Kylie Walsh, Founder & Director of REGROWTH, delivered a powerful session on “Profit and Performance Insights” at The Business of Real Estate conference. Walsh, drawing from her extensive experience as both a practitioner and a coach/consultant in the industry, shared invaluable insights on driving profit and performance in real estate businesses.
The Foundation: Building a Culture of Trust
Profit and performance are intrinsically linked to building a culture of unbreakable trust within an organisation. This trust fosters reliance, enabling teams to move faster, more efficiently, and achieve high performance.
Key Takeaways and Quick Wins
- Strategy and Planning: Have a clear purpose and strategy. Get curious about what’s possible and to create a simple plan that aligns all aspects of the business.
- Technology and Systems: Ensure your software is being used effectively and consider bringing in new tech solutions if needed. Find a trusted tech advisor who can help businesses stay ahead of the curve.
- Property Management: There is significant room for growth and improvement in property management. Focus on areas such as fee optimisation, rent reviews, and client experience.
- BDM Remuneration: Businesses should consider more creative ways to remunerate their BDMs, such as offering 50% splits for high performers and help retain top talent
- Data and Insights: Use data to drive decision-making. Ask questions about your numbers and use data to identify areas for improvement.
- Client Experience: Provide a personalised and differentiated client experience. Focus on surprising and delighting their clients at every touchpoint.
10 Key Learnings
These learnings provide a valuable framework for real estate professionals looking to drive profit and performance in their businesses.
- Focus on the commercials: Understand your break-even point, cost to manage, cost of sale, and benchmark against similar businesses.
- Dive deep into your database: Analyse your data to identify opportunities for improvement and to ensure you are maximising your profits.
- Review your property management fees: Ensure your management fees are covering your costs and that you are making a profit on each property.
- Get creative with BDM incentives: Set up BDM structures incentivising and retaining top talent.
- Ask questions about your numbers: Don’t just take the numbers at face value. Ask questions to understand the story behind the data.
- Track your key metrics: Identify the most important metrics for your business and track them regularly.
- Communicate your priorities: Ensure your team understands your priorities and what you are measuring.
- Speed up your recruitment processes: Connect quickly with potential hires and create a positive onboarding experience.
- Provide a differentiated client experience: Focus on surprising and delighting your clients at every touchpoint.
- Plan for the year ahead: Set goals, create a plan, and track your progress regularly.
Kylie Walsh’s presentation was a powerful reminder that profit and performance are achievable for any real estate business. By focusing on building a culture of trust, using data to drive decision-making, and providing a differentiated client experience, businesses can achieve sustainable growth and success.