Raising the Bar with Michael Bacon: How he turned an age disadvantage into an advantage

Our second guest is prestige real estate agent Michael Bacon.

Starting as the youngest team member in his office, Michael used his early experience to his advantage. From selling studio apartments to high-end prestige homes, he shares insights on building momentum, backing yourself, and having the right people on the bus.

Michael is now a Director at Place Estate Agents, Kangaroo Point. 

George sits down with Michael for an honest chat about the real estate industry, resilience, and what it takes to stand out for all the right reasons.

Transcript

Welcome to the Raising the Bar podcast, where we story tell excellence in Queensland Property. I'm your host, George Sourris from Empire Legal.

 Hey guys, I'm here with Michael Bacon from Place Kangaroo Point. Hey Michael. Hello George. Thanks for coming on the show. Thanks for inviting me. Love it. So fun fact, Michael Bacon has been in the real estate game since the age of 17. Mm-hmm. Yep. Uh, Raising the Bar where we story tell excellence through Queensland Property.

You haven't really been given much of a brief, Michael, so a lot of this is gonna be off the cuff. I love it. Yeah. Authentic. The, the whole Point of what we're doing here is we truly believe there's a lot of cowboys in the industry, right? Not only in real estate world, but also in conveyancing world. Yep. And we want to bring actual value to the listeners to raise the bar quite literally on the standard of work that gets put out.

So, you know, making sure that the people you're engaging are masters of their craft. And we're promoting excellence through storytelling. And we think you're pretty excellent. So thanks for coming on the show, mate. 

No, looking forward to it. I think it's great that someone's doing this 'cause um, I haven't seen anything that specific in the industry that we're in, so I'm looking forward to seeing what people you bring on as well.

Yep, yep. And what value we can add. Yep, absolutely. So look, let's start with maybe how you began in real estate. From what I understand, mate, you were selling units in Kangaroo Point. What sub $500,000. Yep. Yep. To uh, you know, we blinked and I remember being at an auction that you were at that resulted in a 12 and a half million dollars sale.

Yeah. 

How did you get from. 17-year-old Michael Bacon selling units in KP to, you know, one of the biggest agents in the city on the map for prestige property. 

Yeah, it's interesting actually recapping that now too because, um, I remember back when I was 17 again, I didn't grow up in Brisbane. I had no knowledge in Brisbane, especially in property.

So even going from Kangaroo Point where I was previously at Nundah on the north side in Brisbane and then going into Kangaroo Point. 

Okay, so you were selling real estate. Before Place Kangaroo Point in Nundah Okay. Yep. 

Yep. And that sort of precinct. And going from houses to apartments. I didn't even know what an apartment was.

I didn't know what a body corporate disclosure was. 

True. So you'd never sold a unit? 

Never sold a unit. Okay, cool. So huge learning curve there. It was like a 50 minute drive when realistically you jump in the tunnel it's like 10 minutes from Oh wow. Like I was very new. Yep. And not, not coming from Brisbane.

'cause I grew up in Central Queensland. It was a big shift from a country to a massive city. Did you move to Brizzy for work? Yep. So real stuff for real estate. Yeah. So I, I started in real estate in Nup. Poon. Okay. I was there for about six months after school. Yep. Um, then got offered a job in Brissy, had $240 in my bank account and moved, yeah, a week after I got offered a job at, um, in Place Nundah

Wow. So you like no friends, no family, nothing, just, I'm moving to Brissy to be a real estate agent. Yeah. Yeah. Why real estate? 

I think I've always had an interest in it, but I think the biggest thing for me is I've always been creative. 

Yep. 

And it's also, I was gonna do a bachelor of design and stuff in school, but I just.

Didn't see value in doing that. Because I think if you're in a creative industry, in my advice, in my opinion, I don't think you need to study to do that and study how to be creative. If you're creative, you're creative. Correct. Yeah. You don't need to be taught how to be creative. Yeah. Find an industry where you can get work experience and then work your way up.

That's my, I guess I was a big believer of that. 

Well, you know, I'll probably dive into that a bit more. 'cause a lot of this focus guys, um, the reason I wanted Michael on the show is to talk about. Marketing and how you've leveraged social media and a unique style to sort of get eyeballs to look at the properties you're selling.

Yeah. 

Yeah. And I guess that's, that's creative within itself, isn't it? Like Correct. What you've done is, 

yeah, 

very unique. 

Oh, a hundred percent. And we'll chat about that a bit later, but I think if we, like early on in my career, going from houses to apartments, that was a massive shift. 

Yep. 

Because I had to know, and the biggest thing, I was 18 at the time.

Yeah. Going up against agents in areas. That had 30% market share. They knew everything. I knew nothing. So how can I beat them is at one, outwork them. 

Yes. 

And two, be more available for people. And three, use your disadvantages to your advantage. Mine was my age. 

Yeah. Who's gonna listen to some 18-year-old kid?

Correct. With expensive. Well, any property, let alone an expensive property. Yeah. 

Yeah. So, and, and that was the biggest thing. So my approach to that was like, guys, I've put more time than these people. So at end of the day, I've got no wife, I've got no kids. Yeah. I've got no mortgage to pay. I've got no pets.

I've got no partner. Yep. The only thing I need to focus on is my career and clients right now. Yeah. Nice. If you call me at 12 o'clock at night, I can guarantee guess who answers. Yeah. Wow. And some people tested me and that got me to business. Really? Some people literally tested me, huh. And call me at 12 o'clock and I said, did you call the other person?

They said, I have. And I said, great. How'd that go? He said, didn't respond. 

Yeah. Wow. I 

said, do you want me to come sign the paperwork tonight or wait till tomorrow? So I used to use that because I knew I could outwork everyone. Became your strength. Correct. 

That was like your unique point of 

difference.

Yeah, and it's, it's like anywhere in business you're overcoming objections. And earlier on I learned to overcome objections because I had no backup plan. Moving from Yeppoon to Brisbane with $240 in my bank account, there was no way going back. 

Yeah. 

Literally. And I knew nothing.

Like I stayed with my aunt and uncle at Fig Tree Pocket. Yep. Used to drive from Fig Tree Pocket all the way to Nundah each day. Yep. Couldn't afford to go through the toll, so I had to take about an hour and a half to get there. Um, and like I had no friends in Brisbane either. Mm. So, going from something, all I had to do is focus and it was hard.

But then going forward into, like going into Kangaroo Point with Simon and the team, I went from knowing, I guess, and that was, sorry, there's two points - one outworking everyone. Yep. And two is gaining more knowledge of people without them realising. 

