The Mister T Team actively participated in the annual real estate Lanka Property Show held on the 29th of February and 1st of March 2020 at the Kingsbury Hotel Colombo for the 4th successive year. The bustling crowds on both days provided an exciting and energetic atmosphere for our team as we made our way through the crowds from morning to noon, engaging with potential clients while our professional photographer documented the event.
Having had a wholesome and fun time at the show, our marketing team decided to carry out a short Q&A session in order to ask our team about their experience at the Lanka Property Show. They had quite a bit to share and did not hold back.
We started off by speaking to one of our spirited field agents, Dhul Khifli, by asking him what his most memorable experience at the show was. He said,
“It’s hard to pick out one experience as such because I had a fun time at the show. I guess overall I loved speaking to the clients and being able to market properties such Agra Apartments and Aston Residencies to multiple clients in a singular location is pretty amazing. I hope we were able to provide insight and knowledge to those that came all the way out to visit us at our stall at Kingsbury.”
Our field agent, Abdul, was asked to share something he had learnt from the event. He said,
“This was a great experience for me mainly due to the exposure I received. Not only was I able to brush up on my skills of speaking to clients and property owners, but I also learnt the skill of talking to clients and handling clients from different cultures and countries within such a short span of time.”
“We met many clients with a range of requirements which also equipped me to understand the dynamic nature of the industry and what it entails.”
We queried our marketing manager to share her thoughts on the scale of success the show brought to the company and she remarked,
“Overall I believe there were three areas we had success in. Firstly, the number of new clients and leads we got. We met a diverse group of people with varying requirements and properties to offer but they all presented a new opportunity for Mister T. Many of them wanted to dispose of their properties and invest while still many more were only looking for potential projects to invest in”
“Secondly, we succeeded in receiving and spreading exposure for our brand. The magnitude of our presence at the show was felt the day after when our phones were inundated with non-stop calls. Some clients who met us at the show even passed our contact to their relatives overseas while still others called us several days later with intent to work together. Thirdly, the show was a good opportunity for the Mister T team to bond and connect over a shared experience. While this is the 4th year for the company at the LPW show, for quite a few on the team it was their first experience meeting and communicating with clients in this manner. It was a very relaxed and carefree atmosphere and the team enjoyed quite a few laughs during those two days.”
Mister T CEO, Adam Thaha, also had a few words to add when we asked him about the most common question he was asked at the show by most clients. He conveyed,
“I think it was more than one question for sure, most clients I felt were not sure if they should be investing in the market or not. One of the common questions was ‘Is this a good time to invest in the market? And then there were clients who were also based overseas, they wanted to know what the best deal was and how to go about figuring out a good deal. As most are aware, Sri Lanka is more or less a buyer’s market when it comes to buying property, it’s been the case for decades.”
“Another common question asked by the visitors was whether Sri Lanka has an oversupply of apartments and this looked like one of the dilemmas they had with regard to investing in the market. Overall, the event had more quality this year in comparison to the previous years and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Lanka Property Web (Pvt) Ltd for organizing the show and for doing it well.”
We also asked him about what he thought were key aspects that mattered the most to property buyers based on his experience of visiting the property show consecutively for 4 years. He added,
“Price is key, most buyers are looking for a good deal if not a bargain, so price is the number one factor. We often hear property buyers complaining about the prices of apartments and how they are skyrocketing. Space or rather size is the next thing they look for, more often than not, you will notice that these people are moving into an apartment from a house.”
“Usually the space in a house is somewhat more than that of an apartment, one of the main reasons for them to move into the apartment is the practicality of living, it’s easy to lock up and go wherever you want to go as there is security and the facilities such as a gym, pool, business centre, kids play area are always an advantage. Clients however have an air of insecurity as well, hence most of them like to buy some time, ask around, do a thorough background check on the building and its team and then make the purchase thereafter.”
We then asked our team about a client who stood out for them. Almost half of the team mentioned that clients who stood out to them were those who have a range of properties and were looking for serious real investment opportunities.
When asked whether they were looking forward to this experience again next year, they had this to say,
“There’s nothing better than getting together with your team for a fun day or two. With good food and good company, work never felt more fun. It’s amazing how many inquiries we received without realizing that we were working. Who wouldn’t look forward to that?”
All in all, the Lanka Property Show was an immense success and we can safely say that we will be there next year to support them and make it even bigger, better and much much more successful.