Category Archives: Real Estate Business Network

One Agency

2016 A Record-Breaking Year at One Agency

We take a look back at a wonderful year of growth and development.

“As the team at One Agency heads into the annual holiday season we reflect on another record-breaking year of growth both in New Zealand and Australia, which in itself is reason for celebration,” says John Stewart, Head of Australasian Membership.

“What is even more gratifying is to have witnessed the individual growth of existing members’ businesses for what in in many markets has been a very challenging year,” he says.

2016 has seen more franchise offices and leading agents from major brands joining One Agency in larger numbers than at any stage in the disruptor’s eight year history.

“This is a direct reflection of the strong foundation of the brand, simplicity of operation, outstanding marketing collateral and above all, a business model that is unmatched in leaving more gross income in the hands of the business owner,” says Mr.Stewart.

“The latter trend is still gathering pace as the year draws to an end, with many newcomers commenting on a desire to manage their own destiny and, if indeed, as pundits suggest, their market is going to slow in the coming year, they will need to seek a larger share of sale income.”

For existing One Agency members, 2016 saw the bedding down of a new state-of-the-art website, branding collateral updates and range expansion, additional print material templates, engagement with major off-shore websites and enhanced levels of support from industry suppliers and service providers.

In addition the brand has seen a simplification of promotional item purchasing and at the end of November, the group’s first International Awards Dinner in Sydney, enjoyed by over 150 guests and industry sponsors from both sides of the Tasman.

For prospective members, 2016 saw quicker access to more detailed brand and business model information delivered through the launch of a private information site along with the digital delivery of membership details.

Prepare their property for market

How to Convert your Vendors to a Property Makeover

PROPERTY MAKEOVER 101 FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS

As a real estate agent, with each listing you sign, you will deploy all the usual traditional and digital marketing strategies to get the property seen by every potential buyer possible. A property makeover can mean a more profitable and efficient sale, increased purchaser competition and a shorter time on the market. We all know how much easier it can be to sell a beautifully presented property.

Here are some of the questions and answers that your vendors may have about property styling and ways to help sell the idea of some professional styling services.

What exactly is a pre-sale property makeover?

A pre-sale property makeover is the carefully developed strategy and then the practical implementation of the steps required to transform a property into its best light. It is designed to uncover the hidden gems of an individual property, and to create buyer appeal to the right market along with the guidance of a real estate agent.  These value-add strategies are accomplished through coordinated appraisal, planning, and implementation with the help of a property makeover specialist and can make tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars difference to the sale price.

Why is it important to prepare a home for sale?

A property should never go stale by sitting on the market for too long. When a property is first listed, if marketed properly, presented well and of course if vendor expectations are realistic and within current market conditions, to it should generate enough interest to sell within a fairly short period of time. Timing is a crucial factor, market sentiment is a great influencer, and profit maximisation depends on the property’s appeal and value to the prospective buyer at the best time to sell – when it first goes on the market.

Bryan Gamarra One Agency

This Real Estate Agent Says ‘You’ll Never Look Back’

Real Estate Agent, Bryan Gamarra from One Agency Gammarra & Co. in North Canberra, ACT, joined One Agency in June 2015. 

He’s been in real estate for almost nine years.

“I heard about One Agency through a buddy of mine during a business dinner we had as we were discussing the possibility to open our own real estate business. What attracted me to One Agency was the simple, no fuss and inexpensive business model,” says Bryan.

It was important to him to keep his rental leads and grow a dynamic rental portfolio. He also liked that he could work his choice of hours and not have to work a typical 9-5.

“I really enjoy helping people. The feeling I get when I give back to the community is what drives me as a real estate agent.”

The set up process into his new business was simple and straightforward and head office helped with their responsive support. Plus the other local members in Canberra offered their time and expertise.

 

One Agency Conference 2015 Paul & Annie Davies

One Big Connection at the One Agency Conference

Last week saw our members come together from across Australia to the Langham Hotel in Sydney for our annual One Agency Conference.