Explain more about that. So how outworking that makes sense 

to just keep working.

Correct? 

Yep. 

They would be very knowledgeable, but I knew sales in particular suburbs going back for 18 months, so I knew, studied all of the sales. So when I was talking about it to clients, 

yep. 

One, my objection of my age being too young didn't matter because I had knowledge going back from 18 months.

Yeah. 

The second thing to that is I knew every single street in all the suburbs I was servicing, so I used to focus on Geebung. Which is a like used to north side. Yeah. So I used to sell like 400,000 houses. Yep. And then I don't know what they're worth for now. Probably 800 or something.

I have no idea. 

Yep. 

Um, but then going from that, I used to know every single street from back to front. 

What would you just drive up and down these streets or look on 

a map, or, I walked every, because we were prospecting, dropping letters, I used to zone it in four different areas and basically break it down that I knew every single suburb.

Uh, sorry, every single street name in the suburb, so I used to go through the alphabet. And in my pitch, I would say, George, I know the street's better than anyone else, and I can also go back to all the data in the last 18 months as to why your property's worth this. And how I'd say that is that going through the alphabet, A for Acaroa, B for Bateman, C for Copperfield, D for Delaware, E for Ellison, G for Girla road, these are all street names in Geebung.

And would 

you literally see like the vendor just going like, whoa, this this kid knows stuff, stuff. Yeah. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. And 

that's like, 'cause I don't have sales. One, I would outwork people. Yeah. Two, I would show I've actually a lot more knowledgeable. Than what they actually think. 

Yeah. 

And three - I would show them.

So that was, that was the three key points. So then going into Kangaroo Point 

Yep. 

I had to know apartments. So going into, so a totally different 

game. Right? Totally. Totally different game. Yeah. Didn't know what a 

body corporate was. My first sale. Wow. My first ever sale in Kangaroo Point, like Simon went away.

First I was working alongside Simon or went away for. Three weeks with him and Courtney. So for those that, don't 

dunno, Simon's the Director of the office that you work in, correct? Yep. Yep. And your mentor as well, 

right? 

Yep, 

yep. And even from that standpoint, he went away with Courtney, his wife, for three weeks.

Yep. 

I was in his business for two weeks and he said, here's my phone. And anyone knows Simon, he's phone does not stop. So, and that's the thing. But I had to learn to sink or swim. Yeah. And at that moment I made a change to go into a different marketplace. I didn't even know, I didn't even know where Kangaroo Point was.

Yeah. Like, I truly didn't. And then going from that, you know, a few years ago, it's crazy to see where we are now. But I think going back to that, if you didn't throw me in that position, I had to perform otherwise I was sinking. Not man. Correct 

me if I was, I'm wrong. But I, I have this memory, it must have been maybe four years ago or something, you.

You sold a place in, I'm pretty sure it's South Bank, where Lower River Terrace and Upper River Terrace. You go through this little s bend Street. Yeah. And you sold um, a unit in there and I remember it was for crazy money. It might've been like oh $4.2. Yeah, I was gonna say four or six mil or something.

Yeah, that one. And you would've been pretty young then, right? Like 18 or something? 

Oh, I was probably 20. Okay, so 20. 

So still super young. That's the first time I remember seeing you on social media. 

Yep. '

cause you did a post about it. And I remember going, man, who's this Michael Bacon guy? 

Mm-hmm. 

So you still didn't really have a profile then, did you?

No. Like, 

no. But that was a big sale. Correct. And it, but it's also before, like, that's probably worth six and a half now. Like

How'd you get that sale? Was that off the back of Simon and Court(ney) being away or something? Found yourselves.

This is a good point. 

So they, 

was that your first big sale by the way? 

No. No. Okay. Okay. So going, going back a few steps. Yep. Yep. There was um, uh, actually that's a good point because that was while Simon and Courtney were away. So I went there and pitched the business to someone that's been in Simon's team for two weeks.

Yeah. 

Wow. 

Who? They've never heard of you. No one knows who this Michael Bacon is. Never. And pitched the listing and 

signed it up. Yep. And it was like a $30,000 marketing campaign, two weeks in the business going from selling $500,000 houses. Yep. To something else, to that. But it's also off the back of that is because I had to prove a point to prove to a lot of people, and that's always a big, big, a big thing to start off.

A lot of people said, I can't do it. I'm too young in real estate. And that was my biggest driver. Even friends and family got outta school. Oh, don't do real estate, do it later. And back then, when I started, it wasn't a big industry for young people. Correct. It was a very male dominated industry who people have been doing it for 20 to 30 years.

And going up against, and I guess going against the norm, that's what drove me the most. It's like going, if anyone's seen, uh, I think it's The Last Dance by Michael Jordan. 

Yep. 

And they always, I loved watching that because he talks about that every game he would cop so much crap. Yes. All the media impress people and the next game he played three times better.

Yeah. 

And that's a thing that drove me every time people telling me I can't do something. 

It makes you want to 

do it more. Hey, I just say sucked in to you because you've lost already. 

Yeah. 

So, and that, and that's a rally my mind mindset. But I think going, it's like that's 

a winning mindset, isn't it? Correct.

Like I truly believe in the power of positivity, um, with everything I do. Like, I hate negative people. I hate negativity. I agree. I'm sort of a bit allergic to it. I don't even wanna be in the same room. 

Yeah. 

Um, I guess being profoundly positive and having a winning mindset, they, they go hand in hand. Like if you think you're shit, you're not gonna, you are 

gonna be shit.

Yeah. 

Especially when you are representing like prestige agents. Like, you know, say Simon's away and you've gone to do this pitch. Yep. If you thought you sucked, there's no way you would've signed that place up. Right? A hundred percent. 

Yeah. If you don't believe in yourself, no one else is gonna believe in you.

And that's always a big point to people too. And it's, it's like going, going back to that, the first deal I ever did was in Lambert Street for $640,000 in Simon's team in an apartment. And mind you, I didn't know how body corporates worked. I didn't know how any of that worked. And the first deal, you'll love this, I think you already know this 'cause I told you about it, is I signed the contract up, they had tenants in place and I crossed the tenants out for an owner occupied to move in.

So in the contract? 

Yeah. 

I said, congratulations, you bought the property. We don't want tenants. Great. We'll cross 'em out. The contract, we can move out. I didn't know. Yeah, 

yeah. Wow. 

But then my first deal, so then you had to deal with that on the back end of going, oh man, you 

can't just cross it out. Yeah.

