It was standing room only when more than 550 Ray White sales agents from Victoria and Tasmania packed the Melbourne Convention Centre for Super Sales Day.
The mega session – the single biggest gathering of Ray White agents in Melbourne outside of their annual awards – was the brainchild of Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Domenic Belfiore who gave the network an invaluable day of “home truths”.
“We stripped it back today and removed the fluff. It’s uncomfortable for some people but we a skills refresher is important to kick off the year,” Mr Belfiore said.
“The agents here will reap the dividends of today’s investment in themselves, and more importantly so will their customers.
“We are the biggest agency group but we want to remain the hunter, not the hunted, and continue to stay ahead of the game.”
The Ray White Victorian and Tasmanian network just produced its best-ever January sales result off the back of their most successful year ever in 2017.
“I know our offices are capable of big things in 2018. It has been fantastic to start the year so strongly. It’s an exciting time to be a Ray White agent, our investment in our technology, training, support and marketing has never been greater,” Mr Belfiore said.
“Many agents here have only been in the industry for three or four years and haven’t seen a softer market, so today will help them navigate the Melbourne Metro market as it begins to cool.
“We are not in a tough market but it’s more balanced now and the outcome will take care of itself if you put the customer as your highest priority.
“This was a raw sales training day based on customer satisfaction, after sales service, getting the basics right, maximising the use of our strong technology platform and relationship building.
“We are in a people business. It’s a trusted, cherished and highly valued position to be placed in to sell someone’s greatest asset, their home.
“No-one invests in training like Ray White does. Our investment in our network is unmatched.”
Ray White’s legendary trainer and chief of growth, Mark Mcleod, told the agents a few home truths.
“You didn’t cause the boom, and you didn’t cause the market easing so take responsibility for your role. The more work you do, the better result you will get in the end for your vendors,” he said.
“Real estate is about winning 10-second conversations. We have to increase our auction numbers, not decrease them. And in my 30-year career in real estate, I have seen very few businesses navigate a falling market off the back of private treaty sales.
“The best businesses in our group are rising to the top of our leaderboards for customer satisfaction.
“We as a group are fully committed to putting the customer at the centre of everything we do and taking.”
Fresh off the back of his regular journey around country Victoria, Mr Mcleod felt the group was well placed to take advantage of all market conditions.
“We are fully committed to supporting everyone in our group and giving them the tools to be the best agents that they can be.”
Meanwhile, real estate coach Tom Panos reminded every agent to always write down the current listings they are chasing, plus their current listings and buyers.
“There a lot of people majoring on the minors,” Mr Panos said. “And never take things personally.”
Mr Belfiore said there was no doubt that today’s session was “the right way to kick off the year on the right note.”
“People are now back after their Christmas break and they are looking to fire up. We’ve covered the basics here and reinforced the importance of customer satisfaction.”
Ray White Customer Satisfaction Manager Katie Manfield told the agents that by providing exceptional service, then business will take care of itself.
“Customer satisfaction is where our sales agents always go above and beyond to exceed our customer’s expectations. It’s a no-brainer that our elite agents always get 10 out of 10 on our customer satisfaction surveys,” she said.
“We know that six out of 10 of our customers come from listings that we already have.
“This is why, as a Group, we are fully committed to providing the right tools to ensure our agents provide exceptional service in the eyes of their customers”