High Flying Fallon

Fallon Loo and her team from Forefront Legacy Partners, talk to Property Insight about their success as a team 

The saying that “Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it” by Brian Tracy, seems to ring true with Fallon Loo.

Fallon Loo, a dynamic leader with Forefront Legacy Partners (FLP) has been emphasizing to her team what teamwork and staying together truly means. The FLP team have been making waves, achieving sales targets that sound impossible to most in today’s current property market.

How does one do this? With great effort and an incredible team is how she does this.  

Fallon brings the best out in her teammates and has instilled a sense of purpose which enables them to understand that the strength needed to fly high in today’s challenging market climate is indeed within themselves.

 

Property Insight: What inspired you to start Forefront Legacy Partners (FLP)?

Fallon: Well, I’d say the people I work with everyday really inspire me. They are a group of extremely passionate and determined individuals with the desire to succeed in this industry. And I came to the conclusion that there was no better way to help them realise their potential than by aligning them to a conducive environment that would foster learning, sharing and growth, and one that gives them, in addition to monetary rewards, a true sense of meaning in their professional lives.

I’ve been fortunate and privileged to have had good learning and growth opportunities over the years. These experiences have given me invaluable insight on the kinds of change and enhancement in execution and efficiencies needed for success at each inflection point in the industry. And these are things I want to share with the team, while I look forward to learning new things from them. I strongly believe that doing and sharing what you know is a lot more important than just having a deep understanding of something.

PI: Why the name “Forefront Legacy Partners”?

F: I personally believe that Legacy is about life and living. It’s about learning from the past, living in the present, and building for the future. Although money is essential, it is fundamental in creating a sense of accomplishment, we can very easily lose meaning in life, professionally and personally.

Thus, a true legacy helps us decide the kind of life we want to live, as in our motto “turning dreams into reality”.

 

PI: What is your secret of retaining high performers?

F: Well, it’s no secret, the golden rule is rule No.1, ultimately, high performers must be rewarded in order for them to stay. However, this is the key ingredient in a mix of many ingredients, because while money is important, once it is neutralized, other factors become more important. Providing people with a strong sense of purpose, a mission with a larger meaning, is a cause that removes the dullness from their everyday duties. Give them a dream they can identify with, and you will see how committed they become.

It is also paramount that we engineer and honor achievements, while reminding them that there is no such thing as a small achievement. This will help them to grow in their jobs and applies to both high-performers as well, because we usually make the common mistake of focusing only on underperforming employees. To make sure they don’t need to seek growth elsewhere, work with them to set goals that will move them out of their comfort zones. Then, when they are ready, add new responsibilities to their plate.

 

PI: How do you train and develop you team?

F: Everything begins with clear and concise communications. Like laying bricks when building a sky-scrapper, each and every brick must be in its precise place. Conversely, in a team everyone must be absolutely clear about the vision, targets, and the role each person needs to play. In short, we need to ask ourselves, why are we here, where do we need to go, and how do we get there. Once that is carved in stone, we then address the how, and fill the gaps in order to get us there. This involves addressing skills and the need to develop them. For instance, rather than trying to change the personality of the individual, focus on training skills that can be taught and learned. If someone is naturally introverted don’t try to convince that person to be more extroverted in order to help close sales. Instead, focus on actively listening and using terminology customers understand.

Lastly, the notion of “What gets measured gets done” must be inherent and integral within every component of execution.  If you really want employees to integrate a skill into their day-to-day performance, you must, must, must measure the results of the application of that skill. If you’re providing training on some aspect of your sales process, you should measure the conversion rate at that stage of the sales process, rather than just measuring the total revenue that’s booked at the end of the quarter.

 

PI: What is the secret of making RM300 million worth of sales for 2 consecutive months in this challenging time?

F: I wish I had a magic wand that would make things simple. But the reality is indeed a lot more intricate. Nonetheless, it’s also nothing overly strategic or complicated. The key here is discipline, consistency and determination. Everyone needs to be marching to the same drum beat. And as a leader you need to give your people clear marching orders, and this is where high quality communication plays a key role in eliminating any ambiguities before they exist. You have to invest heavily in the now, where short and mid- term objectives are paramount. Establishing clear priorities, matrixes, targets, and nailing each person’s job down are critical in ensuring we hit the ground running and cross the finish line strongly as a team.

