I stopped chasing market share and focused on this instead

Struggling with an operational issue? Book a free 15-minute strategy call and let’s figure out your next move. 

In business, your vision will constantly change. It’s important to interrogate it as a team at least once a year. Your values and guiding principles remain unchanged, but what you do and how you get there will evolve. 

A few years ago, we thought our big vision was to be the largest real estate agency in the Adelaide Hills by number of sales, properties under management, customer reputation, and as a destination employer. 

But when we pushed this further and married our vision with our values, there was a disconnect. At Nitschke, something we say all the time is to be ‘better before bigger.’ 

Our vision needed to be flipped. We needed to focus on being better before bigger. The irony is that bigger is a by-product of being better. 

Our ‘humans first, real estate agents second’ approach to property was missing. 

So, we landed on this new vision: 

To be the authentic real estate agency in the Adelaide Hills… where human-first realness achieves better sales, bonds and relationships, while also attracting quality team members. 

To be recognised for our relationships as much as our results. 
To be regarded as the largest through our influential impact, not by size. 
To always keep it real with our clients and community. 
To show that success in real estate doesn’t have to be sleazy. 

Let me tell you a story that happened recently, that’ll help put this into context. 

I won a competitive listing, an investment property for a young family that lived out-of-area. It was a house they’d built a few years ago and needed to sell because they were doing upgrades to their own family home. I was up against all of the main competitors in our area. 

When I got there, it was vacant and they’d left the keys out for all the agents. I noticed that the bins were empty out the front, so I brought them in and let them know. 

The owner said that was the reason they felt straight away that I was the right agent for them, because I focused on their needs (not the potential commission). 

We get so lost in what our competitors are charging, saying and doing, and we forget to just be human and do the right thing. For us, this means being better before bigger. We overlook something seemingly small that’s actually really meaningful for a customer.  

Think about how you’re living your values and vision in every interaction and action. It might just be the thing that puts you over the line. Reflect on what makes your people and philosophy incomparable, then make it be known in everything you do. 

Need help nailing your position in the market? Book a free 15-minute strategy call.