It was a day when new members met more established members, faces were put to names and lots of knowledge and experience was shared.

John Stewart, our Australasian Membership Consultant was our MC for the day and he did a stellar job. John has been a major player in our move into New Zealand and we are thrilled to announce our first One Agency office has opened there  this week.

Tom Panos presented for us again, in his inimitable style and bringing great ideas and energy to the stage. Tom shared  some great tips on helping create your best financial year ever. His wealth of knowledge was as insightful and inspiring as ever.

The hotel put on a fabulous lunch and gave everyone a chance to catch up and kick back. Nick Bendel, Editor at REB online joined us for part of the day along with other guests and One Agency suppliers.

Property makeover One Agency Belinda Grundy

How To Help Your Vendors Prepare For Market Presentation

The bulk of any property success in the market lies on pre-sale strategies. With thorough planning and thoughtful execution, any property can be sold as soon as it enters the market.

So what’s the secret? It’s a combination of many things, location, street appeal, price point, current stock levels and quality marketing. A key factor can be in the vendor recognising the power and the rewards of a property makeover. But between the vendor and the property makeover specialist, what’s your role as an agent?

The Function of Detachment
You’ll come across vendors who believe that their property can be sold as it is. The challenge for you is to help them transition from being a homeowner to a seller. How? By helping them to change the way they approach the process. They are selling their home and therefore the property becomes a product rather than a home. Detachment involves dissociation – the act of distancing the owner from the property.

Homeowners value their home based on the emotions they invested on it. To start their transition, help them strip their home but leave the bare essentials intact. A little decoration won’t hurt but personal effects have to go.

The function of detachment is simple: it creates an opportunity for potential buyers to feel at home in the property. With personal effects an impediment, the property will only stay appealing to its original owners. The key is to allow buyers to feel emotional towards the property.

 

John Stewart One Agency

Real Estate Business Network Plans Expansion Into New Zealand

This month we were delighted to announce a new addition to the team; John Stewart, who joins us to assist in the expansion of the group across Australia and across the Tasman for a positive impact for real estate in New Zealand.

Many people don’t realise that running a real estate business is within their ability, often dismissing the idea before exploring and understanding the options that are open to them. Now, the One Agency brand expands bringing opportunity to real estate in New Zealand.

Many of our new members comment that they wish they’d set up their businesses sooner. Often it’s fear that initially held them back, and then they make the move and tell us it was nowhere near as frightening as they expected it to be.

At One Agency we help you through those early stages, with support, advice and great systems in place to make the transition a smooth one.

As the group continues to spread through Australia, we’ve had to increase our staff at head office to manage this growth. This month we were delighted to announce a new addition to the team; John Stewart, who joins us to assist in the expansion of the group across Australia and into New Zealand.

One Agency Real Estate Business Network Growth

At One Agency Head Office we are almost ready with our new website.

There will be some smart features and a fresh new design. Karin at One Agency Head Office has been working hard on the project and the design elements are almost complete. Testing of the site will start over next few weeks so we can be sure it’s all working prior to the launch. 

We’re also pleased to announce that we now have more than 200 members appearing on our website and we’ve signed another 10 members since the beginning of the year.

It’s wonderful to see so many new people joining the group and prospering in their own real estate businesses. Last week we interviewed Tanya Williams who set up her One Agency business in Queensland last year, you can read the article here.

Real Estate Business

Real Estate Business – Why Choose One Agency?


My real estate business… I’m often asked what inspired me to start One Agency. In truth, it was my wife Annie. They say behind every great man there’s a woman.

While I’m not a great man, there’s a great woman behind me. After 35 years in the industry I was able to draw on my experiences to develop a new and innovative business model that would serve agents better now and into the future, being a more sustainable model.

Annie sparked my thinking back in 2006 when I’d just sold a major franchise business and started a boutique business. I experienced first-hand how the advantages of a major franchise could blend with a boutique business (which is essentially what One Agency is) and that operating costs were the critical factor that determined success or failure.

