Ray White powers ahead in Victoria and Tasmania

More than 1,000 Ray White members descended on the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for their 2024 Launch event which aimed to inspire everyone to level up.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Domenic Belfiore (pictured below with Dan White) shared the network’s ambition - to be number one or two in every suburb where there is a Ray White office.

“Growth comes from being uncomfortable so I urge you all to embrace this challenge,” Mr Belfiore said.

“We are passionate about auctions at Ray White and for good reason, 46 of our offices have 50 per cent or higher auction share in their business. There’s total transparency for buyers, they can see who they’re bidding against and we know it’s the best way to achieve top results for our clients.

“Success leaves clues and if auctions are an integral part of our best businesses then they should be in yours too. There should be no debate about the best method to sell real estate.

“We have all the best tools but they aren’t enough on their own, you have to invest the time into learning how to use them. By upskilling yourself, using the learnings from today and implementing them into your business, you can and will beat every single living room battle.

“There is no better place to build a long term career and hone your skills than at Ray White.”

Ray White managing director Dan White expressed immense enthusiasm about the opportunities in Victoria and Tasmania, highlighting the vast potential to grow market share.

With two decades of presence in Victoria, he said Ray White was poised for growth.

“The unwavering support from our family and corporate team is a testament to our commitment to your success. We invite you to challenge us as we embark on this journey together, aiming for collective prosperity,” Mr White said.

“Our mission is to equip you with unparalleled advantages. Reflecting on our past, where we lacked control over our technological future, we've pivoted to NurtureCloud which is now under our umbrella. We're dedicated to enhancing it further, ensuring you continue to benefit from unfair advantages. Embracing new technology can be daunting, but we encourage you to embrace it and provide feedback. Your input is invaluable as we strive for inclusivity and progress.

“While we acknowledge that real estate agents can't directly influence market variables like rents or house prices, our focus remains on expanding our market share. Increased participation in auctions and fostering healthy competition are integral to our strategy.

“As a 122-year-old group, introspection is key to our evolution. We're committed to honest self-assessment, continually striving for improvement. Embracing reality, even when it's tough, is how we ensure sustained growth and relevance in an ever-changing landscape. Together, let's forge ahead with optimism and determination."

Keynote speaker Simon Griffiths (pictured above) co-founded toilet paper company Who Gives A Crap after realising that investing in building toilets had a massive effect globally.

In July 2012, Simon, Jehan and Danny launched Who Gives A Crap with a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo. Simon sat on a toilet in a draughty warehouse and refused to move until they had raised enough pre-orders to start production. Some 50 hours and one cold bottom later, they'd raised over $50,000.

The toilet paper company donates half of all profits to building toilets in the developing world. His team has since grown from one person to 270 employees spread across multiple countries.

“When telling our success stories, we often hit on the high points but the lessons we’ve learned have been in between those moments,” Mr Griffiths said.

“One lesson, the very first one we learned was that everyone loves puppies. We started incorporating that into our marketing and it produced some of the best social media and email marketing campaigns we’ve done.

“Some other important lessons we’ve learned is that doing good and being human is good for business. What we’ve found over the years is that the best way to build loyalty in our customers is to do good and have a positive social and environmental impact. Doing great is also great for culture, retention and recruitment.”

Award-winning sales executive Brandon Pilgrim (pictured above) of Ray White Norwood in Adelaide’s affluent blue chip area sat down with Ray White head of performance and recognition Bianca Denham and shared some practical tips and insights into his sales process.

Mr Pilgrim has established a stellar reputation with both buyers and sellers as a sincere and dedicated agent who consistently achieves excellent results.

At the heart of his approach to real estate is a commitment to open communication along with values of honesty and transparency.

NurtureCloud general manager Courtney Martin (pictured above) spoke about all the updates in the prop tech tool that is changing the face of the real estate industry.

The leading agency group has ambitions for NurtureCloud to become a complete operating system for its network.

NurtureCloud uses propensity modelling, artificial intelligence and machine learning to help agents generate leads and improve the overall performance of all real estate businesses.

“The simplification of agent tasks coupled with lead enrichment is a game changer,” she said.

Ray White Head of Performance and Recognition Bianca Denham (pictured above) talked about her life before real estate when she was the lead singer in the band Hansom Pilot in London.

“I gave it a red hot crack but it didn't matter how hard we worked. Trying to pursue a career in the arts can be soul destroying. We were always just about to make it but we never made it and after 10 years I had to go home at the age of 32. I decided on a career in real estate. I went to a Ray White careers night and I loved that real estate was a repeatable process,” she said.

“Motivation is fantastic, it will get you started, it’s the ignition but you need discipline and structure to grow. Structure takes time to set up but it will give you a framework.

“What is our core product? It’s trust and relationships. You can destroy trust if you are inconsistent.

“Our pain point is often capacity. Real estate agents’ build relationships and complete lots of tasks. That is what we do.

“If you don't address capacity you will hit a platform. In this phase, you assess what needs to happen and who needs to do it, so define your team’s roles and responsibilities.”

Ms Denham said the average agent who had been in the real estate industry for five years was in decline. “After five years they often haven’t addressed the responsibility of capacity. So you have to love tasks in this role.”