Conference Panel Review
The speaker lineup at this year’s STAFFLINK Conference was impressively diverse, with luminaries from inside and outside the Real Estate industry treating attendees to excellent keynotes around the theme of resilience and leadership.
But for many in the audience, the highlight of the Conference was the Panel Discussion featuring Kon Stathopoulos (McGrath), Corinne Bohan (Image Property), and David Sparksman (Place Real Estate).
What makes the Panel Discussion unique?
The panel discussion at the STAFFLINK Conference is not just about the success stories.
It’s an opportunity to gain insights from panellists who have experienced both the highs and lows on their Real Estate journeys.
The 2023 edition was no exception, as each guest shared the lessons they’ve learned, the big challenges that they’ve faced and are still facing, and shared their unique takes on what it takes to thrive in this unique industry.
While the session was conducted by host Lee Woodward, those in attendance also had the chance to quiz the Panel in what was an extremely popular segment.
Kon Stathopoulos: 20x in 20 months
When it comes to success in the Australian Real Estate market, Kon Stathopoulos stands out.
His sales volume skyrocketed by an impressive 77% year-on-year to a staggering $642.3 million.
This remarkable growth led to his office being awarded 3rd place in REB’s 2023 Top 50 Sales Offices.
What did Kon focus on?
Many people in the room were interested in how Kon was able to recruit enough talent to drive his incredible 20X growth story.
Kon answered that his approach is two-fold, firstly he positions himself as their Plan B, and secondly, he looks for people with sales skills but from outside the industry.
“If we’re all fishing out of the same ocean using the same bait, we’re going to have a predictable result.” Kon on the Panel talking about ‘always on’ recruiting.
Corinne Bohan: The Project and Pain Department
Corinne jokingly refers to what she spends most of her time on as “Big projects and major pain points”, however, it’s much more than that.
At Image Property, there is a visionary for Sales and a visionary for Property Management – but turning those visions into a reality is what Corinne does.
Image Property’s incredible systems and processes have given it the capacity to tackle big issues that have historically been put in the ‘too hard’ basket by the Real Estate industry.
What did Corinne focus on?
Corinne shared the story of Image’s incredible cadetship program, which has an ambitious target of developing Trainee Property Managers into ones capable of handling 150 properties in a 6 month period.
With so many Property Managers leaving the industry due to burnout, recruitment and retention have become major issues facing businesses across the country.
Image’s cadetship program is an ambitious game-changing solution to this problem and is sure to be studied and emulated by its rivals in years to come.
“And if you’ve been successful, well done. You’ve got 150 properties.” Corinne Bohan explains Image Property’s Cadetship program.
David Sparksman: NPS-powered decisions
David has a long background in IT and had been consulting for Place Real Estate for several years when they approached him about creating a role around innovation.
This unique position, of which there are few equivalents in Real Estate, required him to take a company-wide look at the people, processes, and technology and identify areas for improvement.
What did David focus on?
David told the incredible story of Place’s transformation from a company that was struggling to deliver the client experience that it was committed to providing.
His story underlines the importance of using NPS to make data-driven decisions, and of not losing focus on what is ultimately the most important aspect of any business, its client experience.
“We’ve doubled in size, but also maturity.” David Sparksman on the Conference Panel Discussion.
