Redbrick Mortgage Advisory is honored to interview Mr. Mark Teo, head of HEXA Group of ERA. Hexa Group is the home of the number 1 champion team Catalyst Division for 3 years consecutively 2018, 2019 and 2020. Mark is the Emeritus Agency Group Division Director who has been developing and grooming the next generation of real estate advisers and leaders. Mark also shares about how his real estate journey began and how he witnessed almost 3 decades of evolution – connecting real estate with the new generation.
Q: How long have you been working in this industry?
Mark: I graduated as a mechanical engineer from NUS and worked as an R&D Engineer for 3-4 years before I started my journey with ERA. It has been 30 years and I haven’t had any regrets!
Q: Grooming the team and sales management can be taxing, what motivates you for these 30 years, doing what you do?
Mark: It is the sense of satisfaction that motivates me. Right now, I am focused on grooming my people to make sure that they can grow and reach greater heights.
Q: What made you transit from a successful salesperson to a management role?
Mark: About 25 years ago, ERA had branches in different estates. I was running one of the branches for ERA. The transition started when a lot of my clients wanted to join me in the real estate business. That sparked the shift in my business model, from solely selling into guiding and coaching new agents.
It was through this that I realised I enjoyed sharing my knowledge with new agents. The transition allowed me to enable new agents who did not have high-paying jobs previously, to be able to earn enough to give their family a better quality of life through ERA. Knowing that I have played a part in their journey, gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
Q: In your opinion, what are some of the most important attributes of successful leaders today?
Mark: Dedication and Vision. You have to think for your people. You have to put yourself in their shoes – you cannot assume that they know what you know, and you cannot brush them off. In our context, many leaders are also busy with closing deals, recruiting and business development.
If you are managing a large team, there will be times when conflicting situations challenge your priorities. As a leader, knowledge is important but your dedication to your people has a greater priority.
Q: What are some personal values that have stayed with you throughout the years?
Mark: I believe strongly in collaboration and innovation. When you have a group of people, you want to ensure that they collaborate and work with each other to multiply the productivity. Everyone can share resources, making it easier to scale effectively and close deals. This is very important for overall productivity.
In innovation, we do not simply just tell our people to go digital by listing in multiple portals and paying for online ads. Instead, we share our past experiences so that they can learn from our successes.
These values help us evolve and grow together to remain relevant in the industry. We stay in tune with industry changes and remain focused on building our people.
Q: Of all your clients, do you have an interesting client encounter that stood out from the rest?
Mark: After a meeting with one of my first clients, I asked if I could take a shower in her house as I have a dinner meeting thereafter. She was so surprised at my request, but agreed. Somehow, it became an insider joke that would come up every time we meet, especially since it occurred within our first few meetings. We became very good friends after that!
Also, when her son was younger, he would always bring water for my car (a Mazda 323 GT) that would always overheat at the time. Today, he is a very successful insurance salesperson, and we would always enjoy our catch ups. I am greatly appreciative of the help that they have given me in the early days of my career.
Q: How would you advise clients who are hoping to upgrade from a HDB to a landed property?
Mark: If they can afford it, I would recommend that they go ahead. However, I would advise against overstretching their finances.
Q: What kind of advice would you give a first-time homeowner?
Mark: I would advise them to look at their finances. I would also recommend buying within their means. If the individual is young, has great potential and stable finances, I would not stop them if they wanted to take on a bit of extra risk – for example buying two properties instead of one. At a fundamental level, I would still advise purchasing within their financial means.
Q: What is the one thing that makes you proud?
Mark: I am very proud to be able to make a positive impact on the people that I have built relationships with for the past 30 years!
