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This year it’s all about choice. In business, and not just real estate, people have choices to suit their specific needs, their strengths and weaknesses, their personality type and where they’re at in their career. But a word of warning to those agents who choose to go it alone: an individual profile takes time to build.
There has been a lot of commentary in real estate in recent times around the idea that people, when listing their homes or appointing a property manager, make their decision based on the individual, not the brand.
Many agents have great individual profiles and strong personal brands, no doubt owing to lots of hard work and some outstanding results achieved for their customers.
But there are no shortcuts in getting to this point. Strong personal brands are cultivated over an extended period. It takes time and it takes help.
This is where the power of brand comes in. Being part of a strong brand means accessing a range of skills, knowledge and training. It means networking opportunities with successful business owners who you can talk to openly because you’re not competing with them.
It means the opportunity to benchmark your efforts and measure your success against others in the network, then celebrating those shared successes at awards nights, at conferences and performance tune-ups, during social activities and trips away that blend innovative thinking with relaxation and fun.
All the while, the culture of the brand grows and connections are strengthened. Culture and connection are a vital part of employee engagement. Put simply, they make work a happier, more productive environment.
These types of connections are also a necessary platform for agents to grow their own profiles, within the brand. Property is a people business and even those agents with the strongest personal profiles count on a wide network of contacts to help them deliver the service that underpins their success.
Technology can only assist agents so far – there is still heavy lifting to be done and without a brand and team behind them, it must be done alone.
For agents exploring their options in aligning with a brand, whether they’re starting out or an established independent, it’s important to do your due diligence.
Set multiple meetings. Talk to people in the network. A brand should be able to clearly articulate its culture, its points of difference, its value proposition, and what it stands for. Then you can make a decision based on where you feel the best alignment lies.
And if you meet with a brand that can’t provide clarity in these areas, look elsewhere.
By Leanne Pilkington, Laing+Simmons managing director and REINSW president
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leanne Pilkington
Leanne Pilkington is General Manager of leading New South Wales residential real estate group Laing+Simmons. She is also the highest-placed woman within the company.
Leanne is the only female General Manager in real estate franchising in New South Wales, and one of only a handful in Australia.
Leanne’s real estate nous has been honed over more than 25 years in the industry. Over the course of her career she has developed an extensive knowledge of the full spectrum of real estate services, including residential sales, property management, retail management and development.
Overseeing the whole Laing+Simmons group as well as focusing on the growth and development of each franchise, Leanne is instrumental in developing new products, services and training systems to meet the varying needs of each member of the group.
Leanne joined the Laing+Simmons group in 1995 as a Franchise and Administration Manager. In 1997 she was promoted to Marketing Manager and became General Manager in 2000.
Leanne completed her Masters Degree in Business Administration at the University of Western Sydney in 2005.
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