Beyond the Signboard with Amy Bennett
Welcome to Beyond the Signboard; where you get the opportunity to learn all there is to know about your real estate journey from professionals who are passionate about property.
Beyond the Signboard with Amy Bennett
Embracing Video for Real Estate Victory with Kieran Courtney
Embark on a transformative odyssey with me, Amy Bennett, as I sit down with Kieran Courtney, the visionary co-founder of Blink+. From his early days navigating the challenges of traditional schooling to his impressive stride across the realms of plumbing and the high-pressure oil and gas sector, Kieran's tale is one of grit and ingenuity. Revelations unfold about the transferable prowess of systems and processes from the gas industry to real estate, all while Kieran divulges the secrets behind his determined climb to the industry's forefront.
In the pulsating heart of real estate, relationships reign supreme. Kieran and I dissect the Ray White method of relational alchemy—turning 70 to 100 calls a day into a trusted and thriving database. We discuss the emotional armor required to face the ebbs and flows of client responses, and share insights into the art of conversation that fuels genuine connections and resilience in the face of adversity. Moreover, we celebrate the unassuming power of small but sincere gestures that form the bedrock of enduring client bonds.
The crescendo of our journey heralds the era of video marketing—a game-changer in the property landscape. Kieran's pivot back to real estate, armed with the innovative tools of Blink Plus, emphasizes the unstoppable force of video in crafting an indelible brand. We unpack the nuances of on-camera authenticity and the strategic consistency necessary for a real estate brand to flourish. Whether you're a seasoned agent or new to the maze of property dealings, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom, personal anecdotes, and hearty laughter that's sure to ignite your passion and redefine your approach to real estate success.
Welcome to Beyond the Signboard, where you get the opportunity to learn all there is to know about your real estate journey from professionals who are passionate about property. I'm Amy Bennett, your host, and I look forward to providing you with education, inspiration and a behind-the-scenes look at the world of real estate. Well, I am so excited to have you here, mr Kieran Courtney. Co-founder of Blink+. Welcome.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I'm excited to be here. I think this is going to be good.
Speaker 1:It's exciting. It's a role reversal. I've been on yours.
Speaker 2:I know I was thinking about it earlier and it's probably something that we haven't actually we didn't discuss prior to jumping on. You actually come up in quite a few of our presentations that we do with the marketing aspect of Blink Plus, which I'm sure we'll get into later, and obviously your journey of going from the other side of the business and transitioning into the sales side and obviously really capturing the voice of the brand and the identity throughout the marketplace. So now I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1:It's so exciting, and we will share our journey of real estate, of which we both had. I know our listeners are going to be on a really good journey. Hearing of how you got to where you are, though, which is really awesome, so why don't we get straight into that and you let us know your career journey? So, from where to here?
Speaker 2:So my career journey was quite a I guess it's probably not the normal sort of journey here to end up in real estate or to actually end up in business, and I think it's probably a good one to cover off. So to go right back to the start and to touch on the schooling. So school probably wasn't for me, sure, and I was in probably a system that didn't quite understand how to educate and how to sort of guide me throughout the process. So I found myself leaving school, going and doing a plumbing apprenticeship.
Speaker 2:That was here on the coast right it was yeah, so I did that in Noosa, grew up in Noosa and had the opportunity to do that and from there essentially progressed through that, got to the point where you know I spent a little bit of time in Brisbane actually running commercial jobs at the age of sort of 18 to 19.
Speaker 2:And then from there found myself transitioning into the oil and gas industry, which was basically right as the boom had landed so quite fortunate there and obviously found myself working for a company, lucas Drilling, who were quite big at the time and at the time that actually landed the biggest drilling contract that had ever been awarded in Australia. So I jumped on that, spent some time working for those guys, found myself moving up through the ranks of the actual rig that we were on very quickly and then, I believe just as I turned 20, I got moved into the assistant driller role on the rig we were on, which was- AD right.
Speaker 2:AD, so at the time I believe I was the youngest driller to be moved up at Lucas, the company that we were working for, so that was quite an experience.
Speaker 1:That's epic. How did you get into drilling? Because I don't imagine it's an industry that's easy to get into.
Speaker 2:No, it wasn't At the time. I think because of the boom there were so many people obviously leaving coastal jobs and going out there. But there was a big focus at the time on taking people that had done a trade so they could actually go in. They could understand the process of moving up through the ranks, learning a role and then obviously running a crew at the end of it. So I was fortunate enough I had a recommendation and a kind of a foot in the door. Still wasn't an easy process to get in, but from there, yeah, had the ability to move through that. So that was good at the time. And then found myself transitioning over into the actual gas fields himself for a few different gas companies and then working my way sort of up to specialising in sort of live asset tie-ins.
Speaker 1:What does that look like?
Speaker 2:So basically, when they come in at the end of a project and they want to tie in a new field that wasn't actually in the scope originally, we would go in and basically squeeze off the live gas lines up to sort of metre diameter and tie in new fields. So all live works, all on permits. All as exciting as it sounds that it all explodes, it's quite regulated and boring.
Speaker 1:So not risky. Did it feel risky oh?
Speaker 2:look, there's human error and there's complacency. So no, you're always yeah it can go bad very quickly, and it has gone bad very quickly.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Fortunately not while I was around.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what kind of mindset do you need to be in? Do you need to be at a sort of a heightened level? Are you sort of in that fight or flight mode during those?
Speaker 2:Look, it's probably similar to obviously being in the real estate industry contractual side of it. There's a lot of things to get right and a lot of room to sort of not get things wrong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:You're working under a lot of permits and it sort of covers everything in the area of what's a live asset and what's not a live asset and sort of. From there there's a series of processes and you know, obviously there's movies out on ones that have gone wrong and processes and shortcuts have been taken and it's never a good ending. But no, look, it's quite regulated and when done right, it's yeah, you're fairly safe.
