In this article series, I'm going to feature some of the leaders in #BSA and share their experiences with myself and in the team! Today, we will be speaking to Kelvin Chuang!
Kelvin specializes in Commercial Properties and has been in the industry for close to 21 years. He has won multiple awards, achieved multiple promotions, and was most recently promoted to Senior Associate Group District Director with effect from 01 September 2021. He is also regularly invited to speak, conduct talks, and give trainings to his peers in the industry.
The interview is conducted by my team on my behalf.
What were you doing before Real Estate?
I was doing civil engineering, and my first project was the MatRitchie Viaduct
Joined a listed company company as a Purchaser for about 2-3 years
Headhunted by F&N (Fraser and Neave) to do a new project for the theme park at Haw Par Villa. I was in charge of the Invest & Entertainment Departments and worked with local performers like Kumar, Gurmit Singh and Koh Chieng Mun
Helped F&N run shopping centers like Northpoint, Causeway Point and Anchorpoint
Headhunted by Kwok Group to be stationed in China to build and run shopping centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen
My last project was doing a theme park in Shenzhen, called Happy Valley
Because of my family commitments, I wasn't able to be stationed overseas for work anymore. I had to turn down many job opportunities that required me to travel. That's how I decided to go into Real Estate sales as my career.
What's your experience like in Real Estate?
At the start, it was very tough for me because I've never done any sales in my previous jobs before, as I was mainly handling operations. It was difficult for me to put my ego down and do things like door knocking. I've had many experiences where homeowners slammed their door in my face, and left me with many emotional times when I'll take my bag, sit by the staircase, and start tearing up. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I managed to pull through it after telling myself I still have a baby and a family to feed, so I just kept on going.
Following that, I started working harder and harder. Many times I will see many others go on stage to get recognized for their achievements and get their awards, but I realized that there was no chance for me to get any awards. That's when I started to strategize my business plan. First thing I decided was that I needed to have a certain GTA (Geographical Target Area) to increase my results. I started focusing on doing sales in Sim Lim Square retail shops. In the past, Sim Lim Square was one of the highest PSF shopping centres in the whole Singapore, and I still managed to sell quite a number of units.
Then I started going into Commercial Real Estate with my combined industry knowledge. I conducted commercial property courses and formed a team called Commercial Elite Team in 2013. This team allowed RES from all different agencies to share resources on commercial properties, learn from one another, and earn together. I believed that having a group of people to do things together, will surely lead to a higher success rate than being an individual agent marketing for themselves.
Fast forward till today, I've been doing in the Real Estate industry for close to 21 years now.
How did you meet Bobby, and what's your impression of him?
I already heard of Bobby from a training he conducted about Asset Progression, but I didn't know him personally. Even though he was younger than me, I felt he was different. Very energetic, very creative. Although he didn't speak to me, I could see from his look that he's different from others. That's my first impression of him.
How would you describe Bobby as a mentor and leader?
Bobby is a very independent leader. Normally people will think that a leader must "gather a lot of people to move together"... I will say both 'yes' and 'no' to that statement. Firstly, Bobby will cover the areas which we are weak at. For example, he can 'very impromptu' pick up any script and openly talk about it. He will also do a very detailed individual human touch when he's speaking.
Another strong point is that he's able to take the initiative on many things and run on his own. Because his group is very big, not everyone will be doing things with him. When he decides to do something, he will go ahead and executive things himself first. Through his actions, he inspires other members in the group to follow in his experience of taking action in new things that others may not have done before.
As a mentor, I think he's great. Even though he's younger than me, sometimes when I speak to him (even though we are both very busy), he will give me another perspective of the market and on how to manage agents in my team. That's why I enjoy talking to him because I know I will always have some takeaways.
What made you decide to join Bobby?
He's also very creative, a very self disciplined leader who will keep on trying and pushing himself to greater heights. He has the passion on what he's doing. That's why I chose to join him.
Bobby strongly believes in the 90/10 concept - where 90% success comes from individual's ownership, and 10% success comes from the resources and support that #BSA provides to help everyone achieve their goals and success. Do you agree with this and personally how have you experienced this?
I agree with Bobby. Because I feel that individual leaders is like a "嫁出去的女儿" (daughter that's married out to another family) where they've already grown up, and have their own "family". Bobby is just like a father in the "family" (team). After you "grow up", you will be attached out of your own family.
When you start your own family/team, you need your own team culture, your own branding, and your team's training system. So the people who join your team, will be because of you - not because of Bobby. Definitely Bobby provides additional help under the big "umbrella" team of #BSA is an addition under the big umbrella. But you yourself must be strong first so your team can grow together as one unit. That's where I feel the 90/10 concept comes from. 90% will be your own set of training, branding, systems for your team members. 10% is for Bobby to support with the resources and support that #BSA provides.
For example: When you need a particular portion that your business or team lacks - like coaching. Then you just take out that portion from #BSA resources and implement them in your own division. There's no way for Bobby to provide for 2,500+ people's individual needs
The way I see things, is that the team leader is like the father of the particular family. They must take care of the family first. Anything else (like the extra 10%) get it from the "grandfather" (Bobby and #BSA). That is the 90/10 concept in my understanding and beliefs.
How have the digital assets helped you?
I do know that Bobby has quite a number of digital and virtual trainings. Most of them are important to me, they are significant in my and my team's growth.
I know that Bobby spends so much time on his digital assets because he really thought through them. He will use a lot of effort to produce a video training and put it up online for everyone to learn effectively and easily.
How has being a subsidiary of #BSA impacted you as a leader and leading your team?
Under the whole #BSA group, we have quite a big number of agents. We have a big number of people doing different things like Project, Resale, Commercial. So we can tag along the whole entire group network to ask for help. It will benefit everyone so its easy for everyone to move forward together
The Digital Virtual System training video also benefits the whole group. There may be some portions that I don't cover in my own trainings, and I will direct my team to Bobby's trainings as I know they are very effective and easy to learn.
How will you describe yourself as a leader?
I like to dream a lot. I dream all kinds of things. I like to push myself, to let myself feel younger. Because if I'm not, I will get stuck behind. Because I have recruited a number of people into the industry, most importantly I think its my responsibility that they all move forward together.
I want the people in my team to look at passion of the career and not on money alone. Because money will not sustain you very long. So you must have the right passion to grow this career, and with the right mentality to hold on it. They must have the right attitude and mentality towards this job.
What type of potential new RES are you looking to join your team?
To be very frank, at my age, it's not that easy to recruit new RES. New RES generally prefer to join younger leaders, who can give them the latest type of marketing skills - like social media, etc.
For me, I'm a very practical person, I will be very "hands on" with you. I cannot promise you will hit $1,000,000 in one shot. Because I have a different type of system of running the business, so if you are a new RES, I can immediately provide you with a system that has a lot of listings for you to kickstart your career. if you follow my system exactly, I am very confident within first 3 months, you will achieve 5 figure income. If you continue to work on it, for you to hit $100,000 to $200,000 income in the first year, no issue.
Any concluding statements you'd like to make about Bobby?
There's actually a lot of things to share about Bobby. He has his passion of what he's doing. He's a hardworking leader. He has his own mind and ideas. Something that he decides he want to do, he will pull through all the way, even if there's no support, or if he's alone. As long as he believes that a certain thing will help his team, and it will work, and it will be good for the group, he will pull through it. So I think he's very persistent and he's full of energy.
A lot of people don't really know him, and they will say he only puts up a very "surface" front. I can say that it's not the real him. Because once you get to know him, you will know that he's actually not what he portrays. Those who know him, will know that he really cares for each and every one.
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Connect with Kelvin here!
