Janet Chong, the go-getter

SHE started out as a rookie just five years ago, and is now team manager at Hartamas Real Estate (OUG) Sdn Bhd. Janet Chong has closed 60 to 70 deals every year since she first joined the industry and has become a specialist in mid to high-end residential properties in the Kerinchi and Pantai areas in Kuala Lumpur. Her biggest deal thus far was a RM1.8 million unit in Park Residence in Bangsar South. In 2013 and 2014, she was the Silver winner at the in-house Hartamas Achievement Awards.

Coming from an agency that has won several real estate awards in recent years may have something to do with her passion for the industry. Hartamas Real Estate recently won four awards at the National Real Estate Awards 2015 organised by the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) including the Top Real Estate Firm of the Year, Commercial Real Estate Firm of the Year, Top Project Marketing Firm of the Year, and Top Commercial Real Estate Negotiator of the Year. It was also Real Estate Agency of the Year from 2011-2013, and Commercial Agency of the Year from 2011-2014.

“To be frank, I did not have any background in property and real estate when I first joined the industry. I was an accountant and only changed my career path five years ago,” Chong recalls with a smile.

Born in Miri, Sarawak, Chong furthered her studies in Kuala Lumpur after high school and graduated as an accountant.

So she started out as an audit trainee and gradually rose to become an account manager. She then switched to become a personal assistant to the managing director of a Japanese corporation.

“After a few years in the corporate line, I got bored with the daily routine so I quit the office job and became a retailer before following my husband’s footsteps to become a real estate agent,” says Chong.

Five years ago, Chong’s husband, Desmond Tho, a real estate agent and now branch director of Hartamas Real Estate (OUG) Sdn Bhd, invited Chong to help him handle the smaller real estate deals so that he could focus on the bigger clients and deals.

“Those were good times [for property agents]. Desmond was handling so many deals and listings so I decided to help him out, wishing that he would have more time for me and the children,” she says.

As things turned out, she fell in love with the industry and was so taken by its exciting outlook that she soon found herself registering to be a real estate negotiator.

“Although I started from zero (knowledge and network), but the market was so hot five years ago that I recorded very good results,” she notes.

“During those days, we’re the ones who received calls from buyers. We almost never needed to find buyers or tenants; they were the ones who kept calling us for new listings,” she recalls.

In 2012, the outstanding realtor couple was offered by Hartamas Real Estate to jointly form and lead its OUG branch in Kuala Lumpur. Today, it has more than 20 real estate agents and is growing rapidly.

Go deep, not wide

However, the property market has been cooling since last year. Chong confirms that it is much more difficult to close a deal now, “but it is not impossible”.

“Same as any other business and industry, we are changing our strategy, to not go wide, but deep,” Chong shares.

Instead of having a few listings in many areas, she and her team focus on one or two to better understand them and gain as many listings as possible in these particular areas.

“Buyers are more cautious in making purchase decisions today. They are asking more questions and expect agents to know the property and area very well. If you are not knowledgeable enough, you might lose a potential client,” Chong says.

She adds that by knowing an area well, agents will be able to provide more facts and figures to convince buyers, such as the latest transaction price and rental yield, the latest development news in the area, nearby amenities and neighborhood information.

“Buyers will appreciate the extra information and your effort to gather the information. All this extra work could be key in helping you close a deal,” says Chong.

To become an area specialist involves more than drawing in buyers; you can be a co-broker as well. This can help an agent widen his or her customer network.

According to Chong, 70% of her deals were done through co-broking or working together with another agent /negotiator.

“This industry is all about networking and maintaining good relationships with property owners, buyers and other brokers,” Chong says.

“We are now living in a fast-paced era where a buyer is looking for an instant response and information when they approach you. If you do not have what they are looking for, do not hesitate to go to an agent who has the listing. Closing the deal together is always better than losing business,” she notes.

This is also why Chong asks her team members to each select, study and develop contacts and their reputation in a particular area so that they can support each other if buyers are looking for properties in a few areas at the same time.

Be disciplined

Chong says people are wrong to think being a real estate agent is an easy job. “I am very serious in recruiting new agents. I want someone who is serious about this job — not one who just considers this as a source of side income. This job offers you flexible working hours but you have to be disciplined and be committed to it,” Chong notes.

Instead of aggressively recruiting potential agents, she scares them by telling them all the bad scenarios, such as no income for months, long working hours and the stress.

“I started from zero and the very first thing I did to build my network was to call homeowners to offer our service. I will never forget the experience with one lady. As soon as she knew why I was calling, she said she was not selling her unit but she can sell me a casket, if I wanted any,” she laughs, adding that there are many more bad experiences

She also told people who wish to join the industry not to dream of working from home.

“You view as many units as possible. Most of the time, you will have to work during weekends or at night. I have never seen an agent close a deal just by calling from home,” Chong notes.

On the back of a 10% to 20% average success rate, she set herself and her agents a goal of “10 viewing activities per week” and to achieve one closed deal per week.

“This is not mission impossible even though the market is slow. I am not that kind of leader that sits in the office and manages the agents. I still meet buyers to close my own deals. Before I share my strategy with my fellow agents, I will make sure it works for me so they will have no excuse for not achieving their targets,” she stresses.

Despite the slowdown in the overall property market, Chong is confident of continuing with the “one closed deal per week” target this year and lead her team to become one of the top in the nation in two or three years.

As a mother of two young boys, Chong says she seldom feels the stress of balancing her career with family life.

“I believe this is the industry that will reward you if you put enough effort into it. I have faith in this industry and am always excited to achieve higher targets. I believe one should always get a job that you like, so you will never work a day and feel stressed!”

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This story first appeared in The Edge Property pullout on Oct 23, 2015, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download The Edge Property here for free.