Writing Her Own Rules: Michelle Kerr on Redefining Real Estate
Founder of DUET Property Group Michelle Kerr puts the clients before the sale | Source: DUET Property Group
For Michelle Kerr, founder of DUET Property Group, kindness is key, and this philosophy hasn’t waved in the three years since she opened DUET. In fact, this philosophy has arguably contributed to the property group’s ongoing successes.
Kerr enjoys several Agent of the Year awards while DUET continues to score as Western Australia’s top-selling agency. But as her reputation has flourished, her approach to selling remains grounded.
As my profile has grown I have taken great care to ensure that I still provide the same level of service to my clients as I did when I only have one home to sell.
My golden rule is that I never have more than ten clients at a time. Selling your home is incredibly stressful and personal and I want to make sure I am at my client’s beck and call at all times.
This boutique style of real estate is Kerr’s defiance of the traditional churn and burn methods that so often dominate the industry. Starting her career in property development and renovation before getting into real estate meant that Kerr had a unique perspective of the industry. She used this experience to cherry-pick what she liked about real estate and leave behind what she didn’t.
During that time [in property development] I bought and sold a huge amount of properties and had certainly worked out what I liked and disliked about real estate agents.
The GFC was a massive reset for me and so, when given the opportunity to go into the industry on the other side I was like a kid in a candy shop. I basically used everything that I disliked about the industry to create a business model that addressed a lot of those issues I had spent years on the other side resenting.
The business model that Kerr pursued with DUET is one that is tech-centric with a focus on marketing and communications. In fact, the property group describes itself as “a marketing company that happens to sell real estate”.
Creating DUET in her image was a monumental moment in Kerr’s career.
There is nothing like putting your money where your mouth is. Being able to create a business from scratch and incorporate the technology and marketing I wanted was a dream.
Now that the brand has been firmly established, Kerr and the team plan to expand outwards in the next 12 months.
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