Ray White Queensland firmly focused on Tomorrow

Ray White Queensland’s high energy Tomorrow event highlighted the importance of leadership and continuous improvement for its up and coming agents.

Ray White Group Managing Director Dan White discussed his own personal journey and emphasised the need for resilience and investment in yourself.

He stressed the significance of adapting to industry changes, highlighting his focus on specialisation and technological advancements inside the group.

Mr White underscored the value of curiosity and constant questioning, which has been a long standing tradition inside Ray White.

He shared his own personal style, his lack of delegation but with the importance of clear communication and praise for a job well done.

The fourth generation leader of the 123-year-old Ray White Group, acknowledged the custodianship aspect of his role.

"I always felt my responsibility was always to try and make the group better. Pay respect to the past, but with an eye to the future, and make sure that the business doesn't peak under my leadership. A crisis would be that the business doesn't grow and that's a haunting sort of concept for myself and the fourth generation of family.

“Our burning ambition to ensure it doesn't happen under our watch.”

He defines custodianship as improving something, making it better, and keeping it in good shape. He also shared insights into his family's influence, particularly his grandfather Alan, who was "a really tough unit" and "believed in hard work, never getting too far ahead of ourselves." His father, Brian, was described as a humble leader who "doesn't sort of want to make anything about him. He's always been about those around him."

“Our curiosity days are important to Ray White Group, and have been for the corporate team for more than 25 years,” Mr White said.

He encouraged all 200 members in the room to always question things.

“Question what you are doing. All organisations need everyone to be able to contribute as ‘group think’ is a recipe for disaster. People in your team need to know that their voice matters.

“No matter how big your business gets, you need to keep doing this. It’s a big and essential part of our culture. Spend more time on the question, and the answers will reveal itself. “There’s a tension between being curious and indecisive and there’s a temptation to rush to the answer.”

Ray White Queensland CEO Jason Andrew asked Dan White for advice on hiring for ambition.

“I haven't actually found the secret but don’t oversell any role on the way in. Communicate on the way in as it’s so easy to blame others when things go bad and we can be so quick to judge others. Ego will slow you down if you don't catch it.”

Gavin Rubinstein, a top real estate agent and founder of The Rubinstein Group (TRG), shares insights from his 17-year career in Sydney’s luxury property market.

He said he believes real estate was the greatest industry in the world.

“I was a complete novice when I started, and it taught me everything. I read my goals every morning, and I use positive self-talk but I also do the work, as this industry rewards effort.” TRG has three offices now, in Woollahra, Rose Bay and Hunters Hill.

“There’s nothing too complex about what I do and I focus on being better tomorrow than I am today. I have always gone after it.”

The TRG founder has always worked alongside Ray White.

“Ray White is a phenomenal organisation, and with the use of Pulse we still get to compete with some of the best agents in the country,” he said.

"But if you get to the point where you think you are successful or you think you have made it - that is the moment you lose.”

Mr Rubinstein, who once ran nightclubs, said he got into real estate as he didn't have a lot of options but he has never looked back.

He said it took about five years of “relentless commitment” before “getting momentum”.

“Frequency builds trust, and to unlock the game of prospecting you need to understand that line - everyone has a criteria to select an agent,” Mr Rubinstein said.

“I started to apply that to my prospecting. Vendors want to build rapport and trust with their agent.

“The best people in our industry are accessible. It is key. People care about speed - they want information and a response now.

“If I can’t deliver information immediately, someone in my team will get it done.

“My silver bullet has always been my people - attracting the highest level of talent, and when I have them, retaining them.”

Ray White Collective principal Matt Lancashire spoke about his list of non-negotiables that are the hallmarks of his success.

He reminded the agents of the importance of tiny gains and to be one per cent better every day.

When he was getting started in real estate, he tells the story of travelling to Sydney to meet a top agent. “I had a 15 minute chat with this top performer in Sydney. While I was waiting for him in a cafe, I was flicking through The Wentworth Courier and he had 20 pages of advertising.