In addition to these intangibles, the tangibles are just as essential. Price is what is essential to a customer, but we want to ensure they feel the value they received exceeds the monetary value. In this regard, we are extremely fortunate to partner with top developers in Malaysia, and fortuitously too, our vision, priorities, and commitments are aligned. For instance, we work very closely with Mah Sing Group, and are locked with them at every point. Their chairman, Tan Sri Leong and the entire senior management have been tremendously supportive of our team. Their priorities revolve around creating favorable conditions for the agents, while at the same time minimizing obstacles in the process. More importantly, the projects we partnered on have been extremely enticing and absolutely well-received in the segment we operate. Hence, while we attained record sales, Mah Sing has also been recognized as one of the top developers, and that is indeed a testament of their achievements in these trying times.

PI: What value do you as a team bring to your partners?

F: I have talked a lot about why FLP is the platform of choice for those who want to be the very best in this industry. Our track record attests to that and we have put some very capable people together with a common direction, and we have done this purposefully. Through training and development, we now have the industry’s top performers and earners within the team.  Our diligence and innovations around the streamlining of processes has enabled what is probably the swiftest remuneration method in the industry, whereby the average disbursement period is only 30 days; this is almost unheard of in real-estate.  

Our decision to work with only certain developers is a catalyst to our growth. We are extremely selective for a reason; once a decision is made, we do everything it takes to achieve that success factor. This can only work if the developer and FLP are directionally on the same page. We are very fortunate to partner with developers like the Mah Sing Group as they are relentless, creative, resolute, and determined to be on top, whilst we have a team of people who hunger and long to be the very best.

 

PI: What were some of your biggest challenges in setting up and leading FLP to greater heights? How did you overcome these challenges?

F: To be an effective leader, I believe there are a few essential things you need to do. The first of these is being flexible. Not everything goes as planned. Competitors change tactics, governments have new regulations on business, and, occasionally, natural disasters occur. And at times like these, leaders have to be able to change course; that is, to ensure that their businesses survive, and then find ways to reach their goals.  

At the same time you also need to have the courage, tenacity, and patience. Having the courage to stand alone, the tenacity to not succumb under pressure, and the patience to keep fighting until you win the day. And being responsible and accountable for the good as well as the unpleasant things that happen at work and in life.

 

PI: What are your plans and goals for FLP in next 3 years?

F: You need to have a clear vision on where your short, intermediate, and long-terms plan will take you. Anything less than that will land you in areas of vagueness that would indefinitely be detrimental to your overall goals. There is an old adage that goes something like this, ‘We need to grow towards the sun’. Hence, in the real-estate industry it’s crucial to align with what the industry calls for, and what the buyers are seeking out. If monetization is the end result, and it should always be, then results will come easier and count for more when we align ourselves with market conditions. At this juncture, our team has achieved an incredible closure rate of 30% across the board throughout all our projects; this translates to 30 sales for every 100 customers we connect with on a daily basis. My goal is to enable the team to hit a closure rate of 65% over the course of the next 36 months.

 

PI: What do you foresee in Q4 for the property market?

F: Well we have just completed Q3 and Q4 is already here. All signs point toward a continuing momentum in the real estate market. This is despite the softer stock market and the ringgit. In fact, we see relentless investments from foreign buyers who have been continuously taking advantage of their stronger currencies. Currently around 30% of our buyers are foreigners, and the percentage does not seem to retract, which is very encouraging. These days foreign investors are usually well-informed and not many are deterred or discouraged by otherwise negative reports and or perception of the current local economic or political scenarios. Everything we have seen and experienced so far, point to a trend that should continue in the foreseeable future.

 

PI: What are your predictions for 2016 in the property market? What challenges do you think we might be faced with?

F: This is obviously not an easy thing to predict. It is a challenging and testing time for this industry as a whole. Nonetheless, if historical data is any indication, then we can expect the real-estate market to continue its current momentum. The last 20 years, even during the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s, real-estate has done relatively well in comparison to other sectors. Quite simply, it’s hard to even recall a period over the last few decades whereby property prices had depreciated or fallen even against a background of lackluster economic conditions.

Challenges are a constant. Without them, I think life would not only be dull, but would resemble one big void. There are bound to be challenges ahead, some existing and some newer ones. Still, I am pretty optimistic about the future.

Fallon is a mentor and she sees how the lives of her team have changed after joining FLP, and this gives her a sense of encouragement to keep motivating more and more people. Fallon is an inspirational leader that is passionate about what she does. There are a few such individuals that stand out in this business from time to time, Fallon is one very good example of this.

  

ALAN NG

I want to thank Fallon because she is someone who uses her heart to guide you.  She shares with you every detail and strategy to succeed in this industry. I have been in the property line for five years now and joining FLP has helped me build my own team while growing the business. I have more than 60 agents in my team and personally I am learning to inspire my agents to do more. To date, we have been champion 8 times, all with Fallon’s help.  

