Matt Micallef: 4 tips for becoming a top 1% real estate agent

George: All right, we are back for another episode of the Raising the Bar podcast, where we storytell excellence in Queensland property – because our industry deserves better. On that note, I’ve got a special guest today, Mr. Matt Micallef from Ray White TMG. Welcome, mate.

Matt: Thank you, George.

George: Thanks for making the trip up from the Gold Coast to Brizzy.

Matt: Very welcome, and excited to be here.

George: Mate, let’s get straight into it. I’ve got a couple of little things I’m going to read off, and then we’ll get into the fun stuff.

Matt: Cool.

George: Ready to roll?

Matt: Yep, let’s go.

George: Beautiful. He knocked on the door five times before they let him in. Then he sold over $600 million worth of Gold Coast real estate, built one of the fastest growing agencies on the coast, and did it all in under a decade. Today on Raising the Bar – Matt Micallef. How’s that for an opener, mate?

Matt: It’s surreal when you put it like that. I rarely get the time to actually reflect, but that’s put things into perspective. Thank you.

George: Mate, it was really cool doing the research for yours. And I’m not done yet. Matt is one of the top performing agents in Queensland, currently ranked 3rd in the state and 9th internationally across the Ray White Group. He sold over 600 properties, averaging close to two sales a week, with over $600 million worth of Gold Coast real estate successfully transacted. In 2023 – less than three years ago – he launched Ray White TMG with a single Carrara office, and within two years had grown it to four offices and 60-plus team. TMG stands for Talent, Mindset, Growth, and that pretty much tells you everything about how Matt operates.

Matt: Mate, I thought TMG was The Micallef Group.

George: Was.

Matt: Yeah.

George: Because I was telling people, “Yeah, it’s his name.” And then I saw this and thought, oh, there you go.

Matt: Yeah, it was a bit of an evolution of the brand. When it started, it was – selfishly – an agent mindset. And I think that’s one of the big things when ownership happens: you’ve got to take yourself out of that agent mindset. It’s not about you, it’s about them. So we started with The Micallef Group, and then transformed into Talent, Mindset, Growth.

George: Yeah, mate, I love it. It’s cool.

Matt: Thank you.

George: And it is a journey, isn’t it? Going from practitioner to owner, where you’re responsible for coaching and developing people. Same thing with me, mate – practising solicitor to now running a team. Totally different skills.

Matt: Oh mate. It’s a different mindset as well. A different lens. And even two and a half years in with everything I’ve achieved, I still face those challenges from time to time. You’ve got to look through the eyes of a leader, not an agent.

[PODCAST INTRO]

George: Welcome to the Raising the Bar podcast, where we storytell excellence in Queensland Property. I’m your host, George Sourris from Empire Legal.

George: Mate, what I love about what we’re going to do today is get a raw, unfiltered peek behind the curtain. Because I think a lot of industries – be it legal or real estate – sometimes you don’t get the real deal. You see the cool cars and the suits and the luxury properties. And that’s part of it, and that’s cool. But what are the practical tips? What we’re going to learn with your journey is how you got to where you are in such a short amount of time.

Matt: I can’t guarantee many things in life, but if there’s one thing I can guarantee you, it’s my authenticity – and that’s been a superpower of mine. A specialist I was dealing with told me authenticity is four times more powerful than love – than the feeling of love.

George: Wow.

Matt: Yeah. And if you do a bit of research, it actually is the case. And I think that’s a big key to my success – just being real, being honest, not sugarcoating things, not trying to be someone I’m not. I am who I am. You either like it or you don’t.

George: And mate, based on the 4x formula, most people will.

Matt: Yeah, absolutely.

George: I remember when I met you – Eileen brought you along to a meeting – and I thought, man, this guy’s just a normal bloke. And you’re running this big operation. Kudos to you, mate.

Matt: I appreciate it, mate.

George: I’ll finish my little spiel here and then we’re into the fun stuff. Before real estate, Matt spent three years working in the Surat Basin Gas Mines as a gas and mining engineer – working over 84 hours a week, for three weeks at a time. He also holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Griffith University. And you knocked on Ray White Robina’s door five times before they gave you a job. The rest, they say, is history.