You actually had to relocate. When saw I, 

congratulations. Like it was 1:00 AM in the morning. I saw the owner. It was like an hour and a half out of Brissie. This is before DocuSign was invented. Yeah. Yeah. True. But driving an hour and a half, you're hustling to sign this wedding. It was 1:00 AM in the morning. Yeah.

And he was in financial stress, so he was so grateful. Yeah. And then I go back and then Simon's like, congratulations. Gets the contract through the next day and reads it. And he said, oh you're kidding me. You've crossed out the tenants details. Like, yeah, well, they don't wanna be in there. Well, I guess, what does that look like?

It makes sense, right? But did you learn from your mistakes? Yeah. And that was a big thing, and that taught me to be very diligent. Yeah, so I'm very OCD and diligent now, but also that I didn't get paid my first commission because that went to the tenant to move out. 

True. You had to redirect those comms, correct?

For relocation 

fees for them? Yeah, it was a lesson, a hundred percent I learned from it, but then off that, I started to prove, a point I said was two things. One, I wanted to get more high end listings. The next one I got was Pixer Street, Kangaroo Point. It was on the market with another agent, couldn't sell it.

We sold it in three weeks at auction for $4.2 million. Then off the back of that, sorry. We sold one in beforehand, which is for $4 million, sold it 24 hours before auction for $4 million, and then off the back of that sale, we got another one in the same building, which is the penthouse for $4.2. Momentum.

Momentum. 

Yeah, that's, so I think I 

sold seven in that one building, and there's only 30 odd apartments in that complex. 

Okay. So you've gone from sub $500k, you're now playing around the $4m mark. Yep. Like everyone knows Laidlaw. Is that your biggest one, the $12.5 mil? Yeah. Yeah, that's the, that's the big boy.

Yeah. Like I, I went and watched that auction. Mm. To support you, mate. Was there a jump from four point something to 12 or, yeah. Like how did you get to 

12? That was, it was in between, right. Because I went from dominating a marketplace to now dominate a price point. So I've gone from being a very volume based agent to 

in like, say Kangaroo Point, that was your region point in particular.

Like 

my average sale is like $600k. Okay. So you get the occasional higher end ones which come up. 

Yep. 

And it did help having the support of Simon and the team because he's at the forefront of all those higher end transactions. Yep. But from that point, I just leveraged so, and I think it was like six to eight months, I became the number one agent in Kangaroo Point.

From a hundred thousand dollars sale, which turned into six $100,000 sales. This one building, which had $100,000 studio apartments. 

Wait, uh, you could buy a studio for $100k?. What year? 

What 

year 

was this? Oh, roughly six years ago maybe. Wow. But keep in mind, you could buy a studio for hundred grand.

It's 21 square meters, so it's tiny. Whoa. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No car park. No car park. Just 21 square meters. 21 square meter. Wow. It's back in the back in the day where people would have four bunk beds and rent and out for like 600 bucks. Yeah. Righto. And you can't do that anymore. Yeah, righto. But for example, get in trouble doing that stuff.

Yeah, you're get into 12, 13%, so from one on the market, and I approached, yep. It turned into six sales and one building six listings to my name. Then the $4 million sale, there's seven listings and the $650,000 sale, there's eight listings that we sold in the area. Yeah. And within six to eight months, people that have been doing that area for literally 10 to 30 years have had 18 to 20% market share. Mm. And within that six to eight months, we had close to over 30%. And I was a number one agent within an area, but it's also using the same method from getting more knowledge than everyone else. I didn't have to know the street names, I had to know the building names.

I had to know who built it. I had to know how many apartments in the building. So it's going from more knowledge from street names now to buildings. So I used to nominate in different areas. If you're off the story bridge, three of the buildings were built by Fraser's. You got Yungaba House, which has 10 residences in there. That was built in I think it was 2003 or 2007. Um, then they built next door. So just off Holdman Street, you know, your stuff in the area. So you're the suburb 

expert. You know these buildings, you know who built them, you know how many units are in there, what they're selling for.

Yeah. Yeah. And then I guess people probably pretty quickly forget your age when they can go on realestate.com, look at your profile. Yep. And say, okay, this bloke sold. I don't know. 20, 30, 40, 50 properties in this suburb. He obviously knows what he is doing. 

Yeah. And I think the best year from that, from being a very volume based business.

Yes. Um, I got to 96 sales in the 12 months. 

Okay. So two a week. 

Yep. Yep. Um, so 96 sales and then basically from that I stopped and went into higher end. So, and was that a 

strategic decision? Like you, you'd said, I, I want to try and get to the higher price point not, I wanna try, I will get to the higher price point.

Yep. 

Yep. And it's like, again, I always, Ryan Serhant's a big, um, big name in the real estate industry. Saw him at AREC this year. Yeah. He's killer. He's phenomenal. But he talks about who is future you? Yes. And I love that because then when he starts talking about that made me think I said, okay, going back to that moment when I was doing those apartments, yeah, who is future me?

Do I wanna keep doing apartments? I'd have to grow my team to probably have four to five people on the team. Yeah, we probably could be doing close to 200 transactions now, to be honest, if we actually, if I kept dominating the marketplace there, yes, because it's high turnover. It sells a lot quicker.

Sometimes it is easier to deal with those apartments. But for me, I had a vision that I wanted to change and get into the higher end price point because there's no one doing it at a young age. True. And this is the thing, I wanted to keep pushing the bar in the industry that was going against all odds.

Let's, let's wrap up this, 'cause I wanna move on to that more - 'cause this is where the social media stuff comes in Yep. And these unique points of difference that I think show your excellence in our industry. Yep. So let's just close the loop on getting yourself up to the $12.5 million sale. Yep. Yep.

Yeah. Just help me bridge that gap and then we'll move 

on. Cool. Going to, to Laidlaw, so changing from apartments to higher end. Yes. I knew I had to approach people at the higher end. And there's a property for sale for 29 Laidlaw with another agent for a year and a half had no success. Um, I was like, okay, I know one client who's gone through there.

Yep. 

And they don't like it. So I said, you know what? If I wanna get in the high end marketplace. Mm-hmm. What's the highest listing on the market at the moment? 29 Laidlaw Parade. 

Wow. Like the highest? Yep. Yep. Okay. So 

I went and DM'ed the builder. So on Instagram? Yep. On Instagram. Okay. I didn't know who the builder was.

He didn't know me at the time either. There's no conversations prior to it. Cool. So I literally just said to, so you're 

prospecting on Instagram? Yep. I said, Hey mate, 

how are your clients going? Yep. It's not his house. I said, how are your clients going for sale of 29? And I think his response was, um, shit.