ANDY TAN

I only joined FLP about 6 months ago, now I have 60 negotiators in my own team achieving an average sales of RM50 million monthly. Joining FLP was the best thing for me and Fallon is always there to lend her support and to motivate us 

WAYSON LIM

I used to focus on achieving my own sales and I was successful at doing just that, but after joining FLP, my focus shifted more towards building a successful team. I learned to share my thoughts and my concerns with my team members and I look at things differently to achieve better results. We have prepared a syllabus to help our agents improve on their selling skills. I would like to have 300 negotiators recruited into my team in three years.

WAYNE LEONG

I joined FLP about a year ago and I realise now that FLP is a good platform for one to grow, if you were to compare it with other groups or agencies. With Fallon and FLP, I have not only learned to grow in my personal capacity, but I have also learned to maintain new recruits. I achieve this by identifying each team member’s capabilities, their drive and their tenacity. Currently I have 2 leaders with about 20 team members under each leader, and they all answer to me. My future goal is to recruit 100 members.

JASON GAN

The biggest benefit of joining FLP was the change within my mind set. We now produce a sales volume of between RM5 to RM7 million despite having only 20 members in my team. Our goal for the future is to hit the RM10 million mark each month.

MARCUS LEE

I was a fashion designer with five children before I decided to join the property line. Joining FLP helped me to learn certain skills required in this business such as being more convincing. I started off selling properties in the Damansara area and managed to sell five to six units on my own. Back then my personal average sales per month was RM 100,000. Now I have a team of 20 negotiators and my wife will be joining the property line soon

Chester LIM

FLP is a unique group and different from the rest within the industry in the sense that we do not limit ourselves to many conventional ways. We go to the extent of having our appreciation dinner at Soju to encourage our younger colleagues to achieve their desired goals. I have about 40 people in my own team with an average sales volume of between 10 to 20 million per month. Fallon instils confidence

in me and my team, and one such example was during the Mah Sing project where Fallon was able to deliver her promise for early commission pay-outs to agents.

VINCENT HIEW

I learned a lot from joining the FLP team, and remembered this saying ‘I do the right things when I join the right leaders’. I found my niche when I joined this team of successful people, besides growing my income level, it has helped raise my standard of living. I want to thank Fallon for allowing me to achieve my desired income. To anyone who is looking for a job with a much better income, I have this to say: “No matter who or where you are, if you are willing to learn, I will do everything in my power to help you succeed.” 

MANDY TAN

I used to be a singer in the entertainment industry and I earned all my income by winning competitions. Later I set up a performing arts company but found out that it was very difficult to collect from clients.  I was inspired to join FLP about a year ago because Fallon delivered what she promised, this has become my inspiration to grow my own team and now I have two leaders in my team who lead their own teams.

Alvin Tan

My brother introduced me to the property line at the age of 18.  I am now 22 years old and since joining FLP, I have been earning a 6-figure salary each month. My team has 20 members and we achieved a sales volume of RM15 million. Besides the income growth, FLP also helps me to harness the right skills and that is why I am happy to be part of FLP 

MEOON KOR

FLP is a united team. Each of us share a common goal and we look forward to growing together on this journey. I always tell my team members to just do it. I will make every effort to fight for them and nurture them so they can achieve their desired goals and be successful, just like me, perhaps even more so than me. That is what I wish for them 

SIMON YIN

I was an entrepreneur selling hand phones before I entered the property market. To me FLP is a legendary team within the industry as a whole. I have 20 negotiators in my current team with an average group sales of more than RM10 million. With FLP, I learned that discipline is very important, we have weekly meetings every Monday to help team members plan ahead efficiently and we, as team leaders, provide the necessary support whenever it is needed.

DENNIS LIM

I didn’t want to do project marketing initially because I heard a lot of negative news about this business. Fallon helped to change that perception and gave me the confidence to move into project marketing. Our team of 16 members emphasise on teamwork and joining FLP has certainly raised our expectations. We are more focused as a team rather than as individuals. Our goal is to empower more people to be successful.

 ELYNNE LIM

It is important to be a good leader, as this helps move the team forward. As a leader you need to be honest, transparent and trustworthy, firm but compassionate at the same time. Any decision you make for your team, you should always consider their thoughts and feelings. Yes, you need to acquire the knowledge and experience and this may take time but rest assured it will give you the confidence to be a good leader.

 DAVID LIEW

I completed my SPM and didn’t go further than that but I wanted to earn more than a university graduate hence I joined the property industry.  I finally found out how to earn an income that most graduates would be envious of, and that is within a span of two years. Now I have about 20 members in my team and the team spirit is very strong.  My goal is to ensure that each of my team members become high achievers and earn a minimum commission of RM30,000 each month.