“People want honesty and transparency and real-time information, but these are not always being delivered by our industry. The move towards professionalism is a great initiative by the REINSW and I hope everyone embraces it.
Agent 3.0
Here are the nine things which John said will make up the agent of the future: Agent 3.0:
1. Ethical brands
“I would encourage everyone to work in this business in a manner that works for your value system, whether that is integrity, honesty, care, empathy and compassion and whatever else is important to you.
“Winning brands will be ethical brands because consumers will be attracted to those because they will stand up and shine.”
2. Dealing with integrity and transparency
“Don’t hide anything and tell people everything they need to know to make an informed opinion. The last thing I want to do is put someone in a home they won’t love. Do it the right way and you create raving fans.”
3. More human and authentic
“As technology is becoming more pervasive, people are looking for authenticity and sometimes an agent goes through a training process and loses their soul and character which make them individual and unique.
“So discover who are you and take that into the marketplace with knowledge, integrity and expertise and that becomes an irresistible recipe.”
4. Real time
“People expect everything faster now. What used to be acceptable 12 months ago is no longer acceptable, and everything we do now needs to be directed to getting the results faster (days on market, delivery of service, ability to get property on the market). People are no longer prepared to wait.”
5. End to end solutions
“The car industry has developed end-to-end solutions really well because they know you want everything looked after when you buy a car. You want a service plan, insurance, finance, and chosen add-ons.
“This is the experience economy: looking after everything your client needs in the process of buying, selling and renting a property.
“If you just think all we do is sell your property and manage it for you, you'll be overrun by people doing a lot more than that.”
6. Digital/social/mobile
“Over the last six months the rise of social media has been hitting a sweet spot and going forward using social platforms to look for leads and buyers is going to be critical.
“Virtual reality is becoming more popular and they say engagement improves by 400% if there is a video element attached. If there’s no floor plan, a market price or a video, then in my opinion the property is not on the market. Ask yourself - what are you doing to make engagement better?”
7. Technology/big data/algorithms
“A friend of mine who is the CEO of a major data company says our sales and marketing plans in real estate are predictable and not very targeted. He says that with the right data and algorithms he could predict the post codes in which the most likely buyers would come from.
“He also said with the right data and algorithms, which they could develop, they could even find out which streets the buyers are more likely to live in. This is the direction we are going.”
8. Asia/international
“The global economy look to put their currency in a political environment they feel safe in. Most people invest overseas to put their currency in a safe asset, and many think the Australian dollar and real estate are safe investments.
“[In order to successfully market and sell to overseas buyers] you need to understand the different sub-cultures, and do your homework about how they expect to be treated and looked after.”
9. Community
“It is important to support the community and it would be naïve for anyone who relies upon the community not to. We are well rewarded for our great work by the community and you need to give back to keep getting their support. You need to give a meaningful contribution.”