I'm glad the owners are listening to me now because they weren't getting the response previously, and I told 'em to take it off the market and change a new agent. Right. And I said, great. I said, how many people have they had? Three. He said Four. I said, that's interesting because one out of the four is my client.

And then he said, what's your number? And he called me. Wow. So he knew about it. So by him. So you opened the door up that way? Yeah. And I said, Hey, I know this client. He said, oh, they're interested. I said, mate, they're not, it's too, too small for them. Yeah. And like that one client now I've probably sold 7 to 11 listings for.

So not the builder. The builder also has been about 7 to 8 transactions from his network. Yep. But the other client that was interested in buying that, yeah, I've done quite a lot for him. But even from that point that got me in the door, he said, great, I'll let the owner know. The owners called me that afternoon, Hey, Michael would like to meet this week.

Great. And I'm like, holy shit, this is amazing. But I've literally had no idea. And I was like, Hey, I can take Simon in. I was like, do you know what I don't need Simon. I've got my own approach. I can, how do you, you think, to 

do, so this is obviously off your own back. Yep. Like, you just thought, I'm just gonna, whatever.

Like what's the worst that'll happen? I'll just DM this bloke. Yep. Do you, did you feel the same gaps that you had when you were, say, a young agent? Yep. It's the same thing, right? It's on the next level. You're now, I think I was 

23, 24. When I sold that house. 

So you're also, you are young, you also don't have exposure with $10 million plus sales.

Like, I guess if you bought into all those limiting beliefs of like, oh, I've never done this. I'm young. No one knows me, you're not gonna do it, you never would've messaged the guy. Correct. So you, you hand on heart thought, man, I can sell this guy's house. Yep. Even though I've never sold a 12 million house before.

Yep. 

Yep. And you gotta think about something different. And that's the thing. The only limitations that people get in front of 'em are those that you set in your own mind. Yeah. 

Well mate, you, how old are you now? 26. 26? Yeah, 26. Some people haven't even kicked off their real estate career.

Yeah. And you've already like elevated yourself. 

Yeah, 

just from positivity and grunt work. I mean, you've worked your butt off. Mm. I'm sure when you were selling those $500k units, letter box drops, cold calls every day, and that doesn't stop. Right. It's probably just a bit different now. 

Correct. 

Yeah.

It's, it's because you've got a profile. Do people just ring you and say, Hey Michael, I want you to come 

to my house. 

And a lot of 

it, there's a number of things, like there is a lot of call in's now. Yeah, but it's still, you can't let the rest of your business slow down. So it's a bit consistency of keeping the rest of it up.

But going into to Laidlaw, yes. Like I was up against two agents that sell predominantly all of the riverfront properties. 

Yep. 

They've been in the industry for years. They pitched for the business as well, and I just had a different approach. 

Mm-hmm. 

It's going back to the knowledge factor. I knew more about that house than anyone else that went through that.

'cause I asked the builder, can you send me the plans? Can you send me all the materials list? So before I went in there, I was studying the house for a week and I was studying every single property that sold for the last two years. Huh! Over 10 million on the riverfront. And not many people know that. So when I was going into my pitch, yeah.

There's two things I used to my advantage. One, the first thing, well, it's also I like breaking the ice with people. Yes. So I'm very easygoing. Yep. Regardless of who it is. If they're worth over a billion dollars where I've got a couple of clients that are billionaires, literally, or if they're a first time buyer.

Yep. I'm exactly the same. Yep. It doesn't matter. Yep. And I think the first thing I said to 'em, I was wearing like a green suit, Which looked like a picnic rug. And the first thing she said, oh Michael, nice to meet you. The first thing I said to him, oh, it's great and nice to meet you too. And then Tish the the owner, she said, oh, I love your suit Michael.

I said, oh, it's awesome, isn't it? 'cause if I go on a date later tonight, I can take it off and use it as a picnic rug. So it's like something so quick. But like that you're a human. Correct. Just a normal guy. You break down the the aspect. And I always say that don't be an Agent be a human. Yeah. So it's a big thing that I always run by.

And to also tell the team a lot of that. Um, but going in there, I knew everything about the house. Oh, I love the chandelier. That was like $36,400, wasn't it? Oh, it was, it was from here. 

It's, um, it's the same strategy mate as before. Correct. You know, your stuff. It's, it's back from $500,000 house. It's 

the thing, it's the same thing.

It's the same thing. So knowing the knowledge, you're gonna outsmart people. And then when I went in there, I said, you know what? It's starting to become a digital era. Yes. So that was a shift in the last two years where I've started saying, hang on. This is happening, we need to adapt to it and sold 'em on more of a social media front.

Yep. Saying, guys, my reach and back then I only probably had 15, 10, 15,000 followers. Which doesn't mean a lot in the, in the scheme of things 'cause about the engagement you get, but then by using a different creative approach, I said, guys, we need to do this. And it took about two weeks. To to hear back from them.

And I thought, do you know what? I kept updated. Oh, it went cold. Like they, well, yeah. They said, we'll come back to you. We'll come back to you. We'll come back to you. But every time I called, I called for a reason. My biggest thing I hate is when people are calling and they say, Hey George, I'm just calling to touch base.

Why? Yeah mate, I'm busy. I don't want to hear, why are you touching my base? No, like legit. We're all busy. Hey, all busy calling because of this. Okay, awesome. Yep. Every time you feel add value regardless. Correct. Yeah. Regardless of a conversation, don't call to say how, like if someone calls me, Hey, how's your day going?

I don't care. What do you want? Get to the point and that, and that's probably the biggest thing. And then that got me in the door. And then again, going from that $12.5m sale, no one's ever done an auction over $10 million in Brisbane at that time. The highest sale was $8.4 million, uh, which is on the river, I think it was in Hawthorne.

Yeah, and they said, you know what? Let's do a soft launch and then if we get no traction, we're taking it to auction. They didn't wanna do auction. I said, guys, you need to trust the process. 

Yep. 

And I said, during that time, that was actually one of the toughest times of my life because I was going through a lot of personal stuff and people didn't realise that, had no idea.

And exactly. And I had an auction where I had seven registered bidders. The bidding started for 8 and a half, went to 11 and a half million. We didn't sell it on the night, but two weeks after we sold it for $12.5m. So an extra million dollars? Yep. 

Yep. Okay. And 

the thing was, the process, if you saw me at the auction night.

