A veteran of the real estate brokerage business in Vancouver, Macdonald Realty’s Director of Agent Development Mark Winter has set high standards for internal organizational coaching, backed with a Certificate in Organizational Coaching from the University of British Columbia (2015) and a Professional Certified Coach designation from the International Coach Federation (2016).
Read on to learn more about how Mark became a real estate agent, his top tips for aspiring agents, and his favourite hobby.
How did you get into the real estate industry? Finishing school, I had opted not to go to university and started on what they called an Accelerated Management Training program at a high street bank in Oxford, England. I found it too sedentary and a friend suggested real estate. Back then, it was a salaried position with a company car (which often had my windsurfer atop to go straight after work) and the work was enjoyable, especially as the clients used to come to us and prospecting was almost non-existent.
After 5 years or so, the call of the Himalayas was too strong and, following travel to other wonderful places, I came to Canada and joined Macdonald Realty in 1992 as a licensee. I remember it well – I was on crutches when I first interviewed with the legendary Managing Broker Bill Dick, as I’d had a skiing accident! And, the office was buzzing – back then, you were expected to be in the office to get your messages and make calls!
What led you to become our Director of Agent Development and a Professional Coach? Three words: kindness, passion and determination. Lynn Hsu had bought the company in 1990 and then attracted me into her management team seven years later.
Truthfully, after declining three invitations to become one of her Managing Brokers, I knew my true passion was coaching and Lynn’s kindness in supporting me to take the Certificate in Organizational Coaching course at UBC and then to be able to carve out a niche as the company’s internal coach was absolutely instrumental and something I’ll always remember. She could see the passion I had and how I loved to coach and inspire agents to bring their best out. Looking back, it has taken unwavering determination to see this through and to continue rewarding that trust shown in me.
What is one thing you wish you knew when you first got into real estate? For me, it would be the importance of having clarity. I think the hardest part when you start is working out how to spend your time, especially if you come from a structured role. You are starting to run a business and, like any business, it is on you to find your clients.
Today, I recommend agents focus on developing and sustaining a consistent weekly routine, where they set out to execute clear actions that align with what they aim to achieve and they review that as each week passes; I call it “the three R’s” – review, reflect, reset. When we know what we aim to achieve, everything becomes easier and we are able to focus on using our time effectively.
What is your advice to someone who wants to become an agent? Take the time to understand the fundamentals involved in the day-to-day work of a real estate agent. Having a license presents an incredible opportunity to help others with key life decisions. It is less a sales business and more a relational one. Being an agent is essentially a lifestyle and being a genuinely sociable self-starter is key in sourcing clients to work with over time. Those who fully commit are able to build and sustain the most incredible careers and they derive immense pleasure from guiding and successfully impacting their clients.
It’s best to make a 3–5-year minimum commitment to the career, rather than simply “let’s give it a try”. We offer Career Info sessions every two months to help those interested to find out more, as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of resources out there that give such insights into the realities of it all.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received (related to the real estate industry)? Can I give you two? One is to be a decision maker. Lynn Hsu once said to me something like “not every single decision you make will be the right one, yet in business and life it is important to be decisive, make decisions and move on.” The other would be to absolutely engage and follow your passion. I don’t view my day-to-day as work; it is what I love to do.
Why do you enjoy working in the real estate industry? It is a privilege to be with someone in a place of not knowing. This is something I heard recently at a coaching event. I have the privilege of coaching agents through the challenges and objectives of their businesses and to help them understand how they can most effectively partner with their clients for mutual success. I love to truly inspire others, and to help shift their thinking and sometimes their behaviours. It is a great outcome when I see agents do something differently that enables them to move ahead successfully.
Agents will also find themselves in that same position, where their clients are still working through their objectives and in that same place of not knowing – and that’s where I see tremendous alignment for agents to be more coach-like in how they communicate with their clients.
I also love the conversations I have with agents coming into the business and guiding them to determine what is most important and of most value to them – and why.
What is your favorite thing about working at Macdonald Realty? Without doubt it is the people. It’s a family-run organization where we’re all invited to feel part of the extended family together. I so admire our whole management team, the agents, the staff… Collectively, it is such an amazing group of committed professionals who sustain a culture of collaboration and productivity, where the expectations we have of each other are high and where we help each other really enjoy what we do together.
I also love being responsible for our Connected Learning platform and making sure we, as a support team, offer continual learning opportunities for growth.
What is a fun fact about yourself? Ok, who remembers using poste restante years ago? Haha, before the internet, that was a key way of communicating when traveling. I was driving from Vancouver to Halifax in 1989 and had agreed with my younger brother Tim, visiting Canada, that whoever got to Toronto first would leave a message at the main post office for the other. The idea was to meet up. Well, he was there and gone before I reached it, so that meant we’d see each other in Vancouver on a specific date when I returned.
Fast forward a week or so, I was sitting in an international beer bar in old Quebec City and, as I took a drink of some fine brew, I thought to myself, “I wonder where Tim is?” I then put the glass down, looked out the window – and he and his girlfriend were literally, backs to me, looking into a shop window across the street. Boy, were they surprised when I ran out and shouted to them seconds later! What are the odds on that, in a country the size of Canada?!
I also have a passion for riding my motorbikes and plan to take my Honda VFR800 through the Rockies again this summer.
What is your favorite quote? “We are feeling beings who think, more than we are thinking beings who feel.” I heard this at the same coaching event recently and I am not sure who to attribute it to. What it says to me is that how we make others feel is so vital. It’s less about what we say and far more about what we ask, how we listen and engage, and how we genuinely connect with others.
What is a book that everyone should read? That’s an easy one, A Different Conversation! I would say The Advice Trap by the brilliant coach Michael Bungay Stanier is a high-value read.
The essence of it is that we do not need to always have the answers and to show we know everything; instead, shine the light on others and let their brilliance come through. It’s a more engaging, more effective leadership style that is being increasingly found across organizations, where everyone has a voice and everyone brings value, versus a more traditional top-down style of approach. It’s amazing what can happen when we are able to tap into the brilliance of those around us.
More about Mark Winter: Mark’s vision is to elevate the professional performance of real estate agents and reframe how they interact with clients. He is passionate about inspiring people and believes that coaching is a fundamentally brilliant way to make a difference for them. Originally from Oxford, England, he resides on Canada’s west coast.
- Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
- UBC Certified Organizational Coach
- Former President, Vancouver Chapter, International Coaching Federation
- Author, A Different Conversation
Get in touch with Mark to learn more about Connected Learning programs, or to inquire on 1-on-1 coaching opportunities.