George: We’ll uncover more about that as we go, mate. Pretty wild – working as an engineer and now running real estate offices in such a short amount of time. I know you through Eileen Hall, who’s been in the buyer’s agent space on the Gold Coast. Shout out to Eileen for the intro – you’re a legend.

George: Mate, I want to start with your journey. From working in gas mines to running the offices you run. I’d love to kick off with your Foxtel story – I remember the first time we met, we were chatting and I just loved it. I think that’s a really cool way to open things up.

Matt: Perfect. It’s probably the right place to start. The reason I got into engineering – my grandmother, it was her dying wish that I continued her brother’s journey. Her brother was an engineer and got killed at 21. He was riding his bike and got hit by a train. So I went into engineering because of that.

Matt: But before I finished my engineering degree, while I was studying at Griffith Uni, I had a part-time gig selling Foxtel. Three till six in the afternoons, and all day on Saturdays.

George: Door to door?

Matt: Door to door, yes.

George: Hectic. Proper hustle.

Matt: Yes, absolutely.

George: And you were at uni at this point?

Matt: Yes. I’d do my classes and tutorials from 8am – sometimes until 2, 3, or 4pm – and then I’d go out in the afternoon and sell Foxtel all over the Gold Coast.

George: You’re a rare breed, mate. Most engineers are very introverted. The concept of cold-knocking on a door would be pretty scary for most.

Matt: Well, and that was probably the lesson in it – that I wasn’t an engineer at heart. Maybe I was just doing it to please my grandmother. Which is a mistake a lot of us make. We want to please our parents, we want to get a tertiary degree, without actually understanding our DNA and what makes us happy.

Matt: And I always think about that with my own kids. Whatever their passion is, support them. Let them be authentic. Let them be themselves. It might not be what you want, but they’ll find their path.

George: It’s not your life. It’s their life.

Matt: A hundred percent. That old school way was to force the tertiary education, force the job. But a lot of Europeans coming out here, working in cafes, needed to educate their children so they lived a better life. I understand why they did it. But a lot of the time it leads to people later in life actually following their calling.

George: So you’re door knocking, figured out pretty quickly you had a talent for sales. Where does this go?

Matt: I figured out I had a talent, a skill, and a creative mind that drove a genuine passion around sales. I’ll share the story since you love it. I actually became the number one door knocker for Foxtel in Australia. They used to fly me all around – Gold Coast, South Australia, Kalgoorlie, Albany in WA, Northern Territory. All over Australia, door-to-door, with one spiel.

George: Is this self-made? Did you come up with it yourself?

Matt: Yes.

George: Wild! And how old are you at this point?

Matt: Early twenties. Between 21 and 23.

George: Wow. Okay.

Matt: And this really comes down to emotional intelligence, which we’ve got a whole section on.

George: Amazing. Let’s hear the spiel.

Matt: So I’d go to a door and say, “Hi, it’s Matt Micallef from Foxtel. Look, we’re in your area next week – we’re actually installing 17 of your neighbours. There’s a deal running and we’re offering really cheap Foxtel. 17 of your neighbours have signed up, and the installers are coming in next week. They actually sent me here to do a better deal than what’s on TV. Because the installers are already here, we save the installation fee – so it’s completely free to install. I just need to make sure your house is compatible. Do you mind if I just have a quick look?” And I’d start taking off my shoes.

George: Assumptive close, in a way.

Matt: Exactly. I’m coming in. And I’ve hooked them with FOMO – everyone else is doing it, so why not them?

George: “17 others” – that’s got social proof.

Matt: Yes. And value. Free installation, better deal. I’ve got their attention, I go in, check if it’s compatible – and most times it is. We go through the package. And I became the number one door-to-door salesman for Foxtel in Australia.

Matt: Now – here’s the peek behind the curtain.

George: This is the hacks.

Matt: The truth of the matter is – there was no deal on TV. There weren’t 17 people getting it. There was no installer. And every single house was compatible for Foxtel, because it was a dish at the time.

George: I was thinking – isn’t every house compatible?

Matt: Yeah. Nuts, right?

Matt: But I want to be clear – I never lied, never was unethical about it. I just framed it in a way that created genuine value for them. And I still have clients to this day – 11, 12, 13 years down the track – who ring me about troubleshooting, or to say thank you and tell me how much the sports channels or the kids’ shows changed their lives.

