So, you're driving through the suburbs in just about every city or country town across Australia...and there they are... Real Estate offices, dotted about under different brand names. They all do the same thing right? They sell Real Estate and rent houses...
If you have your career trajectory set on selling Real Estate, and you're trying to get yourself in the best structure you can for long-term success, how can you possibly know what the best office is to join strategically?
Do you go by popular opinion of colleagues and industry peers? Do you go by Sales Results of others that work in that Agency? Most do...but below, I will help by giving you the undercover recruiter insights...
As Specialist Real Estate Recruiters for the past 4 years, we sit in a privileged position to see behind the curtain across many different brands and structures. We Recruit for these Agencies and we learn a heap about their culture, systems, growth plans and the avenues for Agents in their business to find success.
We build lasting relationships with Agency Principals so we understand what their trying to achieve and who their hoping too attract to help grow the Agency, and this gives us the ability to identify talent for them that are aligned with the same goals...
With so many to choose from, knowing what I know now, after sitting in the boardroom of hundreds of Agencies, speaking with thousands of Agents and PM's, if I started selling Real Estate tomorrow, who would I join? You might be surprised at the answer....
Setting up for Success Selling Real Estate.
Would it be obvious to you if I said I would join the coolest brand Agency selling Real Estate in the most expensive area for property in my city? You'd be wrong. That's what everyone does. Real Estate is a business. If your selling on commission only, the business model only works if there are regular sales... Turnover of sales volume is key and a flood of other Agents all trying to smash the same area, who may be more established than I am, is not the path of least resistance...
Location is the first thing I would strategise. Urban growth in affordable areas is key for longevity. I would research town planning, look at infrastructure development plans. Newly developing areas with years of ongoing growth ahead is where I would base myself. I would move if I had too, to make sure I wasn't more than 20min away from my office. Real Estate is a 7 Day a week gig.
Choose an area that people can afford easily and investors are attracted too for Rental Properties. A good spread of affordable and more expensive property like Acreages etc would be ideal. The smart money gravitates to newer builds in upcoming areas or key growth locations with good infrastructure. As wealthy as some investors may be, they rarely buy a $3m rental property in a wealthy suburb. They would rather by 2 or 3 newer build properties or even apartments to rent out in an emerging area, but they have the financial backing to make the transaction fast.
Choose an area that is attractive to first home buyers too. They can be incentivised by Government grants and are usually the first to feel mortgage stress and may sell or upgrade in the coming few years. (Creates faster turnover of sales).
Choose a reputable Agency in the area with the strongest brand name and infrastructure, one that is recognised across the country and is easily identifiable. The last thing you want is a buyer or seller on the phone from interstate not trusting who you are and who you represent. If it's a brand name they recognise and trust, this makes that part easy.
I'd make sure the office has a strong Property Management team with a growing Rent Roll. This will ensure I can refer my investor clients to the rental team in my office and hopefully give me an additional commission from the Agency for the referral of a new management. It will also keep the client in the network and our finger on the pulse so maybe I can re-sell the property again in the future.
A strong Property Management business may also mean the occasional lead from the Agency from an investor that wants to sell-up. I would ask at the interview who gets those leads? Are they passed over to Agents in the business evenly...?
Who runs the show? I'd want to ensure the Principal of the Agency had a strong track-record, someone I can learn from who has crushed selling Real Estate over their career. I'd want to join someone technically exceptional. If your Principal has never sold over $1m GCI + on their own in a year, how will they teach me? The more GCI they have done in the past the better, even if they no longer sell anymore.
Mentorship. Ongoing training and development is key. If I taught you how to sail for a few months, would you be comfortable sailing my boat solo to New Zealand? Probably not. Training should be ongoing. It's always better to be with a team that have Agents that can sell over $600k GCI + each. You will learn from them to do that too by default.
I'd be prepared to do the work. Let's be honest, if you're lazy, Real Estate is not the game for you. I'd be dedicated to my work 8 Days a week and make sure I had and Agency that invested in the right support staff, marketing and possibly even Lead Gen to support my growth (that's what my comm split should help support). Even if leads were 50/50, that's better than none. I'd be prepared to invest in myself too. (maybe pay for a mentor and additional advertising).
Team & Culture. As good a brand name as an Agency may have, if that individual office doesn't have Agents in the team already crushing it, it's usually a good indicator of culture. If they struggle to keep top-performers, the culture could be toxic. I would want to join an office where everyone is there to achieve, but not at the expense of each others success.
Fair Commission Splits. In order for an office to grow, they have to make money to tip back toward support and infrastructure for the Agents and PM's. A fair comm split is healthy. I need to ask myself if I want to be selling 50 - 75 + Properties a year because I have the brand working for me, support of the team and the guidance of the Principal or, sell 12 or so Properties a year on my own or with a no-name brand on a higher Commission Split. 80% Comm on 12 sales is not anywhere near as good as 50% - 75% of 50 + sales a year.
Sure, joining an Agency that sells the glitz & glamour and the big multi-million dollar homes is attractive to the novice Agent. It may even be more attractive to someone who has already crushed the above strategy and they're ready for their next step. It's not always the right first step...
Growing a successful Real Estate business is hard as it is. Making sure you consider where you are in your Real Estate journey and working out the path of least resistance is the key. Usually, most people coming into Real Estate only get one shot at it...and you want it to work.
The statistics are staggering. We already understand that 82% of all new Agents bail out in their first 12 months. Having a solid strategy and foundation for getting traction selling Real Estate should be your main aim in the beginning. Make smart choices and think about what is the best way for you to find that initial success. If you don't know what that looks like, call us. We will help you work it out and offer suggestions.
Once you have the years of experience selling Real Estate under your belt and the right training...you can pretty much go anywhere and start selling anything. Experience, support, guidance and results are key. You can't break quality training, commitment and track record.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to me. Am I cut-out to sell Real Estate? Am I prepared to go all in. Am I prepared to do the work and consistently get better and learn everything I need too learn to get the results. Lots of people think they can until their faced with the reality of what's involved. That's why 82% bail in their fist 12 months.
If you are thinking of making a move and getting yourself set-up for success in Real Estate, and would like to speak with one of our team who can help, reach out to any one of our Recruiters at Placed Australia (www.PlacedAustralia.com.au). We specialise in Real Estate Recruitment. It's all we do!
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