Speaker 1:Big hours, though. You know we sort of spoke about that about time away and you know some of the you know guys that you worked with. You know it's long stints and long days, I'm assuming.
Speaker 2:It is, it is. And it was funny it was a conversation I had with one of our team earlier this morning about not stopping, and obviously we'll touch on where the career sort of took me to the real estate sector and, you know, did quite well in a short period of time, and a lot of that was put down to obviously being very good with systems and processes having previously been regulated, yes, but also having that very driven work ethic of you know. We would be essentially on the rig or in the fields between 6 and 6 or 12 and 12. So you're 12 hours nonstop working in the sun and then you've got. You know, you've got your hour either side.
Speaker 1:Yeah, climatically not the greatest place.
Speaker 2:No, so it builds a very strong mindset and it was essentially taking that and implementing that into your workplace and into the new industry. Obviously, when I got into real estate and I was doing the, you know, 12 hours a day, I was first in the office and I was last person to leave, every single day of the week. Yeah, you were really match fit for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and look, it showed and it proved and it worked out very quickly, obviously taking all the systems and process and being very regulated, and then also having the ability to show up every single day, regardless of, like we were speaking about before. If you have a bad day, yeah, that's right, you leave it at the door, that's right you have to come in, you have to do your job and you have to give the best service possible, yeah, otherwise it's not going to sort of progress.
Speaker 1:And those two things really are critical. I think you know my background's in well so you know not dissimilar that you know my whole life was sort of systems and processes. You know I love a good spreadsheet and I like a you know ticking off a to-do list. So you know there's certainly something in that, isn't there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's funny, you talk to a lot of people. A lot of people are either very structured and very sort of they know how their week's going to go about or they're very unstructured, and somehow they just make it work.
Speaker 1:So I think you know what are you.
Speaker 2:Look, I am very. I have a list in my head, yes, and my fiancée always says you know what is this list?
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And I'm like it's all there, don't worry about it, she's got no idea what's going on, but it all comes together.
Speaker 2:Yeah of course, outside of that, you know I'm very structured with the time that I wake up the time that I go to work, the hours that I spend at work, you know eating sometimes it strays a little bit with you know being in a busy day and that sort of stuff. But now I get home I have a sauna almost every night at the same time, and then I'll go into the ice bath at the same time every night. So I'm very structured and I think it takes a while to build that habit and routine. But when you do get there, it sort of brings everything together. As unstructured as you can be, it'll sort of shape and give you guidance.
Speaker 1:That's epic. I admire that so much, certainly something I've never been able to do successfully in my life, so I love that. And what about your fiance, gem? Is she the same?
Speaker 2:She's very structured. We're both very meticulous. We laugh. I have friends come over for dinner and as they leave they'll spin a stool around to see which one of us cracks first. So there's a bit of a joke.
Speaker 1:Our house is a display home that we live in, so people come around and they don't know where to sit and they don't know what to touch. So we're very meticulous. I think that's a great trait to both share. There know, like there's nothing worse than one. You know I know that's. My husband's worst nightmare is my inability to put clothes away, so I'm sure that's leaving you.
Speaker 2:That's me too. I won't say I'm perfect.
Speaker 1:There's got to be something, hasn't there? You have to have, I mean, in a perfect world and trying to. I guess you know I'm a recovering perfectionist, you know, I admit it. But you know I think you've got to have that little bit of messiness. That's the one thing for me is my clothes. So I'll admit it, I'll always hide them away before someone visits. Yeah, I'm the same. Yeah, okay, so we have been in the oil and gas industry for how long it?
Speaker 2:was about eight years. Yeah, yeah, on and off, with a bit of travelling in between. I lived over in Canada and spent some time in Mexico and Central America and so forth. So that was, yeah, that sort of played a big role into it as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so Canada, that was working.
Speaker 2:That was at the time. Look, it was a holiday with some work. There wasn't a whole heap of work, but I did show up some days.
Speaker 1:And what did that look like? Was it sort of skiing snow season? That's pretty popular.
Speaker 2:It was so moved over to um to whistler, and then I ended up, uh, working on the ski slopes for quite a, quite an amount of time while I was there, and then um also picked up some contracting work while I was there, working for the, um, the staff housing, doing some, um, some building works as well.
Speaker 1:Awesome, which was, which was good you've lived many lives in a short amount of time. I love it it.
Speaker 2:It keeps me busy.
Speaker 1:It does Look. There's no secret to anyone that's ventured into real estate. Like every guest that I've had that's been in, the industry is always looking for not necessarily what's next, but we love the challenge, we love the no. Two days are the same with the industry. So Canada, South America and then real estate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so yeah, Central America. And then got back and look, I think throughout the time where I spent in all of those industries, everyone was always pushing me towards sales. They're like you can talk underwater and you can talk absolutely rubbish.
Speaker 1:Ice to an Eskimo.
Speaker 2:Exactly so. From there there was a big push to go to sales and it was kind of there was an amount of time where I wasn't actually sure which area I was going to go to, until an opportunity came up and that's obviously where the sort of journey started, entering into a Ray White office and from there sort of progressing through.
Speaker 2:I started as a sales associate here on the coast, wasn't it yeah sort of focused around the area of Perigee and Beach, marcus Beach and Castaways and I spent, say, six weeks to two months as an associate and then got moved up to a sales agent quite quickly.
Speaker 1:That's a huge achievement. For those that don't know, yeah, it was good.