There was 187 people that came through. If you weren't a buyer, I wasn't talking to you. 

Well, mate, I was there with a couple of our builder mates, town planner mates, and yeah, like, I didn't even, I think I gave you a wave, and I'm like, man, this guy's busy. This is the biggest moment of your career. Like, I just wanted to watch. 

Yeah. But then, and then from that, the biggest thing is like, yeah, get that sale, but it's about the leveraging. So. For, for me, I stopped selling apartments at a lower price point. Yeah. And that's where Chris came into the team to help out on that.

Yep. And I made that decision, if I'm gonna change again, it's basically starting real estate from scratch again, is literally what I did, which is risky. 

Yeah, because it's a whole different group of people, isn't it? Whole different 

profile. 

It took about three steps back. It's Michael Bacon, the prestige agent now.

Yep. Yeah. Took three steps back now. Six steps in front. So that's the mentality I always thought. And it's just like, who is future me? What do I want to be known as and what does that look like? I don't wanna be known as selling all the apartments. I wanna be known as selling the higher end properties and the new build.

So that started leveraging a lot. And now a lot of the stuff that we're doing, like an average sale price, think it's like two and a half million at the moment. So you're going from $500,000 to $2.5m in two years is a big jump. 

Well, mate, I've gotta read this and then we'll jump into the next section.

Yep. You don't know about any of this, by the way, for listeners and viewers. Oh, great. Thanks. So your online gamer name is Michael Bacon and Eggs. Please confirm. Yeah, yeah, it is. Yeah, I just guessed that. Yeah. Yep. Anything else you want to add there? Close? No, actually mine used to be Makin' Bacon, to be honest.

Very fitting Makin' Bacon. Yeah. Yeah. You handled that one well, mate. Good job. Alright, let's move on. Alright. Like he's not, he wasn't expecting that.

Alright, so unique marketing approach. You're getting some of the best exposure in Queensland real estate. Yep. Online, not necessarily on realestate.com using other methods.

Yep. Uh, tell us a bit more about that. 

I think that this is a quote that I love. Yep. So a lot of people look at me and laugh because I'm different, but I look at those people and laugh because they're all the same. Purple cow, purple cow mate. Exactly. Yep. And this is the thing, and I love that quote. Yeah, that's great.

That is the best way to sum me up. I copped a lot of shit and a lot of hate from what I was doing, but I had a goal and a vision on where I wanted to go, and like I've grown from. I don't know how much it was like from having so many followers now over 80,000 followers, which in my opinion doesn't mean anything.

It's about the engagement and the content and what you produce in it, and it's also learning to adapt and evolve. People that have been in industries for years, I don't know how to do that. Great. Find someone that does and hire them. People just create excuses and I think because the format of social media at the moment is so big, like I reckon down the track, I always say it's a digital footprint.

If people search up me, I'm not sending them my realestate.com profile. I'm sending them my Instagram. That is my digital business card. Yeah. And people look at that. Go to, you can scroll, 

look at all these homes, look at all these unique 

marketing strategies. A hundred percent. You look at so many, uh, I guess industries.

If you go to a cafe, if you go to a restaurant, what do people, they don't go to Google. Hey, I want to go look what food they've got. 

Nah, I'm straight to Instagram. I'm 

gonna Instagram or TikTok. 

Yep. 

Oh, it looks great. Let's go there. Yep. They don't Google. And the thing with Google, if people start searching Google, it's not authentic anymore.

TikTok and Instagram is real. The reason why behind the curtain. Well, correct, but it's it's not sponsored ads. Mm. When you go to Google, you type in a restaurant. Restaurant near me. There'll be five or six at the top. Yeah. They're paying friends because people are paying to get rankings. That doesn't work anymore.

You're looking at social media, you type in best restaurant near me, best restaurant, Newstead, best restaurant Brisbane City. The most authentic ones are going to come up. And it's like people and it, it baffles me to think people actually Google stuff. Look, people that would Google stuff, people go TikTok now, which is crazy.

Yeah. But do you know what the best thing is? And I was saying this advice to my, my sister, who's a lot older than me, she's got two kids. They're gonna Bali for one of their family friends getaway. And they're like, okay, well. What's the best place? As I look on Google, it's all this rated stuff. I said, Steph, the best thing to do is go to TikTok.

And I sent her some pages. She's like, that's amazing because it's people's real reviews that they're giving on certain like resorts to take the kids. Yes. To place in Bali. Yes. So like, hey. I would trust that more than a paid ad that people are saying we are the best, but realistically they're not. 

Mate, look, it goes, I don't wanna jump too far down this rabbit hole.

Anyone that knows a bit about Empire and myself knows that we're super passionate about this. Yeah. I call it like paying for friends. Mm-hmm. A real life example is we've been working together for probably four or five years, something around that timeframe. Mate never paid you one referral fee, not $1.

Yep. It's because you trust us to do a good job. 

Correct. 

And I'm sure I can guarantee, and it's probably better to hear it from your mouth. You get, you'd get hit up every week with conveyancers, like, oh, we'll give you a hundred bucks, we'll give you a hundred bucks, give you 50 bucks per deal. Yep. It's not worth.

Can you just elaborate on that for like 30 seconds quickly? Yeah. I don't wanna derail what we're talking about, but I think it's super important to what you just raised. A hundred percent. 

Well, I think that's so important because it's like it's a good marketing tactic, so people do that to offer incentives.

Same with businesses. I get what they're doing, but at the same time, I couldn't care less about what people offer me. If you offer me 5, 10 grand for it, awesome. Cool. I don't care. Look after the client, we'll look after you. And that's how it should be. It's similar to like an old Gentleman's agreement, basically.

Yeah. And that's the way I approach a lot of things. Some people will take the deal, of course, but 9 times outta 10, they're not gonna be a good business operator because if they're always taking for a better deal, they're not loyal to people. And if you're loyal to people, you get a lot further in life.

And sometimes it's not about what you know, it's about who you know. And the more that you can cherish on those relationships, you'll get a lot further. 

It's relationships and it's trust. Yeah. Right. Like I look at the, the relationship we've got and mate, the reality is if it wasn't built as a real relationship from us doing an excellent job for your clients.

Yeah. If it was because we gave you a hundred dollars and then conveyancer XYZ across the road, door knocks you and says, oh hey Michael, I'll give you 150 bucks. Yeah. We could lose all of your business overnight. Correct. Yeah. Whereas we deliver a good experience and you don't care in the big scheme of things, a hundred bucks to a prestige agent selling $10 million properties.

