Productivity & Best Practice
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7 best practices for managing a remote team
Like it or not, we’re all going to be working from home for a while. If you don’t need to communicate with anyone or anything on the outside world that’s great. But the reality is for most people, particularly people in real estate, this period will be a steep learning experience. We all know how…
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Actions speak louder than words
For the uninitiated, body language – or non-verbal communication – probably plays a bigger part in your life and your customers’ lives than you could ever imagine, particularly when it comes to creating a good first impression. When you’re face-to-face with someone, 60 per cent to 80 per cent of the message you send comes…
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3 lessons I learned from becoming bankrupt at 24
At the age of 24, I declared myself bankrupt. I was a young real estate agent with a shattered ego. All of the success I had created vanished overnight. So how did I end up in this dark place? A series of choices and beliefs about myself led me to this place. And there are three…
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Daring to dream
Real estate is an industry where anything can happen. I didn’t truly understand the depth and breadth of the industry until I joined the Harcourts business last year. Coming from a family who actively purchased and invested in property, I had a deep interest in real estate from the outset. To pursue a dream of…
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Good things come to those who wait
He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures.” – Friedrich Nietzsche If you think of elite sportspeople, famous actors, successful entrepreneurs and top real estate agents, what is it that they have in common? It is their ability to make a high-level commitment to a goal without getting…
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How to get paid what you’re worth
Right from the beginning, you’re on the back foot. “We’ve got three other agents coming to give us a quote, what’s your lowest fee?” The client has hit you with this before you have said anything, so what do you do now? Your perceptions, not to mention how you feel and what you think, have…
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The BIG 5 questions you must ask yourself this month
To paraphrase Dr Joe Dispenza: "Unless you are driven by an exciting and compelling vision for the future, you will be at the mercy of your habits and routines of your past, making your life very mundane." That's great if you want more of the same, however, if you are sick and tired of being…
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What does Agent 2020 look like?
Technology In 2016, as the industry sat on the precipice of major disruption, Ouwens and Casserly posed the question, by 2020 will the world’s largest real estate service have no agents? Uber owns no taxis. Alibaba owns no inventory. Facebook employs no publishers. Airbnb owns no properties. Was real estate headed down the same path?…
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33 tips to own real estate in your local area in 2020
The first step to making next year your best year in real estate starts now – take a break. Christmas is the best time to take a break as most of your sellers and buyers will be doing the same thing. They expect you to spend time with your family and friends because that’s what…
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Three steps to clearer thinking
Every day I see the impact thoughts have on agents, and as a coach it’s often the place I spend the most time supporting, guiding and strengthening. And the most amazing thing about thoughts? We have 100 per cent control over them. Everything starts with thoughts. You know what it’s like when you wake up…
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How to build better relationships with your agents
A new year generates a feeling of a clean slate; a time to reset and reboot. Traditionally, business owners and leaders take this time to plan their goals for the coming year – mainly financial. But we are coming off nearly two years of a market that has been incredibly challenging – not just for…
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How to keep up the momentum until the end of 2019
Q: As things begin to wind down in 2019, do you have any suggestions to keep me productive for the rest of the year? A: With Christmas just around the corner, we have the choice to stretch or coast towards the finish line. It's often small decisions, routine things we don’t think about a lot,…
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Accepting responsibility
A famous Winston Churchill quote says you must never waste a good crisis. For many, the past 12 months in real estate terms have been a crisis. Much of the pressure may have been successfully navigated post-election, but have agents learnt from the situation, or will they face similar malaise when another crisis hits? And…
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It’s not about you: Four tips for confident presenting in front of an audience
There's no single thing or magic formula that is a panacea for a lack of confidence when presenting. There are no short cuts, however, I would say that people who lack confidence should consider a change of approach. Begin by writing a slogan in big letters: It’s not about me, it's all about my audience!…
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How to beat real estate fatigue
Career fatigue is not often talked about openly in our industry. But career fatigue is real. As agents, we tend to be conditioned to accept tough outcomes, rejection and negativity and react by getting on with things. We’re expected to take the knockbacks and the disappointments on the chin, and keep going. While it is…
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Future proofing in the tech age
Working closely with many of Australia’s leading agents allows us to see what separates the best agents from the pack. Despite the transformation in real estate right now, it almost always comes down to the same factors. The best agents have mastered four things: prospecting, listing, negotiating and – of course – selling. We believe…
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Leveraging your assets
Leveraging your assets With so many new and exciting tech offerings in real estate, it would be easy to become swamped without knowing if what you’re doing is working. Caroline Bolderston explains why sometimes keeping it simple is best. Humans are a complex bunch. Many of us are attracted to what is new, exciting and…
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How to set yourself free from negative thinking
OUR MIND IS PERHAPS the most advanced piece of technology in existence, but it is not without a glitch or two. Pancho Mehrotra delves into negative thinking patterns, how they can hold us back and how to set ourselves free. In the current challenging economic climate, many people struggle to change the way they react…
