October 21, 2024 • 22 mins
Let's uncover the hidden potential of a high-volume real estate market, and reveal the strategies that separate successful agents from the rest.
- We dissect the importance of focusing on controllable elements like client relationships and product knowledge.
- Discover how effective pricing conversations and clear expectations can transform challenges into opportunities, even when selling times stretch longer than usual.
- We discuss the necessity of using market data and buyer feedback to inform vendors, highlighting how regular updates can keep all parties aligned and ready to act.
Whether you're navigating seller expectations or managing buyer relationships, we offer insights to help you master this shifting market.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tom Panos (00:03):
Million Dollar Agent, the podcast.
Another episode Joining me isTroy Malcolm, john McGrath and
myself, tom Panos, and todaywe're talking about narrowing
the gap, because in certainmarkets there is a gap.
But please not for one momentthink to yourself oh, this is an
(00:24):
atrocious market.
It's actually a great marketbecause it's got volume, and
volume markets benefit goodagents, because good agents know
what to do with volume, theyknow the conversations, they're
dealmakers, they're not ordertakers.
And what I want to talk abouttoday, gentlemen, is what should
the agents do in October,november is what should the
(00:47):
agents do in October, novemberand December knowing that we've
got more stock than normal,knowing that, hey, maybe it's
getting a little bit morefavouring the buyer than the
seller in certain markets?
Days on market certainlyindicate that it is taking a bit
longer to do a deal, but I'vegot to tell you the results are
still refreshing, they're goodand it's a good market.
So what are both your views onthe current market?
Troy Malcolm (01:16):
Yeah, I was just going to say Tom, before we
recorded.
We started talking about themarket and what we're seeing,
and there really is a bit of atale of a multi-city approach
and, to be honest, I'm seeingdifferent markets perform
outstandingly well out there,with really high levels of
activity and bidding and strongresults, well and truly over
owners' expectations.
(01:36):
Then I'm seeing other markets aswell where it is quite
challenging.
The auctions are drawn out,they're longer, the bids that
are open in the auctions areslower, the buyer activity seems
to be at a lower level ofregistrations to what we saw
three, four months ago.
So it really is a hard marketin many ways to pick what you're
going to see and each market ispresenting something like a
micro market and it's reallyinteresting to see the agents
(01:59):
that are being most successfulare really doubling down on what
we're going to talk about today, which is getting closer to
their clients, both buyers andsellers, to really create
momentum, and I think that's thekey.
Those that are listening andcontrolling everything they can
internally, as opposed toworrying about the external
factors, are seeing some reallygreat results out there.
Tom Panos (02:18):
Yeah, John, do you want to add anything on that?
Extend on that.
John McGrath (02:22):
Yeah, look, I think the market is absolutely
brilliant.
I think that we've been throughan unreal period which was
unsustainable, and anyone thatthought this was going to be the
mark of threats our eyes werekidding themselves.
Auditakers were sellingproperties and looking like
superheroes.
I think now this is a greatmarket.
(02:43):
Just the reality is you've gotto work harder.
But let's look at this Tommy,the average agent listening here
in most parts of Australiathey're getting a fee of $20,000
to $30,000 thereabouts per sale.
I mean, that's kind of like athird of the whole average
(03:03):
annual salary for mostAustralians.
So three sales and you'reprobably at the average wage.
I mean, this is just still anextraordinary opportunity.
And it was Ryan Serhant told me.
I think I read something andI'll butcher it, but it said
something like the minute Istopped thinking about the
market, it's never been badsince.
Or the minute I start focusingon the market, it's never been
bad since.
(03:24):
I think everyone's got to stopthis talk about the market, stop
pretending that it's a badmarket.
It's a great market.
And okay, what's the bad bit?
Oh, it's taking you 28 days tosell a property.
Boo hoo, boo hoo.
This is a great market.
So I think it comes back tocontrolling the controllables,
the agents that are finding it abad market.
I'll tell you why.
Number one controllables theagents that are finding it a bad
(03:45):
market.
I'll tell you why.
Number one they're not handlingprice.
I'll go back to before one.
They may not know exactly whatthe market is today.
They might still be quotingcomparables that are four, five,
six months old, which may beless relevant today than when
they sold.
So firstly is you have to beclose, super close, to every
transaction, to every buyerfeedback, more close than before
(04:06):
Before.
You could kind of overquote abit by being a bit slack or
complacent or overly optimistic,and the market would probably
cover your sins.
So first is you've got to havethe right product knowledge.
Secondly, you've got to be ableto have the conversation with a
vendor that allows you to getthe listing without sounding
negative, tommy, but it alsodoesn't paint yourself into a
corner.
(04:26):
You know this whole thing ofyou know whoever tells the
biggest lie about what you mightget or should get for the
property is going to get thelisting.
That's just a stupid game thatthis industry should stop
playing.
So second thing is you have tobe great at handling
conversation on price and I'msaying great nine out of 10,
quality.
And I've heard, you know youtalk to vendors, Tom, at
(04:49):
auctions and before and so forth, you know, and someone needs to
practice the sort of dialoguethat you use and we use.
So that's the next thing.
Third thing I had lunch withPeter Chauncey today.
It was a pleasure.