I honestly I thought that straight away agents would be knocking down my door to join, but the first 10 were like pulling teeth! My belief in the idea kept me going… Now we appear to be an overnight success after 6 years! 

It was hard in the beginning but once members started to join, there was no going back. I always thought that if one agent was interested there must be two, and if there were two there would be 10, and if 10 agents agree with me there must be 100, and so on, and why not? I would constantly say that to myself. With that belief firmly entrenched in my mind, I knew it would only be a matter of time and perseverance.

 

One Agency Christmas

Merry Christmas ONE and All!

We hope you have a safe and Happy & Merry Christmas from all of us at One Agency.

Head Office will be closed until January 5th. If you are looking for ONE of our offices or agents please click here where you will find individual offices and member details.

If you are interested in finding out more about One Agency, check out our testimonialsread more here or send us an email

 



At One Agency we are always open for a conversation, so if you have anything to say in response or have any questions, please contact us.

T  1300 79 23 88 
 +61 2 8039 2110 (International)

 

One Agency Real Estate Group Showing Rapid Growth

We held our second One Agency Conference of 2014 at The Westin in Sydney last week with rapid growth and a record number of attendees in excess of 100 people. Managing Director, Paul Davies says:

“I can’t tell you how delighted we were with our ‘ONE Big Conference’, how inspiring it was to us and also to our members. We are seeing a rapid rate of growth which shows that ONE Agency has come a long way over the past five years. Membership is increasing steadily and we are on track to again double our numbers this calendar year.”

Most attendees agreed that Dr Fred Grosse was the highlight of the day. For those of you who couldn’t make it, we will be sharing the audio recordings of Dr. Grosse’s sessions very soon. The One Agency Member Panel boasted Anita Ellis-Case, Stephan Siegfried, Andrew Reeves, Vince Salvatore and Scott Crossman as contributors. This is always an extremely popular segment as members discuss their experience, videos and marketing ideas and share stories of their journey since joining the group.

One of our members said that they felt it was great value for money having seen Dr Fred Grosse on several previous occasions, at a much higher cost and his presentation at our conference was the best. Here’s some other feedback from our members:

One Agency Conference Nov 2014

One Agency Conference Welcomes Dr Fred Grosse

We’re excited to announce that Dr Fred Grosse is our keynote speaker at our biggest One Agency event so far. 

As a coach and mentor to leading business people and entrepreneurs around the world, Dr Fred Grosse works on the premise that the ultimate definition of wealth is ‘having it all’.

He believes that life is the most important thing – family, friends, personal satisfaction and that building wealth and succeeding in business are simply elements of this overall quest for fulfilment. Dr. Grosse travels the world conducting business seminars, private one-on-one sessions, lectures and corporate training programs and we are lucky enough to have him to share his experience with us at our conference on Wednesday 12th November 2014.

Please make sure you’ve made your RSVP by Friday 17th October by calling: 1300 79 23 88 

Trevor Manwarring One Agency

Real Estate Business: We Ask Trevor Manwarring Why One Agency?

Each month we interview ONE of our members to discover their story and have them share their experience with us.

Under the spotlight this month is Trevor Manwarring from One Agency Manwarring Property Group in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, where he covers the areas of  Wollongbar, Alstonville, Goonellabah, Ballina and Lismore.

Trevor has worked in real estate sales for 19 years and he joined One Agency in September 2013. We asked Trevor to share his experience with us.

What do you love about your work in real estate? What drives you?
Helping people, whether buying or selling. I enjoy being able to help by taking away a lot of their stress and by guiding them in the right direction.

What attracted you to the One Agency business model?
I was in a position to stay where I was working at another agency and get no further ahead or go out and do my own thing, so I heard about One Agency and I contacted Paul Davies by phone. After a long discussion he convinced me to go to Sydney to one of their conferences to speak to other members that were already involved with the group as well as to get to meet Paul in person. The thing that impressed me the most was Paul’s vision and he also was quite particular on who joined the group to protect the name and its members. When I finished the conference I had no doubt about my future with One Agency and joined approximately one month later.

