What do you enjoy most about being a director at Ray White Commercial?  
Family values and trust are exceedingly important to me and I do everything I can to impart these to my team. Within the boutique or “family” nature of our team, I get immense pleasure out of training and assisting our young and upcoming agents who will be extremely successful, especially with the support of the Ray White franchise. We find that there is always someone in Ray White happy and willing to help us in Tauranga Commercial with issues or ideas.

How did you start your career in commercial real estate?
In my mid-20s I owned and managed garden centres in the Manawatu. That’s where I learnt to sell! My garden centres were sold to a national chain and I was relocated to Tauranga as the North Island Manager. I ultimately moved into commercial and industrial property management which led to starting a boutique real estate company called McMahon Commercial and from there, the Ray White Commercial Franchise was picked up. We operate in the fourth largest city with 120,000 and growing, and we are a small boutique team with four selling and leasing agents.

What are your go-to property marketing methods that you present to your clients?
Signage, which is very applicable in the Tauriko Business Estate where I specialise – there are more Ray White yellow signs there compared with the competitor’s signs combined. We have painted the estate yellow! Online marketing is key, but it is client, developer and stakeholder meetings, and site visits, especially at Tauriko Business Estate, that produce results. ‘In person’ is how I operate and what generates my business. Phone calls are a huge priority, rather than emailing. My three rules of real estate: “talk to your clients, talk to your clients, talk to your clients.”

Tell us a unique success story?
Selling twice within two weeks! Three land lots in Tauriko. These sold and settled, and sold and settled again a month later, with zero marketing budget and it only happened due to our relationships. I made the original owner, a land banker and developer, a multi-million-dollar profit!

What’s the one thing you know now, that you wish you knew when you first started out?
I started out specialising in leasing which I thoroughly enjoyed, however, I resisted for a long time being involved in sales, possibly due to a lack of confidence. The Ray White brand has offered exceptional training. In hindsight, the boutique real estate agency I was involved in previously should have picked up the Ray White Commercial franchise much sooner than we did so we could have benefited earlier from the support systems. I also resisted the need to employ a personal assistant either part time or full time and was unaware of the significant difference that would make for my business. I am not an administrator but a connector and having this support has allowed me to significantly increase the volume of business I can handle.

What is your outlook for the Tauranga commercial market over the next 12 months?
Tauranga (Bay of Plenty) has the largest port by volume. We are the kiwi fruit capital of the world and a major avocado producing region. The lifestyle in Tauranga is not dissimilar to the Gold Coast, though the climate is a little more temperate. Bay of Plenty is the second fastest growing region after Auckland, and Tauranga is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing cities and is a main centre for business. The Tauriko Business Estate where I work is New Zealand’s largest industrial development and Tauranga is New Zealand’s fastest growing region for business growth so my outlook for Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty is extremely positive! Tauranga is an exciting place to own a Ray White Commercial franchise and we can’t wait to see the establishment of more Ray White Commercial branches throughout New Zealand.

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