He talks about the importanceof the set to sell meeting and
he says exactly what you justsaid, tommy.
You know, tom, here's the deal.
You know, we think that youknow, I know you're looking for
(05:10):
$5 million thereabouts.
You know, and I think that youknow, we're not far out of that.
In terms of ballpark, we shouldbe getting about 20 to 25
people through our openingweekend.
If we fall short of those sortof numbers, it's going to be of
concern to me, because everyother property around this price
range, that's the sort ofactivity we've been getting at
(05:30):
the right price quote.
So I think you've got to beable to have a set to sell
meeting that positions it withthe vendors so they understand
that there is a likelihood thatyou're going to come to them for
a price adjustment if theactivity is not as good.
Third thing you've got to besuper close to buyers.
Now, troy, I don't think manyagents are anywhere near close
(05:51):
enough to buyers that theyshould be.
A lot of agents come through.
You're interested?
No, okay, all right, well, letus know what you want, we'll
give you a call.
But they never do.
You've got to be having areally good business
conversation with a buyer, tom.
What did you think about it?
What are you comparing it withIf you were me?
What would you be comparing itwith If you were the vendor?
Where do you see the value lie?
(06:11):
For you?
It's not of interest, okay, butI still really love your
feedback on where it might be.
What have you seen off marketor on market that's comparable
to it?
And you've got to get reallyclose and you've got to ask them
some qualifying questions thatwill give you the feedback you
want, because buyers willactually be quite honest and
open, especially if they're notparticularly interested in
(06:32):
buying it.
They'll be totally honest andopen with you.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
And the last piece of the puzzle, troy, is unfiltered, frequent,
fact-based communication withyour seller once the property
starts.
I think I might have evenmentioned last week Troy on our
webinar.
It could have been on MDAPodcasts where I was talking to
(06:52):
an agent he's a very good agent,by the way and I said what's
the feedback been?
He said oh, x to Y.
I said how's the vendorresponded he said I haven't told
them yet.
I've had four or five through.
I was going to wait until thefirst open on Saturday.
I said why would you wait?
Like, after the first buyercomes through, you tell them the
feedback.
Second buyer you give them thefeedback.
Third, fourth, fifth buyer.
You don't wait and batch thisup into some sort of weekly
(07:16):
roundup.
You actually tell them asthings happen what the exact
comments and feedback andcomparisons are being made by
the buyers.
So there's four or five thingsLearn how to know your product
knowledge.
Learn how to handle theconversation at the listing.
Set to sell.
Set them up for expectations onwhat may or may not happen and
what you're going to do.
(07:36):
Get mega close to your buyerslike so close, like never before
, really really critical, andthen just give people lots and
lots of communication.
That's not designed to bringdown their expectations.
It's designed to align themwith where the market is based
on the feedback you're getting.
(07:57):
So the intent should never beto, you know, sort of bring the
vendor down so it's easier tosell.
The intent should be the vendordeserves to know the truth
about what people are sayingabout their property.
That's my Troy, that's mylittle formula is you know, you
and I do a lot of coachingtogether.
That's kind of where I startfrom.
It's the old Rob Dyrdek machinemindset that if you do one, two
(08:18):
, three, four, five things inthe process and then you will
get the right outcome on theother side of the machine, but
you've got to put the rightingredients in to bake the cake.
Troy Malcolm (08:29):
John, do you think that's one of the biggest
challenges that our agents faceis not going deep enough in
those meetings to understand,first of all, their client, the
vendor's needs in regards towhat they're trying to achieve
in the sale, but, second of all,the buyers actually really
understanding their requirementsfor them to move in the home.
Do you think we go deep enoughin those meetings when we're
talking and asking for feedback,or do you think there's still a
(08:49):
lot of agents that are justmaking calls to make the call,
to see there's interest and thenmove on to the next one with
OFI?
John McGrath (08:55):
The last one, no doubt not nearly deep enough.
This industry and a black beltagent is all about process.
It's about here's the process.
Here are the conversations.
You have to have them.
You don't miss any of them.
Here's what you say, and it's aprocess-driven industry.
If you learn that process andstick to it all the way along,
(09:16):
you're going to be earning sevenfigures and more going forward.
The number of agents that aresort of writing a million
dollars and I'm somewhatastounded, but I just look at
their process is normally verygood.
Sometimes they don't appear tobe that talented when you meet
them, but then you actuallylisten to the process they
follow and you say, aha, I knowwhy you're doing well.
So yeah, teresi, I think it'sabout getting closer and
(09:38):
following.
I mean set to sell.
Meeting is easy to have, butit's easier not to have.
So a lot of people list it andvirtually I'll pop into the
photos and I'll see you afterthe first open.
You know you actually have tosit down and explain what are
the expectations, what mayhappen, what may not happen.
Here's how I think we shouldrespond.
May happen, what may not happen.
Here's how I think we shouldrespond, and you need to start
that conversation right up frontand as the information comes to
(10:01):
hand.
Don't save it up, don't collectit all for some one weekly
meeting.
Speak to the vendors everysingle time you have an
inspection or a piece offeedback that is relevant for
them, and I think if you followthat process, tom, you're going
to get a fantastic result almostevery time.
Our clearance rates at themoment are 61% You've been
(10:21):
saying about the same and thenif you added in what sells in
the next fortnight, that'sprobably another 10 or 15%, so
we're probably 75, 80% ofproperties are selling within
six weeks.
Anyone that says that's a badmarket they're crazy.
I mean, that's one of theworld's best, maybe the world's
best market, you know, as we sithere.
(10:41):
So I think people have got toget their heads adjusted to the
fact that this is not a badmarket, not a soft market, not a
tough market.
This is a great market foragents that know how to handle
it.
Tom Panos (10:56):
I'd love to spend one or two minutes because I put
down.
I don't have it with me butI'll remember it.
I asked Sam Rogopoulos.
I asked Ethan he, who'scongratulations he's joined
McGrath in Clayton, greatoperator.
I asked a heap of people thatwrite 2 million plus.
(11:17):
Describe your seller servicingvendor management process.
I was in Melbourne last weekand I jotted it down.
Let me tell you it was allpretty much the same.
Here's the process.
Process number one there's ameeting held before they launch,
but after it's been listed, tolet them know this is what
people have said between thelist and launch period, because
(11:40):
you might have to look at priceor presentation before the
launch.
So they do that.
The second thing is they allseem to call their buyers three
days before the date of theauction and they ask all their
buyers what the buyer thinks thereserve should be.
And then it's a straight outquestion.
I'm seeing my owner and settingthe reserve.
(12:02):
Tonight You've come back twotimes.
I'd like to give them what youthink the reserve should be and
then, without a filter, they gooff and they give that vendor.
This is what this person said.
This is what this person said.
The next part of the process isthat they try.
If it's not an actual offer,it's an opinion on value.
(12:23):
They give one every week to anauction property, every week a
number saying this is the numberthat's being scattered around
by the high quality buyers.
And if there is no high qualitybuyers, it's buyers that have
said, based on what they've seenin the market, this should sell
(12:43):
for this price.
They have a written report,they have a WhatsApp group.
No question about that as well.
We're just giving theminstantaneous.
But the most important thing andyou touched on it very early,
john their listing presentationdoes not have a handcuff to lock
that agent.
In that.
I think your house is worth 2million.
(13:04):
We will get you 2 million.
There's nothing to worry about.
They don't do that.
They have a very flexiblepricing tiptoe approach, which
is we don't have buyer intel, wewill have buyer intel.
We have comparable sales infoat the moment.
So we need both thoseinformation sources by the time
(13:24):
we come to auction day of itsprivate treaty, when we're
trying to work out whether weaccept a figure.
So it's not I wouldn't call ita 700-page manual that you need
to get from the McDonald'sTraining Academy for vendor
management.
It's a set of processes that Ithink anyone can follow, on the
basis that they're not dishonestat the time of listing.
(13:48):
Because if you're dishonest orif you use language that
actually gives people certainty,my house is worth $2 million.
None of that stuff's going towork because the vendor's going
to say but you came in here andyou said you'd get this figure.
John McGrath (14:03):
Yeah, you told me.
No, it's 100% right.
I think that the gun agentshave good process, have candid,
authentic conversations based onfacts, and I think that you
know whether you want to call ita set-to-sell meeting, an
expectations meeting, a buyerfeedback meeting.
But you know, gone are the dayswhere you launch it and then
(14:24):
you see how things go and thenyou have a vendor pre-auction
reserve meeting.
You days have gone.
They were the order-taking days.
You actually now have to beevery step of the way updating
that.
Now.
Vendors are not silly.
They're hearing, watching,they're reading auction
clearance rates, they'rewatching and listening to other
people about what's happening inthe market.
(14:44):
Vendors know in many marketsthe prices have come back 5%, 6%
, 7%, 8% Not every market.
Tom Panos (14:52):
John, I actually it's funny.
I said to someone this morningI think vendors in 2024 were a
lot smarter than the ones I wasdealing in 1994, because I think
their mobile phone hassomething flying at it every 10
minutes.
They know what's going on.
I actually had a vendor onSaturday.
(15:12):
I wish I taped it.
He said listen, it's 30 grandshort.
And then he looked at hispartner, his wife, his partner,
and said you know what?
It's 30 short, but I reckonwe'll probably end up getting
something that we want to get.
That owner that we're going tobuy from is probably going to
sell for 50, 100 lower, so we'reprobably better off doing the
(15:32):
deal now.
He goes yeah, just sell it.
This is an actual vendor.
I mean you could have actuallythought an agent would have
thought that approach to get thevendor.
This was the actual vendorsaying I'll sell for 30 less but
I'll probably buy for 100 less.
I'm better off trading in thismarket than in a booming market.
John McGrath (15:49):
Yeah, no, that's definitely the case.
So I think, Troy, it's allabout process, process, process,
honest, well-researched,hyper-local knowledge.
If you do that and you followthe four steps, the five steps,
whatever you want to develop asyour sales playbook steps, the
five steps, whatever you want todevelop as your sales playbook,
(16:09):
you're going to find thismarket improves rapidly.
A lot of the agents that sayit's a tough market, they're not
doing the heavy lifting, thehard yards, they're not doing
the grind to actually make it agreat market.
But I can guarantee you it is agreat market.
Tom Panos (16:21):
I can tell you, troy, you know Tanay at Werribee.
I'm not sure whether he stilldoes it, but I knew he did it
before.
He was doing a vendor report onSaturday afternoon or Saturday
night by the time, and also amidweek vendor.
He was doing two vendor reports.
Because he said you can'tover-service a vendor.
(16:45):
If you think about it, it'sreally hard to do an
over-servicing of a vendor, mostvendors I mean I'm sure that
there's the occasional CEO, verybusy person that will say just
send me a text or what have you.
The majority of vendors willwant to hear everything, and
frequently and in depth.
John McGrath (17:05):
Yeah, yeah, no, I agree.
I'm not sure if he's doing that, but you know whether it's what
Armit's doing having Zoommeetings followed up with
written reports or what Tanae'sdoing the best agents in the
country.
They have a disciplined processto ensure that all the relevant
information goes to the vendor.
(17:25):
And the reason that the writtenreport works so well is it
doesn't allow people to edit outwhat they want to hear.
Often, when you have aconversation, they'll hear the
good bits and anything whichmight have been slightly
critical or factual that wasn'twhat they wanted to hear.
They sometimes miss that.
So the written report justreinforces everything that
you've heard about the property.
Tom Panos (17:45):
Troy, can I ask you off air?
There are a few pieces ofinformation which I don't think
you've covered on air which Ithink is worth talking about.
It was you're telling me thebest agents you're dealing with
there are getting obsessive withworking with buyers.
They are spending long periodsof time and they've got a
(18:06):
minimum number of hot buyers atany one time and you're saying
they're calling them, they'remeeting them, the speed of
getting back to them after theirinspections Tell me more about
that.
Troy Malcolm (18:19):
Yeah, so I think it started with.
I can't remember who said it inour group, but someone said if
a buyer is a genuine buyer rightnow, they want to commit and
they want to buy.
So work with the buyers thatwant to buy and it's kind of
sounds obvious.
But you know, a lot of our mostsuccessful agents are out there
and they're working with them.
They're calling them in andthey're doing buy meetings in
the office to find out exactcircumstances and requirements
(18:40):
that they're looking for.
They're taking them online andsaying, right out, of all the
properties that are onrealestateanddomaincom, which
ones have you gone through,which ones have you liked, which
ones have you actually bid onor expressed interest in and
missed out on?
And so they're getting to thatlevel of detail.
And then they're making surethat they're creating a VIP open
list and they're getting thosebuyers that have actively been
(19:01):
in the market, that we've seenat multiple open for inspections
or auctions, that have missedout on properties.
They're getting them througheither at the photography
appointment, the SWOTappointment, or straight after
for a private VIP showing,because they know the speed that
those buyers can work at isnormally a little bit faster
than the others that are justkind of starting the process,
and so it's not only themultiple conversations, it's two
(19:23):
to three, four times a week.
It's making sure that they'regoing through that level of
detail and getting really deepin the conversation what I was
saying earlier and they're evenencouraging.
Tom, I haven't done this for acouple of years.
I love doing it, but speakingto the top two qualified buyers
or who's perceived to be thestrongest buyers, pre-auction,
just to see if they need a handwith anything.
(19:44):
Now the vendor conversation,that happens all the time.
I speak to every owner in theweek leading up to the auction.
But it's actually now changinga little bit and I'm encouraging
a lot of my agents to let mespeak to the buyers as well.
Let me see if I can help them,because if they've got
confidence, if they've gotcomfort at the auction, they're
more likely to perform.
Tom Panos (20:04):
And I think in this market.
Well said, troy.
You see that happening on theSaturdays.
You can see that and I can tellyou right now.
When you leave an auction, thefirst phone call every real
estate agent should be makingwhile they're driving in the car
if they haven't actually had aquality conversation post
auction is the underbidder.
(20:25):
How hot is that buyer?
They were 60 seconds away frombuying that property and they
were an unconditional buyer.
They are the hottest buyer.
When you overlay emotion ofmissing out on a property and
what that creates, you'retalking about nothing more
(20:45):
important than connecting withthe underbidder of a property.
Stick to them like a stampsticks on an envelope.
Don't let that buyer go.
They are hot to trot.
Troy Malcolm (20:55):
It's the difference between a
relationship versus a contact.
A contact is just someonethat's in your phone or your
database that you send a coupleof emails to.
A relationship is someone thatyou genuinely want to help.
Tom Panos (21:06):
Well said, You've come up with some nuggets there.
Troisy Well done.
So, John.
Next week, what I'd love totalk about is what great agents
will be doing, because next weekit'll be pretty much the end of
October.
I want to talk about what anincredible November looks like
for a real estate agent.
(21:27):
What are the activities that aNovember agent is doing?
That might be different to aFebruary to October month,
Because you're taking intoaccount, you're probably going
to come across some vendors thatare going to turn around and
say we'll leave it till nextyear.
How do you handle those?
Do you list them now, launchthem in the new year?
(21:47):
Do you tell vendors at themoment that if you feel like
there's too much stock in yourarea, look, let's do it now, but
let's do a proper hard launchin the new year and end of year
summary calls.
You should be calling all yourpeople in November giving them
an update on what happened.