George: You’re not bullying them into buying Foxtel. You’re just putting the offer out there.

Matt: Exactly. Presenting something that has genuine value for them, while staying ethical and not crossing the line. That’s when I really understood sales.

George: And that’s a huge part of raising the bar, isn’t it? I think the real estate world can learn a lot when it comes to ethics.

Matt: Absolutely. And it’s funny you say that – our company values are Results, Ethics, Attitude, and Love. Which spells REAL.

George: Perfect, mate. And it links back to the authenticity piece. We want everyone to be real versions of themselves – not pretending to be successful with the suits and the cars and the Rolexes. Just real, authentic people. Whether you’re a client or an employee, we’re here to support you for who you are.

Matt: It’s the opposite of fake it till you make it.

George: Exactly. Just be you. And people trust that.

Matt: A hundred percent. So yeah, I finished with Foxtel once my engineering degree was done. Went to the Surat Basin.

George: Three years underground in a gas mine. 84 hours a week, three weeks on, one week off. What did that teach you? And why did you walk away?

Matt: One thing it taught me was work ethic. I was 6am to 6pm, seven days a week, three weeks straight. Get in, get it done, no complaining – you’ve got a job to do. It really set my mindset. And because we were so remote, you had two choices: go to the gym, or drink beer. So I really took on the gym lifestyle, got into good shape, and that set the tone for discipline.

George: You would’ve saved money too. Where was this based?

Matt: Central Queensland. Roma, Chinchilla.

George: My cousin did engineering and was stationed somewhere similar. He said the exact same thing – the guys who went to the gym and saved money got ahead. The others were smoking and drinking and blowing everything they earned.

Matt: So true. And then they were offering redundancies – the price of oil dropped 15%, which affected the price of gas, and they cut 40% of the company overnight. They sent an email saying, if you’re on this list, you’re on a bus in the morning.

George: Wow.

Matt: I survived that. But then I started contemplating things. My dad always said, “If you enjoy your job, you’ll never work another day in your life.” And what I was doing was designing a patch of dirt – engineering it before the guys went in with the pipes and tractors. Once I’d designed that patch, I’d move ten kilometres to the right and design the same piece of dirt. Rinse and repeat.

George: So you were bored.

Matt: For two years straight. And then they offered voluntary redundancies, and I decided to chase my passion. I love sales. I kept thinking about sales, about the psychology of it. So I took the voluntary redundancy.

Matt: Spent some time on the coast in cafes, downtime while doing my real estate course and looking for a job. And I door knocked four offices. Not sent resumes, not called over the phone – I went in person to four offices.

George: So you’re doing your real estate course, figuring you better go and get a job.

Matt: A hundred percent. I need to find an office, I need a place to start. Nice little tip there – if you’re trying to find a new job, go into the offices in person. Create a memorable experience. I got all four jobs from those four offices. But a school friend said to me, “The place you want to be, the place you want to learn, is Ray White. Best in the country – largest, best training, best systems, best mentors.”

George: Yep, absolutely.

Matt: So I door knocked Ray White. First time, got told to piss off. Second time, the receptionist said she’d pass my details onto the boss. Week went by, nothing. Went back – “Hey, me again.” She’d pass it on. Week went by, nothing. Fourth time, I asked, “When is he here? I want to meet him. I’m going to keep coming until I do.”

George: Getting past the gatekeeper.

Matt: Exactly. I’m determined. I can get in and sell Foxtel – I can get in and sell myself to this boss. I just need to talk to him and say, “Give me a chance.”

George: Get in front of him, change his perception. That was the plan?

Matt: Yes, mate. Get the appointment, get in front of him.

Matt: Fifth time. Got him. And unbeknownst to me, I’ve got Italian heritage, and I was coming straight from the mines – I had ten gold rings on at the time. Full Italian. Thick chain, the works. The first thing he said to me is, “We don’t have a position.” And I said, “Let’s make one.”

George: Wow. What’d he say to that?

Matt: He said, “Mate, how do you suppose we do that?” I said, “Hear me out. Listen to what I’ve done in sales with Foxtel, and I’m sure you’ll see value.” Got through that. He said, “You’ve got a job. But you need to do one thing – get rid of those rings.”

George: Ten rings is pretty full on, bro.