How is the brand working for you?
The brand has been excellent, people comment all the time how sharp it looks and how it stands out from our competitors. We even find that older people find it easier to read with the One Agency colours!

Would you recommend One Agency to others?
Yes, definitely. I always speak highly about the back up from Head Office and all of the other members, you only have to email or *Facebook or even call and there is always someone there to help. At One Agency we are all ONE. 

* One Agency has a closed Facebook Group Page where members can share ideas and knowledge between themselves, it’s a useful tool.

What do you think keeps your prospective vendors awake at night when they are considering listing their property?
Which agent should I be trusting with my biggest investment that I own to not just sell it, but to give the service and feedback that they expect and the best value in todays market.

One Agency Real Estate Group Celebrate 6 Years!

One Agency Real Estate Group celebrated our 6th anniversary last month and would like to thank all our members for choosing One Agency.

The business is evolving rapidly and we are thrilled with the positive response we continue to receive from both members and other real estate professionals about One Agency Real Estate Group.

‘I wanted to give real estate agents and business owners the freedom to build and control their financial future with the support of a national brand. I’m proud to say that we’ve achieved this and are now the fastest growing real estate group in Australia,’ says Paul Davies, the Managing Director of One Agency. 

Here are some of the many comments we received on LinkedIn:

‘Congratulations on 6 years Paul and thanks for creating a great vehicle for me to grow my business and keep the majority of our hard earned commissions.’ Grant Baker, One Agency Noosa

Sandy Morris One Agency

One New Member – Sandy Morris Talks Business Set Up

Sandy Morris joined One Agency in April 2014 and is the Principal of One Agency Sandy Morris in Canberra. 

She initially heard about One Agency through a former colleague at a large agency who had made the move and with his encouragement Sandy took a look at the One Agency business model.

‘The decision to join One Agency was not one that I made lightly. I had a great offer to join one of the other large agencies in town but I put quite a bit of thought into what I wanted to get out of the next 10 years in real estate. The freedom to run my own business the way I wanted to run it was the deciding factor for me.’

Once the decision had been made the rest flowed very smoothly for her.

‘Head Office took over and provided me with everything that I needed to get myself started and I had some very supportive vendors that followed me to One Agency so that was a nice start and I am thrilled with how it is going now.’

Sandy set up her business at home and the team at head office organised all the stationary, signboards, sold stickers and branding, helping to keep the whole process simple.

Grant Baker One Agency Noosa

One Great Agent – Grant Baker

Each month we interview ONE of our members to discover their story and have them share their experience with us.

Under the spotlight this month is Grant Baker from One Agency Noosa in Queensland.

Grant has worked in real estate sales for the last 10 years and he joined One Agency in October 2013. We asked him to share his experience with us.

What do you love about your work in real estate? What drives you?
I love the flexibility of real estate and the unlimited potential on what you can achieve. Sharing the excitement and journeys with buyers and sellers as they make the biggest decisions of their life is fulfilling. Being in control of your own destiny and achieving goals is what drives me. Having lost my Mother during 2013 also motivates me to make her proud.

What attracted you to the One Agency business model?
The modern world of real estate is forever evolving and One Agency is at the forefront of that evolution which is why I chose to join the group. The business model is perfectly geared towards the self-motivated agent wanting to achieve personal success and retain all the profits of their labour.

How is the brand working for you?
The response to the brand from the market has been very positive and we are looking forward to making it even stronger in 2014. Administratively it has been extremely efficient which has been very important to getting up and running. It is encouraging to see some of the leading agents in the area keeping a close eye on our progress and sellers being so impressed with the professionalism and sharpness of our marketing materials.

