Rebranding a 13-Year-Old Business - Dane Atherton and Rob Forde #103

Dane Atherton rebranded a business he had spent thirteen years building, then sat in a riverfront listing presentation where the vendor stopped him halfway through to ask who they were. He says that was the most useful thing that happened all year.

Dane Atherton and Rob Forde run Coastal on the Gold Coast, a business of about 120 agents that was a Harcourts franchise until it dropped the brand.

What you will learn:

- What actually happens to a business when it walks away from a national brand, and how long the market takes to catch up

- Why they treat the agent as the client, and the hotel analogy they run the whole business on

- The line about firing a top performer for bad behaviour, and why one of them says you are not a principal until you have

- Why they think a lot of agents should stay inside a business rather than open their own office

- When to hire your first person, and the deal count they say you should hit yourself first

Chapters

00:00 Two directors, one rebrand

03:16 What Harcourts left in the DNA

06:36 So who are you guys

09:53 Branding down to the shoes

11:33 Telling the team before the launch, not at it

14:51 The award night that changed what he thought was possible

18:09 Staying reachable at 120 agents

21:28 Business units that out-earn whole offices

24:50 The nights he still lies awake

28:05 Kittens, kitty litter, and the job of a leader

29:43 The Christmas party, and backing a decision he disagreed with

36:18 Leaving a partnership over a values gap

39:34 Everyone watching to see what he would do

42:52 Bad behaviour is almost never about work

47:53 The best internal marketing is a one on one

52:52 Why hiring your mate almost never works

54:29 Hit thirty to forty deals yourself first

1:01:03 The person who says you backed me five years ago

1:07:38 Whether he could do it again from scratch

1:12:36 What it takes to be offered equity

Dane Atherton built a brand that works when he's not in the room. Property should work the same way.

Most properties only make money if the market does. The ones that pay for themselves from the day you settle are bought differently, and it comes down to four points.

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General information only. Not financial, tax, legal or credit advice. Bothsides is not a mortgage broker or credit provider.