Network & Industry News

SPRING: More listings, more sales, more everything

First National launched into spring 2023 with individual state and territory webinars focused on everything at your fingertips to win more business. 

Then, for anybody who missed their localised webinar, First National followed up with a Special Edition Our Fabric embedded with all the information and webinar recordings. You can download a PDF version here.

Make sure you reach out to your Business Growth Manager (BGM) for help activating our social media appraisal campaigns, hyperlocal campaigns or any of the other contact generation tools at your disposal. You’ll find your BGM’s contact details listed on FN Central.

RECOGNITION: Alexandra Haggarty receives REINSW’s highest honour

FN Maitland (NSW) co-principal, Alexandra Haggarty was last week honoured with the REINSW’s most prestigious and coveted of awards – The Woodrow Weight Award.  

The award is named after the legendary former REINSW President, Woodrow Weight, who was the first Australian to be elected World President of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) and later awarded an OBE.

Alexandra is travelling in Europe, so her acceptance speech was pre-recorded and we are delighted to share this with you above.

Similar to First National's highest honour - The Kaye Heath Memorial Award - The Woodrow Weight Award is named after legendary former REINSW President, Woodrow Weight, the first Australian to be elected World President of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) who was later awarded an OBE.

During the announcement, Alexandra was described as a true trailblazer in real estate; someone who has not only achieved remarkable milestones throughout her career but who has also been an incredible role model for others in the industry and her local community.

Alexandra's work ethic has always been driven by compassion. But it’s her empathy that led her to discover how to use her experience as an agent to help people escape domestic violence. After becoming aware of the range of challenges people face when escaping domestic violence, particularly the risk of homelessness, Alexandra implemented the Domestic Violence Rapid Rehousing Partnership, created in partnership with Carrie’s Place, a local provider of domestic violence services in Maitland and the Lower Hunter region.

Congratulations Alexandra. We salute your outstanding achievement.

MEMBERSHIP: Celebrating #FNSelfie Day

First National witnessed the biggest #fnselfie day in network history on 1 September. Right across Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world, our agents posted pictures of the things they hold dear and our social media feeds filled with happy snaps.

Our 10 Australia-based winners each receive a $200 voucher to spend at the FN Shop and are listed below. Everyone who entered appeared in this video and can look forward to a 25% discount voucher to spend in FN Shop (Australia-based agents only), so thanks for participating.

Congratulations to our winners:

• Kelly Pengilly, FN Burton Groves (Tea Tree Gully, SA)
• Mitch Foon, FN Southcoast (Inverloch, VIC)
• Leona Watson, FN Springfield (Augustine Heights,QLD)
• Marianne Estacio & Kristy Tieu, FN Waters & Carpenter (Auburn, NSW)
• FN Progressive (Christchurch, NZ)
• David Small, FN Coffs Coast (Coffs Harbour, NSW)
• Liam Russell, FN Charles L King Echuca (VIC)
• Jennifer Nitschke, FN Marschall (Waikerie, SA)
• Carmen Christie, FN Warragul (VIC)
• Izzy Jay, FN Complete (Rockhampton, QLD)

CYBER: Russian hack serves up another warning for estate agencies

Do you have Cyber Security insurance? If you don’t, GET IT NOW is the message for the real estate industry. 

The vast majority of Professional Indemnity Insurance products will not cover your agency in the event of a cyber breach. Honan's Cyber Insurance does though, so please contact Honan today on (03) 9947 4333  to arrange your policy.

A recent cyber breach at Core Desktop drew a Victorian agency and its parent brand into damage control, with substantial adverse media exposure the outcome. The attack, predictably, started as a phishing email. First National Real Estate was also the target of a potential phishing email circulating recently.

The reason Russian hackers are targeting the real estate industry is because your agency likely stores substantial amounts of personal data from tenancy applications that should have been destroyed long ago. This, and the fact that 70% of Australian companies pay cyber ransoms, is making our industry a serious target. 

The current recommendation is that you use REA’s Connect (at First National’s discounted rate) to substantially reduce the number of data points you hold on each tenant, then destroy the critical private information of successful and unsuccessful applicants 30 days after letting each property. 

Please do NOT ignore this warning. 

