Drive, focus and resilience
Rachel Dovey’s introduction into real estate some 20 years ago was when a recruitment company approached her for a role in project marketing at Bayleys head office.
‘‘They jokingly said its perfect for you, as the job description details that this role is not for the faint hearted, and it certainly wasn’t. We worked on 15 significant developments across Auckland and Fiji,’’ says Dovey.
‘‘We brought developments to the market that hadn’t been built. The vision, marketing and selling strategies had to be strong and bring the proposed apartment offering to life to engage buyers. Today the digital marketing and media components of project marketing are so much more lifelike and engaging than back then,’’ says Dovey.
Dovey has used her considerable expertise, resilience and renowned negotiation skills to successfully head up multiple sales teams for Bayleys Canterbury, overseeing the agency’s regional strategic operations in the residential, rural and lifestyle properties markets.
Each of those property sectors operates under different paradigms from its counterpart, and each niche has its own challenges and opportunities.
As general manager of sales Dovey leads a skilled team of sales managers across the Canterbury region and Wanaka while concurrently responsible for growing Bayleys’ already strong presence in Canterbury.
Dovey’s success makes her a strong advocate for the real estate industry as a career path, saying patience and resilience while you build relationships with clients is key.
‘‘People who are great problem solvers and have a real cando attitude do very well in this industry,’’ says Dovey. ‘‘As are great multi taskers…you can be submitting on a listing, working on a contract, preparing a property for market, and taking multiple calls around a current listing. The days are often diverse and when a buyer wants to write up an offer, all the other tasks can be put on hold.’’
Above all, Dovey says, be prepared to be in it for the long haul.
‘‘This is a career that can take time to build not only your business but your profile and reputation. Be prepared to work hard and do the industry basics.’’
There is little downtime in Dovey’s life, which also includes a husband and two rescue cats, but when there is Dovey focuses on things that take her mind somewhere else.
‘‘Walking and Pilates is fantastic for that, both clears your mind and is great for your breathing,’’ says Dovey. ‘‘Prior to the Covid era I was always big on going away to Asia for a holiday break, you step out and away from the day to day and being in a different time zone means you can’t be in the business.’’
Dovey is very much an active relaxer, starting fast walking half marathons seven years ago.
‘‘I needed a goal outside of real estate and I was determined that work didn’t have a major impact on my health and wellbeing, so I love to walk,’’ says Dovey, who has completed about 12 half marathons from the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney and the Auckland Harbour
Bridge.
While Dovey’s drive and strong contribution to the real estate sector has seen her receive the coveted Graham Bayley Award, the highest accolade in the Bayleys group, you get the distinct impression there is considerably more to come in what has already been an outstanding career.