Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
realestatebusiness logo
Home of the REB Top 100 Agents

Working hard and smart

By Tony Blamey
01 August 2012 | 11 minute read

Shortly after Real Estate Business named its Top 100 Agents, Fairfax Marketplaces’ Tony Blamey revealed to Stacey Moseley the key characteristics commonly displayed by the industry’s top performers

A strong work ethic is what really sets Australia’s top real estate agents apart from the rest of the pack.
At least, that’s according to Tony Blamey, general manager of real estate at Fairfax Marketplaces, owner of Domain.com.au.
The agents who ranked highly in Real Estate Business’ Top 100 Agents were all prepared to put in the hard yards required to achieve success, Mr Blamey says.
This was most evident in their use of technology, branding, goal setting and their willingness to engage with multiple media channels.

“I think, like any sales environment, activity is really important and that really came through strongly from the people on the list.”

Use of technology

While it’s critical to work hard, it’s equally important not to waste valuable time. That’s where Mr Blamey saw the use of technology as a core part of most top agents’ success, helping them to deliver both greater productivity and efficiency.
A client relationship management (CRM) system is one example of the type of technology that can help agents, he says.
The Fairfax-owned CRM system, MyDeskTop, was used by 17 of the Top 100 Agents, according to data collected from the entrants, making it the most popular CRM system used by the leading agents.

“It is incredibly pleasing for us to see MyDeskTop as the highest represented CRM system between the Top 100 Agents,” Mr Blamey says. “From our point of view it was no surprise as it is a really valuable tool for agents.”

The best agents are utilising MyDeskTop, he says, because of its mobility.

“What we’ve done around MyDeskTop is rendered the tool into mobile products, whether that means iPhone or tablet devices,” he says. “That is allowing agents and their support staff to really capture information once. There is no re-entering of data. They can now capture buyer information at Open for Inspections and then that information goes straight into their database. This just improves their efficiency around how they are using that contact data and enables them to respond quicker than their competitors.”

High performance agents also set themselves goals, he adds.

“After reading a bit of background information about each of the top performing agents, it is obvious they all share strong professional goals,” he says.

There is no disputing the value of a good brand, he continues, whether that’s a company brand or the brand of an individual agent.

“I think another thing that came across really strongly in the list was the brand, and how important brand is for these guys to underpin their success,” he says.

Multiple media

Top agents also don’t limit themselves in the way they use media, Mr Blamey continues.

“They are not just narrowly focusing on one media or one audience; they are getting the brand and profile out as widely as possible,” he says.

“There are a lot of agents on the list that are being innovative with the media they are using – and many of the agents were using our range of media, whether that is print or online. They are using it really effectively to influence their brand, whether that is agencies like McGrath or Ray White, or some of the Melbourne agencies like Biggin & Scott or Gary Peer. They’ve all got really strong brand positions in their local areas. They are using more media in order to broaden their reach or broaden their brand.”

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!

Do you have an industry update?