Thought Leaders – Real Estate Re-imagined (formerly The Elevate Podcast) High volume sales: AREAs winner Michelle Stephens on high-volume sales, how to scale up when you’re at capacity, and building the right team for you
When you’re named the top residential salesperson for Victoria at the AREAs, it could be tempting to sit back and coast along in the knowledge you’re among Australia’s highest performing real estate agents.
That’s not how Michelle Stephens of O’Brien Real Estate Carrum Downs chose to embrace her win. Instead, she knuckled down and spent 2021 continuing to improve on her impressive 2020 results.
In fact, last year saw Michelle increase her sales volume from 174 properties in 2020 to 264 in 2021, and that’s despite her feeling she had reached capacity at the end of the previous year.
So how does Michelle achieve such volume, and what strategies does she employ to grow her listings numbers year after year?
Well, according to Michelle it all comes down to her team.
In this Elevate episode with podcast producer Cassandra Charlesworth, Michelle talks about the team she has in place to achieve both high volume and incredible client satisfaction.
She also explains why she is no “cookie-cutter” agent and how her routine is designed to accommodate her market.
Noting “you need to let go, to grow”, Michelle says she couldn’t achieve such results without good people and a great culture.
Michelle reveals the key positions within her team, what these staff members do and how they make a difference to her results, including how she selects staff, and the systems and procedures she has in place.
They allow her to do what she does best, which includes negotiating and appraisals.
In a podcast that’s all about how to achieve a high volume of sales without comprising on the customer experience, Michelle shares the lessons she’s learned along the way about hiring the right people, playing to your own strengths, and the things that need to be in place so you can scale up year after year.
“You’ve got to get someone who compliments your weaknesses. No-one’s good at everything. You can’t do everything yourself. I’m a massive advocate for that. You’ve got to spend money to make money in a sense,” Michelle Stephens.
Cassandra and Michelle also discuss:
- How Michelle achieved that 2020 AREA win with high-volume and high client satisfaction, and then went on to grow her business further
- What she put in place that allowed her to scale up to a whole new level, without compromising on the customer experience
- Who is on her team, how she selects them, and why it’s all about employing people who complement your weaknesses rather than doing the jobs you don’t like
- Why there are some roles Michelle will never hand to others, and how focussing on those parts of the sales process helps her maintain her results
- How Michelle ensures every client feels valued, appreciated and catered to throughout the selling process
- Why improving her after-sales service helped increase her listing volumes, and how she went about it
- How she believes every agent can achieve the results she has, but it’s all about doing real estate in a way that’s right for you
And much, much more
Links and resources mentioned
Connect with Michelle