Glyn Morgan, Professionals Real Estate

Love Thy Client. Love Thy Customer.

prosglyn — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:06:51 +0000

What do I mean by ‘love thy client’ and ‘love thy customer’? The terminology varies from region to region, you might call a client a Vendor and a customer a Buyer, but whatever terms you use, these people are ultimately the reason you have a business in the first place, so not valuing them to the highest degree is a costly risk.

What can you do to ‘love thy client’ and ‘love thy customer’? Communication has to be number one. If you’re a great communicator, you anticipate and answer questions and give more than what you’re asked for, then you’re well on your way to showing them the love. Secondly, tell them that you appreciate their business, let them know that you’re there to meet their real estate needs, and make them feel like they’re the only person in the world you’re working for at the time. Thirdly, be very honest and timely. If they need to know something, good or not so good, tell them as soon as you can.

What do you get out of ‘loving thy client’ and ‘loving thy customer’? If you simply get a “thank you” from a satisfied client or customer, it’s worth it. You never know how many people they might recommend to you. You could ask them for a testimonial, online if possible on something like TrueLocal, womf or even a facebook recommendation on your business page.

Why should we ‘love thy client’ and ‘love thy customer’? If not for the fact that they’re the ones keeping you in business, do it for your own and your business’s reputation. Too often I see and hear business owners and staff bad-mouthing the people that ultimately pay their salaries or commission. I think it’s time that the real estate industry ensures its longevity by valuing the patronage that keeps the industry alive.

After all, without clients, we’re not in business anymore.

Remember Where We Started

prosglyn — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:17:13 +0000

It’s hard to believe that Professionals was founded by a group of likeminded real estate agents from Brisbane, looking to come together and form a group that operates for the benefit of its members and not for shareholders. I’ve been thinking about this recently, after hearing of the passing of one of our founding members, Stuart Patrick of Professionals Sandgate, and sadly the number of living founders is slowly dwindling. Thankfully though, nothing will ever take away the impact they have had in getting the group going, and the continued focus and core value of Professionals to be ‘for the members’.

It’s important I believe, to remember where we started, and to not lose focus of our goals in providing Professionals members with a sense of true belonging and offering the best value of any real estate brand out there. We’re an organisation that’s built on a strong membership, and with the sense of family being so strong, we’re sad to say goodbye to one of our founding fathers.

I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Colleen and the Patrick family for their loss, and offer a humble thank you to Stuart and his memory, along with other passed founding members, for starting the culture and family that we know today as Professionals.

How Do You Manage Change

prosglyn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:57:18 +0000

If there’s one thing that you know I focus on a lot, it’s that the world is an ever changing place, and for real estate it’s changing faster than it ever has before. Where it may have taken the real estate industry 5 years to catch onto something new in the past, nowadays if the industry doesn’t at least keep hot on the tail of change, it may very well find that the world keeps going without it.

Well it may not be as dramatic as that, but my point is that the world and the people that drive it will find a way to achieve their goals, with or without professional service providers if they really want to. Take for instance, homingCloud in the States, which has been in development for some time now… is it real that people can and will buy and sell property to each other without a real estate agent? It’s certainly possible.

What the scary thing for me is, is that there are some real estate agents here in Australia that don’t believe the revolutionary affects the internet has on the real estate industry, more specifically, their own community and business. I’ve said it over and over, and I’ll say it again, as business owners, operators and staff, we need to be incorporating good old fashioned real estate with new world real estate. Those that choose to ignore technology, online networking both from a business and a social point of view, and changing trends and behaviors in society, will inevitably be left for broke in time to come.

I don’t believe everything has to be new and shiny, because most of what we do in real estate has to be the fundamentals, but it’s important to recognise that not changing with the world, and not managing your business to change with the world is doing damage to your bottom line.

So what do you do? My belief is that you need to talk to the people that have embraced the new world, see what they’re doing, learn from their mistakes, but also their successes. In a world of free information readily accessible to consumers, remember it’s also accessible to you if you look for it too! Using the new world, becoming part of it, will help you learn and understand it, and ultimately integrate it into your business so that you and your team keep pace with your clients and customers wants and needs.

Is Your Website “Working” For You?

prosglyn — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:42:20 +0000

What’s the biggest asset to your business outside of your staff, clients and customers? How do you view your assets? Do you measure their worth or their value?

There’s a big difference between worth and value, and I think that sometimes the line gets blurred to the point that we don’t always put high importance on parts of our business that offer the greatest value to our businesses.