Yeah. Even a normal, a "normal" agent selling $500k units, if you do the stats on the math of that 50 or a 100 dollars, it doesn't even hit the sites. Correct. It's more important 

for us to get your deal settled. Right? Yeah. And it's also, and because you've got the honest conversations with each other. So if I don't agree with something, George, I'll be honest with you, and you tell me, Hey mate, I don't agree with that.

And because you've got that relationship, you can have those honest, tough conversations. Yes. So there might be circumstances like, oh, George, what's a go here? And you'll run me through it. Or be like, Hey Bacon, you should have done that correctly. You need to do this. Great. And that's what the, that's what it's about.

Because those people that ain't offering you a hundred dollars, you won't be able to get ahold of them. 

Yeah. Correct. And when you're a hundred 

dollars, turns into a lot more money. Where you're in negative instead of positive, where your deal falls over or whatever. Correct. Yeah, exactly. 

Exactly. And and what I love about the relationship we have is you let me be the lawyer.

Yep. We've got so many other agents that try and micromanage or tell me what I'm going to do. Well mate, the reality is I work for my client. Yep. Like the end of the day. I appreciate you saying we're good at our job. Yep. But no offense, I don't work for you. I work for my client and that's my job. Yep. So you will say to the client, go talk to the lawyer and let him sort it out.

Yep. Stay in your lane. Yeah. I don't tell you how to sell $10 million houses. Yeah. Because I know. 

Correct. And that's the thing. People that try micromanage can change a lot. And I think it's also because if you know what you're very good at, it's, look, when I go to clients, Hey guys, I'm very good at my job.

I say that to people. 

Yeah, nice. People would think that's arrogant, 

but it's it's not. But it's true. Hey guys, I'm really good at my job and this is what I do best and this is why I recommend this process. The power of saying that one, you show you're confident, two, you know that you're good at shit. And three guys just let me focus on doing my role.

You've employed me for a reason. Yes. The same thing with a conveyancer for a lawyer. The same scenario is like, you've reached out to me to help and I'm helping. Yeah, let's find a common ground and find a solution rather than micromanaging people backwards and forwards. And you're getting resistance like this and you're not going anywhere.

But then when you learn to deal better with people's relationships, you can get a lot further and that's where you've got, you need to trust in the people that you've got on your bus. I always talk about this. You have the right people on your bus. You're gonna go a long way. George is on my bus because he looks after all the conveyance in for me and all my clients.

Yep. 

That's it. George is on my bus. I trust him. If someone that you don't trust is on your bus, get 'em off your bus and find someone else that you can trust. Simple as that. Yeah. 

Winning team. Yep. And you're all going in the same direction. 

Yep. 

Yeah. Rock on. 

Yep. 

Uh, I just got one more thing to add and then we'll just finish about this.

Um, you know, using social media. Social, yeah. So, Michael, you are known within your circles for your catch phrase, "I guess". What are you guessing? Dunno, I, it's just a good question. I always just say, I think about it all the time. 

Just say, I guess, and I'm like, what are you guessing about mate? On. That's just something I always say.

I think it's a delay tactic. So a lot of times if I dunno an answer to something, I just say I guess and it breaks the ice and then I can just change a conversation to 

something. This guy's actually a master negotiator. I know you don't talk about it much. 

Yeah. 

But it's, it's a huge part of obviously what you do in real estate.

There's, there's a lot of science behind the way you do your negotiations. Hey? Yeah, yeah. There is. Yeah, there. And maybe we'll car park that for another time. Yeah. 'cause I think that could almost be a whole topic in itself. 'cause I know we've had offline chats about how 

well, I'd literally say study a bit more into psychology.

Psychology. Yeah, that's helped me. A what? Around the buying process or I haven't, I haven't, I haven't got a psychology degree or anything like that, but that's something that really interests me because the, the more you learn about the different, um, people you're dealing with, personality traits. I know all my personality traits.

I know how to adapt different people's personalities. Yes, it's not being manipulative, but it's being smart on the people that you're dealing with, regardless of who they are. In any situation, I can assess that I've assessed people like getting divorces without them telling me. So I've assessed a lot of things well, based 

off questions or based off questions and more questions you ask.

Yeah. Body 

language is a massive thing. Um, people's interacting and you throw curve balls at people to see how they react. Pausing in conversations are a massive thing. 

Yeah. 

So there's so many things, and the way that my brain is wired now is because I constantly learn every morning for an hour. I've, I break it up in one interval, so I've got 20 minute interval.

Oh, so you do that every morning? You'll have a learning block. Yep. So 20 minutes of exercise. Yep. Which. Typically it would go closer to 30 to 40, then 20 minutes of wellness. So that's where I jump at the sauna in the cold plunge. 

Yep. 

20 minutes of learning. So I read, I can't read because I'm ADHD, so I'll forget, read one page and forget about it.

But then I listen to a book called Headway. Uh, it's a thing called Headway, where they summarise books in 15 minutes. Great. And on my notes on my phone. Yep. Yep. I wanna read a list of 150 books by the end of the year up to, to 21 at the moment or something. But I've summarised so many key points off. Oh, so you're getting the 

key lessons condensed in like a 15 minute lesson.

Yep. And that's a 

way that I learn. Yeah. But even for that, it's just like that has changed a massive thing by breaking that knowledge apart. But it's, I, I always say this to people, it's like a game of chess, right? Mm-hmm. In my mind, in every conversation I'm going into, I'm probably 5 to 10 steps ahead of you without you realising, and that's the way that you need to treat your mind.

We won't dive into negotiation, but that's another part. And start thinking like you already know down the path. Correct. Yeah. So if George is gonna say this, I'm gonna say this. Yeah. If this is gonna happen, then this is gonna happen. I've gone through every solution in my mind without the people realising and 

the objection handling correct.

It's 

just 'cause you've done hundreds 

and 

hundreds and hundreds of times. It's also 

every time you need to learn, but the more you learn about things, the more knowledge you're gonna get. So that's, that's interesting. But sorry for digressing, but going back to like a lot of social presence. Yeah. A lot of my business comes from social media.

Yes. And it's also going back a few years ago where it used to be awkward direct messaging people that you don't know. 

Yeah. 

It's the normal now. Don't be afraid to get into the DM's The amount of business that I've got from doing that, $12.5m property - DM's. Quade Cooper's house. Oh yeah. A player.

Yep. Yep. DM's You DM'd him? Yep. I didn't think he was gonna respond to me. He didn't, but he saw it. Mm. And this is a thing. Mm. A lot of people I chat to, like I, I've tried approaching Kevin Rudd seven times. Wow. He's seen every single one of my message. I don't care. He hasn't responded, 

but he knows who he's at least probably clicked on your profile.