First National’s cyber security partner is Cynch Security and every office is asked to retain their services, today.

Cynch Security’s super simple, FREE, plain-English cyber security check-up is your first step. So, if you haven’t done it, it’s vital you do it now. Just follow these steps:

1. Watch the webinar – click here
2. Click here to sign up with Cynch for FREE and hit ‘Get Started’
3. Answer the questions
4. Select ‘Start a new team’
5. Complete the FREE Cyber Boot Camp then choose a support subscription, if you wish, that works best for you.

RURAL: First National at Australia’s biggest Ag event

First National flew the flag again at AgQuip in Gunnedah (NSW) - Australia’s largest primary industry event – where the network’s shed once again showcased First National’s rural and lifestyle expertise, with the support of multiple NSW regional members.

More than 100,000 people attended this year and every person who visited us walked away with a First National ‘Shut the Gate’ and ‘Tank Water in Use’ sign, plus a hat, pen and bag.

The network thanks Victorian Business Growth Manager James Bateman for coordinating our showcase, and we express our gratitude to Margo Taggart & David Doherty of FN Tamworth (NSW) for helping staff the event across the 3 days; plus Andrew Blackman, Peter Druitt and Robbie Palmer of FN Mudgee (NSW) for their great support.

PODCAST: The property manager and tenant relationship

First National has launched the Our Fabric Podcast and in our first episode, Lee Woodward interviews Karen Joseph (FN Manly, NSW) about the property manager and tenant relationship. Karen has over 20 years of experience and shares her insights and trademark sense of humour in an enlightening interview. 

Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss upcoming episodes. Click one of the buttons below to listen via your preferred Podcaster.

UPSKILLING: Two weeks to QLD Sales Power Up 2.0

AI: Analysis of key themes in positive First National reviews

First National has deployed Julius.ai to analyse the key themes and topics covered in positive reviews of our agencies. The results confirm the common drivers of satisfaction across our customers:

Professionalism of agents: 

Many reviews praise our agents for being professional, knowledgeable about their local market, and easy to work with. Our agents are described as responsive, communicative, and going above and beyond for clients.

Ease of the buying/selling process: 

Several reviews mention that the agents made what can be stressful processes like buying or selling a home very smooth and easy. Our agents are said to guide clients well through the various steps.

Timely results: 

Some reviews note that the agents were able to get results like selling a property quickly, within a short timeframe, and often exceeding expectations.

Rental management: 

Some reviews discuss the agent’s property management services, praising them for being responsive to any issues from tenants, keeping landlords informed, and quickly finding new tenants when needed.

Satisfaction with outcomes: 

Many reviews express satisfaction with the final outcome like the sale price achieved or the rental property secured, feeling the agents worked hard to get good outcomes for clients. Repeat business and referrals to others are mentioned.

In summary, the main themes centre around praising the professionalism, communication skills, timeliness and effort of the agents in helping clients achieve good results in either buying/selling or rental property management. 

We’ll reinforce these themes in forthcoming Information Express blog content for your websites.

POLICY: Changes to SA residential tenancies now in force

South Australia’s agents need to comply with new requirements relating to rent bidding, advertising premises at a fixed amount and protecting tenant information from 1 September 2023.   

• Rent bidding is now banned (premises must be advertised at a fixed rent)
• Third parties facilitating applications may not rate applicants (based on higher offer of rent)
• Tenant information must be protected (details to be destroyed within prescribed times)
• Landlords prohibited from requesting certain information about tenants

Full details are available here.

UP-SKILLING: Systematic selling and prospecting triggers

In Western Australia, Jonathan Clover (FN Genesis, Mt Hawthorn) hosted a popular professional development session on his appraisal agenda and the prospecting triggers built into his systems. 

As Jonathan says, the difference between an average agent and a good agent is execution. It’s all about being process driven and turning selling into a systemised production line. That’s how Jonathan has led his team from start-up to WA’s No.2 office in less than 5 years. 

‘Simply exceptional. Practical information delivered really well in a great environment.  Thank you to Jonathan for sharing your ideas and energy, also to Debbie & Ron for hosting such a great training session.’

