South Australia fires up for Ray White's Ignite 2019

MORE than 150 Ray White Group members from across South Australia today descended on Adelaide Oval's William Magarey Room for Ignite 2019.

Hosted across capital cities by Australasia’s biggest real estate group, the Ignite 2019 program would provide a new and improved training format for salespeople and property managers.

The sessions were designed to help its agents navigate and adapt to current market conditions.

Ray White South Australia/Northern Territory CEO Matthew Lindblom (pictured above) said he was proud to see so many members attend, especially those from regional offices.

"Our latest market share results show Ray White South Australia has 14.4 per cent of all listings, with more than 42 per cent share when it comes to auctions," Mr Lindblom said.

"We plan on having our biggest in-room auction event yet at Adelaide Oval on November 1 and we'll work closely with our guys in the eastern states to assist us with their knowledge on making this a fantastic event.

"We also have our 'Auctioneer of the Year' competition today, which should be a very successful event, and the winner of that will be announced at our annual awards on 13 September."

Key speaker and former Lonely Planet CTO Gus Balbontin (pictured above) said ensuring business as usual was in order was key to success.

"Once you have the basics in place and functioning correctly then you can start extending out and playing with new things and ideas," Mr Balbontin said.

"If you want to unlock action in your business then follow things that have already been solved, as well as the things that have yet to be solved, and be sure to know where you are in the moment.

"Most companies have a balanced portfolio of action that begins with business as usual, and then from there you can hop, skip and jump to greater things.

"Don't underestimate what you can achieve - if you hit your brain with something new - then it'll reward you with new ideas and inspiration."

Speaker and Port Adelaide Football Club General Manager - Partnerships Richard Kelly (above) praised the off-field partnership between the club and Australasia's biggest real estate group.

"This is the third year running we've had this off-field partnership and we're looking at a fourth straight year for next year," Mr Kelly said.

"Media exposure have been received mainly through LED signage on TV. When we look at rounds 1-19, there has been 7.5 million viewers through TV audience alone.

"The 'House on the Hill' has delivered a high amount of brand exposure, even higher than the LED signage, with a kids karaoke segment also reaching 11,000 on social media.

"Port Adelaide Football Club turns 150 next year, so 2020 will be a significant year, with some really exciting initiatives on the way for the club."

In the first case study of the day, Ray White South Australia Business Development Executive Bianca Denham (pictured above) - on behalf of Ray White Canberra's Phyllis Tidmarsh - discussed the framework for becoming an Elite agent.

"If you look at a 5-10-year agent, a lot of them have no growth or are in decline, so you need to look at the six main areas of growth, focus on what you may be lacking in, and work on increasing your knowledge in that area," Ms Denham said.

"You need to create more time for yourself by having better structures and frameworks in place - nurturing your pipeline will build trust and relationships with your clients.

"It's not about coming to an event like Ignite, it's about taking the learnings from here and implementing them in your own business, and that'll provide confidence to your colleagues."

Ray White North Quays Sales Consultant Ben Keevers (pictured above) said everyone had to buy in to the learning culture to get better.

“The only currency you have as an agent is the hours you have and how you use them, I utilised my Ray White auction training to convert older stock to auction campaigns,” Mr Keevers said.

“Auction helped me dramatically reduce the number of days on market for my stock and that allowed me to build extra capacity for new campaigns.

"I managed to save myself more than 50 days on market per property and that allowed me to gain valuable extra time to run auction campaigns.

"Your pipeline of properties is where the money lives and Saturday is the most important day of the week. That's the day you meet every one of your future clients."

Ray White National Head of Property Management Emily Sim (above) said Ray White’s national growth was 5 per cent per annum, and its network had a market share of 13 per cent in Australia.

"When your rent roll is in the growth phase, growth is an investment. We have the opportunity for sales inside our rent rolls," Ms Sim said.

"Today is a stake in the ground for Ray White property management. Let’s look at what’s under the bonnet of PM Evolution.

"PM Evolution is all our support, education and technology. We have a digital learning platform that’s all about short courses online.

"It’s available 24/7 to support the education and learning within a property management business. It includes start ups, upskilling and career progression, and business performance."

Ray White Head of Marketing Lisa Pennell (pictured above) told the full house the long-standing partnership between Ray White and Port Adelaide had been amazing for the group in terms of brand awareness and consideration.

"The Great campaign has provided a fantastic layer to our marketing in South Australia and we’re excited to preview our upcoming national brand campaign as we continue our journey to break out of the category," Ms Pennell said.

"Consumers want more from agents than the predictable marketing our industry seems to continue to fixate on, and we're really pleased to be delivering it."

The event was well received by members across South Australia and they praised the value that both them and their teams would get out of it.

"Gus was incredible. One thing that really stood out to me was to embrace the change. It's coming whether you want it to or not," said Ray White Semaphore Sales Manager Samantha Hirniak.

"Today was a great reminder to shift your mindset. With the right systems and processes, you can achieve great things in your business," said Ray White Barossa Valley I Two Wells Sales Representative Matthew Watts.