This auspicious looking vehicle was, with love, relegated to the rubbish bin today. It’s sat proudly in my home office for the past 6 years serving as a gorgeous memory.

It was lovingly created for me by my husband. As you can see, it’s a cardboard box, with some fairly rudimentary drawn on wheels, personalized glamour license plate and a little name tag saying that it’s the Inconceivable Enterprises company car.

Every time I think about my company car I smile.

If I flash back to when my husband gave me this “box,” it was about 3 months after I sold my real estate agency. I was suffering terrible separation anxiety from this entity I’d created. I missed my team, I missed my workplace, I missed my desk and I was venturing out into the unknown in following new paths and adventures (under my company Inconceivable Enterprises).

I was working from home and feeling completely lost and utterly directionless. Every day for so long I had awoken with a purpose, a corporate home, goals to achieve and things to do. Now, I was waking up and walking down the hallway to my “office” and spending most of the day in my pajamas!

I was coping poorly with the transition and my husband, seeing this (and perhaps hoping to coax me out of my ugg boots), whipped up this gorgeous company car for me.

It had the desired affect. It put a smile on my face. It gave me a kick in the butt and it also left me with something joyous in my office to look up to and smile if I ever felt low or lonely.

Over the following months I ramped up my corporate speaking work, set up a passive online business (www.reallysold.com) and wrote my second book
(http://blog.kirstydunphey.com/p/retired-at-27-if-i-can-do-it-anyone-can.html) and hired my first staff member (making it that little bit more difficult to spend all day in bed-ware).
It was just a simple box that my husband knocked up in a few minutes, but there was love behind it. There was meaning behind it. It inspired me.

I’ll always have the memory of my box car and will always try to remember that little things can sometimes have a profound affect.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Write it down

This rather gloriously drawn image poked its head out at me while I was “de-cluttering” today. Now, clearly I’m not Picasso, but I do appear to be a pretty good fortune teller.

I’m not sure when I drew this, but it clearly lists three goals I wanted to achieve before I exited my 20’s (15 March, 2009).
- Baby Teresa
- Graduate MBA
- Travel Egypt

As I write this today I’m 33, so a couple of years have passed, but each one of these goals can well and truly be classed as completed (well – one is still and will always be a work in progress – Baby Teresa).

So here’s how I went:

I travelled to Egypt in 2010 (so a little later than predicted) with a gorgeous girlfriend Peta. We spent 5 glorious weeks in Egypt and Jordan and it was phenomenal. I learnt basic Arabic, I ate new exciting dishes like fuul (yum) and best of all I saw the Pyramids and Petra.

I finally (and I say finally because I was at uni on and off for 12 years!) graduated university with an MBA on August 17th 2009. Now on this one I actually did hit the time frame because I finished my last class in January of that year just missing the graduation ceremony so I had to wait until August to officially graduate.

And Baby Teresa (www.baby-teresa.com) launched in September, 2009. It’s a project I’m so passionate about and lucky to have co-founded with my gorgeous business partner Sammie. It’s a clothing line where for each romper we sell we also donate another to a baby in need. We’ve now done donations in over 20 countries world wide.

Now, looking back, am I fussed that 2 (almost 3) of these goals were achieved after the time frame I’d drawn on my piece of “art”? Not really! I was pretty close scraping them all in within 10 months of my time frame.

What’s most important here is that I set myself targets and I achieved them. I wrote down what I wanted to do and become and here I am with every one of them done.

I don’t usually goal set in this way above (pretty pictures, vision boards etc), I have a box of goals which I blogged about here in 2008. It’s super low tech, just a file card box with one goal on each card. When I achieve something I write the date I did it – and usually a little smiley face. I don’t think it matters HOW you go about detailing your goals – just that you do it?

What are your goals? Write them down. Heck – write them down by telling them to me - I want to know – head on over and let me know on
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KirstyDunpheyEmail

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Tiny things engender big loyalty

I picked up my little girl from gym child care this afternoon and as we were about to walk out the door one of the carers handed me this:

My first mother’s day present from my little girl. She’d decorated the heart and they’d made them together earlier in the week.

Total cost to the organization – maybe one or two dollars? Loyalty cost to the organization – (a very clichéd) priceless.

Thanks to the fabulous people at Orbit fitness for making my day and reminding me of a very important business lesson!

By Kirsty Dunphey with 1 comment

Day 3 out of my comfort zone

A friend recently posted the below image on her facebook page. I saw it and instantly it registered with me. I realized immediately that there was one aspect of my life where I was severely stuck in my comfort zone.

I am very proud to be one of the co-founders of a gorgeous organic line of baby clothing – Baby Teresa (www.baby-teresa.com) – for each romper we sell we also donate another to a baby in need somewhere in the world.


The donation aspect of the program has always been my “baby” (for want of a better word). I’m in my “comfort zone” organizing donations, conducting them, liaising with the people involved, it’s the whole reason I got involved with my lovely partner Sammie in the clothing line.

But given that we’ve just launched our organic line and our product range is substantially different (and better) to our last, where the organization really needed someone was on the ground getting us into stores.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve had sold in a retail sense, let alone walking into a store and cold-selling the owners on a new product. That I’ve never done. It was outside my comfort zone, in an industry I am not 100% familiar with (unlike my comfort zone of realestate) and an industry where no-one had ever heard of me. I’ll admit, I was doing a lot to push the responsibility further and further way. I was making excuses “well as soon as we have the packaging I’ll try and get us some stockists”.

Cut to me seeing the image above. Recognizing that I was in a massive comfort zone rut and actually getting off my butt and walking into some stores and saying hello.

Day 1 out of my comfort zone

I visited 2 stores. Neither had the correct person there that I needed to speak to. I left samples at both and walked away slightly dejected, these were the 2 stores I really wanted to stock my product in my hometown.

Half an hour later I received a call back from one of the stores, the owner was now in and could I come back and chat. You bet I could! I raced back there, had a great chat with the owner of the store and secured our first stockist in my hometown. The owner of this store “got” our product, she had a personal connection to the donations we do overseas and I knew from one minute in that the pitch was going down a treat and that we were on the same page.

I was on such a high, that I let the other store I’d been hoping to land that would target a different market filter out of my mind somewhat. I had been hoping to go back into the stores 3-4 days later and see if they’d looked over my samples. Much to my horror I started to make excuses again! I couldn’t go in on that day because that’s the day I was home with my little girl and it wouldn’t be possible. I could have kicked myself. Fast forward almost a week and I forced myself to pick up the phone and ask if the lady I needed to speak to was in that day. She wasn’t and she was working from home. I did however get her email and popped a nice email through to her hoping to catch up. If I hadn’t pushed myself to make that second contact I wouldn’t have received the email I did late that night confirming that this store would also like to stock Baby Teresa!

2 attempts, both first choices, 2 new stockists. What was I so afraid of?

Day 2 out of my comfort zone

The familiar feeling of dread set back in as I made my way into another shop where I’d had a personal introduction made in the other end of my gorgeous state. This meeting did not go well, again, I knew a minute in that this shop wasn’t going to take on our product (despite how well I thought it suited!) A hit and miss.

What was important from here? That I didn’t let it defeat me. That I didn’t pout because my perfect record was broken. That I got off my butt, out of my comfort zone and back out the door again.

Day 3 out of my comfort zone

This Saturday just gone I set up a bit of an epic road trip. I had my 15 month old daughter with me and we were going to hit 8 stores (recommended to us by fans of our product on facebook) along the North West Tasmanian Coast. My goal was to get 2 new stockists for Baby Teresa that day.

My first stop was less than encouraging. In fact, it was pretty unpleasant. My daughter wriggled and groaned about in my arms, I dropped my presentation kit and the shop owner was in no way keen to have me there.

The temptation to turn the car around was high!

Despite that, I kept on with the plan. I went into 7 different shops that day (one had moved and I couldn’t track them down) and had 7 really different experiences. I met lovely business owners, I met great staff and I had ups and downs.

I left at the end of the day with one confirmed order and a great new stockist and another lovely shop keen to stock our product – but the set up for the store didn’t ideally work with our overall vision. It wasn’t the 2 stockists I aimed for, but it was one great one and I did actually spot another target on the way home and although they were closed, we’re chatting online right now and I’m hopeful of another great stockists that way soon.

So that was my first 3 days really outside my comfort zone in what I’m embarrassed to say has been some time in a professional capacity. I’ve owned real estate agencies since I was 21, showing up at my “day job” at Elephant Property is so far inside my comfort zone that it’s as comfy and warm as my bed in the morning. That’s not a terrible thing! I love the feeling when I walk into work, I love that over the years I’ve put in the work to earn that feeling of comfort.
BUT (and it’s a butt as big as an Elephant’s) – if I don’t push myself outside that comfort zone whether it’s with Baby Teresa, my photography, my personal life, my travels, my adventures and in other aspects of Elephant Property – I’ll never be more than I am today.

Those 3 days outside my comfort zone are the first of many to come. One day was perfect, 2 stockists approached, 2 gained. One was a disaster, one stockist approached, one big fat rejection. One was a great end result with mixed reactions.

I guess that just goes to prove that when you’re outside your comfort zone there are no guarantees. Life is unpredictable, but I must say the smile on my face at the end of days 1 and 3 was big. The sense of accomplishment was huge. That’s where my magic happened in April, 2012. In May, that magic’s going on the road as Sammie and I head over to Victoria to find great stockists there.

Where is your magic going to happen in May?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Your journey will be different…

I recently watched speaker Bernadette Black
(http://www.bravefoundation.org.au/html/events/bernadette_black.html) give a very inspiring presentation. Each time I see Bernie speak, I feel the same emotion and am moved in the same way I was the first time I saw her.

Her story is extremely real and personal and she talks about her past in falling pregnant at 16 and what she chose to do with her life after that point. In short, she’s a great speaker and if you get the opportunity to book her or watch her, I strongly recommend it.

One line from her presentation really resonated with me after seeing her this last time. Upon finding out she was pregnant she went and told one of her school teachers. His response to her was: “Your journey will be different, but the destination can still be the same”.

I love this line. I love it in so many different ways. How often are we confronted with a huge roadblock or impediment in life where we think that we simply cannot achieve what we had previously dreamed?

Your journey will be different, but the destination can still be the same.

Words to remember

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Over and Above or Over and Out?

A girlfriend of mine recently stayed with me and we discussed, among other things, what she'd been up to while abroad recently. In between businesses and career opportunities she'd recently transitioned from being the CEO of a well respected business organisation to taking a time out as full time carer for her one year old niece for 6 weeks.

Many people might have seen this as an opportunity to either:
a) chill out
or
b) freak out (because my friend is not a parent herself)

Instead, my friend showed up at my house after this 6 week stint with a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for little ones (very helpful as I have a 15 month old myself). Rather than take the easy road out during these 6 weeks, she'd done her research on what children of this age should be doing and she'd even networked with nannies for further information.

In finding out her niece should be working on shape sorting she'd organised a shape sorter, but while waiting for that to come had also hand made one. She's been wowing me for the past few days with statistics on kids, recipe ideas and suggestions for new activities we can be trying with my daughter.

In short, she took her role seriously. She treated it like she would any job and thrown herself into it. She went above and beyond.

Is it likely she'll ever return to this sort of work or pursue it as a career? I very much doubt it, but she went into it with all she had. I feel she'd do the same if she was selling hot dogs or running Vogue!

This is the sort of attitude I always look to hire for. I want to hire the person who approaches the small tasks (and we all have them in every role) with vigour and does them to the best of their ability. I want someone who is not only capable, but is also enthusiastic.

What do you hire for?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Don’t forget to write a review!

As I checked out of Ford House in Bridgetown, WA just recently they softly called out to us as we were leaving “don’t forget to write a review on TripAdvisor!”

It was a soft request, not pushy at all. We’d just told them what a delight we’d had staying there, so it was in fact the ideal time for them to make the request.

As someone who uses TripAdvisor religiously to “scan” future accommodation places I do feel the need to give back and leave my own reviews. Only – I don’t always do it!

I’ve had a great time (and voiced my opinion to the owners / staff) so many times at accommodation places and I’ve sporadically left reviews on TripAdvisor, but I’ve only ever been asked to do so twice. I absolutely left reviews for both those places. The others, it’s hit and miss as to whether I remember to do so.

How simple is it to say to guests leaving “don’t forget to write a review on TripAdvisor!” How simple is it to survey your clients to get a testimonial? How simple is it to ask a happy client to “tell a friend” or offer them an insentive to do so.

Simple. And yet, I’ve stayed at hundreds of hotels and visited hundreds of tourist destinations and been asked to leave a review twice.

When was the last time you asked for a review?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Little things get noticed

I had a conversation with a staff member just recently where I assured her that little things get noticed.

When she starts early, when she asks for something in a certain way, when she does good work, when her attention to detail is lacking.

It all gets noticed.

Whether your manager wants to admit it or not, it all not only gets noticed, but it all goes onto a virtual scorecard.

The tally on that scorecard then gets called into play the next time you ask for something that pushes the boundaries of usual flexibility. If you’ve accumulated enough good work karma, the answer will likely be yes. If you’re low on good work karma points, you may struggle.

Just today, before leaving the office for 2 days in our satellite office, Catherine made sure she went around and emptied all the office bins, she did a great handover interview with me and she thanked me for the opportunity to go and work in the other office! Karma points high.

Little things, all noticed.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Hair today… gone tomorrow?

Would you be able to pick a coke can out of the fridge as easily if the colour of the can was green? Would you be able to spot a Shell service station as easily from the road if overnight they changed their logo to a giant love heart? What about recognising your well-known local real estate agent if they went from a brunette to a blonde?

I got to wondering about this very topic as I drove past a sign board today, it had a prominent photo of the agent selling the house and I was puzzled. I didn’t have a clue who the agent was. Now, bear in mind this is my local market where I have been in real estate for nearly 20 years now – I know my agents! The reason I couldn’t place the face was that this female agent had undergone a dramatic hair change. As I zoomed past, her hair was different and it made her almost completely unrecognizable. Her brand had been significantly altered.

Now – don’t get me wrong, I love a good hair change as much as the next person (and am planning on channeling my inner-Pink when I chop my hair off to donate it next year), but when your face (and by extension) your hair, is part of your brand – a dramatic change can lead to loss of identity.

Picture Donald Trump – you see (for better or worse), that hair. Or for example US media and real estate darling Barbara Corcoran, if you know who I’m talking about, you don’t expect to see her with flowing long black hair, you expect the short grey crop. Aussie real estate guru John McGrath is unlikely to rock up at his next media event with a blonde mullet.

Food for thought for those of us who rely on recognisability as part of our trade.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Polar Perspectives

I was having dinner with 4 girlfriends last night and we were talking at length about those of us in the group who are control / neat freaks (3) and those who are more “relaxed” on that front (2). Funnily enough, of the 5 of us, 4 of us are married to our direct opposites in this respect.

As I type this I’m sitting in my pajamas without a scrap of makeup on at 10.00am in an unmade bed wearing ugh boots. You may have guessed I’m one of the 2 in our group who is on the more relaxed front. That said, I’m married to an amazing man who can’t comprehend an unmade bed at 10am!

How is it that so many of us end up paired up with someone who in many respects is our polar opposite?

One of my fabulous business partners – is also my opposite in many respects. And what drives her insane about me (I’m big picture, she’s detail, I’m get the job done at 80-90%, she’s perfection, I’m functional tidiness (ie: I just need to be able to find the things I need), she’s neatness overall) is also what synergistically makes us a good team and has done for many years now.

One of the biggest problems I had when I originally started looking for staff was that I was drawn to “mini-me’s”. Not surprisingly hiring myself almost always ended in disaster. Why wouldn’t it – I wouldn’t be satisfied working for me!

In the same way that many people marry their opposites, a good business needs people who come from different places, people who approach problems in different ways and people who view the same thing differently. Get over the minor conflict and learn to embrace the differences as the blessings they are and your business can only benefit.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Scum Sticks…

I was watching my little girl drink her bottle tonight and something hit me. When she’s having a bottle of milk… if she drinks it all quickly, the milk slips right out of the bottle and into her mouth leaving the bottle almost completely clean when she’s done. If however she dawdles, takes her time, plays with the bottle, or doesn’t finish it and it goes back into the fridge – the milk has time to settle. A scum builds up around the bottle. It’s harder to clean, harder to remove and if it’s not cleaned off completely of course it would only grow bigger and, for want of a better word, more scummy next time. Now while you clearly wouldn’t leave milk residue in a child’s bottle, it reminded me of the way I’m left feeling when I hang around some people. Negative people specifically. I feel scummy. The longer I’m around them, the more scummy I feel, the more residue builds up. The longer I allow myself to be surrounded by people who make me feel scummy, the harder it is to release and cleanse myself of the situation. A colleague lamented to me this week about a difficult client. I gave her a way to politely and respectfully resolve the situation and told her to “release” the client. “I can’t!” she replied “she’s at me all of the time!” You know why this client was at her all of the time? Because she’d let the milk settle. She’d gotten scummy and hadn’t cleansed herself of the situation. I was clear that she wasn’t going to be able to please this client the first time we met her and that point in time I removed myself from the situation. My colleague wanting to please everyone (a comment she made herself) had allowed the relationship to continue too long unchecked and the residue was now too difficult to clean. We’ve all been there – maybe a friend who brings you down, a colleague who works in the bleakest pit of despair right next to you or a client you simply cannot please. Who do you need to release yourself from?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Stuff up or time to give stuff up?

I just got an email apology.

It was from a photography blog I had subscribed to saying that they hadn’t clicked a certain button to make my email subscription happen and therefore I wasn’t getting their updates.

It didn’t end there though, as an apology, the photographer included a gift book (pdf version) which I’ve already started reading and am really enjoying.

Now, getting down to the bare facts, the photographer could have simply clicked the button, fixed the problem and I probably would have been none the wiser.

But she owned up, she coughed up (something of value to me that didn’t cost her anything) and I’m now a more loyal fan than I was before the stuff up.

What could have been a negative or a nothing, is now a big positive.

Have you stuffed up lately? (Who hasn’t is probably a better question?) Is it time to own up and fix the situation and make it a positive, or fix it in silence? The choice is yours, but I know which solution I enjoyed the most this time.

PS – the blog is http://blog.brookesnow.com/ and she doesn’t just write about Photography – in fact our guest article is from her this week in our newsletter.

By Kirsty Dunphey with 2 comments

Dads play differently to Mums

My little girl loves playing with her Dad. It’s different to playing with Mum. Sometimes it’s faster, more exciting, louder. Is it better? At times, I guess it is. Sometimes Mum’s way is best.

I’ve watched with interest as a Dad in my swimming group does the exact same exercise with his little boy that his Mum does. Only where Mum swishes Hayden side to side in a rhythmic calm fashion, Dad swooshes fast left – right – left suddenly. Hayden calmly enjoys Mum’s interaction and giggles with glee at Dad’s.

As someone who owns one real estate office with 2 other people and another with 4 other people I’ve seen the same thing with staff in our offices responding differently to each different leader.

Some interact as friends, others as confidants, others are the go to person when something needs fixing, others are the expert in different areas, others are feared (slightly!) and some are respected more or less on different topics.

Everyone has her own leadership style. Mine has certainly evolved over the years and is completely different to 21 year old me when I was so desperate to prove that I was old enough / experienced enough / tall enough (!) to lead.

Interestingly, there are people who are leaders in our office who aren’t business owners. They’re leaders because of the open and honest way they communicate. They’re leaders because of their knowledge. They’re leaders because their opinion is respected.

What’s your leadership style? More importantly- what do you wish your leadership style was?

Pick a few words from this list that you wish people through about when they considered you as a leader:

Accountable, Dependable, Ethical, Moral, Honest, Trustworthy, Respected, Knowledgeable, Helpful, Compassionate, Caring, Experienced, Wise, Expert, Dreamer, Vision, Leads by Example, Involving, Well Planned, Fair, Integrity, Gives Credit, Humble, Open, Creative, Dedicated.

Now – why not ask your team to anonymously list up to 5 words they think relate to you as a leader. Is what’s coming back to you representative of what you would like to be putting out?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Pace your Passion

I’m so fortunate to have a child who loves to read. Well, she’s only 13 months, so right now she loves to be read to. She’s obsessed with books with flaps to fold down, things to move or touch and shiny bits.

She’s also newly fascinated with turning the pages. So much so that she’ll turn them quicker and quicker laughing more and more and all the while making it impossible to read the words, or for her to fold down the flaps she loves so much.

Bless her, in finding one part of the process she loves she’s missing the other parts (for now).

