RESE 2018 Interview: Justin Nickerson

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Transcript

Interviewer: It’s great to see you today, Justin!

Justin Nickerson: Thank you!

Interviewer: I really enjoyed your session. I’m trying to get some takeaways for people that couldn’t make it here today.

Justin Nickerson: Sure!

Interviewer: What do you think is the most rewarding thing about having a career in real estate?

Justin Nickerson: I think outside of the usual rewards which are financial rewards, I think it’s really an industry where it doesn’t matter what your starting point is, when you go and haven’t gone to Uni, female or male, young or old, how clever you are. I think it’s an industry that’s generally one that rewards you for the investment you put into it. So that’s a reward in itself, knowing that whatever level you get to, you earned to get to that level.

Interviewer: Yeah, relying on yourself and your own performance and it gets you that paycheck.

Justin Nickerson: Yeah there’s no corporate ladder to climb, no glass ceilings anywhere. It’s genuinely what level you want to get to is the level that you can get to, just a bit of hard work between where that is and where you are now.

Interviewer: And no limiting beliefs.

Justin Nickerson: That’s correct!

Interviewer: So if an agent was obviously to you, asking for advice on how to get their career to the next level, what would you say to them?

Justin Nickerson: Other than do more auctions? No, I think –

Interviewer: Well if that’s it, that’s it. But –

Justin Nickerson: Probably business is a part of it. I think agents have to A: attach yourself to a strong mentor. So whoever you want to be, you’ve got to find that person and see what they do and then adapt your style on top of what they do. But I think we said inside that the one thing that all have in common is consistency. So whatever you do, do it consistently day in and day out and don’t expect to be rewarded for it initially. Know the rewards will come down the line and you have to keep persevering.

Interviewer: Sure! So you run your own business and have for a while. What do you think it takes to be a great leader?

Justin Nickerson: That’s a good question because I don’t think I’m a great leader and everyone aspired to be better than they are, they should anyway. I think you have to genuinely care about your people so the people inside, if that’s one person or it’s 50 people, there you will have a genuine care for them, reaching their potential as people and not just as a commodity for you. Because if you just care of the as a commodity for your business to serve your interests, well if that runs parallel or not to what they want, then you will never be able to help them get to where they want to get to. So I think having a level of care for your people is important, because they want to believe in you and you in them and that goes both ways.

Interviewer: Yeah, that’s nice. I like that! Wanting to grow their lives.

Justin Nickerson: Well yeah, because that’s a cliché but everyone wants to live the best life they can. If in some small way I can help their life be better, and if they can help my life be better which the interaction is two-ways, then that’s what we both want out of it.

Interviewer: So I know that you’re very successful in the auctioneering scene. What do you attribute your success to?

Justin Nickerson: Hard work. I think that I’ve worked really hard.

Interviewer: So what is hard work mean?

Justin Nickerson: Well it means a lot of practice, it means a lot of putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, it means doing a lot of auctions you don’t get paid to do, whether that would be charity auctions or in the park. Until you get paid to practice by doing a lot of it, for me it was about practice, practice, practice. So I am not a gifted public speaker –

Interviewer: You looked pretty gifted then.

Justin Nickerson: I’m not gifted mathematically neither but I’ve learned those skills and refined them to get to a level that can help me get better and better because through the work that I’ve invested into. My thing has always been that whether it’s an auction competition or on stage, I never want to go into a competition in particular and know that people in there prepared more than I have, because if I go in there and I’ve done everything I’ve can and someone beats me, then that’s ok, I can live with that. But if I go in the underprepared and they beat me cause they prepared more, that’s on me.

Interviewer: Yeah so as long as you know you prepared the best you can and have done the best performance.

Justin Nickerson: Yeah and it’s part of my OCD that I need to have that and I can go to bed resting knowing that I’ve done all I can. But for me, that’s always been my thing. No one will ever out prepare me. Occasionally someone will do a better job though.

Interviewer: Ok. Thanks Justin, really appreciate your time.

Justin Nickerson: Thank you!

Interviewer: Lovely to see you today!

Justin Nickerson: Cheers!