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10 tips to becoming more confident and closing more deals
Confidence is something people are looking for in order to go to for bigger clients, talk to important people or even speak in front of an audience. Because let's face it - if you can be confident in your personal and professional life it might make you believe you can get things done (especially if…
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The gift of real estate
I recently spent time with some second and third year agents who have all been doing relatively well in the industry. I asked them to come to the whiteboard and map out the ideal real estate business. Save for a few minor details they could write down what it would take for them to become…
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Complete productivity plan for real estate agents: Tony Rowe
Do you find yourself stuck in a continuous loop of procrastination with a to-do list as long as your arm? Learning how to be efficient, effective and organised can take some effort, but it is achievable with the right approach. Here is a list of 12 things you can do to become more productive, less…
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Convert copy into clients
Not everyone has the luxury of hiring a copywriter to draft their prospecting emails and letters. But with a little bit of practise, anyone can nail the five principles of sales writing that converts prospects to clients. 1 RIGHT MESSAGE, RIGHT PERSON, RIGHT TIME These are the three elements of all successful sales and marketing…
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The number one reason partnerships fail
Many businesses are owned by more than one principal. Sometimes these multipleprincipal businesses are family businesses with one spouse looking after sales and the other looking after property management and back office. Sometimes, they are successful businesses with unrelated principals working together. However, not all partnerships are successful. Many of them fail. There can be…
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“The Cheat is not the Treat” (or what I learned during a 30-day challenge – and beyond)
Living your best life means something different to every person and it doesn’t have to mean fame, fortune or a million dollars in GCI. Your definition may be drastically different from that of your spouse, partner or boss, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The important thing to remember is that it is never too…
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Spring into action
Can you hear the relief of the recharging real estate market? With opportunity everywhere, how can you invigorate your sales team to change gears and take advantage of new market sentiment? There are some foundation areas you need to have right to ensure your sales team starts the spring selling season well. Regardless of the…
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5 ways to bring CEO thinking to your business
You may have noticed that every large business has a chief executive officer at the helm. As businesses grow, they recognise the need to hire an individual who is responsible for the overall success of the business and has the ultimate authority to make final decisions. The CEO sets the culture and business standards and…
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The ebbs and flows of real estate: Nathan Jones
The ebb and flow of the real estate industry in Australia has been well-documented over the past year, from ongoing discussions around the state of the market to the Royal Commission into Australia’s banking sector. However, it seems pertinent to reflect on the impact we have seen across the industry when it comes to the…
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Are you working to live or living to work?
More and more Australians are going above and beyond in the workplace, and the real estate industry is far from immune. Kate Strickland ponders the big question of inner guilt and fostering the work/life balance. I recently read a stat about how Aussies aren’t taking leave anymore and it had me thinking about the reasons…
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Byron Kerr: A new brand of leader
Byron Kerr isn’t afraid of declining stock levels. In the 2018-2019 financial year, when the Melbourne market was on a downward slide, the O’Brien Real Estate Mentone director and his team sold more properties than the year before. “It was a market with decreased stock levels of about 25 per cent,” he said. “Yet we…
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Make the most of your meetings
The modern day workplace meeting is vastly different from days gone by. Forget serious, clinical boardroom events, today we have walking meetings, town hall gatherings and zoom coffee catch-ups. The intention is that a relaxed environment will make participants feel more relaxed and comfortable to share. The less formal and intimidating the meeting, the more…
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Business auditor reveals the 7 most frequent failures by Australian organisations
A leading global risk management provider has revealed the most common reasons why organisations fail to meet the goals they set. SAI Global is a trusted global leader in risk management solutions through its standards, assurance and training offerings across more than 130 countries. Over the years they've audited thousands of organisations – from the…
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Divide your database in order to conquer
Have you heard the term "divide and conquer"? Of course you have, but what does it have to do with real estate, you’re thinking? When it comes to your database you need to divide in order to conquer. More gently put, I’m talking about long-term nurture versus an active, short-term pipeline of potential vendors. Your…
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Business game plan
Firstly, yes: a business plan is important and can help greatly, but a business plan has no hope without belief and action. Having the belief and intention of mind is what creates success, writing it down is just a reminder. So giving yourself a clear reminder of what you want to achieve in the form…
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Financial wellness for agents: Mikaela Patterson
What’s the difference between success and financial wellness? In real estate, success is different from one individual to the next. It could mean pulling up at a listing presentation in the Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster or opening an office in the adjoining postcode. For others, it’s taking every second Friday off to play golf. So what’s…
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How agents can thrive in a challenging market
Over the past decade, Australia has been in a golden age of property that has seen increasing house prices, happy vendors and competitive buyers – an environment that made things relatively easy for the average real estate agent. However, recent lower auction clearance rates and stagnating buyer activity means agents need to roll up their…
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