Tertiary education goes to work for this agent and her high-achieving team

Now a real estate powerhouse, Ms Dixon landed a spot on all three of REB’s 2023 rankings, capturing 10th place in Top 50 Women in Real Estate, 19th place in Top 50 Agents NSW and 42nd place in Top 100 Agents.

But before she found success in the real estate industry, she was putting her degrees in law and architecture to good use working with property owners who were struggling to get DA approval, while flipping properties on the side.

It was in selling one of those assets that she embarked on the direction that would lead her to her high-performing new path. The agent that Ms Dixon had contracted to sell the property suggested that her skill set might be a good match for real estate. Ready for a new change, Ms Dixon decided to give it a try.

Nearly 15 years later, she’s excelling as the director of a team encompassing two other agents – William Hesketh and Kane Dunkley – who share a like-minded view on the value of education in providing the type of service that they feel sets them apart.

As Ms Dixon explained to REB, the team finds success with a strategy that’s focused on satisfaction above sales figures.

“Our team method of selling is centred around repeat business. We don’t aim to sell the most, just to serve clients in a way that they use us again and refer us to others,” she told REB.

“Another unique selling point that we have is that we are university-qualified in fields that help us get better outcomes for our clients. I have four degrees, two of which are law and architecture. Will Hesketh has two degrees, law and commerce, and Kane Dunkley has a degree in property economics,” she explained.

Once again, more than the sales figures that they’ve hit (which are impressive), Ms Dixon judges the success of her team by the length of time they have chosen to work together and that they have found a way of operating that makes their jobs flexible, collaborative and even fun.

“Professionally, my biggest 2023 achievement would be continuing to work with the same two agents for five years so far, which in the revolving door of real estate is a great achievement. Working with Will and Kane has definitely kept me in real estate,” Ms Dixon said.

“It’s a pleasure to work with them because we’re all on the same page in wanting to be as successful as we can, but success at any price is not an option, so we know we can trust each other implicitly. We also have interesting lives and friends outside of real estate, so when we come together to work we have a clear perspective and can inject humour into some of the absurdities of real estate and have a great time working,” she said.

Regarding that life “outside of real estate”, Ms Dixon proves to have plenty to be proud of there as well. This year she successfully solo-walked the 800 kilometre-long Camino Frances route through France ending at the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. In addition, she noted that her daughter has found great success academically and personally this year, which Ms Dixon cites as a point of pride above her own professional achievements.

Though her perspective and forthright priorities clearly help keep the agent grounded, it is no easy feat to find that personal balance while staying at the top of a market as competitive as the one in Sydney’s inner east.

Ms Dixon counts it as an unfortunate reality that she is one of only a few female lead agents in an area that is arguably one of the toughest to operate within.

That competitiveness is something that comes into sharp focus on the occasion that the agent and her team branch out of the elite enclave.

“When we sell outside of the east there is a noticeable difference. The east is very competitive, often ego-driven and not straightforward, and this in turn can mean buyers and sellers enter transactions with a level of distrust that doesn’t ultimately help the deal,” she explained.

For agents, winning listings can often have a lot to do with social standing, further blurring work-life boundaries and allowing the former to encroach on the latter.

“Getting listings or referral can also be a minefield of who you know, where you holiday or where you are seen and that’s hard on both the agents who try to keep up with appearances and others who have no interest in it. When we work in areas outside of the east, I personally find the transactions straightforward and vendors and buyers open in the dealings and more forthcoming with their requirements,” Ms Dixon shared.

It’s why, coming back to her team, Ms Dixon attributes much of her achievement in the expensive and fast-paced locale to a collaborative work ethic that sees everyone help each other out.

“I’ve always worked in a team of agents without a PA and still work that way now. Our structure is that we all list and work on each other’s properties and share an email so that nothing gets missed or not actioned if anyone is in a meeting,” she said.

The involvement in each other’s work also allows them a greater ability to share in each other’s successes – and she’s planning to empower her team to reach even more of those in the months ahead.

By the end of the year, she shares that they’re all working together to “improve our skills and meet our sales target, which in turn will allow the three of us to meet our personal goals of holidays, paying off mortgages, buying property and new cars!”