Linda Simmons honed her marketing skills in the corporate world, selling some of the world’s most popular chocolate bars. For the past seven years she’s used those talents to sell real estate, and is doing exceptionally well. Among the top five percent of Bayleys’ agents in the country and a previous winner of REINZ’s best multi-media campaign of the year, she says it’s not only her marketing know-how that has led to her success – she also has a secret weapon.
That’s not a Kiwi accent – where are you from originally?
My parents were from the UK but didn’t want to live there so they travelled the world. I was born in Jamaica and lived there until I was 10, when we moved to Ireland. Three years later we went to England so my sister, Jacquie McDonald, and I could go to high school there. We never really settled in England, and after university, my sister and I set off to go around the world for two years. We came to New Zealand, fell in love with the country and both vowed we would live here one day. Jacquie met her husband then and moved here quite quickly; it took me a bit longer to get back.
How did you manage that?
Start your property search
I went back to England and started my marketing career working for a confectionary firm, Rowntree Mackintosh. I was the brand manager for Kit Kat. I applied for the job because I love chocolate and I wanted to work on something I had a real passion for. Nestle bought us, and because they were a global company, the next day I was in my boss’s office asking for a transfer to New Zealand.
I was here for three years and met my husband Mark, who came with me when they moved me Australia for four years, then to Nestle’s head office in Switzerland for seven years.
In my last years with Nestle I led an internal consultancy team that taught local teams in different countries how to market our products. That meant a lot of travelling. It was fun and an incredible lifestyle, but once I had my daughters Annabella and Clara, it became really hard. We decided that once the kids were ready to start school, we’d come back to New Zealand to bring them up in Devonport, where we had a home.
Did you get straight into real estate?
No, I had my own boutique business consultancy, which I set up with the goal of helping Kiwi companies to go global. The company I mostly worked with was a2 Milk. They were a tiny brand then, and busy fighting Fonterra. I got them to focus instead on what was so good about their product. They have become incredibly successful around the world.
That work started to get really busy and after about three years I wanted to pull back and spend time with my family. I loved being able to be a very present mother, driving the kids everywhere, helping the netball team, being on the school fundraising committee.
A career in marketing with Kit Kat and a2 Milk has given Linda Simmons her approach to marketing homes. Photo / Ted Baghurst
I was winding the business down when I kept bumping into an ex-colleague from my Nestle days, Sandra Forrester, who had gone into real estate. She was a branch manager, and she said, “Come and join me, I will see that you succeed.”
My husband agreed I should give it a whirl but Jacquie initially thought I was mad. She said, “Why would you want to do that? You’ll be rushed off your feet.”
But I thought it would be a lovely way to work in my neighbourhood. Jacquie ended up training too, so we could work together.
What was different about your approach to real estate?
There were already lots of good agents in my area and I knew I had to offer something different and better. I had to offer an added value proposition, which I do with the way I market properties. To me, it’s not about selling homes. People don’t buy houses, they buy lifestyle and experiences and what’s best for their family. It’s not just a financial journey, but an emotional one.
I read the stories in Herald Homes about the houses and the people selling them and I thought, Yes, that’s what real estate is about – the story of the home and the people who live there. The real estate industry teaches you to get rid of the personality of a home – to take down personal photos, for example – but I disagree with that. I think you need to bring personality and emotion in to it.
How do you do that?
I want to get to the heart of what each home is about, so I treat each one as a brand and I use video to tell its story. Where possible, I interview the owners and let them talk about their home because they can explain it way better than I can. It’s authentic and emotional. I get great feedback about the videos.
The other thing I do is make sure the properties I am marketing are as well presented as possible. I won’t put a house on the market unless it is the best it can be. I do that thanks to my secret offering – my sister.
What difference does Jacquie make?
I couldn’t do what I do without her. Through her, I offer a complete ‘get ready for market’ service. From the moment the vendors come to us, she is there making a list of what needs to be done, and she helps them to do it. She’s like a house fairy. We have contractors we use who will fit us into their schedule no matter how busy they are. We have an independent stylist who comes in and does a room-by-room report. The vendors can then follow her recommendations themselves, or our stylist will do it for them. My sister also looks after buyers, often driving people all over Devonport [in Auckland's North Shore] so that they really get to understand the area.
What Jacquie loves more than anything is helping people, and she often saves the day. She’s got no filter and I have to warn people that she’s going to be very honest but they end up so grateful for what she does.
We work as a team, me and Jacquie and the vendors, and also the people we bring in to help. I also have a fantastic PA, and wonderful support from my husband and daughters. I look at agents who are sole operators and I think, 'how do you do this on your own?’ There’s such a big workload. I find it works better for me to share what I earn to help me make my offering stronger.
What is it that you love about real estate?
It sounds cheesy, but it’s helping to make people’s dreams come true. When you sell someone’s home and see them jumping up and down with excitement, that is a great feeling. My goal is to sell what I list for the best possible price. Marketing is about profitability and making the product succeed and I enjoy being able to do that, with the help of my team.
And in your expert opinion… what’s the best chocolate?
Smarties, although they’re not very popular in New Zealand. So I’ll say Kit Kat. You can’t go wrong with Kit Kat.
