Back Again

Written by Acme Mag

Q: As I understand it, you previously left your own agency to join a franchise. How did that come about?

A: I wanted to expand. In my 20 years of real estate experience, I’d never been in a franchise and I wanted to extend. I thought “hey, marketing is something that franchises do” and from the outside, they seemingly did it well. I was into extension, I was into growth and I thought that would allow me to focus on other things.

Q: Would you consider being part of a franchise akin to being on ‘autopilot’, where you can focus on the selling rather than the admin and marketing?

A: That’s what they will tell you, the reality is, you must be controlling your own marketing because how do you appeal to a client in your demographic if the same thing is going out in affluent areas as is going into a working-class area? It’s going to hit differently, so you need something to be relevant for the consumer you’re dealing with in the marketplace that you’re working in.

Q: Now that you’re back to Coleman Estate Agents, is there anything you miss or appreciate about the franchise life?

A: As far as marketing is concerned, no. I’ve always had a real strong sense of what I like and what I don’t like in agent marketing.

Q: I get the sense that you’re very much an “I know what I want and I’m going to make it happen” sort of person…

A: 100%. I know what way we need to be, and being a sole director you’ve got to be that way, especially as most agencies run with 2 Directors minimum.

Q: What were the main elements that brought you back to Coleman Estate Agents?

A: There’s a line, I’m not sure who says it but “big doesn’t beat small, it beats slow” and I think if you’re the quickest to pivot and come up with new ways to serve the consumer and you execute well, you are always going to do well in any market. Franchises used to have a competitive advantage with marketing, especially print marketing but now, we go to Identity Marketing and we’ve received everything a franchise has and a little bit more because they know how to deploy it in a timely and relevant way. They really know how to be relevant to the consumer – so why pay the franchise fee? What are you really getting?

Q: It’s been over a year since the Coleman Estate Agents rebrand – have you seen a change in market perception and listings since the brand refresh?

A: Yes and it’s kind of funny, people weren’t really warm towards the previous franchise because it was too generalised, it was just a beige brand. It was ‘who are you appealing to?’ When we went back to Coleman, we stood for some principles and Steve at Identity Marketing, who I’ve known for a long time, helped us articulate those really well. The process was simple and very relevant to our consumers, and the feedback has been fantastic since we’ve had the rebrand. They know what we stand for and that’s what counts the most when separating any business – your market needs to know what you’re about.

Q: Part of your brand was the tagline ‘ahead of the curve’ – how was this aspect of the brand handled in 2020 due to the global pandemic and the all too familiar statement of ‘flattening the curve’?

A: We didn’t actually use it, you’ve got to be a bit sensitive about these things – it could have been a bit polarising. Instead, we pushed our innovation, to be more relevant to the consumer and the fact that people want their needs met. They’re panicked, they’re fearful in those Covid situations – there’s a heightened sense of emotions that’s for certain. People are still going to move but more importantly, buyers were going and saying “I just want to get out of Sydney! And be in lockdown on the central coast” so the market has really changed. When you consider a 2 bedroom apartment in Sydney equates to a house one back from the beach – you really go, where do I want to be?