Speaker 2:It was, the progression was quick, but also, you know, the work was put in, like we were saying before. I was you know, I was in the office at 7 o'clock in the morning and couldn't understand that nobody else showed up until 8.30, 9 o'clock.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I couldn't quite fathom that. You know what was everyone else doing for the hour and a half that I was in the office, obviously setting up and getting everything underway. So yeah, from there sort of captured a marketplace and grew from there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, incredible and, like you said you know, achieving some, you know massive goals in a really short amount of time, which is no easy feat, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:No, look, and it was good. At the same time there was a lot of structured systems and processes and then obviously, the Ray White way of, you know, obviously going in and nurturing a database and calling them meticulously, and it was something where you know, having spent so long in an industry where you know you're not scared to say what's on your mind, so going and making the calls, there wasn't a fear inside of me to go, okay, no, I'm not going to do that. So you know, some days we were sort of hitting between 70 and 100 calls and that was quite, you know, quite normal to do and sort of looking after a database of a patch area.
Speaker 2:That was about two and a half to 3,000 homes and sort of hitting them every three months and it just become this normality of you know going in, doing your calls, doing open homes, and at the time it was obviously when video was just starting to come in. So really putting a focus on you know, the Wednesday opens and then. Friday night, you know, sunset viewings with drinks, which I know you've got a big focus on, and it just started to pay off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. We're meeting people doing things different. When you talk about your 70 to 100 calls, I that's. You know you have to be match fit, don't you to have that? You know, I mean that poor number 99, like you've still got to be at 110 percent, don't you?
Speaker 2:you do and um, you know it's understanding the, the deflection of. You know the, the aggression on the calls, and it's not all the time. You know you call it two or three times and you know the ones that are going to be easy to call and you know the ones that are going to be hard to call. They've got a smiley face next to them, right, yeah, and try and sit there and smile. You know you're smiling as you're dialing the number and it's ringing and you're like oh, please don't answer it's like number 90.
Speaker 1:Like I don't have it in me at 4.50.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there was something about it. I enjoyed the process and speaking with a lot of younger agents after I'd left and obviously now that we're in the marketing side of real estate and going in, you know, talking to a lot of new agencies and offices that are opening up on the marketing and there's a. You know there's a bit of a misconception sometimes with agents that haven't spent a lot of time in that model of what it takes to actually nurture a database. Yeah, and I know it's a. You know there's a lot of agencies that don't focus on that and it works very well for them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, Look. I mean, you obviously came into that with a lot of great skills. One thing you said which I'd love to sort of delve down you mentioned about you weren't afraid of a tough conversation, or that was your previous experience Like, what did that look like? Is that in the oil and gas industry?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you know, having gone into that industry sort of 17 years old becoming a plumber and then working commercial job sites, you know 18, 19 years old running commercial plumbing assets on a big scale job site, you don't have the time to kind of go. You know, I'm scared to have the conversation with another tradie or with another foreman or a site supervisor or so forth. So I think from there and then obviously dealing throughout my time working in the oil and gas fields, you're dealing with a lot of clients and you're dealing with a lot of representatives from Shell and Santos and you know Buru Energy and so forth. So the fear of conversation and the intimidation of who you're actually talking to slowly wears off and I think you become seasoned to it.
Speaker 1:So that's great that you say that, because it's alert behaviour.
Speaker 2:It's not something you had like as a kid. Look, I wouldn't be scared as a kid to go and walk up to a stranger and sit down and have a conversation. But I also think there's a side of resilience there.
Speaker 2:So, for anyone coming into it. No, you can absolutely build up the resilience and I think you know we walk in and sit down and we'll start making calls and it'll be a month in and for somebody who's not making the 70, 80, 100 calls a day, they might have only done 40 calls. That's right Over the month or over the two months.
Speaker 2:So I think it's also having the ability or sorting out going and looking for a mentor that's going to be able to sit down with you and go okay, you've made 40 calls, this person's made 200. They've been told where to go X amount of times more and then having the ability to sit down with somebody and also learn the dialogue and also learn how to diffuse a conversation and just dismiss it you know in the right way Overcoming objections, Exactly Because I think you know you get on the phone, you ring somebody and they say, well, why have you rung me?
Speaker 2:And they're like, uh-uh, yeah, and that's the call done yeah of course they might've not known that their neighbour down the road was also sold for an. X amount of market value and you know, it could be the top sale in the street. So I think there's an importance around that as well, and doing it in the right way, doing it in a genuine way.
Speaker 1:Totally, people just feel it, don't they Energetically? And I think you know, totally, people just feel it, don't they Energetically? And I think enthusiasm is something that's really underrated, I think, in real estate. I mean, obviously it's coupled with a lot of other skill sets, but enthusiasm, you want someone that's passionate about your property. You want someone that, like you or I, at 11 pm is thinking, fuck, what am I doing for that client? Really enthusiasm and passion. And if you've still got it at call 99 at the day, like there's magic in that, like, keep going, like you said. I mean, you know, in my role as a BDM I was signing up sort of 20,. You know new managements a month, like you don't. Well, you know, even in my career as a sales agent I'm not selling 20 properties a month. So you know, to be able to fine tune that dialogue to, you know, overcome the same objections, to get really strong, you know, in those conversations, like, you're exactly right, it just fast tracks the process, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think you know a lot of people go into it and go. They get taught to care and they try and do it in a fake way to get the listing to sell it. If you're very analytical and you're very good with numbers, stick to that Correct. You can still show the care and the value through the way that you go about it. But if you're not the kind of person you know, I got a lot of people say to me you're very genuine and you're not a sales agent.
Speaker 2:And no, I was a business person that was selling properties and I think that was where I did quite well in the marketplace. I was in because everyone else was trying to be this polished, sharp and fake sales agent.
Speaker 1:That's right Same same.
Speaker 2:I had a lady that by chance, I'd spoken to her on the day that she'd sold her business and that she'd done for 25 years. So I dropped a bottle of wine out and there was nothing else behind it. And she rang six months later and told her she was selling. And this was a lady that you know, the principal that I was under had spoken to for 15 years and she was never going to sell. She called me and it was never about obviously trying to get the listing and following her up again and again and again. It was just a genuine, you know gesture to say congratulations on that. And I think some people do that really well and some people do that in a way that is sort of not genuine.
