In her own words: Louisa Jackson of Langulin

18 December 2018

“I didn’t start out in real estate. Far from it!

At 19 years old, I headed to London and set up a company with a few friends. In 2002, we launched the world’s first streaming service – VidZone. It was before YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and it was before smartphones.

VidZone was a pioneer in the digital subscription music space and we created the world’s first music app. I worked across content, production, journalism, advertising, marketing and sales, and managed a team of 40 people.

When VidZone launched on Sony PlayStation in 2009, it very quickly became their most downloaded application of all time. In just six weeks, we experienced one million app downloads and more than 100 million streams.

But, after more than a decade abroad, I decided it was time to come home to Australia.

I was looking for a new challenge. Real estate had always been a passion and, given my career background, I was particularly interested in the technology, marketing and digital side of the industry.

So, in February 2015, I gained my real estate licence (in both Queensland and New South Wales) and by September that same year my agency – Langulin – was launched.

In Sanskrit, Langulin means “long tail”. Translating this to marketing, the theory of long tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on the number of “hits” when it comes to marketing and media, and toward niches. So my approach at Langulin is to focus on less – the niche – in order to provide more for clients.

From the outset, my goal has been to work selectively. I create bespoke, out-of-the-box campaigns for high-end, unique properties and projects.

“I believe real estate agents should truly be trusted advisors. Just as someone has a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor they rely on time and again for advice, so it should also be with agents.”

For me, it’s not about sales volume and KPIs. Working for myself means I can be extremely thorough and provide the best possible service on all levels to my clients.

The first property I sold was one I branded ‘Villa Moderna’. By the time I took the property on, several top agents had failed to sell it. I took a critical approach to the campaign – pulling apart everything that had been done before and then stitching it all back together with a completely different focus and approach.

This is where my 16 years’ experience across content production, innovative technology and marketing comes to the fore.

When I list a property, I get to know it inside and out. I spend a huge amount of time learning everything I can about it, so there’s no question I can’t answer. As a real estate agent, I believe ignorance is a stale technique. You must know your product.

With Villa Moderna, as with every property I work with, I build a story around it. My sales are not about me as an agent or Langulin as an agency. I brand each property and then tailor a bespoke marketing and sales campaign to suit the vendor’s needs, budget and price expectations.

The feedback I receive from my vendors is important to me. One vendor commented that what I do is “ethical real estate”. His words felt really good to me and “ethical real estate” is my motto. It’s how I want people to describe me and what I do.

I believe real estate agents should truly be trusted advisors. Just as someone has a lawyer, accountant or financial advisor they rely on time and again for advice, so it should also be with agents. That’s why I completely support what REINSW is doing with the Pathway to Professionalism.

So what’s next for me? I’m looking forward to continuing to break new ground with my campaigns. I’m working on some innovative ideas at the moment. I’m excited to see them in action and look forward to them yielding results for my clients.”