One agent has turned the foundations of a successful rugby league career into a real estate sales job post-footy, learning a new playbook of technical knowledge and communication skills.
While navigating life after retiring from professional sports can be daunting, Northern Realty sales agent Lachlan Coote has made the switch from rugby league to real estate.
Coote said that while he initially wanted to continue in rugby league as a coach post-retirement, he completed a real estate course as a “fallback” option.
Yet, after moving his family across two continents during his 15-year career, Coote decided he needed a career that would provide more stability in his personal life.
“That was hurting me a bit, taking the kids away from their friends and the people that we’d connected with, so I decided to find a job that was going to keep me in town for a long period of time, and real estate was the go-to,” Coote said.
Now in his third year in real estate, Coote said the switch made sense for him and other athletes, as it allowed them to utilise the skills they developed throughout their careers.
“I think it’s the discipline and the resilience that athletes have instilled in them from such a young age,” Coote said.
Operating in a hot Townsville property market, Coote said he had now begun to establish himself in the industry and was looking to continue growing as an agent.
“My first year was obviously a bit daunting, but I got a few sales away, which was great to get that experience.”
“I’m in my third year now, so I am looking to branch out, get a bit of marketing going and set myself up.”
The career skill overlap
While finding his feet in the industry, Coote said the main difficulty he encountered was adapting to the technical side, which was quite foreign to him.
“The actual talking to people and connecting with people I was great with, because I was used to that with the different cultures within rugby league and also sponsors.”
“It was a really overwhelming change in terms of the technical side of things, dealing with contracts and that kind of stuff.”
He said a point of friction he had noticed between the two industries was the shift in scheduling, moving from a rigid environment to a more self-directed real estate career.
“I was coming from such a structured environment where you were told what to do, what to eat, and when to train. It was all laid out for you.”
“One of the things I really struggled with was that I had a calendar that was fully empty, no one told me what to do, and I was like, ‘Where do I go from here?”
Coote said that when he lacked direction in the early stages, he found the best approach was to slow down, focus on the tasks he could control and build the discipline to show up consistently.
“Those kinds of things are driven into you when you are a professional athlete.”
“The little aspects have helped me because when you are in the real estate game, you are pretty much on your own, you’re in charge of everything, and you need to figure things out on the run.”
“You can’t just expect to walk in and just be the best at managing your time and all of those kinds of things.”
While switching careers can be challenging at first, Coote said that once he found his feet, he began to feel as if he were winning, as he did in his playing days.
“When you do get a listing, and the vendor chooses to use you as an agent, that’s a very good feeling.”
“To achieve a great result for the vendor and to see them be thankful, not only for the result, but also for your service, that’s a very rewarding feeling.”
Much like on the football field, Coote said it was important for agents to surround themselves with a strong team that supports them toward a shared goal.
Starting from scratch
For athletes looking to enter the real estate after retirement, Coote said the key was to treat it as a fresh start, like at the beginning of any game.
“I think the biggest thing that I have done coming into the industry was to have a beginner’s mindset and be open-minded to everything.”
“I invested my time into learning and understanding the game.”
Additionally, Coote said that the systems agents put in place for themselves lead to an environment that breeds success.
“With rugby league, you’ve got a game plan, and you train for that all preseason, and then you put it into practice when it’s game time.”
“And I think it’s the same thing with real estate.”
“It’s the sticking to the fundamentals that has really helped.”
Even when things were going wrong, Coote said agents needed to find a way to keep their heads high, continue showing up and remain consistent.
“I have found at times that this can be a harder rollercoaster than rugby league.”
“It’s almost like losing a game, but then you just have to bounce back up and start again,” Coote concluded.
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