Speaker 1:Well, I think, kieran as well. Some people just don't do it at all. So I mean, even you know doing it in a sincere way, but definitely it's how you make people feel that's this life business, isn't it? It's literally. You know, I just when my head hits the pillow, you know, whatever time that is it's, have I made a difference? You know how have I made people feel? That's always my gauge of success. You know, just hoping that I've been able to do that and you know, for that person, you know I've had similar scenarios like she may not have even got a bottle of wine from the person that sold the business you know, and so it's just about being in that moment but also, I think, courageously stepping into that and doing that act.
Speaker 1:You know so many people you know always say you know walking past rubbish, you know the standard you walk past is the standard you accept and you know there's nothing stopping someone picking up you know rubbish, returning the shopping, you know trolley Like. Those are indications in life, aren't they? And again, you demonstrated to her that you know it was for no other reason other than celebration. Yep, so, and that's yeah, that's success, yeah, awesome, how exciting. What do you love about your current role? But first, actually, let's talk about your current role. Sorry, we are so deep into real estate.
Speaker 1:We better move to Blink Plus.
Speaker 2:I could talk real estate all day Me too, hence the podcast, I know. I know I love it. So, basically, from real estate, I had a bit of time out of the industry and then went into some small-scale developments and, you know, flipped a couple of properties and sort of really went back to that side of things and that was kind of the passion that brought me over to real estate initially and was very fortunate at the time it was just 2020 June, just before the market actually jumped and we were fortunate enough to get a place in Noosa that had the ability to be subdivided and then did some renovations and a dual key and so forth.
Speaker 1:Off that Did you do the plumbing.
Speaker 2:No, off the tools. I'm a shocking plumber. That's why I left.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 2:And then from there I obviously went back into business with Matt at Blink Productions. Yes, so originally Matt had shot all my videos and we'd spent quite a bit of time obviously, keeping in touch after. Video was huge for you. Yeah, look, video was a big focus and and I will- say that's essentially what built my brand and got me to where I was.
Speaker 2:Very quickly, Um and you know to this day I still swear by that without having done the video and sort of religiously as I did, Um, I don't think I would have had the successes that I had so quickly. So, um, off the back of that, you know, we spent a lot of time sort of discussing the business at the time that Matt solely owned and obviously a vision of taking it from the brand that it was at the time and really sort of changing what it was presented as and move it into the more high-end space and really focus on the agents and agencies that see the vision and want to grab that and really build a brand and a brand voice and focus in on their marketplace. So from there, we sort of changed the way that the brand was structured.
Speaker 1:Became that destination.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look really focused on the high-end sort of video and quality of service of what we actually wanted to deliver to the client, yeah, and then from there sort of stepped into the business as well, with Matt as a business partner, and grew up from there into that more prestigious market with the likes of Xmedia and so forth. So we now really focus on sort of high-end cinematic productions throughout the real estate industry and we've got some clients that have sort of come on board and come on the journey and to see some that have stepped in from day one in the industry of no real estate experience prior to you know, growing a very high-end brand that's capturing the whole market and, you know, with a sole focus on video and actually marketing the brand and agents internally of it.
Speaker 2:Amazing, yeah, it's good to see it works. And, like we were discussing before we jumped on, there's a big misconception of, obviously, the weight and the power that video actually has.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So we'll jump into that a little bit further in. But yeah, off the back of Blink Productions, there was this need in the industry of a DIY sort of video solution, or not even a DIY solution at the time. It was obviously opening up the marketplace to give video to more agents and agencies. Yeah, Essentially it started on the Sunshine Coast, but then it grew from there to okay, how do we provide this service throughout, you know, Queensland, throughout Australia, and you know we spent some time looking at franchises and obviously looking at other models that had franchised and the difficulties they had.
Speaker 2:But from there we essentially built out the model of Blink Plus, which is a DIY video solution that gives agency ability to shoot their own listing videos. They upload it to us and then we have an editing team that craft a cinematic short form video and send it back. And you know, from there it's now grown across Australia. It's starting to grow into New Zealand and obviously scaling out from there. So that's been a big focus of mine over the last two years yeah.
Speaker 2:It's been fun. You know, having previously spent so much time in the industry with a big focus on video, you know to take that product now and offer it out to agents. You know we've got an agent using it in Esk.
Speaker 1:Yeah, amazing.
Speaker 2:And we've got agents using it in, you know, morambar and you know, all across Australia and we get sign-ups every day in remote locations, and it's putting them in a position where they're able to go into listings and offer a video product to a marketplace that hasn't previously been able to offer it Absolutely, and it's putting them above the other agents that they're going up against because no one else can offer it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. Accessibility is that something that people you know in remote areas? Obviously they didn't have a videographer in town or, you know, maybe they had to wait a week or something like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so talking to some of the team in Airlie Beach, they're waiting up to seven days to get a booking and then, another seven days to get the product delivered back. So, they're looking at 14 days turnaround.
Speaker 1:And an exorbitant cost, I'm imagining if they don't have a videographer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, anywhere from sort of $600 to $1,000 for a video. You know, and we've designed a product that you're essentially on a one-business-day turnaround, so from when you upload it you'll have it back within that one-business-day. And look, most of them are coming back within sort of the 12-hour turnaround. So turnaround, so it's quite exceptional. And then, obviously, to take a product to market, where previously you were paying sort of $5.50 for a video only, you're paying around $100 now.
Speaker 1:Huge difference. I mean, you know, there's no secret, I am a super fan of Blink Plus. In fact, I tracked you guys down through.
