Steve Maserow believes his real estate salespeople are the best in the country and he’s got the silverware to back that up.
He came away from Barfoot and Thompson’s recent glitzy black-tie national awards night with the trophy for Branch Manager of the Year 2024, while his Howick branch was named Branch of the Year 2024.
Given the company has about 80 branches nationwide it’s a major honour both for Maserow and his team, and he’s rightfully proud of their success.
“We’re an award-winning branch and for last five to six years we’ve finished in top 10, which is quite an achievement.
“This year is a personal best as it’s the first time we’ve achieved number-one best branch in Barfoot and Thompson.
“It feels amazing and it’s nice to be awarded, but it’s not where we want to stop. We aren’t getting complacent.”
Maserow says his branch’s mission is to be the “best real estate office in the world”.
It’s focused on getting good outcomes for its vendors, buyers, and salespeople.
“We want to do good stuff and make good things happen for other people,” he says.
“I’m just blessed to have such talented and amazing people surrounding me because whilst I got the accolade, I’m highly indebted to my team of salespeople and property managers.
“They really are some of the best salespeople in the country.
“A famous person once said, ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’, and we’re big on our culture here.
“We’ve got a culture where we’ve learned that learning is earning.
“We’ve gone around the world and found the best real estate coaches and trainers and we’ve brought them here and put time into working on our business and our skills and being able to offer that to our vendors, which has given them a great experience.”
Maserow says his branch’s second underlying theme is that all of its work has to make good things happen for other people.
“We’ve come to learn that when we do that, good things happen for us, so that’s really the culture we drive, and we’ve got the right mindset.
“We really care and try to be the client’s trusted advisor. We try to have proper, deep relationships with people.”
What makes Maserow so successful as a branch manager, he says, is having an entrepreneurial mindset.
He doesn’t think of his role as just a “job” and he’s proud to work for Barfoot and Thompson, which he says is New Zealand’s leading real estate agency and an “iconic brand”.
“My overnight success has taken 20 years,” he jokes.
“When I took over this branch we were 44th in the rankings.
“The accolades and awards are fantastic, but we’re playing the long game and we want to be the best.”
He says the skills required to be successful in the role are to always start with really wanting to get to know a person, whether it’s a vendor, buyer, or salesperson.
“What brings them joy, what stresses them, and what do they need, and then see if I can tailor a solution specifically for them.
“When I look at our team I think we’ve got the best real estate salespeople in the country.
“I also think we’re a group of ordinary people achieving extraordinary results.
“We try and stay humble and grateful and we do real estate a little bit differently to how lots of other places operate.”
