Agents must “stand for something” if they want to separate themselves from the pack, was the message coming out of Ray White’s Ready SET Go training in Brisbane this week.
Speaking at the event, Ray White New Zealand Executive Chairman, Carey Smith, said sales agents could differentiate themselves by delivering on their own unique message.
“Stand for something and if you don’t stand for something, you’ll lose your way,” Mr Smith said.
“Think about your story, what do you stand for?
“And stick to it! If it’s client experience and you value getting a 10/10 every time, that’s what you do.”
Mr Smith said he had a number of rules that he personally sticks to every day, including saying good morning, changing his phone voice message daily depending where he is, writing in a journal and making hard calls on Thursdays.
Ray White Queensland Chief Executive Officer, Jason Andrew, said agents have to know what they want to know and how to articulate it.
“Today is about getting clear on who you are and who we are,” Mr Andrew said.
“The belief is that once you understand that, you can really go about working on how you can demonstrate this.”
He said a key for agents was learning how to narrow their focus.
“Once you have that, the feeling is you will have ease and speed of decision making, ultimately more greatly influencing customers,” he said.
Seth Watts of CampaignAgent spoke to the Queensland agents about real estate and AI.
He said his own business transformed when ChatGPT launched on November 30, 2022.
“It gives some massive efficiency gains,” Mr Watts said.
Mr Watts was able to demonstrate how he could create a professional studio quality podcast with some fairly short prompts.
Then he built a landing page and made a video in various languages in record time.
“This type of content can be super powerful at scale,” he said.
“Here’s the opportunity now for salespeople to use Open AI.
“It’s fast, simple and makes communications perfect. It was designed for good communicators in mind, people like us, and not technical boffins.
“All real estate agents are uniquely positioned to take advantage of OpenAI.
“AI will not destroy your business but competitors using AI will!”
Ray White Burleigh Group’s Conner Malan and Daniel Donovan spoke about how they used social media marketing to reach more buyers.
They have become known for their social media videos but their structure and approach was set up long before that.
“We noticed there was a gap in the market around social media,” Mr Malan said.
“Now people take notice of what we do on social media and the benefits of it, now we are always asked to do it.
“We never pitched it initially, we just did it on the side and understood it gained traction quickly.
“We found buyers were engaging with our content and we understood there was value in it.”
Mr Donovan said authenticity, along with consistency, was key when it comes to social media videos.
Ray White Sherwood auction agent Lisette Schults-Rand explained how she shows her clients the value of auctioneering.
“Show them an auction vs a normal sale,” Ms Schults-Rand said.
“We did everything onsite for the first six years, which was terrifying for a green agent and it wasn’t until we got some volume we moved to in-rooms.
“I show sellers the benefits and listen to any objections.
“It took me a few years to get better at it, and when I had some more success stories it was so much easier.
“Explain the ins and outs of each sales method.”
Ray White Sanctuary Cove Director Matt Gates broke down his sales strategy, which focuses on connecting with his community.
“What sets me apart is playing the long game,” Mr Gates said.
“I am relentlessly consistent in communicating to my market. I am a very active part of my community.
“Having that presence creates awareness around my business.
“They know me by my active engagement in the community.”
