What an event we just had!
This year’s Conference was our most ambitious yet, with more attendees than ever before and a diverse group of speakers from within and outside the world of Real Estate.
Returning to the beautiful JW Marriott for the third year running, expectations were sky-high for an event that blends the inspirational with the highly practical.
Thankfully the STAFFLINK team delivered on that expectation with flying colours. Check out the official highlights video below.
Official Conference Highlights Video
Keynote Speaker Review
Joel Davis (STAFFLINK)
Joel’s keynote is always one of the most highly anticipated talks and plays a big role in setting the tone for the weekend. This year Joel came with a truly original take on the topic on everyone’s lips at the moment – artificial intelligence.
When it comes to AI people tend to fall into one of two camps, the doom and gloom camp and the technological utopians who believe that AI will allow everyone to work 2 days a week for the same pay. True to form, Joel came with a more nuanced opinion that managed to find the middle ground between the two camps.
Yes, AI is going to be a huge game-changer for the real estate industry, but not every business is going to be able to take advantage of it, he argued. It is only the businesses that have ‘earnt the right’ that will be well-placed to incorporate AI into their systems and processes.
What does earning the right look like? What lessons from outsourcing apply to AI? And what processes will be made truly redundant? Stay tuned for our review of Joel’s speech for the answers.
Tané Hunter & Shasta Henry (Future Crunch)
Whatever our guests were expecting from the keynote speakers, no one probably anticipated the presentation of Future Crunch’s Tané Hunter & Shasta Henry.
In a world where bad news travels faster than good news, and where a sense of doom and gloom about the future of our planet and the human race pervades most people’s minds, Future Crunch are breath of fresh air.
They provided an alternative vision of the future and highlighted some of the amazing technological and social advances that tend to get lost by the mainstream media. Their high-energy presentation was thought-provoking and certainly challenged a few preconceptions in the room.
Kon Stathopoulos (McGrath)
Kon had an ambitious 5-year plan to 20X his business, he presented it to industry legend John McGrath who looked at him in the eyes and asked a very simple yet cutting question. “What would it take to achieve your 5-year goals in 20 months?”
What does 20X in 20 months look like? What challenges does it pose? How do you recruit enough talent and incentivise them? How do you turbocharge growth without compromising what makes you successful?
This is Kon’s story, and the audience was treated to one of the most inspirational, yet highly practical keynotes they could hope to see.
Kon’s superpower is his hands-on leadership style, his humility, and his ability to inspire devotion and loyalty in his team. If I worked for him I’d be prepared to run through a brick wall. Many attendees voted Kon’s keynote as their highlight.
Jana Pittman (Athlete, Author, Doctor)
Jana Pittman closed out the first day of the conference with a keynote that covered her amazing journey from beloved world champion hurdler to her heartbreaking Olympic missed opportunities, to her ‘cool-runnings’-esque pivot into bobsledding, and finally onto her post-athletic achievements.
Jana has played a massive role in organising Australia’s first-ever uterus transplant and it is a testament to her that the most impressive and inspirational aspects of her career arguably happened away from the athletic track.
As a company whose values are to ‘Never Arrive’, it occurred to me that few people embody this value more than Jana. Her decision to train as a gynaecologist and devote the rest of her life to helping others, to enter an industry where her name opens no doors tells you what you need to know about Jana’s humility and values.
Lee Woodward ( Real Estate Trainer and Innovator)
As well as hosting the conference, Lee also presented a masterclass on the importance of having a sales sequence.
It is no surprise that Lee is regarded as one of the finest trainers in real estate, his attention to detail and communication skills are hugely impressive.
There are few, if any, people who can systemise a process like Lee and even fewer who are as generous with their time and content as Lee.
He is also a great host, effortlessly switching between insightful interactions and humorous moments.
Speaking with conference attendees afterwards, he was a popular choice for favourite speaker, particularly from people who had never seen him before.
Lee’s Complete Saleperson Course is one of the highest-rated in the country, you can learn more about it here.
Mark Visser (Big Wave Surfer)
How does someone with a crippling fear of water from an early life near-drowning experience become a big wave surfer?
Mark Visser’s incredible journey is unlikely to resemble anyone else in the room’s journey, but as a keynote speaker, Mark very successfully managed to draw out the universal themes that apply to us all.
The importance of having a team around you, visualising your goals, and holding yourself accountable to those goals were all themes in Mark’s keynote.
Mark’s is an extraordinary story, and the fact that he seems so down to earth and lacks ego really endeared him to the audience.
Martin Heppell (Resilience Project)
Finishing out the conference as the last speaker can be a daunting experience, but if Martin was feeling any nerves at the prospect then he didn’t show them.
It is hard to accurately describe the experience of being in Martin’s audience. He was less a keynote speaker and more of a tour de force, a cyclone of energy that left no stone unturned.
His message was simple… you’re okay! Even if you are the 1 in 5 Australians who suffer from mental illness, you’re going to be ok. Practice gratitude, practice empathy, and practice mindfulness.
The Resilience Project is making a huge difference in the lives of school children across the country, and we believe the same message of resilience is important to the real estate industry as well.
There were many tears shed, raucous laughter, and more than a few bemused looks. It was a wild ending to the conference. To give you a sense of the energy that Martin created, he ended his speech by screaming along to ‘Back in Black’ by AC/DC into the podium mic. Most other people walk off stage when the finish music plays, Martin decided to do karaoke instead. Incredible!
STAFFLINK Conference 2023 Photo Gallery
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