Blog / Winning Business


Taking it to the street with Nicole Carter


With Nicole Carter, RE/MAX Regency - Gold Coast

Nicole Carter has put in the hard yards. She’s pounded the pavement and made herself an integral part of the community. Emigrating from South Africa, she started out in real estate on the Gold Coast juggling a new country, a new career and being a mother. But she persevered and all her hard work has paid off as she is now currently ranked in the Top 100 RE/ MAX agents in the world. As an important contributor to the community, Nicole dominates the housing market in The Observatory. In every street, if a house is for sale, Nicole Curtis’s name will be on the signboard. The average sale price of property is around $750,000, and she has over 500 photos of people who have bought or sold with her.

With a background in magazine publishing in her native South Africa, Nicole knows the power of quality visual marketing assets and also brings a razor-sharp focus and flair to her business and her interaction with clients. No client is ever forgotten. Wanting to separate herself from her competition, she sends out anniversary cards to every client she has ever sold a property to at The Observatory.

She says, “I have a system whereby I diarise, on an annual basis, an anniversary that a property has settled and I ensure that I drop off a gift. For instance, I do a candle with my details on it and I drop it off with a handwritten card just at the front door. It's a soft touch and it really is congratulating them on the anniversary - be it one year or five years. It just lets them know I'm still there and it's a reminder of how long they've actually been in the property. I've also started with my fiveyear and my eight-year clients by doing something a little bit more extravagant, a voucher possibly to Versace or a hot air balloon ride in the RE/MAX balloon. Little things like that just as an extra thank you because they're now at five or eight years."

Nicole also utilises technology to maintain quality and useful contact with buyers. She is an avid fan of Home Pass. She says, “Every single week I ensure that I have my big iPad out and get every single buyer to register their details and then later on in the evening I send them a text which is very simple to do and I just let them know if they need anything or if they want to view the home again to please let me know. That's a text directly to their phone - it's not an email. Generally I find the response back is very, very good. I also use it when a new listing comes onto the market and will send out a group text to buyers who have potentially been through a similar home, and because I only specialise in one area, I can shift them from one home to another. I will send them out an email alert saying, ‘Preview, hot new property coming out in two days time if you're interested. I know the one on Saturday didn't work for you, this is the one you should look out for’."

Nicole also creates stunning Web Books that have to be seen to be believed. They really showcase the property. She explains, “The Web Books have been extremely effective, mainly because I find if I am busy and a buyer wants a brochure on a property I can get that out straight away to them.

It's going to their text message which they will generally read, so that is extremely successful. I've also created a Web Book for all my properties in my area so if they contact me on one home and it doesn't suit I'll have 10 others underneath that they can click on.” Within Web Books, if a new property comes in, she says, “I make sure it's on the Web Book and I often tell my buyers, ‘Just click on the Web Book and you can have a look at a hot new listing that's just come onboard’."

That makes them feel special and important, and I can do a preview with them just based on that".

 

"Buyers coming in are pretty blown away at the amount of effort you've taken just for one home."

 

 

 She also creates exquisite 12-page Buyer Books on a property which buyers love. She says, “I have found with the Buyers Book they get to see how beautifully the home's presented. They get a floor plan, I put in details about the area, I put in details about the school, and I put in property comparisons which are similar to the house and even the buying process. By the time the buyer has left the property, she or he has everything in that booklet and the feedback has been fantastic. Never mind what the vendor thinks of you, but other buyers coming in are pretty blown away at the amount of effort you've taken just for one home."

Nicole also produces a useful regular market update that conveys her deep knowledge of the local area and allows her to make soft contact with potential clients. It includes what has happened over the last three months in the area, price movements, investor activity and so on. She says, “In our particular area we had a problem with traffic. I got in touch with the local MP, whose property I actually sold in the area, and was able to get good information as to what was happening and what the plans were. The reason why this is important is we have seven of the top private schools within five kilometres of us, so a lot of families were experiencing major problems at peak hours. I was able to send out letters and keep the community informed as to what was happening in the area. I found that touch, once again, was pretty effective because it wasn't too direct."

Living and breathing real estate, leaving no stone unturned and taking it to the street has paid off.

 

 


← Go back