Would you recommend One Agency to others? 
Without hesitation! I have worked for some of the leading agencies in the country and volume is at the forefront of their business models to make profit. With One Agency you can market as many or as few properties as you like, allowing you to focus more importantly on service and maximizing profits. 

What do you think keeps your prospective vendors awake at night when they are considering listing their property?
Confusion. Every vendor knows what their property is worth but they are then often confused by discussions with agents. It’s a massive decision when it comes time to sell a property.

One Agency Christmas Wreath

Christmas Cheer after a Fantastic Year for One Agency

Christmas is almost here after an extremely busy and productive year at One Agency.

We’ve seen tremendous growth in the business and 2014 is already shaping up as we continue to welcome new members into our group.

We ran two very successful conferences in July and November at Brighton Le Sands which had record attendance and a great deal of knowledge sharing among our members. One of the big advantages of joining One Agency is the mutually supportive culture of our group and I’m pleased to say that this goes from strength to strength as we grow. 

Tom Panos presented at both conferences, he gave us many useful tools to help build and grow both our businesses and our lives. If you’d like a recap of his presentations or if you didn’t make it to the conferences you can watch some videos we made of him here.

Vince Salvatore

One Great Agent – Vince Salvatore Q&A

Each month we interview ONE of our members to discover their story and have them share their experience with us.

Under the spotlight this month is Vince Salvatore from One Agency The Parks in South Western Sydney.

Vince has worked in real estate for more than 11 years and joined One Agency just 6 weeks ago, we welcome Vince to One Agency and asked him to share his experience with us.

What do you love about your work in real estate? What drives you?
I love selling real estate, it’s very rewarding, especially when you get to meet so many lovely people that are looking for that right next home or their very first investment property or indeed first home buying.

What attracted you to the One Agency business model?
After contemplating working for myself again I didn’t really want to start from scratch with an office with high rent, multiple staff to man it and chasing a management portfolio too. The One Agency model works perfectly, as I have begun with a small office at home, no staff concerns, for now and knowing that I can be of even more service to my clients plus the rewards stay purely in-house.

How is the brand working for you?
Love it, love it love it!  People are commenting on it’s fantastic modern look , it looks professional and it’s really getting noticed.

Would you recommend One Agency to others? 
Absolutely.. All the above reasons just for starters. The flexibility of doing things your own way, being professional about it and knowing it’s your baby…..no one can spoil it, mark it, damage your reputation…….only you can. That’s a great motivator right there.

What do you think keeps your prospective vendors awake at night when they are considering listing their property? Ultimately it comes down to …WHO CAN I TRUST? That’s really the only question. If you have, and continue building a respected name & reputation for yourself, you are the ONE agent they will call.

Real Estate Business

Real Estate Business – Why One Agency? Paul Davies shares his vision.

I’m often asked what inspired me to start One Agency. In truth, it was my wife Annie. 

They say behind every great man there’s a woman. While I’m not a great man, there’s a great woman behind me. 

Annie sparked my thinking back in 2006 when I’d just sold a major franchise business and started a boutique business. I experienced first-hand how the advantages of a major franchise could blend with a boutique business (which is essentially what One Agency is) and that operating costs were the critical factor that determined success or failure.

After 35 years in the industry I was able to draw on my experiences to develop a new and innovative business model that would serve agents better now and into the future, being a more sustainable model.

I honestly I thought that straight away agents would be knocking down my door to join, but the first 10 were like pulling teeth! My belief in the idea kept me going… Now we appear to be an overnight success after 6 years! 

One Agency Annette Pinkerton

One Great Agent – Annette Pinkerton Q&A

Each month we interview ONE of our members to discover their story and have them share their experience with us.

Under the spotlight this month is Annette Pinkerton from One Agency Pinkerton Properties in Newcastle, NSW.

Annette has worked in real estate for the last 4 years and joined One Agency in August 2013. We asked Annette to share her experience with us.

