Victoria fires up for Ray White's Ignite 2019

MORE than 550 Ray White Group members from across Victoria and Tasmania have today descended on the Crown Casino's Conference Hall 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 Group Managing Director Dan White (pictured above) said it was a huge day for members across Victoria and Tasmania, one they could all be proud of.

"It's wonderful to see so many people here in attendance and there's nothing better than when we can showcase the talent across our group," Mr White said.

"When the financial year started, there was fear and concern in the market and it would've been easy for us to lose our nerve, but 2019 was a great year for us.

"We're going strong and will continue to do so. Our job is to deliver the best customer experience and to go above and beyond what we achieved last year."

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens (pictured above) said 2019 had been a tough year but they were still able to achieve fantastic results for their customers and the group.

"Ray White are clear market leaders. During 2019, we listed more properties than any other real estate group across Victoria," Mr Dullens said.

"We out-listed our closest competitor by over 20 per cent with close to 2,000 listings, and we listed almost double the level of the third-placed group.

"We list more properties, make more sales and manage more investment properties than any other group across Victoria and Tasmania.

"Ray White listed more auctions than any other group, nearly double our closest competitors. In fact, there are some weeks where we called as many as one in five, sometimes one in four auctions across Victoria.

"Our unrelenting focus on customer service can and must continue. Our industry is so competitive, both in sales and property management, and those individuals who are able to provide exceptional customer service are the ones who will win in any changing market.

"Those of us who are prepared to work the hardest, invest in our skills and provide the best customer service will reap the rewards."

Key speaker and former Lonely Planet CTO Gus Balbontin (pictured above) said the recipe for success was a combination of resources and resourcefulness.

"Some of the best things you do in life and in business are thanks to resourcefulness. You may have all the resources you need, but you need the right team to deliver it," Mr Balbontin said.

"The cornerstone of any team, and I mean team not group, is caring. If you don't care about your work, the people, your workplace or the business, then it'll be very difficult for you to build a team that'll successfully collaborate.

"With the market moving so fast, we need to assume trust from the very beginning. We are built to think trust must be earned, but by assuming it, we give people the power to achieve."

Following Mr Balbontin, Ray White Head of Marketing Lisa Pennell (pictured above) told the full house that the heart of marketing was rooted in customer experience.

"It's an area where the group's learnings are far ahead of the real estate industry due to its implementation of NPS more than eight years ago," Ms Pennell said.

"Our members have become highly skilled at getting 10 out of 10’s, but instead of running away from negative feedback, we’re now running towards it so we can understand what we can do better next time.

"Technology and marketing are only part of what’s important - customer experience is where future business starts."

Real estate coach and trainer Tom Panos said top agents understood the importance of doing the right thing, not the the easy thing.

"It's all about your current and future pipeline and the very best agents can affect the price of a property by about five to 10 per cent," Mr Panos said.

"Phone calls are so important in this business. The preparation hours are when you prepare who to call. The golden hours are when you make your calls.

"Put simply, there's nothing more important than your phone. Nothing happens in the real estate industry without a conversation.

"To become an attraction business you must be a marketing business. Posting content that solves problems in your marketplace. Don't post to impress other agents, post to impress current and prospective vendors and buyers."

The case studies kicked off with Ray White Victoria Network Performance Executives Benjamin Burling (pictured above right) and Karly Gleich (pictured above left) focusing on stock.

"The control of stock clearance and how quickly it can be moved clears time for an agent and allows for the confidence in increasing capacity in the pipeline," Mr Burling said.

"You have to find the framework and put together a structure that allows you to manage your database in a disciplined manner," Ms Gleich said.

In the second case study, Ray White North Quays Sales Consultant Ben Keevers said everyone must 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.

Ray White National Head of Property Management Emily Sim (pictured above) said Ray White’s data showed it had 210,000 properties under management in Australia.

“That’s a strong number but we have ambitions to grow that. Our competitors don't track their own data so we have the jump on the industry and we can look forward and grow faster than anyone else,” Ms Sim said.

“Ray White’s national growth was 5 per cent per annum, and its network has a market share of 13 per cent in Australia.”

"Growth comes in many forms and that includes adding properties, retention of properties and bringing properties across from sales."

The packed-out event in Melbourne's Crown Casino was well received by attendees with different members having various key takeaways.

"The training is beneficial and important for those in the industry for a while or those who have just started out," said Ray White Glen Waverley Partner Marc Lum.

"It doesn't matter how much experience you have, Ray White provides a reminder of what's core in the training.

"What I've learned from today is that you have to be persistent and focused. It's not just about the scripts and dialogues, it's about the mentality in this industry.

"Because the market goes up and does, consistency and persistent is the key to success."

"Learning the scripts and dialogues from Tom Panos to better connect with vendors was very beneficial for me," said Ray White Taylors Lakes Sales Executive Talisa Paris.

"The key takeaway for me was how important each position is in a team and how important teams are in business."

"The sessions have given me so much motivation. I'm just starting out so I'm learning all of the processes I need to be doing and it's helped to reinforce what those processes are," said Ray White Werribee Sales Associate Valentina Parra.