BEST PRACTICE
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Five ways to get your cash flow back in shape
Pre-pandemic seems such a long time ago. We had a set and stable economy, rules in play that we understood and had learned to abide by. In the space of a few short months we now have a new normal which has managed to turn what we have known on its head. Decimated bank accounts have been a big source…
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Why ‘work/life balance’ is a myth
I think the most overused and misunderstood maxim is “work-life balance”. Work-life balance became trendy throughout the 1970s and ’80s in the US and UK and emigrated across the globe. It’s a catchy idea that you should learn to equally share your time between your professional and private life in order to establish a form of balanced sanity. To me,…
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Be a flamingo – why we need to stop conforming and start standing out
In this decade of disruption there’s a great blanding of the marketplace, so if you want to get ahead you need to be visible—you need to be a flamingo. Currently we see many businesses and people all competing on ‘same’: same products, services and offerings. They look and act the same, market themselves the same, and often the only differentiator…
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Building social awareness
If you’ve ever wondered how well you fare when it comes to the topic of communication, the simplest way to gage your effectiveness is by analysing the response you get from the outside world – your colleagues, customers and competitors – how do they respond to you? And more importantly, do you communicate equally with all humans big and small,…
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How to practise self-regulation
Let’s face it, we’re in the business of people, and all the whiz-bang technology in the world is not going to help build that relationship if you cannot connect with your customer! Therefore, it is…
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Cultivate self-awareness in your business practices
When he wrote the breakthrough book Emotional Intelligence in 1995, Daniel Goleman identified the five pillars of Emotional Intelligence, in this article we look at self awareness and those things you can do to improve yours Being self-aware means being in tune with how you feel. It means you understand how your emotions and your actions can affect the people…
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Practical ways to supercharge your creativity
In early January, just as the world first learned about Covid-19, LinkedIn released data from over 20 million job listings posted during the previous year, that revealed the five most in-demand skills for 2020. For…
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Finding yourself when all seems lost
Who are you? This may sound like a strange question to ask, but it’s totally relevant and incredibly important. It’s a question that we should ask ourselves regularly, and it’s one we should not underestimate the importance of, especially given the current conditions. Sometimes, when we are feeling out of sorts, it can all be due to one simple thing.…
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EBM RentCover stresses importance of following rent freeze process
EBM RentCover is stressing the importance of following the government’s rent freeze process after receiving an influx of inquiries from landlords relating to COVID-19. EBM RentCover Managing Director Sharon Fox-Slater explained while there hadn’t been a notable rise in insurance claims during the past couple months, there had been a significant uptick in inquiries from landlords seeking clarity on what…
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The new opportunities of working from home
Obviously, the pandemic is still a very much a reality for everyone. Yet as restrictions ease, it is also clear that people, at least in terms of mindset, are thinking about what comes next. It’s true across many aspects of our lives, including our homes. After being in lockdown for so long, many people are reconsidering the suitability of their…
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Top tips for business success
After a rollercoaster couple of months, the real estate sector is now looking to get back to business as usual. But like it or not, the playing field has shifted markedly since the beginning of the year, and agencies large and small are being forced to re-evaluate, reconsider, and reposition. To assist, we’ve assembled some of the top business tips…
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Nine steps for keeping your office safe in COVID-19
From implementing extra cleaning of frequently touched surfaces to including your shared company cars in regular cleans, there are a lot of extra safety standards you need to consider as your team settles back in at the office. National anti-viral sanitisation company Cleancorp has been inundated with inquiries since the beginning of the pandemic, and company Director Lisa Macqueen said…
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Create a healthy body and mind
With the rise of social media and the plethora of platforms used to communicate online, many people are continuously connected to a barrage of information. It’s easy to be distracted by the raft of material, with many hours eaten away by one-on-one time with your phone or tablet. This shift in how people use their time means that many are…
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Make a broker your bestie
Organising finance is just one of the hurdles buyers need to overcome to buy a home. Often it’s the source of much pain. But it doesn’t have to be. Establishing a good relationship, built on trust and understanding, can make a real estate agent look like a superstar in the eyes of their buyers and their vendors. Recently I received…
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Will it be make or break?
In real estate we’re fixated on searching for the next new thing. In fact, looking for the next solution or product that will transform our business is practically built into our DNA. But the thing that makes us is also the thing that can break us. Over the past five years our industry has transitioned from a corner store-style, relationship…
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Five steps to help agents thrive during a crisis
There’s no denying the Coronavirus crisis has been devastating to many. The health and economic implications run deep and, depending on the strategy adopted, they could also run long. The human toll on people’s lives and livelihood is immense, and like everyone else, I’m eager for us to move back toward a more certain future. That said, this current event…
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The ultimate guide for remote working and managing remote teams
COVID-19 has meant that we all need to get used to working from home, even if we’ve never done it before. Here are some tips to make working from home more comfortable. 10 Tips for working remotely Dedicate a workspace Designate a specific area in your house for work. This will make it easier to stay focused and separate your…
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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 important relationships are in the…
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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 from the way you look,…
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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 important lessons I learned along…
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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 working in real estate, you…
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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 an immediate reward, pleasure or…
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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 been influenced and all you…
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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 sick and tired of your…
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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? The pair predicted the relevance…
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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 they are doing too. Try…
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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 business owners but for agents.…
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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 it will hit. Over the…
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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! And then try the following…
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How to beat real estate fatigue: Joel Davoren
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.
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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 that as digital disruption continues…
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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 a $500,000-plus earner. With all…
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