Speaker 2:Instagram. We've had you since day one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, literally. I saw the coming soon for the brand launch and just jumped on it. I too know the power of video and you know I'm a super fan of the ability to do it flexibility. You know, I think what I've loved the most is, you know, with great education I know I sometimes I'm not the best student I've had to have a couple of You've been very good.
Speaker 1:I do like to give it a go and take the gimbal and enjoy, you know, coaching and inspiring other team members to do the same, because anybody can do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's a big focus. You know we're really trying to push and get across to everyone. You don't have to be skilled in, you know tech, or you don't have to be someone that can do everything on their phone. It's a very simple product and it does open up a lot of things, and you know. You also have the ability to upload your drone footage.
Speaker 1:That's right and piece to cameras and intros and outros.
Speaker 2:You know we've got agents doing just sold videos or coming soon, and you know a dream of ours would obviously be to get it into the realestatecom coming soons and so forth. So there's a video on everything you know. Statistically, I think 30, 30-ish percent of listings that are going live on realestatecom at the moment have a video.
Speaker 1:It's just bizarre, isn't it?
Speaker 2:It. Just it really blows my mind. There's, you know there's still 70% of the marketplace that aren't doing video. And you know you're talking REA stats alone 403% more inquiry on listings with video.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, we, you know, both of us just sort of shake our head and say why Look for that 70% as well? You know, obviously, you know you and I both believe is that a video isn't. You know a carousel of photos as well, and I think you've brought a product to the market that is simple, cost effective. The agent can do it. That's what I love. You know it can be an overwhelming process for a client. Agent can do it. That's what I love. You know it can be an overwhelming process for a client. We might have tenants in place.
Speaker 1:Schedules don't line up with a videographer and certainly I've used the Blink Productions team for videos as well. But it's just great to have that option you know for, especially for demonstrating to interstate buyers. So you know, prior to somebody jumping, you know, on a plane, you know it gives them a really good insight. You know I certainly use drone video footage as well, so we'll be able to identify where the property is, what's around it as well. It's been a great process, you know.
Speaker 1:I definitely wanted to just reiterate as well that I think you know we'll talk about the evolution of technology, but I think you know it is edited by professionals. That's what I love and whilst I'll guide and say sort of like, this is the flow you know I love to give your team you know this is what I'm looking for, this is the outcome, and that's obviously something I've spoken with the clients like having a professional that has that ability that you know ultimately would go oh look, amy, you know I get where you're coming from, but from a, you know, a syncing or you know, intertwined with the music, it just doesn't work. And so we have that really great. You know mutual respect that your team are the experts in editing and getting it done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it gives the, it gives the control back to the agent and it really makes it their own product because they're not having somebody and you know it gets to the point of you know, some agents don't even show up to their listings anymore to get the photos and videos done where you know. And I think something to highlight as well at the same time is, on an average, you know, when we're seeing agents shoot their own videos, it's sort of taken between six and 12 minutes. So you know we're trying to kill that sort of perception that they're going to be there for two hours to shoot a property.
Speaker 1:It's not the case at all. Yeah, it's a great fact, absolutely.
Speaker 2:You know, and we did a training video mid last year and I think even doing the training and some updates on mics and so forth, I think we were only there for 20 minutes.
Speaker 1:Oh, I think I did have a few little outtakes. I think we had road noise, we had a few little things to contend with.
Speaker 2:Wings, little things to contend with.
Speaker 1:But well, I mean, this is just a continued conversation always on this podcast about you know what does happen beyond the signboard. Like, I'm sure I had, yeah, 20 cuts. That didn't make it, but that's the joy of it, isn't it? But we had a great time. We did do an intro and outro. Look, that's a great thing to ask. You know, what's your thoughts on agents being on camera?
Speaker 2:You know we have this conversation every day, almost doing training and working with networks and we've got a lot of corporate partners. Now my personal belief and obviously looking at the statistics of agent growth and you know the agents are very successful in marketplaces and throughout Australia I think it's a must.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And look, you know it's something that there's a lot of fear of obviously being on the camera and it just comes back to working with your videographer or, you know, using a product like Blink Plus, spending the time. You know, we see a lot of people time and time again rock up out of the car hopping off the phone. They're trying to write something on their phone and then they're trying to do a piece to camera and they're not getting it right and I say, oh, you don't have to say a lot. What we sort of recommend for agencies do a quick intro, you know. So see you at the next open home. It's just putting your face in the property and obviously, if you're, you know you have the ability to be in the video opening some doors. It just it starts to build that brand recognition and buyers and sellers will start to see you more and more and you know it just sort of starts to brand you as a sort of go-to for that marketplace.
Speaker 1:You identified that obviously when you were in real estate you knew that that was important, so you were on camera in yours, absolutely. So really pioneering with that, I imagine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, at the time it was something that was only just starting to really come into the real estate industry. And you know Gavin Rubenstein. Obviously, as we all know, he's very big on. You know his, his piece of camera, which has left my mind at the moment, but you know, I think it's making your own. Don't try and become another agent that's doing the quirky funny videos, if that's not your personality.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Stay true to yourself, or it's just not going to come across, right.
Speaker 1:And we've seen a few of those right.
Speaker 2:I know I see it all the time I just shake my head. But no, look, absolutely be in the videos. You know, I see quite a few people trying to do voiceovers. Just from a marketing side it's very restrictive to what the actual shooter can do with the footage. If you've done a voiceover, they have to sort of follow that flow of what you've done so just be mindful if you are thinking of going and doing a two-minute voiceover. It's very restrictive in the back-end editing process as to how the video can be delivered.
Speaker 1:Good intro, good outro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, you don't have to control the whole video with a voiceover and shot to shot to shot, because it may not present the way you're thinking, when you're actually talking about the property.
Speaker 1:It's a long time to talk for two minutes I mean you and I could, probably we could chat forever we could do a half an hour video on a property, absolutely. But yeah, oh look. I mean, there's just that many examples of what not to do, but that's what I love, what your team has such a good suite of. You know the best of the best ultimately, and that's with both arms of the business. So if you weren't doing what you're doing now, what would you be doing?
