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Gavin Rubinstein's story is well known; starting out managing night clubs throughout Europe, he turned his attention to real estate, working as an associate in the highly competitive eastern suburbs of Sydney.
He quickly realised his gift and devoted himself to the craft, ascending the ladder of the Ray White network to become one of our top salespeople.
Gavin attributes much of his success to those that have been in his corner throughout his career, one of those people is Mark McLeod. The pair first met 20 years ago when he was a rookie agent at Ray White Double Bay.
“I jumped into real estate as it was my only option and I was excited by the opportunity to earn an uncapped income. I was a nightclub promoter and I had worked at McDonalds, and I quickly realised that I could make an impact and within 12 months I thought, "this is going to be fun”.
So what did Gavin Rubinstein do?
“Young people are so obsessed and they prefer the end result rather than the process. The tasks that are required to succeed are mundane, and I always did the tasks and stayed focused,” Gavin said.
“I always keep it simple. Mark's advice was always practical and simple. It’s a simple industry, you talk to more people and you win. How do you get in the the door? You make phone calls.
“It has always been a team sport for me. I have had the same core staff with me since day one - Remi Lindsay, Cae Thomas and Oliver Lavers.
“My success was predicated on keeping the core tight because it was never the Gavin show, despite the narrative.
“I needed people who were as committed as me to do their roles to give me capacity. I have always treated profile like a business plan. When I started out I used to lock myself in a room from morning until night and I dialled for dollars. This is the core of what we do.
“Agents often have to do what we don’t like to get where we want to go. My priority was connecting with 30 new homeowners a day. We are in the service game; don’t be arrogant.
“I offer a six star service. I have always been the vendor's agent. Don't ever forget who pays your fees. Treat your vendors like gold.
“Mark taught me 20 years ago that frequency builds trust, and I have never forgotten that.”
As a 23 year old associate with no listings, Gavin established a rapport with an owner from Vaucluse and he used to drive her around to other people's listings to help her find a property to buy.
He even took the time to send her a postcard from her hometown in Italy when he happened to be on holiday. A year later he sold her house for $9 million, which would be worth $27 million today. “I was frequently building trust with her,” he said.
Mark said Gavin Rubinstein was always curious to get better.
“I am very proud of you and you have always had a willingness to get better,” Mark said.
“You always strive for excellence in all you do. I tell everyone, don't ever ask great agents what they do, ask them what they did. You get work through the work. Where you are today is a result of your fanatical obsession with work to get to this point. If you want to be really successful, be obsessive.”
Gavin said there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
“If I keep doing the same thing, I know that is the definition of insanity so I am constantly evolving and if my vendor reporting wasn’t good enough, I changed it.
“Acknowledge where you need to tweak. I draw on people who can see angles that I can't as I firmly believe real estate is 80 per cent mindset and 20 per cent skill. Close all the doors - fix all the typos, make the ads perfect," he said.
“Deliver your updates with your vendors with excitement too, always smile. This is an energy business.”
