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The world of business has strong similarities to the sports industry in ways many wouldn't expect. From the intense competition to the importance of teamwork and strategy, the lessons learned on the field can often be applied to the office.
Regina Mangan, Managing Director at Liberty Blue Estate Agents, broke down her tips for success. Sharing her perspective on transforming her letting agency into a well-oiled team that continuously strives for excellence, Regina has given her practical advice on recruitment, training, and overcoming the fear of investing in technology.
Why is the world of sports so relatable to business?
We put a lot of work into our vision, mission, values, and brand personality, which define who we are and how we behave. For example, one of our brand personalities is that we're energetic, so if someone's not being energetic, we talk about what that means. In terms of sport, the whole story about Dave Brailsford, how he led the British cycling team to win the Olympics, was all about marginal gain. For me, running my company, it's about continuous improvement. It's a mindset; I want us to stay in our own lane but also focus on continuously improving.
Marginal gains are quite powerful. The performance of the British riders in 2003 was so underwhelming that one of the top bike manufacturers in Europe refused to sell bikes to the team because of bad PR. A new coach came along, and what made him different from previous coaches was his relentless commitment to a strategy—referred to as the aggregation of marginal gains, a philosophy of searching for tiny margins of improvement. He did crazy stuff that nobody else thought of, like redesigning bike seats to make them more comfortable and rubbing alcohol on the tyres for better grip. He also changed the pillows for the cyclists when they stayed in hotels to improve their sleeping. All of these things make a significant difference. They had a goal to win the Olympics in five years, and in fact, they won in three years. So it's, it's extraordinary.
The more we invest in training, the better our people will perform and the happier they will be in their jobs, which means better results for our clients and staff retention.
What was your epiphany moment, and how did it impact your business?
I'm absolutely rubbish at technology, but I know what problems I want to solve and work at to improve things in the business. When I shared with my husband that I was going to a prop-tech conference seven years ago, he got a great laugh because we have about five remote controls at home, and I could never figure out which one to use.
One particular speaker hugely impressed me—a guy called Kristjan Byfield. He's a phenomenal guy. He shared so much about his business and the technology they used. So I asked Kristjan at the end of his talk if I should go and visit his business in London called Base Property. He didn't think this Irish woman would land in his office two weeks later. That day in Kristjan's office created a vision for me, where I could see clearly what the future needed to look like for Liberty Blue.
As you can imagine, our office in Waterford seven years ago was like a crazy busy train station; people used to come in all day long with maintenance problems, sending in emails that were going to three different people. Then, in terms of collecting rent, using manual systems, using manual credit card machines, and so many other paths, we used massively time-consuming processes. We looked at what we could implement to make things better, and we implemented 14 pieces of technology over four years. It was a huge investment, but it transformed the business.
How do you work with people with different levels of technology experience?
It's about having the right people doing the right job. Am I the right person to do maintenance? No, my job is to develop the business and the vision and drive revenue. My job is not to run Fixflo. In terms of having the right people doing the right job and having the right people on the bus, first of all, that goes back to recruitment and hiring people based on your values and your brand personality. I believe it's about mindset, not about technology.
We're not buying or investing in technology to become tech experts. We want to solve a problem and reduce and eliminate waste.
Recruitment isn't an exact science. Would you agree?
We strive to bring happiness to customers, colleagues, and our community by being helpful experts. We are not perfect; we do not get it right all the time. It's important to know what your mission is. People don't generally like doing wasteful activities; we all need clarity. That's where systems and training come in, and one of the best things that we brought in which has had a really positive impact, is we have a team meeting every morning at nine o'clock. We've been doing that religiously for two years now. Again, I think it's marginal gains. It's like a 1% improvement; there's no one silver bullet, and you're in a pressurised environment. So it won't always be a bed of roses, but I think it's about making people feel appreciated. It's about people having clarity on what their role is and having the right people on the bus, i.e. having the right people working with you and understanding what your expectations are by having key performance indicators.
Warren Buffett said, "I can buy anything, but I can't buy time". He is one of the richest men in the world, and he's in his late 80s. It is probably the most wasted commodity in business, and it is the most valuable commodity. Imagine if we could take time out to go and meet a friend at lunch rather than being stressed. And imagine how much we can improve our business and how much money we can save. At the end of the day, turnover is vanity and profit is reality.
How are business operations different in Ireland compared to the UK?
Geographically, there's a whole scale difference. The United Kingdom has scale; Ireland is a small country, and we don't have access to the same technology that agents in the UK have in terms of CRMs for estate agents. That's a big issue. I am part of two mastermind groups in the UK, and I went to the UK to search for ways of improving my business because, as I said, I didn't know what I was looking for. I didn't know what we didn't have; our business would not be as enjoyable to work in or as profitable because we'd be bogged down. I think the two things that I love in business are marketing and coaching and development. Continuous improvement is something I'm obsessed with, and one of the reasons I wanted to do this was to share some of the things that we've implemented that have been game-changers for the business. We're a small and independent business in Waterford, and I think we're punching above our weight because of what we're doing behind the scenes. Sometimes agents think, "We've got more listings, we've got more sales". To me, it's about what you do with your time and planning for the future, planning your exit strategy, planning for your pension, planning your savings, planning your team and leveraging resources.
I think you've got to go out and look. As an independent agent, I'm not part of a big brand. I think mentoring is very, very important. There are a number of mentors in real estate in the UK who are absolutely excellent.
What advice would you give to someone nervous about investing in technology?
There are so many variables, and there is a huge amount of technology out there. Go and find someone who is doing well and whom you admire. Learn from them, and find out what's working well. I believe in the law of reciprocation. You learn from talking to people. It's asking people that you trust for recommendations and then getting demos and figuring out what problem you want to solve.
Want to hear more from Regina?
Watch her webinar with Fixflo now
Gemma Nettle
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