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Looking after her clients in the same way she looks after her employees is just one way this Central Coast-based principal has bred business success.
With nearly a decade of experience under her belt, Belle Property Central Coast principal Cathy Baker has spoken to REB about her greatest successes after she was recently awarded Principal of the Year – Regional at the Women in Real Estate Awards.
Through it all, Ms Baker has lived and breathed the “client for life” mentality — a mindset that she also uses to nurture her employees.
“I lead my team by example by living and breathing a ‘client for life’ mentality and nurturing my employees in much the same way. I hire for culture fit and train people in my holistic way of doing real estate,” she told REB.
It’s that mindset that got her and her team through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, after all 580 of their holiday bookings had to be cancelled and 80 per cent of their buyer demographic was unable to inspect properties due to being Sydney-based or from interstate/overseas.
“We quickly adapted and carried out facetime and virtual inspections — focused on building relationships with everyone in our database and converting holiday landlord properties into permanent rentals,” she outlined.
It created enough opportunity for Ms Baker to retain all 27 of her employees, despite not qualifying for JobKeeper.
Not only that, the principal said her team was proactive in looking after the local community at the time — doing local shops and dropping food hampers for the elderly and those in isolation.
Such dedication, along with her rich experience as an interior designer, has allowed Ms Baker to consistently add value to her way of doing business.
Ms Baker said she is able to advise her clients not only in terms of selling, but also when they need to update their homes to maximise returns.
Calling it a big point of difference, the principal commented: “We make every home look its best… [We have a] personal and customised selling approach, backed by a team that strives for premium results and keeps you informed every step of the way.”
Moving forward
This year, the Principal of the Year has high expectations of her business: “To build the most relevant and respected lifestyle agency on the Central Coast.
“I am building multiple businesses that collaborate to provide exceptional service standards to all buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, holiday guests, employees alike.”
Envisaging a high-growth market that maintains its strength “will provide a huge opportunity for our business”, she said.
As a result, her business goals “are to scale and expand” all of her businesses in a bid to offer more services to her clients. It will also enable her to build on her “amazing team of people”.
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