Ray White’s biggest launch ever

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania kicked off 2023 with its biggest training session ever with 1,000 members coming together in Melbourne to be inspired to launch the year ahead.

The leading group now proudly has the largest market share in Victoria, last year hitting 10 per cent. The group now proudly sells one in 10 houses across the market.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens said: “We are the competition creators. During December we listed one in three auctions across Victoria, a phenomenal achievement. Our growth is driven by our ambitious leaders and the auction focus of our group dates back 120 years, as we know it yields the best possible result for our vendors.”

Ray White manages 55,000 rental properties for their landlords across Victoria and Tasmania, a significant increase over the previous year. “This is something to be very proud of given the shrinking rental pool nationally,” Mr Dullens said.

Ray White is in the process of launching its international referral program, which has piloted in Victoria and Tasmania, and has so far resulted in 700 new leads opportunities across sales and property management.

“This is a huge opportunity for us. No other group can mimic our size or scale, and the infrastructure we have built around this is world class. We are getting referrals from Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and even Indonesia as it’s the scale of our group that provides us so much opportunity collectively, a unique opportunity for us,” Mr Dullens said.

Fourth generation leader of the 121 year old family owned and led business, Dan White (pictured above) told the members that the best was yet to come.

“Our 120th milestone last year was an important year, and our market share rose by almost one percent across Australia to reach nearly 12 percent nationally. We have never been in a stronger position. We are the market leader but every year we start again from scratch and seek to get better,” Mr White said.

“It’s a great industry but it can be a cruel industry and we can never become complacent about where we sit.

“Use us as a springboard, but we need you to push us to go higher and get better. We are trying to be fantastic in these key areas and this year has plenty of opportunities for us if we continue to provide value to our clients.”

Managing Director Dan White said the family experience was something the group must never lose sight of, as it’s what keeps the group together.

“We learn best when we are together, we know that, as opposed to being lectured to, and the support within the group is something I encourage all the new people to use and lean on us.”

Ray White Chief Strategy Officer (Real Estate) Mark McLeod (pictured) reminded all the members that stock management and appraisals were the keys to success.

“Stop using the market as an excuse for poor performance. The most powerful force in a real estate business is the unwavering force of average. It is easy to find excuses to not do the work. Use Ray White electronic stockboards, use the tools, come to training, and if you don’t, the chance of you navigating this market is zero,” he said.

In December last year 30 offices cleared at above 80 percent, again showing that success is at all of our fingertips.

“Follow the process and I believe 2023 can be our best year. Do the work, check the vendor reports before they get sent, and give your agents’ game plans for each property,” Mr McLeod said.

“Reach out if this makes you uncomfortable as that’s what we are here for – we have significant resources to assist you achieve brilliant results for your customers.”

“Professionals do what we must, not what we feel like it.”

Keynote speaker and former AFL player, Mark McKeon (pictured above) captivated the 1,000-strong crowd as an expert in time creation.

He spent 18 years in the AFL first as a player, then as a high performance coach, including five years with the Victorian State of Origin Team and he was a recent inductee into the Collingwood Hall of Fame.

His Go Zone program showed members how they can achieve twice as much in half the time.

He spoke about how reluctance to change and inability to manage stress held us back.

“I see a lot of people who achieve a level of success but can’t maintain it,” Mr McKeon said.

“The market may have changed, but there’s still significant opportunity out there. It’s about having the skills and mindset to take advantage of those opportunities.

“Always go to bed tired, don’t go to bed stressed. If you go to bed stressed, you’re not going to sleep well and that doesn’t facilitate peak performance.

“We are much more reluctant to change than we think we are. When people resist change, it slows you down and it hinders your performance.”

Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee (pictured above) said Australia will likely avoid a recession this year.

“We probably have another six months of uncertainty but after June things may fire up again as economic growth is not looking too bad,” she told the launch event in Melbourne.

“Australia has a good track record of not going into recession, and we are now at a 50 year unemployment low where the number of job vacancies has been equal to the number of unemployed people.

“But we do have a big problem with inflation, it’s at a 30 year high and inflation is largely out of our control and the Reserve Bank of Australia is trying to get people to stop spending and slow down the economy.

“House prices have come back, building approvals have fallen and retail trade figures have now dipped for the first time in 12 months.

“I think we’ll see a rate hike next week, with maybe 1-2 more and things will calm by June.”

Ray White Head of Performance and Recognition, Bianca Denham (pictured above), shared with the members the traits of the group’s top elite agents.

“Top agents run their business like a business and then they invest in your business,” said Ms Denham, who is in her 12th year with Ray White after starting in sales and now running the highly regarded national high performance team.

“Understand where time is best spent. Check your tasks lists, and ask yourself are these tasks proactive or reactive. Our best people also build teams. And finally there’s no finish line.”

Ray White Victoria Chief Auctioneer Jeremy Tyrell (pictured above) hosted a live listing presentation with big hitters (pictured below) Daniel Diamantopoulos (Craigieburn), Kevin Chokshi (Cheltenham) and Debbie Brettoner (Berwick)

Ahead of PMC, Ray White’s national property management conference in March in the Hunter Valley headlined by Commando Steve, property managers from around Victoria gathered for this kickstart event.

During a panel discussion, Dilan Karakas of Ray White Dandenong, Ray White Southbank’s Alex Mees, Paige Jones from Ray White Pakenham and Ray White Mildura’s Rachael Brown said better communication and being proactive were key traits of great property managers.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Property Management BDE Alana Bess (pictured above) spoke about the group’s new 12-month Property Management Wellness Series. The series is aimed at supporting Ray White’s property management teams to avoid burnout in an industry that has seen an unprecedented level of resignations over the past three years.

“I want to talk about your window of tolerance. We get pushed outside of this window in our role constantly and that’s when you get stressed,” Ms Bess said.

“It can be something that tips us over the edge and we don’t react the way we want to. But you can widen your window by using tools to make a change. There should be no stigma around us not being able to control our stress levels. By talking about these things, we can all collectively be so much better off.”