He knows who 

I'm 

knows who you are. Yeah. 

I dunno if he does or not, but you would assume so. 'cause he's read every single message. They don't have to respond as long as they're getting the point across. Mm. And gradually over time, it's more of a psychological thing. It's like seeing, Hey George, how many yellow cars have you seen on the way to work today or or way to this podcast room?

I don't know. None great. So I can guarantee after this. Tonight what you're gonna be thinking about is a yellow car. Yeah. So if I said, Hey George, if I give you a hundred dollars for every yellow car that you see today, what's your focus on? 

Yeah. 

The yellow car because it's an opportunity. So you're focused on opportunity.

So when people start seeing that, it's repetition over time. 

Yep.

But with a lot of the social stuff, I think the biggest thing is being creative and be yourself. People try copy my videos, that's cool. 

That's awesome. 

Good luck to 

you. That's actually a compliment, mate. We have the same thing with us where we'll find, we'll post something and something super similar or similar colour schemes.

Yeah. And you know, we just take that as a compliment now going well actually at the frontier of what we're doing. Yeah. And, and you are too. I mean, I think now it's becoming more common for everybody to do what Michael Bacon was doing years ago. Yeah. Right. 

But it is, it is. It's just like, and there are some other good agents and people in the industry that are just doing something different.

Mm-hmm. But there's so many ways. And do you know what the funny thing is? I had this, I had a presentation with a team last week about marketing. 

Yep. 

And everyone's faces with, with your team? Yep. With the whole office. Oh, with your office. Okay. Yep. So the whole, the everyone's reaction, I think out of the last seven videos that went viral.

So we gain, like, one of them got over a million views, consistently 150,000 views per property on one video. So we constantly do three or four videos per property. But all of that, we've got millions and millions of views, and not one of them was my original idea. Tell me more. So you probably didn't realise that either. Every single idea that I've had Yes.

Has been replicated or similar to something else that someone else has done. 

Huh? 

That's how easy it is. They see, oh, Michael's crazy, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel. This has already been done. You're like, I could do that. Yep. But are we talking outside 

of real estate or even within real estate?

Like might been nothing thing to do with 

real estate. So like I'm the first real estate person to do that, but it could be anything. You can adapt anything, and this is why it's like, again, I started getting people's creative juices flowing because people think, oh, it's easy for Michael because he's creative and he thinks outside of the box.

Anyone can do it. Well mate look like, and that's the reality of it. 

Look, I am the most not creative person ever. I'm here doing a podcast. I mean, I'm not super creative. And look behind the scenes. We've got our, my social media managers sitting over there. Yeah. But yeah mate, I'm here and I'm doing it. 

But you're telling someone to help.

Yeah. And that's 

the biggest thing. And it's also all of those things. And no other lawyers are doing 

it, are they? Correct? Like I thought stuff it, we'll just do a podcast and we'll bring good people on and we'll have good conversations and we'll give out free advice and people will take things away. 

Yep.

Where they go. Yes. 

Yeah, exactly. It might only be a couple of key points as well. Yep. But it's also like all those video ideas and concepts. Yes. They might be going viral. Yes. But that's a whole concept. And like people are starting to do that now. But I'm like, guys, I'm already three years of advance. Yeah.

But the stuff that we're doing right now is insane. Like the, the content team that I've got, I'm very close with them and I'm also, every shoot, I'm directing a lot of it. So, and that's a, a big part of it. And that's where it's my personal touch, which is going on all the videos. Yep. So that the video, uh, the one in Brookfield, which got over a million views.

The paper plane. Paper plane, yeah. Everyone 

knows about the paper plane.

Yeah. And for that, that was on the mark of another agent - had like 20,000 views across all of it. I said just from the coming soon video, we generated over a million views. It's about the engagement. We get the engagement and then we story tell with the actual property video. Yeah. So that's how we, that's how we market it. But what that video came from some UK clothing brand that came up in social and they threw a paper plane around their office.

Like, 

oh, and did you just happen to see this when you were to see cruising around on So, and this is at time, 

at nighttime, I actually, I don't research, but I go through like, hey, what's a cool new concept? 'cause it's getting harder and harder to think of it. Yeah. And that's where I started coming up my own touch.

It's just like, hey, don't let this one fly away. Mm-hmm. Tag your friend at this one, which is me playing tag with someone on a property. I remember that 

one. And then there was like a throwing a ball around a house. Don't, don't drop the ball at this one. Yeah. So it's being smart and 

creative. Yep. It's like, okay, what's your hook?

Don't miss out. This one's gonna go quick. How do we incorporate that into a video? Don't let this one fly away. Great. Don't drop the ball on this one. Meaning. Don't drop the ball, you're gonna miss out on the property. So everything I start doing now is completely different. Don't lag out on this one.

Don't take your time to make that decision. This is a concept of being creative around the marketing. 

And that's your creativity. 

That's my creativity. 

This isn't like, the guys in the background. No. Do you, you go a, you'll go to your video guys and say, Hey, I want to do this. Yep. And then work out how to actually bring that to life.

Yeah. Well look Alex from Pixel Factory. 

Yeah. Like they, they're a gun. They don't do, they actually don't really do a lot of property videos anymore. True. It's 'cause people they don't, and the reason why is because I, I really enjoy and I agree with what they're doing because their vision, they know they're creative.

Yeah. Real estate agents aren't creative. But it's not hard to be creative. Find someone that is being creative and mimic 'em. Yeah. Who cares. Yeah. Mimic my videos. You're not gonna get to the same standard that we are 'cause we're already a few years, few years ahead. Yeah. But hey, that's, that's, that's fine.

Give it a crack and see how much it changes your business and put your own spin on it. It's like so many people come up with those, like those funny videos now that are getting engagement so people get bucked off a bull and then you reenact that you are getting off ball. No, I'm actually so 

keen 

to do that stuff.

Hey, no, but Correct. I wanna do some of that. The easiest people that are doing that, it's the easiest way to get engagement right now. Yeah. And I look, and so that's a micro version of what 

you've done. You've done a full on like video for a prestige property. This is like a little five second - people will watch it and they're, oh look, it's that real estate agent.

Share it with 

their friend. And, and this is, it's just the way that, and the where I'm going with that is completely different from everyone else 'cause I've got my own vision. So if you are, whatever business you're in, think outside of the box, be creative, but also showcase how you're being creative and doing that.

