In this article series, I'm going to feature some of the leaders in BSA and share their experiences with me and the team.
Today, we will be speaking to Ryan Lee.
Ryan is an Associate District Director and places his focus on helping clients look for their ideal homes based strictly on their needs as well as seeking to inculcate many successful property investors.
The interview is conducted by my team on my behalf.
Can you introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Ryan Lee. I've been in this industry since 2008, about 14 years now. I started my journey by focusing on the HDB market before moving toward managing resales and landed properties. I also facilitated various property projects. And up to recently, these three to four years, I expanded my service to catering to office and commercial spaces, including managing industrial properties.
What made you go into Real Estate?
My passion for Real Estate itself.
So, previously, before I switched careers, I was in process engineering, and in 2007, I've decided to move on to another industry, more so exploring industries that are high paying in Singapore. And I shortlisted careers in Real Estate, insurance, remisier, and interior design.
Ultimately, I was choosing between Real Estate and interior design because of my passion for houses, I love looking at beautiful homes. And, but because I cannot draw, I decided to go to the property line instead!
How did you actually first meet Bobby?
I knew Bobby before knowing he was in Real Estate. In fact, I didn't know he was in Real Estate until I joined PropNex. I knew Bobby in Army, he was my campmate from our First Commando Battalion unit. And I was only aware of his division after trying out with various groups in PropNex.
What was your first impression of Bobby?
Bobby is a very good public speaker, very convincing and on point. He has great charisma and can speak to a huge crowd with ease. And my impression of Bobby as a realtor is that he progressed very well in this industry and thus I wanted to learn "how to become a good leader" from him, otherwise, to learn the arts of team building.
Because, you know, I saw his growth throughout the years. When I first met him in PropNex back in 2008-2009, his team was just less than twenty. But every time I see him, his team will grow tremendously. Like after a few years I saw him, his team grew from 20 to 100 to 300. When I joined his division in 2017, he already had 800+ agents. And in 2020, his team grew to 2,400.
So, yes, the main reason why I joined him was that I was ready to build my own team having that I was already self-sufficient in my personal sales. And I'm proud to share that I grew from being a one-man team in 2017 to now, managing 17 agents, and have been promoted twice in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
How would you describe Bobby as a mentor and also as a leader?
There is no doubt about his abilities to recruit people, on top of his reputation, he can easily convince and provide solid directions to the new agents/RES.
And people know him as part of the 四大天王 (Literal translation to "The big four kings"). He, CJ, Kelvin Fong, and Dominic Lee jointly came together and created the group "PNG". And now, PNG has merged with PropNex to become one group.
Bobby strongly believes in the 90/10 concept - where 90% of success comes from individual ownership, and 10% of 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?
Because my approach is different, therefore my perspective on the saying for this concept will differ from the intent of Bobby's. As a veteran in Real Estate, I could easily relate to the statement. We know deep in our hearts that most efforts should come from within. So I do agree with the "90/10" rule.
Based on experience, when these new RES join a division, they are looking to be guided, to depend on their managers, right? And the truth is, the said "10%" from #BSA refers to an abundance of support and help! Bobby's 10% actually refers to a lot of help and support programs.
With reference to the 90/10 rule, I prefer to advocate that we are running this like a company. The only difference is this company only has one person that runs everything, from marketing, sales, HR, to finance all by yourself. To build on having entrepreneurial mindsets, including when to outsource the very routine jobs. That said, my target group is those looking at career switching because they have already a goal and an aim to build their "business".
Understand from your sharing that the individual has to know how to do a wide variety of things, it seems like there's a lot of individual ownership needed - similar to 90%?
Yes, agree with the later part of a RES journey!
You see, each segment of the variety of things to do has to be guided. The "where to go to" and "what to learn" at the very beginning of a RES journey, followed by "where to get and also, convince the client" and then moving to "how to market the property, sell the property, negotiate and close the deal, and repeat the process". These need to be guided. The 90/10 rule only comes after all these are taught, learned, and mastered.
How would you say the support system and also the resources provided to you and your team by #BSA is different from what you've been seeing in other divisions?
There are many leaders in #BSA and many times, we will do cross-training. #BSA does updates on news and the latest trends. There is also a lot of training provided by PropNex. Most of the time you don't need to reinvent the wheel, we just point our candidates to the right PropNex and #BSA training. Compared to other companies, in PropNex and #BSA, you can really find a lot of resources.
PropNex will also come out with certain strategies for any new measure necessarily. Then #BSA will then enhance the company's direction.
How has being a subsidiary of BSA impacted you as a leader, and also in leading your team?
We are considered under a bigger umbrella that appeals to many and tends to leave a good image. Just like how people are drawn towards working with "Google" compared to joining a random SME. It is an advantage.
In terms of resources, there are a lot of leaders in #BSA, hence we can always do cross-training and sharing of expertise. The leaders are talented in different fields, and different aspects, such as commercial, landed, and projects. Hence, essentially learning from the best. I think this is something unique compared to smaller teams.
The top three traits that you look out for in potential new RES to join your team? How many people do you have in your team currently? And is there a goal that you're looking to hit?
Somehow, I attract agents that have a career goal in mind, which is also my number one trait. And I also realized that the other two common traits amongst my team are that they emphasize work-life balance and seek to grow their own assets as well.
I hope to reach a team of 30 by 2023, but I am focusing more on dedicating time to coaching and ensuring that my agents are bringing income back home or excel in their careers. And in fact, most of my agents are active full-timers, although the number is not huge I have the highest number of full-timers compared to other teams. And overall, a lot of the other teams are facing the 80-20 rule, in which one earns a lot while others are not doing very well. My team is balanced, everyone contributed fairly.
Do you have anything else you'd like to share about Bobby or about #BSA?
The good thing about Bobby is that no matter how much noise there is, as long as he believes in it, he will persist and do it. This is something not many can do, not many leaders can do.
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Connect with Ryan here!
