Building a business, creating a culture.

Principal of Belle Property Narellan, Troy Holmes and his team have come a long way since they opened the door to their new business in January 2016. In one day this month, the small team of four held eight opens, sold three properties, secured a new listing and signed one new management to their rent roll. 

The most successful day the business has had since opening, Troy says the increase in productivity comes down to one thing: a focus on people. 

“When we first opened, we were creating new roles and quickly discovered the people we were recruiting to fill them, weren’t the right fit. We decided to flip our recruitment process and now, when we meet people in the local industry that we like, we actually create a role specifically for them. It was something Belle Property taught me  - to pick people not roles. Since we took on this new approach, the team is doing so much more because they are in a role that’s designed just for them,” he said.

And it doesn’t stop there. Troy has implemented a team incentive programme whereby members of the business are rewarded for hitting their targets. 

“I set the team a challenge: $300,000 in fees and 30 new managements in three months. The deadline was 15 July – which happens to be the same day we had our most successful day of trading. The three sales meant we actually exceeded the target I’d set. The new management we signed saw us reach 30 new properties to our rent roll too. The team met their targets at 4.45pm on the last day of the challenge,” Troy explained. 

The reward was tickets for all team members and their partners to Belle Property’s annual awards evening this coming August and a night’s accommodation in the city. 

“We want our team to feel valued and that they are working for a reason. Bringing the right people into the business and rewarding their hard work has led to increased productivity, higher motivation and better results. Our focus is firmly on the culture within the business,” Troy said. 

With his new strategy comes greater market share for Troy, who now dominates the Glen Alpine region with 50 per cent market share and has another 15 per cent in Harrington Park – the highest turnover suburb in their trade area with more than 200 properties selling there each year. Today, Troy alone holds 18 listings. 

“We’ve invested heavily in marketing in our local paper and the Belle Property brand is really becoming recognized in the area. We take great pride in how we market our clients' homes and we’re getting a crowd of 50 or 60 people at our auctions because of the quality of our marketing campaigns.

“Now, we’re getting phone calls from vendors based on the marketing we do and it’s all based on authenticity. One of the biggest compliments I get is people saying ‘this is the first property that we’ve walked into that looks like it does in the photos.’ Authentic coupled with quality creates a level of trust you can’t get otherwise,” Troy said.