Born in Mornington and educated in the neighbouring suburb of Dromana, hockingstuart Rosebud director Adam Alexander has been one of the Peninsula’s top performing agents for ten years. From day one Adam was driven to succeed, spending most of his time door-knocking, putting out boards and handing out flyers at open for inspections while learning the trade. It was through this experience and watching the agents at work that Adam knew he was cut out for the real estate life. Over the last 10 years, Adam has become one of the top sales agents on the Mornington Peninsula and had one of his best years during the GFC in 2008.
What was your first job AND what was the most important thing it taught you?
I worked at McDonald’s. It taught me valuable life lessons like being punctual, polite, helpful and humble. First jobs aren’t always glamorous, but you learn a lot.
What do you like most about your work now?
I love meeting and getting to know new people. I’m exposed to so many new faces so no one day is ever the same.
What do you still find most challenging about what you do now and how do you deal with it?
As a director, it’s always a challenge to balance my role as a salesperson with the business’ marketing and management requirements. I have to be mindful of the bigger picture and pay close attention staff wellbeing, recruitment and marketing strategies as this ultimately feeds into our results and value offering to clients.
Define ‘Success’ for you personally. What will you have achieved?
Success to me equals a profitable, thriving business while maintaining enthusiasm and enjoyment in what I do. Most importantly, it’s about maintaining a high level of integrity with my community. I’ve been part of the Mornington Peninsula for most of my life, so I really value my reputation and always aim to give my clients the best service possible.
Describe what a typical day looks like for you.
Hectic – but good! Two mornings a week I’m at the gym by 6.15, then head back home to help out with our four-month old. I’m typically at the office by 8.15 to get straight into checking emails and chasing inquiries. We always have a quick staff meeting in the morning before I head out to appraisals and inspections for the rest of the day. I prefer to book these in blocks in the morning and afternoon so I can use my lunch hour to sort out any paperwork, HR and marketing. Before I know it the day is gone!
Is there one thing that’s not obvious about you that you wish more people would ‘get’?
That I truly care about my clients and their needs. It’s where I draw the most satisfaction from my work. But that can be hard to communicate in an industry where some people treat clients only as numbers.
What’s your secret power or skill that makes you so good at what you do?
I am always honest and upfront with my clients. I believe they appreciate this and I’ve been able to build strong relationships as a result. I’ve also been lucky with the training and support I’ve received from hockingstuart in my mission to become a director. Having head office support and being able to call on my peers in the network for advice really helped me with opening my own office. I’m also heavily involved with my local community and serve on the Dromana Primary School Council where I attended as a kid.
What was the best compliment you’ve ever received, and why?
An elderly lady whose house I’d just sold got really upset that she wasn’t going to see me anymore. She got teary and said she’d miss me. It was very sweet. It’s nice to make a personal connection with your clients. I really enjoy that side of real estate – dealing with and meeting new people every day.
Is there anything you’re afraid to do or would do if you weren’t afraid to do it?
I hate the thought of bungee jumping, which is ironic because I’ve been sky diving!
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
I would have suggested to prospect as an agent earlier in my career and become more involved in the community to get my personal brand out there. Learning earlier to proactively find business would have accelerated growth.
What’s next? What are your short term/long term goals?
In the short term I want to grow our newly established property management department. hockingstuart has been actively supporting me and the office to make sure we have the right systems to help us get it off the ground successfully.
In the medium to long term I want to expand and open a rural sales department. I think we’d be well-equipped to do this because we’re down on the Peninsula so we have the knowledge and the skills to work in markets that are quite different to what you’d see in metropolitan cities like Melbourne and Sydney.