“I asked the agent, what do I need to know, to be the best? He told me I needed to be a marketing agent and own the paper, own the market.

“But just do whatever works in your market place, be the king of DLs or online advertising.” Then he said to run a systemised and structured business.

“Be the one who calls the most people, and you will win. Call enough people and manage your time effectively. Be an auction agent so you can control your business and the flow. And hard work. I sat on hard work for 2-3 weeks to pick my biggest competitors and hammer them,” he said.

“There is no magic dust in real estate. You have to be ready to do the activity to generate income. You have to be ready to do the work.”

His weekly non-negotiables include: focus on the systems not the outcome; run a proactive not a reactive business; attraction business model; daily vendor communication (he calls his clients twice a day); active buyer hot buyer network; hot prospecting; spend more time on past clients on anniversaries and he employed Mariana Ferrari, his operations manager.

Lachlan Stuart is known as ‘The Man that Can’.

He’s a coach, motivational speaker and Australian athlete who recently ran 58 marathons across 58 consecutive days in the US and Australia, and raised an impressive $160,000 for mental health.

Mr Stuart talked about inspiring real estate agents to be the best version of themselves.

“When I took on the challenge, I wanted to be proud of the man I saw in the mirror.”

Lachlan described doing 58 marathons in 58 days as a “wild ride”.

“When you believe in something, you just can’t stop thinking about it,” he said.

“When I told my wife (singer/songwriter Amy Sheppard) I was thinking about doing the 58 marathons, she shut it down.

“I was waking up every morning thinking about what this journey would look like, and how I would get my wife’s permission.”

He said that turning a dream into a reality takes time and a process, and likened it to the real estate industry.

“When it’s winter, you start doubting yourself, you can’t get listings, you can’t get sales,” he explained.

“But if you have a big goal, if you want to be a million-dollar agent, or what you may see might be out of reach, you can think about the one thing you need to do to make it happen.

“It’s the one thing you can concentrate on.”

He said, long-term it was important to establish where you want to be in your career.

“That’s why you do the things you need to do, the things you should be doing, and when it comes to real estate, it is important to make those call backs.”

Mr Stuart said having a great team around you, and surrounding yourself with people who understand you as a person was important.

“I had a great team and we put in the mileage," he said.

“There wasn’t a single run that I didn’t feel confident or excited about, despite my body being injured and running through extreme temperatures.”

Mr Stuart said it was important to respond to seasonal changes.

“What small wins have you had? Without a team, small wins are not possible,” he said.

“It is important to have coaches and mentors.”

RE/MAX Australia business owner Hayley Van De Ven spoke about being an inspirational leader to the group.

“I am the opposite of a micro manager,” said Ms Van De Ven, who has two decades of property experience.

“I try to empower people to own their business. Even the property managers, their own portfolio is their own business unit.”

Ms Van De Ven, who is the business owner behind two of RE/MAX Australia’s most successful brands, started her career with Ray White when she was just 17, in 2003.

“I spent five months as a rep and then a sales person, and I learnt early on about how that makes your team feel,” she said.

“As I have grown my own business, I guess I learnt the hard way.

“If you don’t win, you don’t learn. It would have been easy to resign when I was getting screamed at and yelled at as a sales associate - but one of the biggest gifts I have ever had was starting at Ray White and learning those foundation skills.”

Ms Van De Ven said culture shaped how we work.

“When we work with good people it’s easy to work,” she said.

“For us, culture is the vibe of our business.”

In 2014, Ms Van De Ven moved into the Ray White corporate team and said the exposure of the level of “incredible business owners” was amazing.

“The best people share readily,” she said.

“I am always amazed at questions - if you are asking the right person they will give you the time and energy.

“You want to have those conversations that will grow you as a person and a leader.

“The very best are accessible.”

Ray White Alliance principal Brad Wilson spoke about empowering his team, based in the Upper Coomera area, while Vanya T and her husband Tim of Ray White Ripley spoke about working harder not smarter to create a high volume business where they sell more than 140 properties a year.

