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An agency director shared with REB the top tips behind nearly tripling his gross commission income in under three years, highlighting the strategies driving his business growth.
After being founded in October 2022, Dobbs & Co.’s business has skyrocketed in less than three years, growing its gross commission income (GCI) from $600k to $1.5 million while serving the Woolgoolga area on the NSW Mid North Coast.
Founder of Dobbs & Co., Nathan Dobbs, told REB that building growth was a deliberate process, and not without challenges.
Here are his top tips to grow a top-performing business:
Building a strong team
According to Dobbs, who started his business as a sole operator, growth cannot be achieved without a strong team.
Since the company's debut, Dobbs has grown his staff to nine and said that if he were to do it all again, he would have focused on building a team sooner.
He said that, like many other business owners, he had struggled to take a step back and often got bogged down in tasks he shouldn’t have been handling.
“I would look to hire the right people straight away to make sure the foundation is set in concrete straight away,” Dobbs said.
“Then, you are armed with the war chest and tools, that if an opportunity presents itself, you have the opportunity to go into that battle well-equipped.”
Dobbs said that after launching the company, he knew that bringing in the “right people” would be crucial to its successful growth.
“The key strategy has been putting the right person in an operations role, which allows me to let go of things to grow.”
While hiring new staff can be done easily, Dobbs noted that retention and cultural fit were more important for a striving business.
When hiring, he had been seeking staff who aligned with the business goals and cultural values.
“There are potentially always going to be head clashes and personality clashes, but we try to make sure everyone sees the same goals as a collective.”
Tailoring services
Dobbs said that beyond building a cohesive team, individual agents also played a key role in driving the agency’s growth.
He recommended that for each listing, agents need to generate specific interest and design targeted marketing campaigns, not “boxing them into the same category”, but to lean into the property’s merits.
“We take the time to make sure we get it right in terms of what we feel is going to be best.”
Additionally, he said that agents should optimise listings by knowing their local market and comparative sales to capitalise on it.
“Obviously, it is important we know our product well, as well as having a good foothold in the market and knowing the competition and the stock around us.”
Maintaining client relationships
According to Dobbs, the success of his agency's growth also depended on agents maintaining a good relationship with clients, leading to repeat and referral business.
“Doing the right thing spreads a lot faster than doing the wrong thing.”
He said adopting a long-term perspective on business growth has been essential to both sustain and capitalise on expansion.
Additionally, Dobbs said that the move to a more accessible office and into the public eye 12 months ago had been a real game-changer.
“We wanted to make sure we are here, we are present and that people know that.”
“It’s certainly a statement when you drive down the street now, you can’t miss the office,” Dobbs concluded.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mathew Williams
Born in the rural town of Griffith NSW, Mathew Williams is a graduate journalist who has always had a passion for storytelling. Having graduated from the University of Canberra with a Bachelor of Sports Media in 2023, Mathew recently made the move to Sydney from Canberra to pursue a career in journalism and has joined the Momentum Media team, writing for their real estate brands. Outside of journalism, Mathew is an avid fan of all things sports and regularly attends sporting events across Sydney. Get in touch at
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