Different ways, different platforms as well. Right, exactly. Instas hot today. Tiktoks hot today. 

Yeah. 

People might be listening to this in five years time. And Instagram's dead. Yeah. Could be something 

different. Yeah. Who knows? And that's the thing, it's also like even with the engagement factor, like no one gives a shit about your followers.

It matters about your engagement. Yeah. People can pay for followers, mate. People can pay for followers. And you can do that. And that's like, that's the same thing like where I elevated my business Yeah. Is when I was at like 5,000 - 6,000 followers, I spent $1,500 bucks, US Yeah. And at the time I didn't have that money.

Yeah. And what I spent that money on was actually a shout out from a celebrity overseas. 

Yeah. Okay. Like I'm saying someone Yeah. People. So 

this is like this basketball player. Yeah. And I, I paid that and that got me to $18,000. 

Wow - off one shoutout? 

Yeah. Crazy it different world isn, isn't it? Yeah. Well, like that's, that's in US market.

Yeah. So, and then, but what I want, the whole goal was that not to get all these followers, I'm like, it doesn't make sense. It's to leverage that. And then reels came out. I said, I need to be at the forefront. I've got the following now. Yeah. How do I keep pushing that locally? So going from that, I went to the reels and Alex from Pixel, he said, no more photos.

We need to start studying - the algorithms do not favor photos anymore. Yeah. And people don't want to see photos. Go on LinkedIn works like a gem. Videos don't on LinkedIn. Yeah. But you go to photos. They do. It's different. You need another, the market that you're trying to get to and, and social media.

If you're not good at it, don't use that as an excuse. Find someone like you have and find someone who's good at it. And. Keep rinse and repeating it every single time. And the more authentic it is, the better the outcome and the better the reach is gonna be.

Yeah, a hundred percent. I agree with that. Like in our game, right? We can just, it's, it's just me in my work polo having a chat about conveyancing and when you think about lawyers conveyancing is not the sexiest topic. Yep. If anything, it's sort of, for lack of a better word, it's sort of looked down upon.

Yeah. It's not really well respected 'cause it's, it's "cheap". 

Yeah. 

Well man, we're trying to do it in a way that everyday people have a good experience in conveyancing. Because it's still something that happens in people's lives all the time. Yep. You know, anyone buying or selling a house needs representation and we want to make that a positive experience.

Correct. And you know, we're exploring video now. We're doing stuff that traditionally. Mate. People 

wouldn't do, 

law firms would just laugh you out of the room. Yeah. When people do our questionnaires now it links to our YouTube videos. It explains what's going on. Because when you were saying with video, people don't want read like paperwork like this.

" Watch this 40 second video on the difference". Oh, okay. I'll do that on the couch tonight. 

But even so many people like it. But you're showing you're actually a human being. Lawyers are human beings, guys. Correct. They are. 

Yeah, they are. But it's just, we have feelings and stuff. 

But it's also, but it's true. It's true.

It's, but how many clients have I said to you like, Hey, George. We asked him a bit of advice. I've sent the details through and I think one of the message, one of my top clients I haven't sold, but he's got probably the most expensive property in Brisbane. Yeah. And he said, and he sent that screenshot to you and he said, oh yeah, yeah.

And he said, oh, I actually like him. He seems approachable, funny, and real. I think that was a conversation. Yeah. And because he saw the content that you guys were doing. Yeah. And no joke I sent you that screenshot. Yeah, yeah. I was, was compliment man. I'm like, wow. Yeah, yeah. And he didn't, he still went back to his original conveyancer.

Yeah. Which is fine. Yeah. But at the same time, to get that feedback. Yeah. It's cool. Is crucial. Yeah. In any industry is if you've been real and you've been a human being and if you've been yourself, you'd be a lot more adapted to it. So 

yeah, authenticity rings true. I think. Uh, I, I'm learning a lot about video and again, it's not about me, but your "Mr Video".

I've seen bloopers and stuff that you've done. You did this KFC thing actually. Yeah. Years ago. Yeah. You did this silly thing where you're going through drive-throughs and just like, just saying dumb stuff. And our whole office, I stopped every, in our Spring Hill office, I stopped all the lawyers.

Yeah. And I said, everyone come in here and watch this guy. Yeah. And we watched your video and I just thought it was hilarious. Yeah. And it had nothing to do with real estate. But mate, think about 

your marketing strategy. People know who you are. Correct. And this is the thing it's getting, and this what I said to the team last week, I said, with the marketing, and that's the thing I said, I laugh at people that are the same and I like all the same.

And then people laugh at me because I'm different. I keep nailing down that it's a massive point. 

Yeah. 

So, and that's a big thing. But the second thing is, is how do you want people to know you without knowing your name? 

What, like your reputation you mean? 

Or like what about how do people, you're about without knowing your name.

Mm-hmm. If you don't know my name, how do people know me? Yeah. Real estate guy. People know. Yeah. Yeah. But they used to know, like Mr. Bacon, it makes it easier that my last name's there, Mr. Bacon people know me as Yeah. The KFC guy. Yeah, true. And the guy that sells that high end property. Yeah. That's what I'm known for.

Yeah. Without knowing my name. Yeah. But the KFC guy that came from doing apartments, and back then it was a tough market. Mm-hmm. So taking 90 odd days to get one person through to buy a property that they're losing $200,000 on it from when they bought it off the plan. They were losing a shit ton of money.

Not sexy like now where the market's hot, like and so many people. Real estate is so easy now because one, the prices are increased, which means for agents they get paid more through commission. The second thing is it was sitting on the market for two to three weeks for an apartment Back then, yeah, constantly grinding.

90 days of only someone through one person through in 90 days to sell it. And that's when back then I said I need to do something creative. Across the road from KFC, I did a video throwing away $500 for a KFC gift card. Mm-hmm. That got seven news articles out of it. And that's what my approach was.

Gold - the cheapest $500 you ever spent. People start laughing. Like I look like this KFC guy, but again, people started knowing me without knowing my name. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, you are the KFC guy. I went into a building page where people are like, oh, the KFC guy downstairs. Really? Which is hilarious. But I'm like, I laugh at you guys because now all of you know me.

I don't care how you know me. Yeah. But you know me as the KFC guy. Yeah. So it's like it's building a legacy for yourself and I think I'm a big believer of that. I said. Down the track, what do you wanna be known for? People don't know your name. How do they know you? 

Mm. 

And it's, it's trying to understand that. 

Yep.

You look at a lot of big firms like McDonald's, