Cameron Bailey | Agent of Excellence Interview

Cameron Bailey | Harcourts Papanui 
Agent of Excellence FY2020

We caught up with one of our Agents of Excellence, Cameron Bailey, to discuss his inspiration, morning rituals and more.

Watch above or read the full interview below. 

What are your morning rituals?

I usually get up at about 5 am and go to the gym. This is the only time of the day where I don’t have my phone on me, this is like preparation for the day, almost like meditation. I find on the days where I don’t go to the gym I’m not as clear and focused. Then I head home and have breakfast before hitting the office.

What was your first-ever sales job?

Believe it or not, I actually wanted to be a doctor. I took all the science subjects through school to achieve this, but I wasn’t quite good enough to get into medical school. I went and lived in the UK and during that time I worked as a concierge for a hotel. In this role we were selling theatre tickets and the like to clients staying at the hotel.

What is the best piece of professional advice you've been given?

My uncle was the reason I got into real estate. He said to me that real estate is all about what you say, if you say the right things at the right time you’ll get a sale, if you say the wrong thing at the wrong time you’ll cost a sale or cost money on the property. So building those scripts and dialogues is so important, and really focusing on listening to what people are saying rather than talking.

Who inspires you?

I work for my family and my kids. I also love working with my team – I have the best team I’ve had in 15 years, so I come into see them every day. We are more than just work colleagues, we’re friends. You’ve got to do it for yourself because you love it too, and I still love every day of real estate. The challenge and the negotiation – I’m lucky enough to spend my days doing the fun parts of real estate.

What do you love about being a real estate agent?

I love the people. Everyone thinks real estate is all about these big beautiful houses and making lots of money, but it’s actually about the people. You’re moving people from one chapter of their life to the next chapter. If you can do this with genuine integrity and care – that’s what the best real estate agents are made up of. I’ve had so many experiences where you are selling clients houses and then selling their children’s houses – you become the real estate agent for the family. I love that.

What is your biggest career fail?

In hindsight, I could’ve said things better. When you start, you say the wrong things – I know now some of the things I said when I started 15 years ago was the wrong thing to say. I would have cost the buyer or maybe not got the top price. It’s really important to list with an agent who has experience, because you are entrusting someone to sell your house. You only have to say four wrong words to cost the buyer a lot of money. For me it’s all about learning for the mistakes.

What is your favourite thing about working with realestate.co.nz?

I just think you guys have the best forum for exposing a property. Our job is to get maximum price for houses and we never really know what they are worth, but we provide a process for people to sell with. I use realsetate.co.nz all the time, and sold a house this morning to a couple who came from overseas, and this was the forum they were looking on. So it’s a great platform for reaching those overseas buyers. We have great success, with genuine enquiry – getting the buyers through the door.