Real estate expert and The Block auctioneer Tom Panos

---

Rookie real estate agents expecting to strike it rich overnight were hit with a reality check by industry guru Tom Panos, who warned the first three years would make or break a career in the cut-throat industry.

“The first three years are going to be tough. It’s going to suck,” said Panos, an auctioneer on The Block and renowned real estate coach.

Speaking to more than 100 local agents at a workshop hosted by the Gold Coast Bulletin, Panos said 60-plus hour working weeks were the norm for new agents, while establishing a strong personal brand was the key to success.

The Sydney-based guru in his element at a weekend auction

---

Panos highlighted three phases in the career of a real estate agent — emerging, growth, and pinnacle — but noted many dropped off before making it through the first.

“I [see] all these real estate agents who are emerging that want to be a pinnacle agent without getting in line, staying in line, and doing the time,” he said.

“They just don’t want to do it. All they want to do is say, ‘oh, she’s writing $3m, I’ll do what she’s doing’. No.

“You can’t do what she’s doing because no one knows you. And we, of course, are in the game of attention.”

Real estate coach Tom Panos addresses Gold Coast agents

---

MORE NEWS

Inside playground designer’s ultimate family fun house

Gold Coast’s highest sale of the week revealed

How Aussie bitcoin queen made millions

Leveraging media was a savvy way to boost business and eventually make the transition from becoming “the prospector to the prospected”.

“Or, we get business because we go out like a hustler, like a crazy man calling, door knocking, just letterbox dropping, saturating the marketplace.

“But we are, of course, in the process, getting the attention of people that don’t want us and they reject us. And for many people, that is the reason why they eventually leave real estate,” he said.

More than 100 agents attended the workshop hosted by the Gold Coast Bulletin

---

Along with sharing a roadmap for newer agents, Panos revealed a bold strategy for sellers struggling to move properties in the current market.

“If you were to adjust the price of every one of those 35 listings by 10 per cent, you would make sales,” he said.

The workshop covered how agents can leverage both traditional and digital media to grow their presence and secure more listings, with speakers also including Gold Coast real estate editor Aleisha Dawson and client partner Jack Watchorn.