Matt: Oh, mate. A few of them were my dad’s. But growing up in Italian culture, we love gold. I just didn’t understand at the time.

Matt: Starting in real estate, I wanted to go out on my own straight away. He said, “Mate, you’re an idiot. Pull back, son. Learn to walk before you fly.” So he put me underneath the top agent in the office. Six months to hit my targets before I could go out on my own. I got there in six weeks.

George: Six-month targets in six weeks?

Matt: Six-month targets in six weeks. I was a bull at a gate. I had burned the boats. All in.

George: Is it fair to say that’s a natural transition? The 84-hour weeks in the mines, the door knocking for Foxtel – it was the perfect synergy. You already had those skills and the fire in your belly.

Matt: Absolutely. I adopted the mindset that true wealth can’t be built on a wage. In real estate, you’re uncapped. And the thing people struggle with most is managing their calendar – there’s no expectation to be in at eight or leave at five. That flexibility is a blessing and a curse.

George: You’re a free agent. But you’ve got to self-manage.

Matt: A hundred percent. So I had that in my DNA – might as well use it to the best of my ability.

George: So you hit your six-month target in six weeks, the principal’s stoked. What happens next?

Matt: I went out on my own. And one thing I learned early is you create your own luck in life. I looked around the office and a lot of guys who’d been there a while were having coffees in little groups at 11 o’clock, sitting at the computer scrolling realestate.com. I went out calling and door knocking. Door knocking was in my DNA.

George: Which is probably the most hated part of real estate.

Matt: The worst. People are scared of phone calls – and door knocking is even scarier. You’ve got to learn to love those two things.

Matt: I door knocked for two weeks straight, nine to five. Got my first listing in the second week. It was actually out of area – there was a gardener at one of the homes who mentioned the owners were going through a divorce and had interviewed a couple of agents but hadn’t jelled with anyone. I said, “Can I come and have a look?” Shitting myself, I took my boss along. Got the listing.

Matt: Then I door knocked around that property and got my second listing two days later.

George: And then you start gaining momentum. The harder you work, the luckier you get. People say it’s luck – but you do create your own luck.

Matt: Exactly right. And that’s principle number one I’d say to my guys. You can see it now, owning the businesses – who’s making the volume of calls, who’s door knocking? That’s who I reward with time and mentorship. Who’s got the fire in their belly to change their life? Because you can change your life through this. I went from renting a two-bedroom unit in a complex of 400, to where I live now. Chalk and cheese.

George: You changed your life, mate.

Matt: Absolutely.

George: On that note, I think that rounds out the journey. Let’s switch gears to emotional intelligence – I know when we were talking off-air, that’s your superpower.

Matt: Thank you. Yeah, I really put conscious time, effort, and energy into it. One of the words I try to familiarise myself with every single day is polarity – the polar opposite. Understanding what’s going through the mind of the person you’re speaking to. What they need to feel, what they need to see, what they need to hear, to form a really solid relationship with you. Your ability to read the play – which stems from emotional intelligence – will dictate how quickly you become successful.

George: So this is the real behind-the-curtain stuff. It’s not just sales psychology – it’s authenticity, rapport, and relationship building. Whether it’s with a vendor, a buyer, or your team. It’s a skill you can transfer to all walks of life.

Matt: A hundred percent. Let me give you a real-life example from last week. I sold a house to a couple two or three years ago. They called me – she said, “Hey Matt, we’re ready to sell.” I met with her and her husband, and they revealed they’re selling because it’s a divorce. Instead of mentioning the sale or the process at all, I spent 45 minutes unpacking their situation. Kids are involved. I asked for permission first – “I’m not a psychologist by any means, I’m a real estate agent. But I deal with this situation a lot. Do you mind if I ask some questions to make sure we’re making the right decisions here?”

Matt: They said, “Go ahead.” So I asked: are you 100% sure this is the right way forward? Have you explored all avenues – counselling, everything? And one was yes, and one was no. The husband wanted to make it work. We unpacked all of that.

George: That’s pretty full on, man. And devil’s advocate – the majority of agents would probably just not be interested. They’d be like, are you going to sell your house or not?

Matt: Absolutely.

George: Where did it end up? Going down that rabbit hole – it let you work out the right next step.

