Key messages from the Business of Real Estate Conference 2023

Last week, I attended the Business of Real Estate conference on the Gold Coast. It was one of the largest attendances for the conference and it was the first time we had the top three franchise group heads on a panel. Dan White from Ray White, Mike Green from Harcourts and Christine Mikhal from L J Hooker. 

Collectively they have significant market and agency share across the country. Here were my key takeaways. 

1. The business will never outperform the leader and the success of a business is often a reflection of the leadership. 
2. As Leaders, we need to be very clear on our purpose and at the same time stay connected to our teams, the market and communities. Added to this, staying relevant and supporting our front-line leaders is also critical. 
3. We need to ensure that we are very clear on what we want to achieve, what the strategies are and ensure it is aspirational so people can connect with it. The values cannot be something that just sits on a wall, the owner has to walk the talk and live the values themselves. 
4. As a Leader you need to understand where you are on your journey. Leadership isn’t a skill set we are born with, it is a skill set we need to work on constantly. 

Added to the above was the conversation around technology, which must be an enabler for us to become more productive and efficient. However what we are experiencing is a larger number of new tech companies emerging solving a niche issue and adding to our overall business costs. 

It was suggested that we need more integrated products that provide high levels of efficiency and productivity. 

An important viewpoint that was shared that I agree with, is that to date we have been a fragmented industry and collaboration was the key to our future.

 I believe that as Leaders we need to work together and collaborate and leave the competition to our agents in the field. If we don’t do this, then we are at risk for further fragmentation and disruption from external parties. 

Lastly each of the leaders were asked their best leadership advice. 

• Dan White: – Don’t need to be the guru, have knowledge of everything to step into leadership 
• Mike Green:- If it’s to be then it is up to me 
• Christine Mikel:- Treat everyone how you would like to be treated. 

Congratulations to the Business of Real Estate team, it was a great few days, and a special shout out to Michael Sheargold for an outstanding two days