Hey Agent, Are You Future-Ready?

At the recent PropertyGuru Agent Summit 2019: Addressing Tomorrow’s Property Seekers’ Needs for Greater Success, we had the honour of having some of property’s most influential and experienced voices. The sessions were packed with rich industry insights and invaluable tips that were aimed to better prep our agents for tomorrow. 

The only non-changing part of the property industry is that it’s always changing. From industry trends, to lead generation and consumer behaviour – there’s an endless list that agents need to be savvy with, in order to stay ahead in the property sector. 

At the recent PropertyGuru Agent Summit 2019: Addressing Tomorrow’s Property Seekers’ Needs for Greater Success, we had the honour of having some of property’s most influential and experienced voices. The sessions were packed with rich industry insights and invaluable tips that were aimed to better prep our agents for tomorrow. 

Property Seekers are Changing; and So Are We 

Kicking off the event, we had Jeremy Williams who spoke as our group’s Chief Business Officer for the very first time. Passionate and filled with vision; Mr Williams shared about how much property seekers are changing and introduced a slew of initiatives the group took to both optimise property seekers’ experience and better empower property agents. 

Cooling Measures – Good or Bad? 

In his presentation How Will Agents Fare in 2019: Market Updates, Zac Huang (Executive Group Division Director, ERA) shared knowledge on the importance of cooling measures and the positive impact it has on the long run. 

Despite agents often disliking the notion of cooling measures, Mr Huang likened the industry to be like a tree with strong and deep roots – more resilient, with more potential to bear fruits in the long run.  

However the one highlight that captivated the audience was his #19YearChallenge, which showed us visual proof of how real change and transformation can be. 

Highlighting the imminent force of change, Zac Huang (Executive Group Division Director, ERA) advises property agents, “In Singapore, transformation is definitely possible.”

Riding on the popular #10YearChallenge, Mr Huang gave it a property twist and showed the audience the enormous change in Singapore’s landscape in lesser than 2 decades. 

Credit: Zac Huang, ERA Executive Group Division Director | How Will Agents Fare in 2019: Market Updates

Watch Zac Huang’s full presentation on How Will Agents Fare in 2019: Market Updates. 

Referral is a Huge Part of Business Now; More than Ever Before 

Ken Low (Managing Partner, SRI) opened the eyes of our audience to a relatively new buyer market – the millennials. 

On a very comprehensive presentation on Understand the Changes in Consumers and Millennials Mindset, Mr Low showed very real and relevant statistics of the demographics in Singapore – thus translating to what sort of impact that has on the property market. 

“Are you communicating, presenting and converting effectively to millennials?” Ken Low (Managing Partner, SRI) challenged the audience.

Breaking down the different generations of buyers, Mr Low captured their mindsets in simple one-liners:  

• The Silent Generation (born between 1928-1945): “What is Technology?” 
• Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964): “TV is dominant” 
• Generation X (born between 1965-1980): “Experienced a Computer revolution” 
• Millennials (born between 1981-1996): “Internet is the Way of Life” 
• Post-millennials (born between 1997-present): “When iPhone was introduced, the oldest member would have been 10 years old” 

Focusing on the new generation of ready buyers, the millennials – Mr Low brought to attention the power of social media and referrals. He emphasized to agents how powerful word-of-mouth is today because of technology, and agents need to embrace it.  

Closing his session, Mr Low ended with an extremely powerful statement –

“Technology will not replace real estate agents, but it will replace those who do not embrace it.” – Ken Low, Managing Partner (SRI)

Watch Ken Low’s full presentation on Understand the Changes in Consumers and Millennials Mindset. 

What Do Property Seekers Want? 

This was the question Vivek Kumar (Director of Consumer Products, PropertyGuru) aimed to answer on his presentation titled The Catalyst to Answering Property Seekers’ Needs.

Mr Kumar revealed insights PropertyGuru managed to garner over our years of extensive research and analysis. From types of property photos to listing descriptions, he provided clear direction on what property seekers look out for when looking for property today. 

Watch Vivek Kumar’s full presentation on The Catalyst to Answering Property Seekers’ Needs.

Agents Need to Differentiate Themselves & Build Relationships 

With so many other property agents, it isn’t an understatement to say that being a property agent is hyper competitive. 

Want to know more about Standing Out in the Plethora of Agents? Lawrence Tan (Senior Associate Executive Director, OrangeTee & Tie) revealed his 12 secrets that day. 

Nicely spelling out P R O P E R T Y G U R U, Mr Tan covered in detail the important aspects agents need to pay attention to:

• Product: having clear understanding and knowing what’s unique about your listing
• Respect: showing due to respect to not only clients, but also fellow agents 
• Observe: pay attention to the property seekers’ body language and listen attentively
• Personal Branding: make yourself known – network, use social media, speak at sessions and encourage clients to leave testimonials 
• Etiquette: maintain professionalism and adhere to the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care (by CEA)
• Relationship: don’t think of just earning a commission, but instead focus on building long-term relationships 
• Trust: always be honest and give credible & reliable advice 
• You: know clearly why should clients choose to engage you 
• Grooming: dress for success; you only have one chance to make a first impression 
• Understand: understand what your clients need and want 
• Reasoning: explain with knowledge, facts and figures
• Unique: what’s your unique selling proposition? 

Watch Lawrence Tan’s full presentation on Standing Out in the Plethora of Agents.

Appealing to Today’s Property Seekers 

Ending the Agent Summit on a high note, we held a dynamic panel discussion with Marvin Lee (Group Division Director, ERA), Alan Lin (Associate Division Director of Projects, SRI), Diana Teow (Associate Group Director & Co-founder PropNex – Property Runway), Felicia Cai (Associate Marketing Director & Co-founder PropNex – Property Runway), moderated by Winston Lee (Regional Head of Special Projects, PropertyGuru).  

This year’s panel boasted industry professionals from different backgrounds and experiences, but resonated on how important it was for property agents to embrace technology. 

Watch the full Panel Discussion: The World of Property Marketing.

Thank You & See You Next Year!

PropertyGuru would like to thank all our speakers and panelists for their immense amount of support in our Agent Summit 2019, and hope everyone had an insightful and enjoyable time with us. We can’t wait to host you again next year!

Want to learn more about succeeding as a property agent?  Check out our PropertyGuru Academy today.