Carina Druitt

FN Druitt & Shead (Doubleview, WA)

‘As a team, we were extremely impressed with Jonathan’s training. We really appreciate him taking the time out to deliver this and we got a lot out of the content. Many of our team commented that it was the only training during which they haven’t yawned for a while. Always a good thing!’

Kate Saunders

FN Druitt & Shead (Doubleview, WA)

‘I thought Jonathan was really good at explaining what they do at his agency and I picked up some great tips. Was well worth attending.’ 

Deb Jones 

FN Patience (Joondalup, WA)

UP-SKILLING: Supporting new PM entrants and the experienced

Victorian and Tasmanian property managers enjoyed a productive day with Kasey Lawrence, whether rookies or the experienced. 

Kasey incorporated the fundamentals of property management with best-practice task management, legislation and compliance, and strategies for reducing the stress of property management.

UP-SKILLING: Closing a listing presentation with style

Never lacking creativity when getting his message across, Tom Panos donned a Knight’s armour to deliver training sessions for our New South Wales agents in Wollongong and Ballina. We have another session with Tom in Newcastle on 21 September. 

Taking our agents through his 29 ways to win listings, Tom had his audiences totally engaged!

‘I would go out of my way to attend another session with Tom if you were to book him in future.’

Andrew Valciukas

FN Collective (Narrellan, NSW)

‘Fantastic as usual. Tom brings a raw approach which sets him apart from the rest. Hope to see more of him.’

Paul Davis

FN Daystar (Revesby, NSW)

‘A very engaging workshop and relevant to where we are at presently.’

Paul McDonald

FN Ulladulla

'The training was fabulous. Tom Panos is a very worthwhile leader and educator. '

Helen Huntly-Barratt 

FN Byron Bay (NSW)

'This is absolutely the best training and trainer that our team have been offered by the network.'

Chris Hanley OAM

FN Byron Bay (NSW) 

UP-SKILLING: Winning the listing presentation

Victorian and Tasmanian salespeople revelled in the expertise of Justin Nickerson, one of Australia’s leading auctioneers and industry trainers. 

At Crown Melbourne, he talked about the hidden agendas and selection criteria of vendors at listing presentations, the 5 pillars leading to a premium price, discussing different methods of sale and overcoming objections.

‘I think Justin provided one of the best sessions I have gone to in a while. He provided a different approach to how you engage with vendors/future vendors and left everyone in the room with ideas on how to be better.’

Brent Bennett

FN Westwood (Truganina, Vic)

‘The training was good; picked quite some good points such like listing to listings, useful scripts to gather buyer feedbacks etc.’

Grace Bai 

FN Janssen & Co (Camberwell, Vic)

UP-SKILLING: Administrator’s know it all

Administrators in First National offices need to be across every aspect of the business – sales, property management, stationery, marketing collateral, software systems and the list goes on and on. So, Samantha Xerri from Real+ delivered a 60-minute webinar that made it easy for our administrators to attend without the need to step outside their office.

‘I attended to determine which staff would benefit from this content and schedule for them to watch at a later date. I was pleased to find it will benefit a large selection of our Admin and Support staff. Samantha did a fantastic job.’

Zoe Bradford 

FN King and Heath (Bairnsdale, VIC)

‘It was great with little tips on how empowered we can be as administrators. Also, it was just nice to be remembered for the part we play in these busy offices, and also to see other administrators voicing the same issues. The Slido app was terrific.’

Debra Church 

FN Homeway (Castle Hill, NSW)

‘Just wanted to say how much our team enjoyed today's session. It was so great to have a presenter address the challenges experienced across a variety of admin roles and for staff to appreciate that they are not alone. Admins across the network share much in common. My team had a great discussion afterward and the consensus was that more of this type of training would be welcome & embraced. Interactive, relevant & the presenter was very knowledgeable. (It almost felt like she had used us as a case study!)

Penny Bonnici 

FN Bonnici & Associates (Wodonga, VIC)

‘While the session was very general, I noticed great interaction and feedback from my girls who did the session and it has started some good conversations on how I can better support and train our staff. Thank you to all for the hard work in putting these sessions together.’

Krista Paterson 

FN Surat Basin Chinchilla (QLD)