Speaker 2:Look, I think I would go back to real estate. There's a weird part of me and I think every time I say that out loud, my fiance looks at me and shakes her head because she saw-.
Speaker 1:She'd like a fiance.
Speaker 2:She saw what went into it. You know we'd be heading out off Noosa on the boat or jet ski and the phone would ring and I'm like I've got to take it. And she's like you don't have to take it, you ring them back later. I'm like no, I've got to take it. So I just become consumed to the industry.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I think there's some unfinished business there and obviously, having gone away and really specialised in some development style and obviously turning over properties and you know what the marketplace is really looking for on that side of things, I think you know it gives you the ability to go back in and obviously style properties right and then a big focus on video and building a brand identity. So you know, I think across the industry there's a massive gap for the ability of an agency or agent to come in and really capture that and I think you do that quite well, thank you. And you know you do come up in a lot of conversations of obviously transitioning from a different role into a sales role and being very focused on what your actual brand voice is going to be and staying true to it. And you know you've been meticulous and that's, I think, what's grown your brand from looking in on the outside.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think consistency is key, isn't it? I think as well, but I think you know probably what's really important to add into that, I guess, from my perspective, is always knowing what your objective is. You know there's no such thing as a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident, and I think a lot of people miss that. You know style by design, with a business and with a brand, and I think that's, you know, a really important thing, and that's really the premise behind the podcast has always been about look what happens beyond the signboard. But you know what is the truth of what we do as well, and I think that's, you know, probably, a really fair assumption that people think. You know, sometimes with me, they're like, oh, everything's pink. It's like, yeah, there's a reason and there's also a lot more behind. You know behind that as well.
Speaker 1:But you know it is really important to stand out, like you said. You know you can have skills that do that. I think, having the courage to be on camera. You know like, ultimately, I mean you, and I know that you know the stats don't lie that 70% of people don't do a video and number of reasons whether they don't want to be on the video. They don't have the courage to ask the client for the budget, they don't have the skill set. You know there's just so many you know reasons why, and it's just a great opportunity to capitalize on that. You know, you and I are always, you know, looking at PropTech, what's coming next, and everything like that. What myths or misconceptions would you say there is in your current industry?
Speaker 2:I think the biggest one and and it's probably because we spend so much time in this, in this actual space is that the video isn't as important as what it is and that it's the first thing to go.
Speaker 1:Like trim, trim from the budget.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, I had. I had the conversation with a new agency yesterday and you know they were asking about photo-only packages and I said, look, can I go back one step further and ask what is your brand, what's the plan behind your brand and how are you going to represent yourself in the marketplace? And obviously, diving into that a little deeper and having the conversation it was to present in that higher-end space and I was looking at it going but the first thing you're going to take out is the video, which is a must. You know you're selling high end properties. That's the first thing that needs to stay.
Speaker 1:So I think I think it's like a rag to a ball with you, isn't it?
Speaker 2:And they're both looking at each other, going yeah, we know.
Speaker 1:I feel like that's a mystery shopper. Call for your business right, like I think, but but having the conversation.
Speaker 2:You know we have this conversation a lot and I think it's going back to sitting down. You know, I think everyone that's in real estate they come in and they work up through the ranks and they become an agent, and whether they get a team under them and you fall into this rut of being busy and then all of a sudden you get to the point and you go okay, I want to go open my own agency.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then they go and open their own agency and they're chasing their tail from day one. So I think a big focus needs to be stepping back, working out what your brand is, working out what your identity is as an agent, whether you're a standalone agent or whether you're an agency and actually putting some things on paper and going these are non-negotiables, this is what our brand is. So when you're sitting down having a conversation, a listening presentation, it's like no, this is what we're doing, correct, not okay, if you sign, we'll sign up right now, but we only want a photo-only package and they're like great done.
Speaker 1:Doesn't align with who we are. It doesn't.
Speaker 2:And you lose that brand identity too quickly.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. That's exactly right.
Speaker 2:So I think you know and people notice.
Speaker 1:They honestly.
Speaker 2:But we get consumed as the agents and go oh, that's fine, We'll get this one on and we'll do it on the next one. But, then it's all of a sudden, the VPA conversation's gotten too hard and the market shifted. Now we're trying to have the conversation about how pricing's shifting, but also have the conversation about VPA. So vendor paid advertising.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Look I think it's something that if you're going to go in and you're going to do it you need to make a decision from day one of yes, it's a part of your packages, or, if you're willing to compromise and pull it out, you pay for it yourself, absolutely. Otherwise, you know it's going to jeopardise and it's going to change the look of your brand over time, because if you're swapping and changing, on every single one. It's not going to be consistent.
Speaker 1:Look, I mean like consistency. There it is again. Like you and I are that to a T, Like I don't I've never differentiated from my marketing campaign, you know, whether that's from a $500,000 villa to a $2 million property, Like, absolutely, you know, do we amp up some things, Do we pull back some things, Do we look at who the you know intended buyer is? Absolutely, but there is a core, you know, non-negotiable, of probably, I'd say, at least 25 marketing elements and you understand that and your product has always been a part of that for me. But ultimately you can't do your job properly without that or you can't sleep well at night, which is my ethos, knowing I haven't done all of those things.
Speaker 2:And it may not be something that you want to talk about on here and I might be throwing you under the bus, but are you going in with a good, better best, or are you going in with this one package and saying this is the one to go?