It's a good reason to callpeople, so let's call.
Next week will be what are youractivities for a great November
(22:12):
?
Good to see you, gentlemen.
John McGrath (22:13):
See you Tommy, see you Troy.
Thanks guys.
Tom Panos (22:16):
Happy days, see you everybody, see you Bye.
Million Dollar Agent, the podcast.
Another episode Joining me isTroy Malcolm, john McGrath and
myself, tom Panos, and todaywe're talking about narrowing
the gap, because in certainmarkets there is a gap.
But please not for one momentthink to yourself oh, this is an
(00:24):
atrocious market.
It's actually a great marketbecause it's got volume, and
volume markets benefit goodagents, because good agents know
what to do with volume, theyknow the conversations, they're
dealmakers, they're not ordertakers.
And what I want to talk abouttoday, gentlemen, is what should
the agents do in October,november is what should the
(00:47):
agents do in October, novemberand December knowing that we've
got more stock than normal,knowing that, hey, maybe it's
getting a little bit morefavouring the buyer than the
seller in certain markets?
Days on market certainlyindicate that it is taking a bit
longer to do a deal, but I'vegot to tell you the results are
still refreshing, they're goodand it's a good market.
So what are both your views onthe current market?
Troy Malcolm (01:16):
Yeah, I was just going to say Tom, before we
recorded.
We started talking about themarket and what we're seeing,
and there really is a bit of atale of a multi-city approach
and, to be honest, I'm seeingdifferent markets perform
outstandingly well out there,with really high levels of
activity and bidding and strongresults, well and truly over
owners' expectations.
(01:36):
Then I'm seeing other markets aswell where it is quite
challenging.
The auctions are drawn out,they're longer, the bids that
are open in the auctions areslower, the buyer activity seems
to be at a lower level ofregistrations to what we saw
three, four months ago.
So it really is a hard marketin many ways to pick what you're
going to see and each market ispresenting something like a
micro market and it's reallyinteresting to see the agents
(01:59):
that are being most successfulare really doubling down on what
we're going to talk about today, which is getting closer to
their clients, both buyers andsellers, to really create
momentum, and I think that's thekey.
Those that are listening andcontrolling everything they can
internally, as opposed toworrying about the external
factors, are seeing some reallygreat results out there.
Tom Panos (02:18):
Yeah, John, do you want to add anything on that?
Extend on that.
John McGrath (02:22):
Yeah, look, I think the market is absolutely
brilliant.
I think that we've been throughan unreal period which was
unsustainable, and anyone thatthought this was going to be the
mark of threats our eyes werekidding themselves.
Auditakers were sellingproperties and looking like
superheroes.
I think now this is a greatmarket.
(02:43):
Just the reality is you've gotto work harder.
But let's look at this Tommy,the average agent listening here
in most parts of Australiathey're getting a fee of $20,000
to $30,000 thereabouts per sale.
I mean, that's kind of like athird of the whole average
(03:03):
annual salary for mostAustralians.
So three sales and you'reprobably at the average wage.
I mean, this is just still anextraordinary opportunity.
And it was Ryan Serhant told me.
I think I read something andI'll butcher it, but it said
something like the minute Istopped thinking about the
market, it's never been badsince.
Or the minute I start focusingon the market, it's never been
bad since.
(03:24):
I think everyone's got to stopthis talk about the market, stop
pretending that it's a badmarket.
It's a great market.
And okay, what's the bad bit?
Oh, it's taking you 28 days tosell a property.
Boo hoo, boo hoo.
This is a great market.
So I think it comes back tocontrolling the controllables,
the agents that are finding it abad market.
I'll tell you why.
Number one controllables theagents that are finding it a bad
(03:45):
market.
I'll tell you why.
Number one they're not handlingprice.
I'll go back to before one.
They may not know exactly whatthe market is today.
They might still be quotingcomparables that are four, five,
six months old, which may beless relevant today than when
they sold.
So firstly is you have to beclose, super close, to every
transaction, to every buyerfeedback, more close than before
(04:06):
Before.
You could kind of overquote abit by being a bit slack or
complacent or overly optimistic,and the market would probably
cover your sins.
So first is you've got to havethe right product knowledge.
Secondly, you've got to be ableto have the conversation with a
vendor that allows you to getthe listing without sounding
negative, tommy, but it alsodoesn't paint yourself into a
corner.
(04:26):
You know this whole thing ofyou know whoever tells the
biggest lie about what you mightget or should get for the
property is going to get thelisting.
That's just a stupid game thatthis industry should stop
playing.
So second thing is you have tobe great at handling
conversation on price and I'msaying great nine out of 10,
quality.
And I've heard, you know youtalk to vendors, Tom, at
(04:49):
auctions and before and so forth, you know, and someone needs to
practice the sort of dialoguethat you use and we use.
So that's the next thing.
Third thing I had lunch withPeter Chauncey today.
It was a pleasure.
He talks about the importanceof the set to sell meeting and
he says exactly what you justsaid, tommy.
You know, tom, here's the deal.
You know, we think that youknow, I know you're looking for
(05:10):
$5 million thereabouts.
You know, and I think that youknow, we're not far out of that.
In terms of ballpark, we shouldbe getting about 20 to 25
people through our openingweekend.