Matt: A hundred percent. A real next step. Not a salesman’s move – an authentic, emotionally intelligent response. Because guess what – even if selling right now wasn’t the right move, that husband and wife are both diehard Matt fans forever. When they do go to sell, or buy, or refer a friend, they’re going to say, “You’ve got to call this guy.”

George: A hundred percent. Okay, let’s talk about emotional intelligence internally with your team. From what I understand, you moved into your own office and within six months you were full – spilling out onto the streets. How did you recruit a crew so quickly?

Matt: It’s about putting time and energy into creating an environment where people genuinely want to be. I did an exercise with my team – I asked them, from start to finish, what does the perfect place of employment look like? We went through everything: fair remuneration, culture. I drilled down on each one. What does that word mean to you? Systems, structure, training – how frequent, how long? We engineered everything around their checklist.

George: If you ask your team what they want, you get real answers. As opposed to sitting in the ivory tower deciding A, B, and C yourself. People buy in when they’re involved in decision making.

Matt: Absolutely. And that’s where our values came from – reverse engineering with the crew. We want them to buy into the vision. And with 60 staff, I’m very blessed to see the ones who actually live and breathe it, who are there with me through the highs and the lows.

George: That’s 60 across four offices now?

Matt: Yes.

George: Okay. So let’s fast forward – you had office one, spilling out onto the streets, and now you’ve got four. How do you keep the culture consistent across four offices?

Matt: Super vulnerable moment here. I’ve only had four offices since August last year, and I am struggling with that at the moment. We’re spread out, and our main hub is where the energy and the vibe is. Because I’m still selling.

George: I was looking at your stats thinking, how does this guy have the time?

Matt: It’s about building a good team and empowering other leaders in the business to take responsibility and run with it. I had a really heartfelt moment yesterday with one of my agents in one of the exterior offices. We were in tears, mate. I said, “I’ve crossed paths with you and I’m really empowered by you as a person. I want to spend more time with you – I’d love for you to come into the central hub.” So I’m still figuring it out. It’s very hard when you’re also selling.

George: All the balls are up in the air.

Matt: Exactly right. And that’s part of the journey.

George: And if anyone can work it out, you will. We’ve been on that journey ourselves – we had a Gold Coast office for a few years, and without giving you the long version, it was very difficult for myself and Abi to keep the culture there the same as what we’d built up here in Brisbane. Even between our two Brisbane offices – we’re here in Spring Hill, which is the hub, and we’ve got a Bayside office out at Manly. It took a while to get it to feel the same. And we could never quite get the Gold Coast office there.

Matt: How long did it take?

George: It was a long learning lesson. I wanted to move to the coast and champion the culture down there. But 95% of our business comes out of Brisbane, so I kept coming back up. After about two and a bit years, we made the call to shut the Gold Coast office – it wasn’t even 5% of our business but was taking up about 50% of our energy. We’re actually in the process now of rebuilding that – a successful round two, with the benefit of hindsight.

Matt: And that’s where we are at the moment – contemplating all options. Do we take a step back, or a step to the side, to then go ten steps forward?

George: You’re in the war room, planning the next move.

Matt: Exactly right.

George: Mate, I think that’s a good place to park emotional intelligence. The last point I’ve got for you is under the hood – practical tips to compete with the 1% commission agents, the bargain-bin guys. We have the exact same pain point in conveyancing. People are advertising $599 conveyancing when it’s actually not, by the time they add on all the extras. So – you’re ranked 3rd in Queensland and 9th internationally across one of the world’s most competitive and top-performing brands. Congrats, mate. That’s unreal.

Matt: Thank you, mate.

George: We probably don’t take enough time to reflect on that. What separates the top 1% from everyone else? And is it teachable?

Matt: There are four things I always say will make a really successful real estate agent. You’ve got to have all four.

Matt: Number one is work ethic. You have to do the work.

Matt: Number two is a moral compass that faces north – putting other people’s interests before your own. Not thinking about the commission cheque. Looking after that person with 100% care.

Matt: Number three is a student mindset. Ten years in, I’m always putting myself in situations where I’m learning, where I’m challenging my thinking. I think that’s the one where most real estate agents fail – they think they know. To put it in context, I’ve just signed up for a $50,000 sales program over 12 months, to perfect my craft.

George: And you’re already a killer. Look at the stats. But you’re still thinking, “I can do better.”