In watching my daughter’s frantic pace it reminded me of times in my career where I’ve discovered a passion for part of a job. I’ve then proceeded to do that part to the best of my ability, with all of my passion, only to sweep other parts of the job (that I didn’t enjoy as much) to the side, forgetting, delegating or under-loving that part of the role. Only problem is, just like my daughter, in doing this you miss the whole story.

The ice cream sales person who loves to sell and create beautiful tasty treats, but doesn’t like to clean their workspace ends up in trouble.

The property manager who loves to interact with clients, but hates to write a proper condition report ends up in trouble.

The travel agent who loves to book exotic locations, but doesn’t dot the I’s on getting the dates right… well we all know where he ends up!

If you just want to turn the pages, you miss the book. Very few of us have such a specialized job that we’re going to love each and every part of it, but what if you just blitzed through the mundane and reveled in the exciting? What if you get the boring stuff done first, and leave the stuff you’re passionate about for the best part of the day? End on a high note, not on a hiding note!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Perfect is Passé

I’m getting quite into my photography at the moment http://www.facebook.com/GreenEyedGirlPhotography). One cool thing about photography? It’s teaching me that perfect can actually be a bad thing.

These days digital cameras are a gazillion megapixels with all sorts of auto focus and crystal clear clarity – and yet, my eye is still drawn to photographs with artificial imperfections added. Added grain, lens distortion, holga effects – all imperfections that technology could have done away with, but that I still adore looking at.

With technology you can perfectly email all 456 of your hot leads the exact cookie cutter email right now, or you can write ten of them an imperfect hand written card (only slightly above readable if you’re me!) and get a stronger and more real response from the imperfection.

You could perfectly create and send a text message to all your employees in about 5 seconds. Or you could pick up the phone and speak to one of them and create a real connection despite the fact that you might have (in my case I always seem to have!) a child babbling in the background.

You could perfectly inbox every contact you have on LinkedIn with something they may not all to hear about, or you could take the time to personalize a message to a client who will really value the contact.

Perfect ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Personal is. What’s your choice today?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Where is that place?

I was watching a television advert on my local Tasmanian station last night advertising a gorgeous tropical looking resort.

My husband and I both instantly looked at each other and said it looked awesome. We waited to see where it was. No location was named. We had recorded the program we were watching, so we rewound the advertisement back, still no location.

We then googled the address only to find out it was in Bali! As gorgeous as it was, having to google it to find out the location (and instantly finding 10 other ways to book accommodation there) was I’m pretty sure not what the travel agency had in mind while running the advert.

It reminded me how easy it is to get so caught up in a concept that you miss the obvious. I’ve done it myself getting a few thousand brochures printed only to find out they didn’t have important information on them.

So the next time you’re working on an important piece of marketing – have fresh eyes take a look at it and give you some feedback. Form your own little advisory committee of people (with some preferably outside your industry) who will run their eye over something and give you their (honest!) feedback.

By Marjorie with No comments

Tell me your secret!!

“Tell me your secret!!” said the text message from a former staff member after I wished her a happy birthday for her daughter. It came after I’d also wished her husband and son a happy birthday in the past few weeks.

She knew she must have told me her family member’s birthdays but couldn’t remember how. I reminded her of the “magic form” she’d filled in for me when she first started working for us which told me the important birthdays and anniversaries in her life as well as her favourite flowers, restaurant, chocolate etc.

Most people write down that information on day one of working with us and then, in amongst the wave of other information they get exposed to that day, promptly forget.

Then all I have to do is refer to a trusty little excel spreadsheet once a week that I keep on my desktop and I suddenly look like I have a magic crystal ball (and a fabulous memory).

Thanks to Rick Deluca for the idea and for making me look like a memory superhero.

(And don’t feel like you can only do this for new team members – I had all my staff fill it in as soon as Rick taught me the idea – there’s no time like NOW!)

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Where do you come from?

Some years ago I went with two girlfriends to spend a week at a health retreat. The three of us stayed in exactly the same accommodation, ate the same meals and had the same opportunities in terms of what fitness experiences or treatments we chose to partake in – and yet, each of us had a completely different week.

One friend, heavily pregnant at the time took the week to relax and rest indulging in morning tai chi, long naps and hours spent recharging. The other friend had a very emotionally introspective week with treatments and other reflective sessions. I spent the week working out till I nearly passed out, reading heaps of books and forming a growing obsession with the customer service flaws in the retreat.