If we fall short of those sortof numbers, it's going to be of
concern to me, because everyother property around this price
range, that's the sort ofactivity we've been getting at
(05:30):
the right price quote.
So I think you've got to beable to have a set to sell
meeting that positions it withthe vendors so they understand
that there is a likelihood thatyou're going to come to them for
a price adjustment if theactivity is not as good.
Third thing you've got to besuper close to buyers.
Now, troy, I don't think manyagents are anywhere near close
(05:51):
enough to buyers that theyshould be.
A lot of agents come through.
You're interested?
No, okay, all right, well, letus know what you want, we'll
give you a call.
But they never do.
You've got to be having areally good business
conversation with a buyer, tom.
What did you think about it?
What are you comparing it withIf you were me?
What would you be comparing itwith If you were the vendor?
Where do you see the value lie?
(06:11):
For you?
It's not of interest, okay, butI still really love your
feedback on where it might be.
What have you seen off marketor on market that's comparable
to it?
And you've got to get reallyclose and you've got to ask them
some qualifying questions thatwill give you the feedback you
want, because buyers willactually be quite honest and
open, especially if they're notparticularly interested in
(06:32):
buying it.
They'll be totally honest andopen with you.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
And the last piece of the puzzle, troy, is unfiltered, frequent,
fact-based communication withyour seller once the property
starts.
I think I might have evenmentioned last week Troy on our
webinar.
It could have been on MDAPodcasts where I was talking to
(06:52):
an agent he's a very good agent,by the way and I said what's
the feedback been?
He said oh, x to Y.
I said how's the vendorresponded he said I haven't told
them yet.
I've had four or five through.
I was going to wait until thefirst open on Saturday.
I said why would you wait?
Like, after the first buyercomes through, you tell them the
feedback.
Second buyer you give them thefeedback.
Third, fourth, fifth buyer.
You don't wait and batch thisup into some sort of weekly
(07:16):
roundup.
You actually tell them asthings happen what the exact
comments and feedback andcomparisons are being made by
the buyers.
So there's four or five thingsLearn how to know your product
knowledge.
Learn how to handle theconversation at the listing.
Set to sell.
Set them up for expectations onwhat may or may not happen and
what you're going to do.
(07:36):
Get mega close to your buyerslike so close, like never before
, really really critical, andthen just give people lots and
lots of communication.
That's not designed to bringdown their expectations.
It's designed to align themwith where the market is based
on the feedback you're getting.
(07:57):
So the intent should never beto, you know, sort of bring the
vendor down so it's easier tosell.
The intent should be the vendordeserves to know the truth
about what people are sayingabout their property.
That's my Troy, that's mylittle formula is you know, you
and I do a lot of coachingtogether.
That's kind of where I startfrom.
It's the old Rob Dyrdek machinemindset that if you do one, two
(08:18):
, three, four, five things inthe process and then you will
get the right outcome on theother side of the machine, but
you've got to put the rightingredients in to bake the cake.
Troy Malcolm (08:29):
John, do you think that's one of the biggest
challenges that our agents faceis not going deep enough in
those meetings to understand,first of all, their client, the
vendor's needs in regards towhat they're trying to achieve
in the sale, but, second of all,the buyers actually really
understanding their requirementsfor them to move in the home.
Do you think we go deep enoughin those meetings when we're
talking and asking for feedback,or do you think there's still a
(08:49):
lot of agents that are justmaking calls to make the call,
to see there's interest and thenmove on to the next one with
OFI?
John McGrath (08:55):
The last one, no doubt not nearly deep enough.
This industry and a black beltagent is all about process.
It's about here's the process.
Here are the conversations.
You have to have them.
You don't miss any of them.
Here's what you say, and it's aprocess-driven industry.
If you learn that process andstick to it all the way along,
(09:16):
you're going to be earning sevenfigures and more going forward.
The number of agents that aresort of writing a million
dollars and I'm somewhatastounded, but I just look at
their process is normally verygood.
Sometimes they don't appear tobe that talented when you meet
them, but then you actuallylisten to the process they
follow and you say, aha, I knowwhy you're doing well.
So yeah, teresi, I think it'sabout getting closer and
(09:38):
following.
I mean set to sell.
Meeting is easy to have, butit's easier not to have.
So a lot of people list it andvirtually I'll pop into the
photos and I'll see you afterthe first open.
You know you actually have tosit down and explain what are
the expectations, what mayhappen, what may not happen.
Here's how I think we shouldrespond.
May happen, what may not happen.
Here's how I think we shouldrespond, and you need to start
that conversation right up frontand as the information comes to
(10:01):
hand.
Don't save it up, don't collectit all for some one weekly
meeting.
Speak to the vendors everysingle time you have an
inspection or a piece offeedback that is relevant for
them, and I think if you followthat process, tom, you're going
to get a fantastic result almostevery time.
Our clearance rates at themoment are 61% You've been
(10:21):
saying about the same and thenif you added in what sells in
the next fortnight, that'sprobably another 10 or 15%, so
we're probably 75, 80% ofproperties are selling within
six weeks.
Anyone that says that's a badmarket they're crazy.
I mean, that's one of theworld's best, maybe the world's
best market, you know, as we sithere.