What do you love about your work in real estate? What drives you?
I’m happiest when I’m helping people whatever it is. But I’d have to say I’ve always had an interest in houses and property from a very early age when I would build a floor plan in the back yard out of fallen pine needles and pretend it was my cubby house. A few years later and a little bit older and I would draw house plans from scratch in front of the telly of a night – I remember always starting with the kitchen.

What drives me today is to continue to be a role model to my children, now young adults, that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to and follow through with action. 

What attracted you to the One Agency business model?
The business model made sense to me.  It allows me and my business to keep evolving with changing times. I’m not dictated to as how and what I can and cant do and yet I have the support of Paul Davies and the head office team as well as other principals and One Agency business owners who truly want me to succeed in my business. The One Agency marketing is as modern, clean, fresh and alive as the model. 

How is the brand working for you?
The brand is working exceptionally well for me. It stands out from most brands and everyone remarks on One Agency marketing. Comments are that it is striking and suits my personality and style! It’s reflective of me, congruent with my image and in line with my values. All remarks about the brand has been more positive than I could imagine.

Would you recommend One Agency to others? 
I have no hesitation in recommending One Agency to others. One Agency has provided me with flexibility, options and a balanced lifestyle. 

What do you think keeps your prospective vendors awake at night when they are considering listing their property?
Hopefully my prospective vendors are sleeping knowing that they’re on the right track in selecting me as their choice of agent. Having said that though, I think most prospective vendors have the fear of underselling their property or the fear of not being able to find the right agent.

News from One Agency Real Estate Group

One Agency – News from Head Office June 2013

In this edition of News from One Agency Head Office, we’ve welcomed more agents into the fold over the past few months including Peter & Angie Robinson from Western Australia.

In Tasmania, Phillip Kelly is setting up a second business to cover the Hobart area in addition to the Southern Tasmanian regions of Sorell and Bellerive. Annette Pinkerton also joins us in Newcastle and made the move to set up her own business with One Agency earlier in June.

Annette has worked in real estate for the past 4 years with Century 21 and has a diverse background in finance, sales & marketing, people management and training across a broad range of industries. 

Although her real estate experience is recent, Annette has an impeccable sales history spanning 20 years and since entering the industry she’s received many awards. 

Dean Harper portrait

ONE Great Agent – Dean Harper Q&A

Each month we interview ONE of our members to discover their story and have them share their experience with us.

Under the spotlight this month is Dean Harper from One Agency Launceston in Tasmania. Dean has been in real estate since 2002 and he joined One Agency with his father, Peter Harper in July 2011.

What do you love about your work in real estate? What drives you?
I love waking up each day and not knowing exactly how it’s going to turn out! I love the thrill of the chase. A lot of our work is following up with both vendors and buyers. Creating a sale after following up with a buyer and leading them towards a purchase is so rewarding, because you’ve helped them to end up with a home they love.

Becoming the best agent and having the best agency in my area is what motivates me. I want our little boutique office to be a real challenger to the other companies in our city, and that’s what really drives me. Competition!

What attracted you to the One Agency business model?
I loved the brand. I loved the fact that we keep 100% of our fees. I love the support we give each other and being surrounded by other agents who are doing the same thing as me, running their own business!

How is the brand working for you?
Excellent!  It totally backs up what we stand for, quality, simplicity and service.

Would you recommend One Agency to others?
Definitely! If you are sick of giving away a large slice of your hard earned commission to a brand that does nothing for you, then One Agency is definitely for you. It is so rewarding to put a deal together and then retain 100% of your fees.

What do you think keeps your prospective vendors awake at night when they are considering listing their property?
Will they get the price they want and how much are they going to have to pay an agent. I think people worry about the state of the market and if it’s a good time to sell or not. They sometimes think that if they wait the market will get better but they mightwait anywhere from 2-5 years before things pick up. At the end of the day if you are buying and selling in the same market it all balances out. If you have to take less for your home, then the home that you are buying will come down in price also, same as in a booming market – if you get more you will pay more too!