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Ray White Group’s head of performance and recognition, Bianca Denham, sat down with the principal of Ray White Shellharbour City, Amanda Bonnici, to discuss her life, career and path to success, for Leading Ladies of Real Estate's webinar series, Journeys.
After years of trying her hand at several different jobs, including as a salesperson in a number of industries, Amanda found her calling in real estate.
“When I left school I went into hairdressing and about three years in I figured out that wasn’t for me,” Amanda said. “The talking part, yes, just not the hair stuff.”
“Then I left and went to Cairns; coming from a small town I wanted to get out and see the world. My mum had always encouraged me to go travelling while I was young - do everything before you have kids.”
“In Cairns, I worked in an ice creamery, in the clubs, on the boats, everywhere. I met a lot of backpackers and that gave me the inspiration to travel. I did a business course and then went over to London and worked in London for three years.”
“I worked at TGI Fridays and that organisation really put an emphasis on rankings and successful salesmanship to indicate and improve performance,” she said.
“You were always trying to upsell or convince the customer to get the best steak, the biggest drink.”
The competitiveness of this experience indicated to Amanda that she was suited to a sales environment.
After arriving back in Australia, she moved to Melbourne to be with her then partner, working at Thrifty Car Rental and Telstra in sales.
“It was more about the people - there was always someone to talk to and I enjoyed it,” she said.
Amanda got married and had kids, moving back to Shellharbour City when her oldest was four months old to be closer to her mother.
“I went to the Ray White office with the intention of asking for a part time job in property management, but walked away with a full time job in sales. It was technically part time, but everyone knows sales is a full time job regardless. Real estate is your lifestyle. I’m always aware of making sure I represent myself properly, even when I’m not working, because it’s such an integral part of your life.”
Amanda had to strike the balance between work and her family life, but it wasn’t always easy.
“Inde, my daughter, used to come to appointments with me even at nine months old. I had a lot of support from my parents and my best friend,” she said.
“You can still do a lot of things with your children - though you do miss a lot of things - but when they go to bed, you stay up and work late, you can move your time around to suit your circumstances.”
Initially in her career, Amanda used her people skills to win listings.
“I found that going to appraisals I wanted to tell people what they wanted to hear. I’m not a normal agent who follows the normal rules,” she said.
“I know you’re supposed to have tough conversations, but I think I was good at communicating kindly.”
Once she’d built a bond and trust with her vendors, it meant difficult conversations came more easily.
“My communication and customer service meant that when difficult decisions had to be made, they trusted my advice,” she said.
“I’m way better at having tough conversations now - but for a long time I was just telling people what they wanted to hear.”
Amanda’s approach to life and work changed dramatically when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.
“It was hard but here I am still going. There were days I couldn’t work, but I worked throughout my treatment,” she said.
“It kept me focussed and busy - I was incredibly lucky to be able to lean on my assistant Michelle. I was able to negotiate and I still went into the office and it helped make it easier and quicker to go through.”
Getting the diagnosis meant she understood the necessity of difficult conversations.
“I like to think I can read people,” Amanda said.
“They sent me for an ultrasound and biopsy and I was so certain I had it - I could read the nurse and tell by how she was acting that I had a bad diagnosis.”
“That’s how I learnt that you can deliver bad news and not be hated. The doctor was very matter of fact - this is how it’s all going to work, and I just did what he said and got on with it.”
She said she didn’t feel it was necessary to tell her clients as long as she was able to do her job well and keep them happy.
“When people sell a house it’s all about them; it’s their biggest asset,” she said.
“They don’t care about me; I see agents and they think talking means you’re a good agent. Really, it’s listening that makes a good agent. I don’t do a standard market appraisal, I just go in and talk to them. I find common ground, and I build on that.
“I can’t compete with someone who’s analytic; I have to use my rapport with the person and my ability to listen and make them feel heard. I went into one of my best years from being sick - I don’t know if that’s part of needing to work smarter, not harder.”
Getting a serious diagnosis made Amanda take stock of her time and work-life balance.
“I strike a better balance in my life now. I decided when I got cancer that I was going to start taking time off,” she said.
“Last year I had two months off, and did the same again this year - to go to Europe - and when I come back, I’m all refreshed. Even though you feel so bad for leaving, you realise your team will be alright. I’m used to being in control of it all - but you can let go and people can do things for you.”
Finally, Bianca asked Amanda what advice she would give to a young woman starting in real estate.
Amanda said she believes anyone can be successful in real estate - it’s simply about hard work.
“You can do it. Anyone can do it. If you want to put in the hard work. I think young people think either one way or the other - it’s easy and we drink coffee all day and it’s a glam life, or they don’t realise it’s hard work. But you have to put in the hours and the hard yards and I feel like no matter who you are, you can get success out of it, if you put in the hard work.”
Finally, Amanda believes that the key to success in real estate is being authentic and now trying to emulate anyone else who you look up to, because they’re always going to be different to you.
“Run your own race and work hard,” she said. “
“You’ve got to find who you are and be who you are, because in today’s world, people know when you’re genuine or not - they can see through that, so you just have to do the right thing. You’re only as good as your last sale.”
Listen on Spotify - here.
Watch on YouTube - here.