If there’s one journalist who knows about luxury properties, it’s The Courier Mail’s real estate editor Elizabeth Tilley.

Ms Tilley is also a social media influencer, TV presenter and Luxury Home Tour presenter who has built a standout profile across the real estate industry and beyond.

Having grown up in a small country town, Ms Tilley, who is one of six siblings, always dreamed of being a news reader.

She started working in newspapers at the Courier Mail in the commercial real estate section, while studying at university part time.

Ms Tilley worked her way up the ranks at the daily newspaper in Brisbane and in 2017 started working in the residential property section.

“I just grew to love it from there,” Ms Tilley said.

“Property started becoming front page news - everyone needs a home, everyone cares about property,” she said.

“When COVID hid, people were stuck at home and wanted to see more to do with property and that’s when I started to build my own brand showcasing luxury homes and developments through captivating videos.

“I forged my own identity to build trust with my clients.”

“If you are taking to social media, be consistent, stick with it and stay authentic to your brand. It’s almost a no-brainer to be doing these videos as a real estate agent.”

“You have to be authentic, you have to be true to your style - just be you. People want to see that and will be more engaged with you.

It’s a whole new world - social media is a new business platform now.

“It’s not so much about the followers, it’s about engaging people, and it’s quality over quantity.”

Ray White Rockhampton Business Development Manager Emily Richardson is a high performer who knows how to grow and secure new business.

Ms Richardson said to become unstoppable and to be a top performer, those within the industry must “create momentum to create success”.

Ms Richardson signs at least 500 new managements each year and believes who you surround yourself with matters.

“When people underperform it can be a direct reflection of the people they keep,” Ms Richardson said.

She said leadership was not always loud.

“Sometimes quiet confidence can make the biggest impact,” she said.

“If you want to elevate your performance, elevate your circle.

“Success often begins with who is standing beside you.

“By asking the right questions we are not selling a service, we are offering guidance.

People don’t want a cheap service, they want a service they can trust.”

Ms Richardson said phone calls were important when it comes to securing potential clients.

“Longer calls lead to stronger relationships, and a high chance of securing business,” she said.

“People sign with agents they trust. “It’s about changing the mindset - it’s not just a transaction.

“People want to feel listened to, and they remember how you made them feel.”

She said momentum in business was like a rolling boulder.

“Once it starts building, it picks up speed, and picks up others along the way,” Ms Richardson said.

“Our business has created momentum that has people gravitating towards us.”

Ms Richardson reiterated that there was magic in making calls and doing it consistently.

“If you constantly feel like you are pushing uphill, you must do the work to push the ball forward. This is the power of playing the long game,” she said.

“I made a conscious decision to become a top performer. I wanted to get to the top.

“Getting uncomfortable is where the magic happens.

“Break the cycle, step into discomfort, spark momentum - growth begins where comfort ends.”

Find out what attendees had to say about the event below.

Sales executive Kaylea Sayer of Ray White AKG said she loved hearing from Lachie Stuart and Matt Lancashire at Tomorrow. “I loved how Matt spoke about making sacrifices in this career. I am so lucky as my partner Avi Khan understands what it takes to be a high performer and if I am busy with clients, it's not that he’s not important . Lachie’s story was so relatable too. He spoke about how he had to give up things in the short term to win in the long term. His focus was always on his goals.”

Jayden Nipperess of Ray White Caboolture said his key takeaway from the Tomorrow session was “to out work the competition and to value my time”.

“Matt Lancashire’s story really resonated with me the most. I believe that with the training and backing from Ray White there is no way I can not succeed.”

Principal Chris Ransley of Ray White North Stradbroke Island said he enjoyed being at Tomorrow, surrounded by like-minded agents who wanted to go one step further in their careers.

“None of this is rocket science! It’s about consistency. I am looking forward to re-engaging with the team about our vision and recementing the jobs that we need to be doing everyday.”