Blog / Time Management


Michelle Winckle, Doing it for herself (and her family)


Michelle Winckle

Michelle Winckle is one of the stars of the Victorian real estate industry. In 2010, after only four years in the industry, Michelle was the top female agent for her franchise in Victoria and sold an amazing 127 properties in the Geelong area that year. Now at the ripe old age of 33, the human dynamo is a director of her own boutique agency and one of the top female auctioneers in Victoria.

But it wasn't always like this.

When Michelle started in real estate, she was a struggling, single mum of two children and floundering. Lacking self belief and doubting her ability to close, Michelle put in the hours but found she wasn’t getting where she wanted. She wondered if it was in fact possible to be successful in real estate and be a single parent at the same time. “I was exhausted”, she said. “I was a single mum with two kids and I thought that with the amount of hours that real estate entailed, I’d never be able to do it. I was chasing everything and I was getting nowhere. I was at that point where I was tired and exhausted and couldn’t see a future.”

One of her main hurdles was a lack of belief in herself. “I was so scared. I couldn’t close, I had no confidence. I just thought that anyone else would be better. I did not believe I could win the business.”

But then she had a breakthrough. She decided to take a step back, take on the role of student and learn from a sales master. She also made the radical decision to restructure her workday around the needs of her family. As Michelle said, “I took a leap backwards and decided to put the ego/solo agent thing aside and just work really, really hard for a year under someone else who was currently successful and grow.”

So Michelle became a PA to one of the most successful agents in her office, Danny Hayes. And after talking to Lee Woodward in a break at a Complete Salesperson Course, she started work at five in the morning and finished in time to pick up her children from school. Looking back now, Michelle sees her decision to learn the business from the inside and work out a way to combine working with her family responsibilities as “the best move I ever made”.

It is a decision that has reaped many rewards. She has now married, has a new baby on the way and last year, Michelle and Danny Hayes went out on their own and set up their own independent agency Hayes Winckle in Geelong, the home of the mighty Cats, in Victoria.

In a matter of just months, the agency now commands a 35 per cent market share and Michelle lists and sells over 25 properties a month.

So apart from possessing a staggering work ethic and having a very supportive husband – how does Michelle do it?

Michelle sees her success as coming down to three things:

1. Creating an Effective Business Format (EBF)

Michelle found that trying to do everything herself didn’t get her where she wanted to be. Once she created an effective business format around her, the sales started to rack up. She now has the time to focus on doing the things she loves - listings and auctions - and she has a buyer’s agent and an administration assistant rounding out her team.

It took some time though to find the right balance. She said, “I had to learn to let go to make it work” and she had to find the right person as her buyer’s agent. When she found Andrew, a person with ten years experience in real estate, she struck gold. “I didn’t have to train him; I started to realise I could trust him.” Her business flourished as a consequence.

2. A Creative Approach to Marketing

Hayes Winckle is known throughout the Geelong region for its distinctive and creative approach to marketing. The company is not afraid to think outside the box and will do whatever they can to create deep brand awareness. For example, Michelle starts most of her days with an early morning letterbox drop, advising residents of the most recent listings and sales. “On auction day, I’ll often walk around the area and letterbox personally myself.” She is out there every day, marketing herself and her brand.

Hayes Winckle also advertises on local buses and changes their print ads every week. They embed themselves with their surroundings so that when people think real estate in Geelong – they think Hayes Winckle.

The office recently sponsored a competition in which students at local schools developed an advertising campaign for Hayes Winckle. Michelle said, “It went out to every school so we had lots of kids sitting at home, with mum and dad around the dinner table designing advertising campaigns for Hayes Winkle!”

The office also has a fleet of Vespas with trailers on the back, branded in the colours of the agency. As a sponsor of the Geelong Football Club, when the team made the AFL Grand Final, the Vespas appeared as part of the television and press coverage, reinforcing the brand’s association with Geelong.

3. The Power of Referral

Michelle believes that real estate is not rocket science – it is very simple. She firmly believes that it’s all about service. “I don’t chase the money,” she said. “I chase referrals.”

When she first meets a potential client in their home she says, ‘I’m doing real estate because I love it. I love the rush and I love getting people the highest dollar. I love that feeling after an auction. I love the feeling when you’ve got a great price for them at private sale. I love to know that at the end of the sale the vendors are going to write me a really good reference or testimonial.’

Michelle then says, ‘Look, it’s not about the commission here for me today. It’s about the business and the referral that I’m going to get from doing a great job for you guys and if you’re happy with me then you refer me to someone else, that’s the best word of mouth I can have’. Michelle knows that securing the right sale and getting the referral is the key to a growing business. And she’s right. She’s got the bottom line to prove it.

Michelle Winckle is proof that guts and determination can overcome the hardest of obstacles.

 


← Go back
Michelle Winckle