I would hazard a guess that your office website plays a big role in your business, a much larger role than you may be aware of. The value of a website that works for you as opposed to one that doesn’t is massive, and offers value in more than one way.

Firstly, your website helps rank you on Google and other search engines if you use the right strategy for keywords, backlinks, quality content etc. Secondly, your website is generally where potential sellers go first to check you out, so if it’s not up to scratch it’s probably not working for you to the best of its ability. Thirdly, it’s the first place your property listings go, and the place that you capture buyers interest in your listings, so if your listings aren’t eye-catching and full of detail, buyers could skip over you and go to one of your competitors.

Some would argue that portal sites are where consumers go, and for buyers, that can be the case, but at some point, it’s highly likely that they will also check out the agent by checking out their profile and see what kind of other information you offer them. Sellers will most definitely go to your website and without them, you’re out of business, so the value of your website is immense to your business. Is yours the best it can be?

If you’re a Professionals member wondering if your website is really working for you to the best of its ability, then please contact your Territory Manager today, they can point you in the direction of some very clever and helpful information!

The Time to Train is Now

prosglyn — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:57:48 +0000

It can take years to train for the Olympics or a lifetime to build the skills to play in a national team, and anyone looking to strive for better positions in life can’t afford not to train continually. Do you agree?

The time to train, whether you’re new to the real estate industry or someone who’s been involved in selling or running a business for decades, is NOW. Just like in any sport or career path, the people around you are always trying to better their knowledge, understanding and application of the necessary skills to succeed in their chosen field, so as their competitor, you should be too if you want to stay in the running.

As a CEO, I have to continually stay abreast of what's happening in the industry, how things are changing and what actions will ultimately lead me to a better understanding of what it takes to make a successful business. With so much information available through courses, conferences, networking and online, I'm often surprised that not more salespeople, property managers and real estate business owners put a major focus on their own training and development.

When times are tough it’s hard to part with money, I know. But for those of you that are continuing to train train train, well done, I’m confident you will reap the rewards. And for those that are thinking that the cost of training is more than you can afford, it may be worth considering the opportunity cost of not training to be or at least compete with the best real estate agent in your area.

Professionals Principals and Managers who want to increase their knowledge, understanding and application of the necessary skills to be the best in the business and succeed in tough economic times, you won’t want to miss the upcoming Principals and Managers Workshop. Visit the Professionals Intranet for dates, location, transfer information and more.

Welcome Professionals Merrylands in Sydney

prosglyn — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:19:21 +0000

Given we're starting a new year, I find it only fitting that I bring you the good news about an exciting new member we have who has recently opened in Sydney – Professionals Merrylands. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome well known principal David Tran to the Professionals family. I know David will complement our existing western Sydney contingent, and together they'll grow the brand and help many people find new homes.

Professionals Merrylands has officially opened its doors at 3/215 Pitt Street but for many locals, there will be many familiar faces to greet them even if the colours are new.

Opening a new office is exciting for any brand, especially in times when markets are tight, but in welcoming David and his team to Professionals, it further highlights my focus on growth and development for the Professionals brand.

The thing that makes Professionals Real Estate Group unique is the fact that our culture continues to be strong, and our membership band together to help each other, across Australia, New Zealand, other Asia-Pacific countries and of course now the United States.

Keep an eye on my blog and you'll see throughout the year, just how much members value each other and embrace the sense of 'belonging' in the Professionals culture. Our model provides better value for money, and a support network that is second to none.

I look forward to bringing you many more good-news stories like this throughout 2012, and expanding the Professionals brand further. Again, I welcome David and the Professionals Merrylands team to the family, and wish everyone in real estate a prosperous New Year. I look forward to catching up with Professionals members at the upcoming Principals and Managers Workshop on the Sunshine Coast in March!

Welcome to the New Year

prosglyn — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:37:05 +0000

What am I doing in the New Year? I’ve had the opportunity over the Christmas / New Year break to evaluate the direction of Professionals, and go through the things that I believe, based on feedback from the membership group, that we should keep doing, stop doing, and start doing.

It’s not as simple as just implementing every great idea, but for those that play cricket I liken it to when I’d get to my goal of 50 runs. Instead of continuing to bat as though I had been batting for 50 runs, I would take my guard and start again from zero. By cutting my targets into chunks, such as making 50, and then making 50, and then making 50, rather than trying to bat through to a target of 150, I find it easier to achieve my goals.