(10:41):
So I think people have got toget their heads adjusted to the
fact that this is not a badmarket, not a soft market, not a
tough market.
This is a great market foragents that know how to handle
it.
Tom Panos (10:56):
I'd love to spend one or two minutes because I put
down.
I don't have it with me butI'll remember it.
I asked Sam Rogopoulos.
I asked Ethan he, who'scongratulations he's joined
McGrath in Clayton, greatoperator.
I asked a heap of people thatwrite 2 million plus.
(11:17):
Describe your seller servicingvendor management process.
I was in Melbourne last weekand I jotted it down.
Let me tell you it was allpretty much the same.
Here's the process.
Process number one there's ameeting held before they launch,
but after it's been listed, tolet them know this is what
people have said between thelist and launch period, because
(11:40):
you might have to look at priceor presentation before the
launch.
So they do that.
The second thing is they allseem to call their buyers three
days before the date of theauction and they ask all their
buyers what the buyer thinks thereserve should be.
And then it's a straight outquestion.
I'm seeing my owner and settingthe reserve.
(12:02):
Tonight You've come back twotimes.
I'd like to give them what youthink the reserve should be and
then, without a filter, they gooff and they give that vendor.
This is what this person said.
This is what this person said.
The next part of the process isthat they try.
If it's not an actual offer,it's an opinion on value.
(12:23):
They give one every week to anauction property, every week a
number saying this is the numberthat's being scattered around
by the high quality buyers.
And if there is no high qualitybuyers, it's buyers that have
said, based on what they've seenin the market, this should sell
(12:43):
for this price.
They have a written report,they have a WhatsApp group.
No question about that as well.
We're just giving theminstantaneous.
But the most important thing andyou touched on it very early,
john their listing presentationdoes not have a handcuff to lock
that agent.
In that.
I think your house is worth 2million.
(13:04):
We will get you 2 million.
There's nothing to worry about.
They don't do that.
They have a very flexiblepricing tiptoe approach, which
is we don't have buyer intel, wewill have buyer intel.
We have comparable sales infoat the moment.
So we need both thoseinformation sources by the time
(13:24):
we come to auction day of itsprivate treaty, when we're
trying to work out whether weaccept a figure.
So it's not I wouldn't call ita 700-page manual that you need
to get from the McDonald'sTraining Academy for vendor
management.
It's a set of processes that Ithink anyone can follow, on the
basis that they're not dishonestat the time of listing.
(13:48):
Because if you're dishonest orif you use language that
actually gives people certainty,my house is worth $2 million.
None of that stuff's going towork because the vendor's going
to say but you came in here andyou said you'd get this figure.
John McGrath (14:03):
Yeah, you told me.
No, it's 100% right.
I think that the gun agentshave good process, have candid,
authentic conversations based onfacts, and I think that you
know whether you want to call ita set-to-sell meeting, an
expectations meeting, a buyerfeedback meeting.
But you know, gone are the dayswhere you launch it and then
(14:24):
you see how things go and thenyou have a vendor pre-auction
reserve meeting.
You days have gone.
They were the order-taking days.
You actually now have to beevery step of the way updating
that.
Now.
Vendors are not silly.
They're hearing, watching,they're reading auction
clearance rates, they'rewatching and listening to other
people about what's happening inthe market.
(14:44):
Vendors know in many marketsthe prices have come back 5%, 6%
, 7%, 8% Not every market.
Tom Panos (14:52):
John, I actually it's funny.
I said to someone this morningI think vendors in 2024 were a
lot smarter than the ones I wasdealing in 1994, because I think
their mobile phone hassomething flying at it every 10
minutes.
They know what's going on.
I actually had a vendor onSaturday.
(15:12):
I wish I taped it.
He said listen, it's 30 grandshort.
And then he looked at hispartner, his wife, his partner,
and said you know what?
It's 30 short, but I reckonwe'll probably end up getting
something that we want to get.
That owner that we're going tobuy from is probably going to
sell for 50, 100 lower, so we'reprobably better off doing the
(15:32):
deal now.
He goes yeah, just sell it.
This is an actual vendor.
I mean you could have actuallythought an agent would have
thought that approach to get thevendor.
This was the actual vendorsaying I'll sell for 30 less but
I'll probably buy for 100 less.
I'm better off trading in thismarket than in a booming market.
John McGrath (15:49):
Yeah, no, that's definitely the case.
So I think, Troy, it's allabout process, process, process,
honest, well-researched,hyper-local knowledge.
If you do that and you followthe four steps, the five steps,
whatever you want to develop asyour sales playbook steps, the
five steps, whatever you want todevelop as your sales playbook,
(16:09):
you're going to find thismarket improves rapidly.
A lot of the agents that sayit's a tough market, they're not
doing the heavy lifting, thehard yards, they're not doing
the grind to actually make it agreat market.
But I can guarantee you it is agreat market.
Tom Panos (16:21):
I can tell you, troy, you know Tanay at Werribee.
I'm not sure whether he stilldoes it, but I knew he did it
before.
He was doing a vendor report onSaturday afternoon or Saturday
night by the time, and also amidweek vendor.
He was doing two vendor reports.
