Real estate is one of the most lucrative but competitive industries today. As any successful entrepreneur in this field will attest, it takes a lot to stand out and be successful, and there's simply no time to be complacent in this cutthroat environment. But with the right strategy, realtors can have an edge over their competition by focusing on unique marketing that makes them stand out from others. Dan Lee, a realtor from Brisbane, Australia, has done just that. He started his real estate business in his apartment with his best friend 6 years ago, and they didn't have much except a vision for what they wanted to achieve. Today, they have exceeded their expectations, established an empire, and inspired thousands of people around the globe.
Dan's business, Plum Property, is the third largest realty in Brisbane. It has a team of 45 employees and has won multiple industry awards in the past three years. These include being a 3 times industry finalist for the state's large agency of the year, 2-time finalist of industry salesperson of the year, and being featured on the Today Show. Plum Property has risen to stardom from a small business struggling to stay afloat to becoming a global icon in the real estate space and establishing the need for innovation and flexibility in sales and marketing.
Funny, witty, and inspiring are rare adjectives for real estate agents, but that's precisely who Dan Lee is. Dan's secret weapon was being creative in his marketing strategy- a new approach to traditional methods like listing houses on websites and print media. Much of his success came from social media platforms, particularly Instagram, where he has amassed close to 23K followers. Dan creates funny, unorthodox videos of himself hosting open houses for clients and posts them on Instagram to get more exposure for his business. The result is a platform that provides value and entertainment to his clients and attracts hundreds of thousands of views and reactions from fans worldwide.
While his atypical Instagram videos attract the eyeballs to his million-dollar homes, Dan says the development team is the other cog in his well-oiled machine. To realtors struggling to grow their businesses, Dan advises starting small and keeping the fixed costs down initially, but not stopping there. "Clients don't care about your flashy office; they care about service and results," he reiterates. You need a support system to get great results; your team should be the first stop.
"Treat your staff well and your best like heroes, engrain them in the business, reward staff frequently for great results," he shares. "Hold amazing team meetings, make them fun and motivating, celebrate the wins with everyone, and celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and top performances." Dan discloses that in its second year of business, the company struggled financially and almost went completely broke. At the time, he had a team of 12 employees he didn't want to lose, so he resorted to borrowing to pay their salaries for one month. That team continues to facilitate Dan's expansion plans throughout Australia, and he couldn't be more grateful for the work it does.