Speaker 1:No, no, yeah. So I have four options and they're just building and better and better, beautiful and obviously being able to articulate each of those elements. So you know, my previous role was our marketing and operations manager, so I understand each of the marketing elements. You know, could talk to them, you know, until I'm blue in the face. So I understand their position and the reason why they're in the package. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:But then in saying that you do have your add-ons and you've got unique properties, you know I've had a client recently that's like we want to be in the FIM review, absolutely. So we have connections to that through domain. We'll get you in the prestige magazine and I know the costing. So I know you know off the top of my head yep, that's what that's going to cost and I know the benefits of why. And if somebody asked for something that I don't think is an alignment of where I'm marketing the property, I'll have a conversation. But ultimately, you know, if a vendor wants to try that process, you know, and it aligns with what I, you know, see in marketing ultimately aligns with what I, you know, see in marketing. Ultimately, we all just want to know that you know when the deal goes across the line that it's the best that's in the market.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think an important thing to say as well for anyone that's not doing video and they want to be able to pitch video in a better light is pay for one yourself. Absolutely Do a good video. It doesn't have to be on the best house that you have to list.
Speaker 1:Do it on your own house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it doesn't have to be on the best house that you have to list. Do it on your own house. Yeah, you just need to be able to spin your laptop around and show a quality video of a property, capturing the area, capturing the marketplace, showing your brand, and from there it's easier to sell. A lot of people go in and sell it without an actual example to sell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:But you know, we all know, quality sells itself Absolutely. I did that Look self Absolutely.
Speaker 1:I did that. Look, I did that with drones. I literally got a drone operator to photograph my house, showed all the different angles, and I use that as a case study. Obviously, in a number of sales down the track I don't need to do that, but definitely I was like look, how am I going to paint my home in the best light? Awesome. So real estate is so. We just love it, don't we? It's ingrained in us. Talk forever, I know. I think look, everybody that's been on the podcast, that's in or has been in the industry like literally, there's just something in it. Funny. You said going back to school, you know, you sort of said that you know that mainstream schooling or you know there's something magic, isn't there that you know? Obviously that's in all of our DNA. I mean, if I had one more report card, that was like Amy would apply herself better if you didn't talk in class. And here I am, you know, like chatterbox galore. You were probably the same, were you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't pay much attention. I think it's probably one of those funny quotes. You always hear that my woodwork teacher at the time said you're either going to be very successful or we'll stay tuned. We're not sure where you're going to end up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, we'll stay tuned.
Speaker 2:We're not sure where you're going to end up? Yeah, wow, but you know it's that thing, it's. It's putting the attention to where you're actually interested.
Speaker 1:How powerful are words? Is that amazing what you you're like, what can motivate you, drive you? You know we've all got that. You know whoever your woodworker teacher is, wherever he is now, you think you know like, ah, I've had that many. You know times or or challenges and you know, like both of us being young in the industry or you know wherever you know we've been, you know when you were, you know running the teams that you were at 20, like there's something that motivates you isn't there when people don't believe you can succeed. Like there's that hunger and I, I love that and I've loved that as a you know, a woman in corporate pharmaceuticals. You know career and things like that. Like there's nothing better than overcoming someone else's I guess limitations of you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it sets up something to go and chase and try and prove.
Speaker 1:Exciting. Looking forward to seeing what that looks like for you and Blink+. Let's shift gears and move to a little bit more of fun outside of work. What would be your dream holiday destination?
Speaker 2:Oh look, Canada has my heart, so I think. I love that I think every time I plan a holiday I'll be planning Snow. Yeah look, I love the snow, despite Jem wanting to go elsewhere. I think Canada's been my last six holidays.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's epic. I've never done it. It's definitely on the list, so Whistler's the pick.
Speaker 2:It's convenient.
Speaker 1:It's stunning.
Speaker 2:You ski in, ski out the town. It's been built for the mountains.
Speaker 1:Snowboard ski.
Speaker 2:Look, I snowboard. I had a bit of a skiing incident while learning Never went back. Blew out one knee and was on crutches for a few weeks, so I'll stick to snowboarding for now Sounds good, all right.
Speaker 1:So when you come off the ski field, what's your favourite meal and drink?
Speaker 2:I'm a big Asian street food guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nice.
Speaker 2:Some young guys, chin-chins. I chase the cities to the street food and then I'm a big wine drinker.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love a Shiraz. I love it. We spoke about wine off air. Do you like a Margaret River Shiraz?
Speaker 2:Margaret River. Yeah, look, I do. Gem's auntie lives down there, so every time we're down there we spend. Yeah, she's a Perth girl, Gem Perth girl, jim Perth girl, quite a bit of time in Margaret River and at the wineries and just on another scale down there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my hubby's favourite is Xanadu. Shout out to them with their Shiraz in Margaret River.
Speaker 2:I'll write it down, I'll try it.
Speaker 1:It's a good one and Asian street food we certainly have. Were at high school here on the coast Fish and chips probably was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, growing up in Noosa it was quite a. It's quite a basic variety, but now it's definitely progressed and you know our favourite one is to go to some young guys. It's pretty hard to beat some young guys.
Speaker 1:They absolutely do an amazing job and I know they've got a new business opening up soon, which is exciting it's opening up in Harbortown Greek food, I believe. Yes, awesome. Well always a good excuse to head out for a bite to eat. Wine red. You've already given us an indication, and so I did ask you, but I'm curious.
Speaker 2:So room temperature or chilled? Look, I love both and I think we were saying before I'd never had it actually chilled before and went to Chin Chin's down in Melbourne and they pour it off off tap on bar and it's actually chilled and since then I've adjusted the wine fridge and it stores all my red wine and I serve it chilled, which is, yeah, it's definitely a favourite now.