Because he said you can'tover-service a vendor.
(16:45):
If you think about it, it'sreally hard to do an
over-servicing of a vendor, mostvendors I mean I'm sure that
there's the occasional CEO, verybusy person that will say just
send me a text or what have you.
The majority of vendors willwant to hear everything, and
frequently and in depth.
John McGrath (17:05):
Yeah, yeah, no, I agree.
I'm not sure if he's doing that, but you know whether it's what
Armit's doing having Zoommeetings followed up with
written reports or what Tanae'sdoing the best agents in the
country.
They have a disciplined processto ensure that all the relevant
information goes to the vendor.
(17:25):
And the reason that the writtenreport works so well is it
doesn't allow people to edit outwhat they want to hear.
Often, when you have aconversation, they'll hear the
good bits and anything whichmight have been slightly
critical or factual that wasn'twhat they wanted to hear.
They sometimes miss that.
So the written report justreinforces everything that
you've heard about the property.
Tom Panos (17:45):
Troy, can I ask you off air?
There are a few pieces ofinformation which I don't think
you've covered on air which Ithink is worth talking about.
It was you're telling me thebest agents you're dealing with
there are getting obsessive withworking with buyers.
They are spending long periodsof time and they've got a
(18:06):
minimum number of hot buyers atany one time and you're saying
they're calling them, they'remeeting them, the speed of
getting back to them after theirinspections Tell me more about
that.
Troy Malcolm (18:19):
Yeah, so I think it started with.
I can't remember who said it inour group, but someone said if
a buyer is a genuine buyer rightnow, they want to commit and
they want to buy.
So work with the buyers thatwant to buy and it's kind of
sounds obvious.
But you know, a lot of our mostsuccessful agents are out there
and they're working with them.
They're calling them in andthey're doing buy meetings in
the office to find out exactcircumstances and requirements
(18:40):
that they're looking for.
They're taking them online andsaying, right out, of all the
properties that are onrealestateanddomaincom, which
ones have you gone through,which ones have you liked, which
ones have you actually bid onor expressed interest in and
missed out on?
And so they're getting to thatlevel of detail.
And then they're making surethat they're creating a VIP open
list and they're getting thosebuyers that have actively been
(19:01):
in the market, that we've seenat multiple open for inspections
or auctions, that have missedout on properties.
They're getting them througheither at the photography
appointment, the SWOTappointment, or straight after
for a private VIP showing,because they know the speed that
those buyers can work at isnormally a little bit faster
than the others that are justkind of starting the process,
and so it's not only themultiple conversations, it's two
(19:23):
to three, four times a week.
It's making sure that they'regoing through that level of
detail and getting really deepin the conversation what I was
saying earlier and they're evenencouraging.
Tom, I haven't done this for acouple of years.
I love doing it, but speakingto the top two qualified buyers
or who's perceived to be thestrongest buyers, pre-auction,
just to see if they need a handwith anything.
(19:44):
Now the vendor conversation,that happens all the time.
I speak to every owner in theweek leading up to the auction.
But it's actually now changinga little bit and I'm encouraging
a lot of my agents to let mespeak to the buyers as well.
Let me see if I can help them,because if they've got
confidence, if they've gotcomfort at the auction, they're
more likely to perform.
Tom Panos (20:04):
And I think in this market.
Well said, troy.
You see that happening on theSaturdays.
You can see that and I can tellyou right now.
When you leave an auction, thefirst phone call every real
estate agent should be makingwhile they're driving in the car
if they haven't actually had aquality conversation post
auction is the underbidder.
(20:25):
How hot is that buyer?
They were 60 seconds away frombuying that property and they
were an unconditional buyer.
They are the hottest buyer.
When you overlay emotion ofmissing out on a property and
what that creates, you'retalking about nothing more
(20:45):
important than connecting withthe underbidder of a property.
Stick to them like a stampsticks on an envelope.
Don't let that buyer go.
They are hot to trot.
Troy Malcolm (20:55):
It's the difference between a
relationship versus a contact.
A contact is just someonethat's in your phone or your
database that you send a coupleof emails to.
A relationship is someone thatyou genuinely want to help.
Tom Panos (21:06):
Well said, You've come up with some nuggets there.
Troisy Well done.
So, John.
Next week, what I'd love totalk about is what great agents
will be doing, because next weekit'll be pretty much the end of
October.
I want to talk about what anincredible November looks like
for a real estate agent.
(21:27):
What are the activities that aNovember agent is doing?
That might be different to aFebruary to October month,
Because you're taking intoaccount, you're probably going
to come across some vendors thatare going to turn around and
say we'll leave it till nextyear.
How do you handle those?
Do you list them now, launchthem in the new year?
(21:47):
Do you tell vendors at themoment that if you feel like
there's too much stock in yourarea, look, let's do it now, but
let's do a proper hard launchin the new year and end of year
summary calls.
You should be calling all yourpeople in November giving them
an update on what happened.
It's a good reason to callpeople, so let's call.
Next week will be what are youractivities for a great November
(22:12):
?
Good to see you, gentlemen.
John McGrath (22:13):
See you Tommy, see you Troy.
Thanks guys.
Tom Panos (22:16):
Happy days, see you everybody, see you Bye.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.