For the nearly 20 years I’ve worked in real estate, I’ve wanted to attend AREC. I finally had the chance to travel up to the Gold Coast (with the Nitschke sales team) and I’m sharing my top takeaways in case you missed it.
If you’re in sales, property management or operations, you’ll find these lessons particularly useful.
- Attention is the only thing AI can’t replicate
The gap between good and great agents has never been smaller. AI levels the playing field on output. What separates the great from the good now is the quality of attention they pay.
Every brand experience has three dimensions: Success, effort and emotion. Most teams over-index on the first two. Go deep beyond the first inspection, auction and settlement. Leave the phone in the bag when you’re with clients. Presence is the prerequisite to attention.
- Reframe ‘got to’ to ‘get to’
I talk about perspective shifts all the time as a leader, so this one hit home. Focus on an AAA mindset: Agency, acceptance and appreciation. It goes back to what I always say about right person, right seats. Every team member has to want it, not need it.
- The quarter, the year
Great leaders run two clocks at once: The quarter you’re in and the year you’re playing. This means holding the long-term horizon in view, while maintaining steady momentum every quarter.
Real estate teams are often quarter chases and lose the year. Sometimes it’s okay to slow down to speed up later.
- Calls belong in the calendar, not in the gaps
This one’s a big one. Many agents have five appointments, three coffees and one listing a day. Put calls in your calendar as appointments. Treat calls like appointments.
Every day, no matter what, do the 5/5/4: Have five new conversations with people you don’t know, do five follow-ups with pipeline leads and four sphere conversations. 80% of deals close on the 5th – 12th contact, not the first or second.
- Every buyer is a future seller
At every open inspection, save the buyer’s information in your phone, alongside details about the property they purchased. Add them on social media and check in with them a few times a year. In a weak market, your job is to report the conditions, then help the vendor respond to it.
- Honour your energy
Yes, especially in sales. What this looks like for you will be different to what works for me. It could be a 5.00am gym routine, Sunday morning church or weekly family brunch.
- Be yourself
I literally wrote a book on leaning into your unique leadership journey. The industry sells one model – process driven, scripts, KPIs, performance etc. Focus on adding your own flavour and focusing on the relationship at the centre. When you stop performing, you become magnetic.
- Life happens
Circumstances occur that can impact your business. Build trust before you need it, create shared leadership and ownership opportunities, champion the team (not individuals), prioritise your clients (and make them feel that), and lead with vulnerability.
- Conversation is a skill
Introverts are often better salespeople because they listen more. Follow the TALK framework.
Topics: Prep them. Even 10 seconds of preparation helps massively. People are three times more likely to say they ‘didn't cover enough’ than ‘covered too many.’
Asking: One additional question converts roughly 1 in 20 first dates into a second date. The follow-up question is the superhero move. It shows you listened.
Levity: Aim for benign violations. The funniest people in any room are the ones who laugh most, not the ones who tell most jokes. Stop trying to be funny. Make it fun.
Kindness: Listening at the heart. Nodding is entry-level. Advanced is paraphrasing, callbacks (‘you mentioned earlier…’), and validating feelings. ‘It makes sense you feel that way’ is not the same as ‘I agree.’ The first costs nothing and changes everything.
- Video advice
People want to see your face and hear your voice. Here are some strategies:
- Hook the first two seconds. ‘This seller made a $200k mistake by not calling…’ ‘Melbourne buyers have gone quiet, but not for the reason you think.’ ‘If your agent says the market's moving everywhere, they're lying.’
- Speak human, not brochure. Not ‘study lifestyle opportunity offering seamless indoor-outdoor experience.’ Instead: ‘This kitchen is where everyone ends up at Christmas.’ ‘You could hear a pin drop in these rooms.’ ‘Buyers will emotionally overspend on this home.’
- Consistency beats perfection. One brilliant monthly video gets forgotten. Three solid daily videos build omnipresence.
- Shoot moving, not standing still. Talk to the camera, not at it. Your face matters more than drone shots.