What’s your most memorable moment/career highlight for 2019?
It is difficult to identify just one moment or highlight. The year has been full of affirmations and amazing experiences. I am most proud of the culture that is home.byholly. I believe culture stems from the top and I foster culture leading by example.
I embrace my team members as my equals and not as competitors. Positive team culture is integral to the success and happiness of my business. I seek to mentor and be available at all times for the agents that work with me.
I play the infinite game, not the finite game. I focus on my own business and goals rather than looking at the competition.
I have a strong community focus and I celebrate people. I collaborate with local business and support and promote our city. I take opportunities to support local business and people through our love.local, hyper.local and love.people video stories.
My desire to reinvent the traditional model of real estate, build unique partnerships and positive, long-lasting connections in the community is an initiative I seek to foster and grow.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt this year?
The biggest challenge was the speed at which my business was growing. In 2018, I shifted my focus to the growth of my business through the approach of the collective, mentor-agent mindset and supportive culture.
I decided to bring on three new agents that came from differing experiences, and with their own strengths and knowledge, but that I knew would fit into the values and culture that home.byholly embodies.
I invested and continue to invest in my people. I mentor and help other agents grow their business, personal brand and support them at different stages of their careers. I do this by sharing listings that are in their farming areas, placing them as the lead agent, and applying a collective and collaborative approach to all properties we list and sell. Yet we still focus on the individual to grow and evolve personally and individually.
My agents all exceeded expectations in their first year, and the business has continued to grow. My team has embraced the culture and are proud to work in this environment.
I’ve learnt that in my business, looking after people is most important.
What do you do differently to others in the real estate industry?
I encourage innovation and creativity. Innovation is independence, creativity and technology. My agency is agile, willing to take risks, embrace creativity and integrate this into the content we deliver across branding and marketing campaigns.
I curate marketing campaigns that are personalised to the client, tailored to the property, and relevant and engaging to consumers.
Engaging creativity is innovative in an industry that quite often applies a template approach. My willingness to collaborate with influencers, cross-promote with businesses, use social platforms and explore different ways to represent property is innovative.
I have gathered a team of creative leaders in their industries, that are not necessarily real estate specific, but the skills of which are highly applicable. This team brings the rigorous and exacting requirements of big business, creative execution and delivers the same outcomes for our single dwelling campaigns.
What’s the biggest myth people have about agents, and what needs to happen to change that perception?
I am often challenged by vendors who feel they need a national brand or agency to achieve the most exposure when selling. In response, we launched a campaign to support “boutique is better”, directly addressing the benefits and success of home.byholly in opposition to the larger corporate firms.
Authenticity, trust and honesty will change the perception of real estate agents and raise the level of professional standard.
What would winning agent of the year mean to you?
The ambition is not to be the biggest, it’s about becoming something entirely different and something completely new.
I have a desire to surround the business with a collective of highly skilled, intelligent, creative and talented individuals who continue to inspire and challenge the way it has always been done.
Winning would add to our brand recognition. A strong local profile will help ensure our success and drive the growth strategy of my business.
Winning would be a celebration of the collective success of everyone at home.byholly and a celebration of the vision we all have for our business.
What are your goals professionally and personally for 2020?
To continue to challenge the status quo. To ensure the continued success of the exceptional people that work with me.
I’m also working on a submission for Residential Property Campaign of the Year for the 2020 AREAs. We’d like to win that again.
On a personal level, I want to survive the year ahead with six teenagers in the house!