Speaker 1:I am an absolute sucker for a red sangria, like cut up all the fresh fruit. That is me you. You know Sunshine Coast, summer's day. And to end our amazing chat, kieran, it's been so awesome to have you here. Like I said, you've interviewed me before, you know. I've just absolutely loved getting to know you personally and professionally. You've been an instrumental supporter of my business. Your business has given me an amazing platform platform. I've loved being there from the start, loved your ability to take on feedback and we've been able to really fine-tune and then to see you successfully rolling out the business to so many different. You know franchises and I love that story as well with you know ESC and you know providing a tool to people that everybody deserves to have access to. I think that's really awesome. So, to wrap us up, what is your favourite quote or motto that you live by?
Speaker 2:Look, I love a lot of Warren Buffett's work and you know a quote I probably won't quote it perfectly, but you know he said if everyone only gets one investment in their life, they're not going to muck it up. So I think it's spending more time and building a knowledge base around you know where you're going to go and spend your money or where you're going to go and, I guess, align your career to and know what you're doing, know what you want to do, setting some goals and then, from there, making the decision to go. And you know, buy your biggest asset or change your career. You know buy your biggest asset or change your career.
Speaker 1:So I think it just comes back down to planning and putting time towards it. Yeah, and look, I I'm really interested. You know that that's just such a good uh, I guess life motto, obviously, and how you do one thing is how you do everything. So where do you draw your? You know personal and professional development, you know from you, know I.
Speaker 2:I know that you're always learning, like you said but where do you get your inspiration and knowledge from? Yeah, I've look. I've spent a lot of time over probably the last 20 years reading a lot of books and really putting a focus into the business side and it's always sort of drawn me in and I've loved listening to it. And you know, I've had a brain fart. I've had a brain fart.
Speaker 1:Well, you'll have them.
Speaker 2:We were on his house on the island the other day.
Speaker 1:Richard Branson. Richard Branson. Hey, good clue. Sorry, that was no, it's okay, they run away from me.
Speaker 2:And you know obviously seeing his work Absolutely, and you know not being the most analytical person, and so forth. So you know focusing a lot on his work and then asking for help you know, going and sorting out mentors and there's not a lot of people that will say no.
Speaker 1:You found that? Yeah, Look.
Speaker 2:I've got a lot of mentors in a lot of different spaces now and you know, I think it's good to have the ability to go and ask questions, whether it's in the financial sector or whether it's to do with business or whether it's to do with just basic. You know life and health things and I think the more people you have around you that you can lean on, then it makes it easier to make decisions and grow as a person or a business.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and what's really important for you is that sphere of influence. Isn't it that core people around you I know that you know is at the heart of who you are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, I think it probably needs to be a bigger focus on a lot of people, because obviously you know we hear it all day, every day who you hang around you'll become. But I think also you know, sorting out the right mentorship and all too often we see too many people sort advice from the wrong person and it sort of it does shape and it does change the way a lot of people's trajectory.
Speaker 2:So I think you know, step back, spend some time on your own, learn to enjoy the time on your own and obviously be aware of your surroundings, and make decisions and plan People don't plan no.
Speaker 1:We live for the next month or quarter.
Speaker 2:What you can get done in two years or five years or ten years is a lot, and I think people need to step back and really realise and go okay, well, instead of going the next six months, I'm going to spend, spend, spend, go okay, well instead of going the next six months. I'm going to spend, spend, spend. Yes, Go, okay, what can?
Speaker 1:I do in the next 10 years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know assets I can acquire, or businesses and so forth. So I think we don't spend enough time to really work on ourselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we kind of had a chat about that off air, didn't we? About resilience and that sort of toughness, and you know, I think you know we both really shared that ultimately, we're, you know, in an amazing opportunity. You know both of us live in paradise. You know we've got the world ahead of us, We've got our health, we've got our happiness and, ultimately, just a bit of bloody hard work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, I think we. You know, we said it before. You've only got to show up to be in front of 90% of the people probably 99% of the people these days.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that extra 2%.
Speaker 2:Yeah, look, and I think it goes back to obviously taking that structure and implementing it into your life. And, you know, just having being proud about what you do, if you know, if you rock up every day and you're a cleaner, or if you rock up every day and you know you mow lawns, it doesn't matter what it is, if you're passionate about it you'll go far.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so I think it's. You know, all too often we get told that we don't need to be told what to do anymore or we don't need to put in the hard work, and I don't believe that that's the case. You know, I think whatever you're doing, you do it to 100%. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And if that's not where you want to go with your career, you stop and you go and do something else. Because if you start giving 20, 30%, that'll start to roll on and it'll start to be who you are and how you go about your life. And you know we're seeing it all too often. I think people just need to go. No cut ties, move on, go to the industry that they want to do and give it a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's again coming back down to that, making it look easy as well, isn't it? You know there, there's so much. You know there's so much hard work under the surface and I think you know like very muchating life, and I think that's really important was show the hard work you know, show the 70, a hundred calls you know of those a hundred calls a day. You know what were the connects, what were the you know key things, and how many times did somebody hang up on you Like I'm sure you know, I don't, I don't know, I'm not saying for you, but yeah, I'm not.
Speaker 1:I'm sure that you weren have been like got a listing or got an appraisal or got three appraisals, like we know what you know success marketing is. But you know there is something magic in the reality of life and just building. You know mental toughness and resilience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think my one of my favourite things was when I got hung up on was call them back and say sorry the line dropped out. They would never hang up on you twice because they're in shock that you called them back, so you know, catching them off guard or going and knocking on the door and saying, hey, sorry, the phone dropped out. It's sort of a cop out. They won't know what to do. I love it. Mix it up.
Speaker 1:Courageous conversations. Well, Kieran, it has been amazing to have you on board.
Speaker 1:Thank you I hope there's many future conversations ahead, wishing you all the best with your journey ahead and keeping you know in close contact and kicking goals together. Thanks for having me on my pleasure. Thank you for listening to this episode of beyond the signboard. We trust you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed making it for you. If there are any topics you want covered in the future, make sure you reach out and let us know. Also, feedback and suggestions are appreciated almost as much as like shares and downloads.