plenty of the work, rather than assisting, and got frustrated with the errors that were coming out of the factory.
I then went into estimating and scheduling but when the sales role came up I applied.
I was told I was too young and my communication skills were not high enough.
I quit two weeks later and went into real estate and sold 72 homes in my first year. I thank my former company everyday for the motivation
First sale?
A property in South Hedland in the north of W.A. I was calling expired listings and got all the way to “S”, but it didn’t take long as the market was so hot and nothing was on the market.
I sold it in 24 hours with three offers and I never went to South Hedland – and to this day I have not.
It taught me the traditional local agent mentality was certainly changing, with online becoming so powerful.
Most memorable sale?
I was taught under The Jenman System and was a huge prospector, and in my first week I kept calling this one person who was selling his development but every time he went to change agent he sold another one.
I kept calling and I secured the next development about four months later.
I sold the 34 properties in two weeks.
Again, it thought me that the phone is the greatest asset, as the 10 calls produced around $350,000 in commission.
What type of business do you focus on?
I focus on clients I have built relationships with and rapport.
I really play the long game and provide as much service as possible, knowing that, down the track, the process of selling, if the opportunity arises, will be so much smoother given I have built the trust – rather than being one of three from a letter box drop.
What’s the most important part of your day?
Morning without a doubt. Morning is for building business and afternoon is for maintaining it, I really believe.
Where would you like to be this time next year?
I am doing around 100 deals a year and believe to go to the next level I will need a buyer agent or cadet to assist.
I currently have an admin assistant who had no experience prior but after countless hours, I have helped her develop into a great team player, and incredibly knowledgeable for a person her age.
Challenge for the industry?
Perception in the community that agents are untrustworthy and lazy.
The top agents in the country are incredibly involved in the community and work extremely hard, with long days and weekends being spent at work rather than with family.
It’s a big commitment, but you do need to make passion your pay check.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
I often speak with my coach Tom Panos about “burn the boats”. It means no turning back, and all in. In 1519, Captain Hernán Cortés landed in Veracruz to begin his great conquest. It’s a great story.
Also, be the person your dog thinks you are. In essence: be kind, as you never know what the other person is going through, especially in times like these.