Matt: A hundred percent. And you pass that onto your team.

George: It’s that humility piece.

Matt: It is, mate. It’s so important. And it’s not just real estate agents. I’ve met so many lawyers whose egos are through the roof. People say, “Oh, you’re a lawyer, can you help me with this divorce or this traffic matter?” And I say, “Nah mate, I don’t know anything about that.” But there are other lawyers who’d say, “Of course I know everything, because I’m a lawyer.”

George: I’m a property lawyer – specifically in conveyancing. If you need other areas of law, I’ve got a shopping list of lawyer mates I can send you to. But I’m not going to pretend otherwise. It’s that authenticity piece again.

Matt: Exactly right. It’s not rocket science stuff. Just be a good person. It’s not commission breath – it’s anti-commission breath. That example with the divorce couple – you might have talked yourself out of a sale. But in perpetuity, you win.

George: And you sleep well at night. That’s the big thing.

Matt: I felt amazing walking out of there. Walked down the driveway with a huge smile on my face. Not disappointed I didn’t get the listing – proud that I was able to help them through that. Maybe keeping the house and having it appreciate is the better outcome for them anyway. I felt really good about that.

Matt: And the fourth one – the hardest to achieve – is controlling what’s between the ears. Your mind, your energy, your attitude. Consciously putting time and effort into your thoughts, and challenging yourself. Becoming better every single day. On a daily basis I’m trying to get uncomfortable – cold showers straight away, ice baths. When the alarm goes at 5am, one side of your brain says sleep in, you’re tired. The other side says, do it because it’s hard. Push yourself, go and get better.

George: Mate, I’ll park it there because we could go down a huge rabbit hole on self-development and the power of exercise and nutrition. That’s a passion point of yours.

Matt: It is, mate. It’s everything. How you start your day shapes your life. Getting up early, doing hard stuff in the morning – that’s the secret.

George: Win the morning, win the day. Robin Sharma’s 5am Club changed my life when I read it.

Matt: Absolutely. And I’ve done more work before most people wake up. And it’s not about being better than anyone else – I’ve got a young child, a wife, 20 people here, hundreds of real estate agents and brokers who rely on our business. Once nine o’clock ticks over and that phone turns on, you’re reactive for the rest of the day. So that quiet morning time is where I do all my hard stuff.

George: You owe it to yourself, but you also owe it to your family. If you have to sacrifice getting up an hour or two earlier to get it done, that’s just what it has to be.

Matt: And by no means am I a master at this – I’m on my own journey. But having that awareness and wanting to continually improve is how you end up better than you were.

Matt: Two quick hacks. One: no excuses. When that alarm goes off, no excuses. Mel Robbins says 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – get up. And the second hack: leave your AirPods next to your bed and put them in straight away. As soon as you’ve got music in your ears, you’re on. There’s no going back to bed.

George: So you wake up and put your AirPods in?

Matt: Yes. Hit a tune.

George: And then you’re up.

Matt: See you later. Especially if it’s a good tune. And the easiest way to do things is just show up. If you show up, the rest takes care of itself. Just show up – get the AirPods in, chuck on a tune, and there’s no going back.

George: I’ve never thought about the AirPods hack. Give it a crack.

Matt: Music brings the vibe, brings the energy.

George: And it’s the opposite of the snooze button – which is evil. The snooze button gets 9.9 out of 10 people.

Matt: The antithesis of it.

George: Exactly. This might be a way to break the circuit, get you up and moving, and improve your life.

George: Mate, I’d say we’re right at the end. I’ve only started asking this question this season – what does raising the bar mean to you? Because that’s what this podcast is all about. I think you’re excellent and you’re building something really special on the Gold Coast, and I want our industry to do better over time.

Matt: Me too. And I think the entry level of real estate is absolutely abysmal. It’s a three-week course, it’s $600, and it’s a test you can’t fail.

George: Wow. You’re actually the first guest to say that to me. I didn’t realise you could do it in three weeks.

Matt: Three weeks, $600 – and then you are in charge of someone’s number one asset. You can make or break $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $50,000 by seconds. That affects not just their life, but their kids’ lives – multi-generational. It’s absolutely abysmal.

George: Not to mention deposits being at risk. As a solicitor helping these people, I have a responsibility. You as the agent have a responsibility. The industry as a whole needs to start respecting that relationship with the client. They’re trusting you with their life.

