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How does your usual day look?
It is crazy to look back at what a usual day used to look like. If you had asked me this question back at the beginning of February I would have told you my usual day consisted of office visits, corporate and onsite training, supporting all commercial network tech enquiries and creating presentations and reference material for our One System technologies. No day is ever the same!
But since everything has been turned on its head with COVID our whole operation mobilised quickly to a more digital structure which has resulted in my day now consumed with national training webinars and 1:1 digital assistance to office members. Many offices have chosen this isolation time to migrate from server to a cloudbase environment and tidy up their database structures. Staying connected with valued clients has never been more important.
How did you start your career in commercial real estate?
I might have left the performing arts behind but the property sector keeps me on my toes much more than when I was en pointe shoes. My real estate career started over six years ago in residential with the Ray White Aspley Group as a training and relationship manager responsible for training all staff on the One System technologies and maintaining the multi-office databases. Years later, I took an opportunity to join Ray White Commercial QLD and worked with them on improving their database and communication plans, which later extended to working with Commercial NSW. I brought together many staff members who were previously utilising a number of different and non-productive platforms onto the same digital solution. Soon after, I moved into the corporate commercial team and began improving the digital solutions with the entire Australasia commercial network, spanning 53 offices, and four countries. I have also assisted heavily in integrating the Virtual Assistance program across our commercial network.
What do you enjoy most about being in the digital team at the Ray White head office? What makes Ray White Commercial different?
The rich history. So many of us have a shed in the backyard. So did Ray White, back in the early 1900s. A shed in Crows Nest, Queensland, and that’s where the business started. This is a wonderful old-fashioned Australian family enterprise that is just so close to home, for all of us. How many other real estate agencies can relate to Australians on that level?
What is the main piece of advice you would give to commercial real estate principals at this time?
There are many things. Data is your big advantage. You own information that no one else has - on an unprecedented scale - and this data will not only bring the greatest benefit to your customers, but it will also achieve and exceed your own business goals. A digital presence is beyond important. Do you understand search engine optimisation? Are you harnessing your social channels? Is your website looking its best? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you’re missing opportunities.
There is always the opportunity to stand out from the digital noise. To sift through an overload of information, customers are turning to brands they can trust in an effort to find the most accurate and trustworthy advice. The corporate team has spent countless hours refining strategies to ensure Ray White Commercial not only stands out, but it also sets the pace among our industry and retains a position envied by our competitors. We are constantly monitoring digital trends to protect our position of leadership. Also, don’t neglect what you might think is “just housekeeping”. It might not be glamorous but solid and rigorous administration will free you up to ensure you can focus on innovation - and on out-of-the-box thinking.
Finally, be on top of the details, i.e. stock management, keeping on top of sales as they progress through, advertising costs as these will all impact their current and upcoming cash flow. And also probably core to all of the above is keeping in contact with clients.
What’s the one thing you know now, that you wish you knew when you first started out?
The need to look beyond the real estate sphere for innovation. Why can’t real estate kick digital innovation goals for other sectors? Property is the envy of other sectors for its exposure to so many people, across so many demographics, and for its enduring relevance to people’s lives, even during a pandemic. How many other fields have this type of market penetration?
What is your outlook for the digital space in commercial real estate over the next 12 months?
Using technology to ensure clients are able to immerse themselves in a property will be more important than ever. Digitally portraying an asset to a potential investor or new tenant while not visiting a site is key to promoting the property in the best interest of owners/vendors. 3D property previews and deeper requirements to understand and use it to provide meaningful research to clients.
Our outlook is to make sure our commercial agents are equipped with the most up to date, real time market data for access at any time across any device, to allow them to engage with buyers and sellers alike with real statistical and factual information about the climate as it is at that point in time. The future is always uncertain but with times rapidly changing, it is now more important than ever for agents to know exactly what's going on with the market right now, and to be able to provide that information to clients.
In short, real-time data is definitely a huge part. Having exact, up to date information available to make informed decisions about the market as it is currently is hugely powerful stuff
CONTACT
Email: mquick@raywhite.com
Phone number: 0420395592