I believe that’s the way it should be in business. It’s good to have an end goal in the back of your mind, but by breaking it down into more manageable, more achievable targets, it can be much easier to achieve. In my mind, it’s easier to make 50 runs than 150. I just had to reset and go again.

By resetting you often go back to doing the small things right. Like in cricket, when you’re batting for a long time, you may lose some of your focus, miss little things, take your success for granted. But if you think about it like facing your first ball, you’ll focus that much more.

So, in welcoming you to the New Year, I hope that you’re able to set and achieve your goals for 2012. With a strong brand like Professionals that focuses on providing more services and encouraging a sharing culture to members than cutting services, we’re definitely on our way to a successful 12 months ahead. Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas from Professionals

prosglyn — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:01:24 +0000

Only a few days left until Christmas and the craziness is well and truly in full swing for most people; shopping, wrapping, confirming plans, baking and more. In real estate, agents don’t always get the same holidays, because there are always transactions that need looking after and enquiry tends to come through from people who are off work and have time to do their house hunting over Christmas / New Year.

Whilst the closing times of Professionals offices vary from office to office, businesses rarely come to a halt over Christmas. And for me, that includes the Service Centre for Professionals. I’m going to be taking time out as everyone should, to spend with family and friends, but I’ll also be taking time to reflect on the last 12 months, what worked well, not so well and what the lessons we can learn from the good, the bad and the ugly of 2011.

It’s with respect for the Professionals brand that we’ve made it through the year, and I’ll be sitting down with my whiteboard to go through my lists of “keep, stop, start” for 2012. For anyone that’s planning to have a successful business in 2012, I recommend doing the same because it’s a beneficial exercise for you and your business and will help you determine your goals for the New Year.

On behalf of everyone at Professionals, I wish you and your family a most wonderful Christmas, a safe and healthy festive season, and a prosperous New Year. Cheers!

What’s A Website Worth?

prosglyn — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:29:34 +0000

Do you know where the first point of contact is with your clients? It’s likely they don’t even know, because when asked, most people recall the most significant contact or the most recent contact they had with you, instead of pinpointing the first moment they came into contact with you.

It’s suggested that 69% of people that have an interest in purchasing, selling or renting property, first come into contact with you business via your website. Now if we were to say that 69% of first contact points with you were over the phone, would you not answer EVERY call? Would you not make sure that your first impression to people was a great one so that they came back to you? Of course you would. So why is it that when there are so many people getting their first impressions of you and your business from your website, not all real estate agents put as much effort into making sure the user’s first experience there is an awesome one?

I am constantly reviewing other company’s websites to see what Professionals can do better than the competition’s websites, and some we have licked, and others we still need to catch, but no matter what the functionality, if the information isn’t there to keep users on the website, then the value of the website is greatly diminished, and it’s fair to say that the impression of the 69% of people that visit your website as their first point of contact with you, probably aren’t going to have the most memorable experience.

So, what’s a website worth to your business? Is it time you made sure that the first impression people have of you and your business is a great one?

Professionals members who want to know more about moving your website to the next level, contact the Professionals Inlinemedia team.

When Should You Be Growing Market Share? NOW!

prosglyn — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:21:11 +0000

I’ve returned from my trip to the US where I spoke with a number of real estate businesses and welcomed new members to the Professionals family, and I’m continuing my assessment of both real estate operators, new and existing, as well as the industry as a whole.

I’m more than aware of he financial hardships that businesses are going through, and that includes real estate businesses, and I’m also aware that this time of year, leading up to Christmas can be even harder on small business owners. However, I’m also a true believer in the adage that “when everyone else is zigging, we need to be zagging”.

Whilst many businesses believe that they should be growing their market share, few actually do it. Now is the best time to grow market share, because not everyone in your area is trying to do the same. Whilst many business owners trim their businesses of staff and services, there is a massive opportunity for you to grow your business if you have a strong strategy in place. Having fewer competitors means there’s more of the pie there for your business. By increasing your services whilst competitors decrease theirs, your business stands out to consumers because yours is where they’re going to get the best value for their money.

You’re probably thinking “how can I grow my business without incurring higher costs?” Well, that’s where you need to have a strong strategy in place. Growth plans and business plans are one thing, but sticking to them and having the courage of your convictions is quite another. You need to be clear with your team that these are your goals, outline the benefits for them in having a stronger team, and ensure that everyone is working toward achieving your company goals.

When should you be growing your market share? Now. Because when the market picks up, and there are agents popping out of the woodwork, you’ll have already established your business as the strongest in your local area and it will be that much harder for your competitors to catch up.