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LJ Hooker Million Dollar Intern Tahnee Barnes said that she joined the industry knowing about outsiders' impression of it — that agents dress flashy and drive expensive cars — but has immediately found that there is so much more to see than this.
“There is so much hard work that goes into this job,” Ms Barnes told REB.
“And you need to be someone that just loves people and just loves doing the hard work day in and day out.”
Ms Barnes said that her mentor Bill Malouf has had her begin to work the phones.
“I make those calls every day but only about 2 per cent actually speak to me.
“And Bill laughs and says that is what it is like. It’s about taking the wins and being able to handle the rejection that someone doesn’t want to talk to you and not let it affect you. At the end of the day, they are probably being contacted by five other agents, so you need to find that point of difference and not take it to heart.”
She said that she is starting to put it all together.
“The biggest thing that I have learned is that it takes a very dedicated professional to really do well in this industry and stick at it,” Ms Barnes said.
“After going to everyone else’s open for inspections, Bill said to go and find one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that are already on the market and study them. Know them, he said, and then go to the auctions and find out what they sold for.”
At first she was a little hesitant.
“He instructed me to go to the other agents in the area’s open homes. I said, is that okay, or will they chase me out with a broom?
“And he’s like, no, no — we all do it. It’s totally fine. Just introduce yourself and tell them you are working under me. Have a look through, see what you think the property is worth, ask what they are quoting and then go to the auction and see what happens.”
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Ms Barnes said that she understands what it is that Mr Malouf wants her to gain by doing the exercise.
“He wants me to learn that in any area this is how you get your market knowledge. Because you are wasting people's time if you don’t know what is going on in the area.”
And she said that she understands this is not simply a one-dimensional activity.
“You can apply this anywhere. If you just stick to that formula and do it, you will get a good result. I’ve been doing it religiously.”
Then Ms Barnes said that Mr Malouf thought that she was ready to get on the phones.
“Trying to talk to people using the scripts that I had,” she said.
“At first I wasn’t getting through enough. Not as many people answer their landlines as much as they used to, I guess. Also, this is a competitive area and the agent-to-person ratio is quite strong here in the eastern suburbs, and they are all calling and doing the same thing.
“So I altered my script a little bit, and I got two meetings. Two people invited me into their homes. It was amazing.”
Ms Barnes said that she gets it that this is a people business.
"What I like about real estate is that it is about people, and so I just called them like a normal person and introduced myself and take the approach that I am not going to force you to sell your house but just get to know them as people.
“At the end of the day, they are going to dictate what they want, and this was just about them getting to know me. I’m here to introduce myself as a person first and as a professional next.”
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