Matt: And the everyday occurrence of an untrained agent – there’s zero negotiation skill in that three-week course. Zero. The amount of money left on the table in a sale because of novices is heartbreaking. $50k, $100k, $150k – imagine what that could do to someone.

George: If you get them an extra $150k, that can change their life. Massively.

Matt: And their kids’ lives too. So it has to change – and it has to start with legislation and proper training requirements to become a real estate agent.

George: It’s funny you say that – I had Antonia Mercorella, the CEO of the REIQ, on in the episode before this one. We were talking about how it took ten years to get mandatory CPD – Continuing Professional Development. And the Form 2 seller disclosure regime was another ten-year battle.

Matt: That’s massive.

George: That’s as long as I’ve been a lawyer. She’s been fighting the good fight on behalf of the industry. It’s a long game.

Matt: I’ve been in this ten years now. And this sales training – the $50k mentor – in the first session, I learned more than I had in ten years in the game.

George: There’s still so much more to learn.

Matt: So much. We learn absolutely nothing in that initial course – a couple of pieces of legislation, no skill building whatsoever. It’s up to the agent themselves to do that. And very few believe in it.

George: You never know – we could be sitting in these chairs in five or ten years with an actual plan to improve that.

Matt: I’m on board.

George: And that’s why we have guests like you in this chair. If we can improve the education for new agents coming in – so they’re armed with the tools, the responsibility, the ethics, the emotional intelligence – it’ll be better for the clients, better for the agents, and better for the industry as a whole.

Matt: Everybody wins. It needs to be a six to twelve month program. We study four years to become an engineer. Real estate agents are in control of more with people’s lives – their emotions, their money – yet we do three weeks to get into the industry. It needs to be way more.

George: Mate, let me one-up that with the legal industry. You’ve heard the term “paralegal”?

Matt: Yes.

George: Guess what, Matt? You could become a paralegal at Empire Legal today.

Matt: Wow. Sign me up.

George: Isn’t that terrifying? No three-week course, brother – it’s just a title. In these cheaper, bargain-bin operations, people are doing 80 transactions a month. Trying to help 80 people buy and sell their homes. With no formal education. It’s like a sweatshop – terrible experience for them, terrible experience for the clients.

George: Half our team are paralegals and they’re amazing. But they’ve been in the game 20 years. Not one day.

George: And there’s lots of firms out there with one lawyer and a hundred offshore staff. That might be fine if the client experience was spectacular – but it’s not. That’s where you see stuff on the news with $100,000 deposits going missing and cybersecurity breaches. Because it’s not a real law firm with real lawyers.

Matt: Raising the bar starts with legislation and what it takes to get into the industry.

George: And it’s up to us – the new generation coming through – to start doing better. Not vilifying the peak bodies like the REIQ or the Law Society – they’re doing their best. But it’s up to us to give them the boots-on-the-ground feedback.

Matt: During COVID, KFC managers were leaving to get into real estate and making hundreds of thousands with no skillset. All you had to do was open a door and breathe oxygen. But think about how much money was left on the table for families by novices with no training. A skilled professional could’ve got $100k, $200k more in a market driven by that kind of FOMO and emotion.

George: That’s sad in itself. Great topic, mate. Long-term play. I’d love to be involved in something like that.

Matt: We’ll make it happen. I don’t know how yet, but we’ll figure it out.

George: Very last thing and we’re done. The golden nugget. One overarching piece of advice you want to leave the listener with – doesn’t have to be real estate or business related. Could be a life hack, anything that will make their life or their job a bit better.

Matt: I’ve got it.

George: Let’s go.

Matt: Listen to this song – “Remember This” by an artist called NF. There are a lot of life lessons in that song.

George: “Remember This” by NF. That’s the homework for the listener. I don’t know it, so I’m going to have to go do some homework.

George: Mate, beautiful. Let’s wrap it up there. Thank you very much for your time. I’m very excited to see what TMG does into the future. Mate, it’s been a rocket ship start. I think you and your team are exceptional. I’m honoured that we can work with you guys and do good work together. Let’s just keep charging.

Matt: I really appreciate it, mate. I really enjoyed it.

George: Thanks, Matt.

Matt: See ya.