Ray White Rural and Livestock Muster 2023

Ray White Rural and Livestock’s annual muster kicked off in Brisbane yesterday with the overriding theme of providing best in class service in all markets.

Ray White Rural and Livestock chairman Paul White and managing director Stephen Nell congratulated the network on an incredible year.

“The last nine months have been challenging but there have been some obvious highlights throughout the year. Ray White Rural was already on the map but the calibre of sales we’ve had this year have solidified us in this space,” Mr Nell said.

LR: Paul White, Stephen Nell and national performance director Matt White

“Ray White Rural and Livestock is now truly a national business. Your company and particularly those businesses in Western Australia and South Australia have really put the group on the map.

“We now list a third of all rural and lifestyle properties in Australia. But our best years are still ahead of us.”

Keynote speaker and dairy farmer Warren Davies (pictured above), known as The Unbreakable Farmer, spoke about resilience, persistence and determination.

He understands the impact that mental health and suicide has on rural communities.

Mr Davies spoke about his journey of him piecing back together his life and the learning of life lessons along the way after he lost his farm six years ago.

“It’s my story, it's my lived experience and some of it can be confronting,” Mr Davies said.

“I lost my identity when I lost my farm. Resilience, persistence and determination encapsulated my farming experience. I deal with anxiety and depression on a daily basis and inside I am churning, I have self doubt every single day.

“Be empathetic, ask open questions, give the person your undivided attention. Always remain non-judgemental and do not rush in your own advice.”

Non-executive chairman and co-founder of the pioneering Wagner Corporation, Denis Wagner (pictured above) has faced a lot of scepticism during his career. But through innovative thinking and a long term focus, he now heads one of the leading construction materials producers in south-east Queensland.

Founded and continuing to operate out of Toowoomba, the Wagner Corporation is well known for having built Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport, the first airport in Australia to be built without government funding.

With 30 years of experience in the heavy construction materials industry, Mr Wagner has seen it all and shared his story with the audience.

“When we decided to diversify our product and geographic base, we were able to take the skills that were developed here in Queensland and adapt those skills around the world,” he said.

“In 2012, we decided to build the Wellcamp Airport, the first public airport to be built in Australia since Tullamarine in Melbourne. We did this to attract industry to the Wellcamp Business Park.

“The industry tried everything to stop us but one thing that has been made clear to us is when someone tells us we can’t do something, it’s a case of let’s prove them wrong. I’ve found it to be a great motivator over the years.”

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee (pictured above) gave an economic update and the outlook for rural and regional property, plus regional migration in Australia.

“Not surprisingly we have seen an economic slowdown in the wake of 12 interest rate rises. During the pandemic people saved a lot of money but once lockdowns ended there was a surge in the economy and it overheated and gave us high levels of inflation with an incredibly low level of unemployment. The Reserve Bank’s goal is to keep unemployment low and to control inflation.”

“Markets are pricing in an 88 per cent chance of an interest rate hold next week.”

Ms Conisbee said the movement of people to regional Australia hit a record high during the pandemic.

“The population movement from Sydney and Melbourne to regional Queensland remains elevated. Compared to pre-pandemic there are fewer people moving to regional NSW and regional Victoria as a result of more people moving back.”

Ray White head of performance and recognition Bianca Denham (pictured above) spoke about the damage a scarcity mindset can do to a business.

“A scarcity mindset is when you believe there are limited resources and you start to create an over fixation on it in the mind,” she said.

“Your brain then spends all this time to fix the problem and when you’re focusing on the short term it can reinforce a catch and kill business model. It makes it hard in this short term scarcity mindset to focus on long term growth.”

Alistair Macmillan (pictured above) runs one of Ray White Queensland’s top offices, based in Wilston. With small town roots, coming from Goondiwindi, Mr Macmillan made the move to Brisbane and real estate in 1999.

After more than two decades of experience in the industry, he has been ranked in the top one per cent of the group’s performers for the last three years.

Mr Macmillan’s journey from country boy to leading business owner and sales agent hasn’t always been a smooth one. He considers real estate one of the few industries where you get back what you put in and has created a business that is focused on culture, along with high performance. The Ray White Wilston selling principal prioritises building a strong culture in his office and setting the office apart from competitors by giving back to the community.

HTL managing director Andrew Jolliffe (pictured above) spoke to Stephen Nell about working with high net worth individuals and offered his advice from more than 30 years of experience.

Mr Jolliffe, the top commercial business owner who sells marinas, lodges, pubs and five star hotels and whose biggest sale was worth $500 million, reminded everyone to always treat high net worth individuals with respect.

“I love selling for family dynasties. Always illustrate what you can do to create trust and use your history and your track record and be omnipresent in the market. Be passionate about the space you are in and less about market share,” Mr Jolliffe said.

“Can I sell your property? Ask for the business and get the owner to tell me I can't have it? Do it. They won't say no because you asked them.

“My approach to these clients is not dramatically different. There’s a commonality among high net worth people - we are all on limited time and the world is spinning faster - and high net worths are more aware of that. They don’t like time wasters and high net worth people have limited time so do what you can in two minutes, not 22 minutes.

“High net worth individuals have bigger assets and have a lot going on and behave in a sympathetic way and that is important and they will treat you more like an equal. They are no different.”

Ray White Rural WA’s Kate Jefferies, Ray White Rural Goulburn’s Justin Gay and Mark Simpson (pictured above) of Ray White Biloela spoke to Ray White Rural network operations manager Sonya Grosso on an elite panel about growing their businesses.

Mr Gay said that his business is in growth mode. “We’d be redundant if we weren’t, there’s only 1-2 degrees in it. So for me, it’s all about the business for me,” he said.

The Goulburn business has a custom built auction room where they run in-rooms every second Friday. “It brings our community together and reinforces that we are part of a big family, with family morals working for families.”

Bull rider and Ray White Redland Bay business owner Jesse James (pictured above) isn’t your average real estate agent. Donning his signature cowboy hat and boots, he’s a well known figure on the bayside market of Brisbane. His big personality and fearless attitude has led him to build one of Ray White Brisbane’s most successful businesses. He shared his story of highs and lows with the audience and what he’s learned throughout his career.

To cap off the day, Australian football legend and “Lambassador”, Sam Kekovich (pictured above) shared some of the lessons he’s learned over his career.

Ray White Rural Parkes | Forbes | Condobolin | West Wyalong duo Kim Watts and Tracie Robertson (pictured above) said they both loved the networking opportunity about the Rural Muster.

“I love meeting new people and understanding the challenges facing everyone are the same regardless of the location or market situation,” Ms Watts said.

“Warren Davies, The Unbreakable Farmer, was excellent as I could relate to his situation and difficulties.”

James Brown (pictured above) from Ray White Rural and Livestock Albury and Holbrook came with an open mind, excited to hear what the day had in store.

“Nerida’s overview of the economy and of what’s transpired over the last 12 to 18 months was very insightful,” he said.

“Bianca’s speech was great. There’s certainly some tactics to take out of that about scarcity and abundance in your business.

“Denis Wagner’s talk was really good, with him coming from a family business with a lot of visions, it was good to hear about his experiences and challenges.”