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She knows the most important part of real estate is not the homes but the people inside them.
She joined Ray White Queensland chief agency officer Sally Patch (pictured right) for the latest episode of Ray White’s Journeys webinar series which shines a spotlight on women at the top of their game within the real estate industry.
Ms O’Dea is well known in Brisbane for her energy, enthusiasm and enviable personal branding as an agent but she actually found real estate quite late in her career.
“I always say it’s never too late to be great,” she said.
“At age 48 after finishing my career in fashion retail, I found myself alone at home, with my kids going to school and my husband going to work and thought what am I going to do? I didn’t want to waste my talents.”
After this realisation, she threw herself into her next stage in life and found herself in real estate. She became a sponge and soaked up as much knowledge as she could from experts in the industry.
“It was like learning a whole new language, I didn’t even know what an appraisal was but there were three things I learned that are vital to my success,” she said.
“I knew that I had to learn how to put to use the talents that I had and find a way to make myself stand out.
“I also realised that the people were more important than the building. When people come to me now and say they think they would be fantastic in real estate because they love buildings and architecture, I say, it’s about the people and building relationships.”
Coming from fashion to real estate, Ms O’Dea already knew the basics of marketing herself and the art of making a sale. She believes in presenting herself well, particularly with her clientele who she described as “very aspirational”, she said it’s also a great excuse to buy a new frock.
“What my retail career taught me was to never let a client go,” she said.
“One of my favourite things is an open home. I run them very professionally and when people come in I ask certain questions of them so I can create a platform for further conversation.
“I am always mindful of building relationships because that’s the foundation of our business.”
She adds to this a distinct personal brand which has been a part of her power and confidence, saying “fashion fades but style is eternal”. But another large part of Ms O’Dea’s personal branding is auctions.
“I’m the auction queen, it’s taken me many years to understand the method. I really studied the process until I became very confident and comfortable with auctions,” she said.
“I actually love selling a house without a price. I love people coming in and falling in love with something.
“Auctions will help you form relationships with your buyers and sellers and once you do that the sales will flow. It may not flow at auction, we’re going into a different market, but if you learn that relationship between the buyer, seller and yourself it will help you succeed.”