Same opportunities, completely different experience because of where we each were in our lives at that time.

This week I read some feedback about a real estate agency that has now closed down stating “XXX Real Estate were the best agency I ever dealt with and it’s a shame they’re no longer in business”. Yet, I’ve had other people tell me how furious they are at this company.

Same company, two different experiences. So who’s right about what it was like to deal with that company?

Probably both parties. It may have been the different person they dealt with, but I also think it could also have been what they brought to the experience.

A person with an investment property who has had a terrible experience with a previous property manager is very likely to form a different kind of relationship with their new real estate agent (one that is less trusting, more jaded, more suspicious) than an investor who has had good previous dealings or has been referred to that agency by a fan.

A divorcing couple in the middle of a nasty break up are likely going to have a different relationship with their sales agent than a couple looking to upgrade to start a family.

What are your clients bringing to the relationship before you even have a chance to impact on them? How can you work to form relationships with them even in the most trying of situations?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Pizzazz or Perfection?

I recently did a cupcake decorating class in preparation for my little girl’s

first birthday. We learned how to decorate three cupcakes, a face, a car on a

road and simple stripes.

As the fabulous instructor Sally showed us how to craft the intricate

decorations, 11 of the 12 people in the class, with the exception of a few

differing colours recreated in excruciating detail the cupcake they were being

shown how to create.

Me – I went a bit off course. Instead of stripes I had a go at a plaid pattern

(with limited success). Instead of a classic 2 box car design, I had a go at a

sportscar with a middle aged driver with a comb-over. Instead of a bun on the

head of my face, my cupcake chick had pony tails and a cheeky grin.

I laughed when I got home thinking that my performance in this cupcake class is

pretty indicative of my work attitude as well. If you want something done

exactly the same way over and over again “perfectly”. I’m not your girl. I’ll

improvise, I’ll test new ways, I’ll get stuff wrong and sometimes I’ll come up

with something brilliant.

Would I want an entire team of “me” working at my company? Not in the least.

It’d be bedlam. We need perfectionists and pizzazers (sure it’s a word)-

what’s your style?

Now… if only I could find a way to incorporate a cupcake decorating class into

my recruitment process…

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Out of Office or Out of Your Mind?

Each week when we send out our weekly newsletter we're inundated with replies detailing that people are "out of office".Now don't get me wrong, I love a good out of office reply, but we see some shockers here on a weekly basis.

Here's some of my least favourites.

1. The grammatically incorrect / spelled incorrectly reply. With spell check there's really no excuse.

2. The too brief reply. We got one simply saying "On leave <> - cheers". There's no space limit on most out of office systems - give a little more.

3. The reply that only lists a phone contact. If someone's chosen to email you, please, give them an alternate email contact (it's clearly their preferred method of contact).

4. The expired date. This one kills me. Joe is out of the office until 21 December (only it's 24 December now!) If you're going to put an out of office on - diarise to take it back off again!

5. The no end date. "I'm out of the office from 4.30pm Thursday". Until???

Out of offices I've loved:

Greetings and I hope you are well.

Just letting you know that I will be away on leave for the next few weeks and that my dedicated Finance Manager <> will continue to manage all matters during this time.

<> is fully across and briefed on all current and potential client needs so please feel free to call him on <> or email him on <> should you require any assistance.

My fellow Directors <> and <> will also be supporting <> during this time with any new or additional property investment finance or home loan needs.

Thanks for your continued support and I will be in touch on my return.

Regards,
John
<>

Hi there,

I trust that you are well!

I am currently on Annual Leave until the 20th June.

I will be clearing my inbox every 3 days. However if there is any urgent issue please call my mobile on +61 418 878 901

Take care and we will chat soon!

Many Thanks
Tina
<>

and my favourite for sales people that I've been mentioning in talks for years (and yes, I still love seeing it come across our inbox)


Hi,

As a salesperson I'm away from my desk for much of the day showing properties, dealing with clients and signing contracts.

It's my policy to check emails twice a day, but if you need me more urgently, please feel free to call me on my mobile <>.

I look forward to talking with you soon!

best wishes,
<>

Will your out of office be forgettable or useful? Embarrassing or memorable? Helpful or painful?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments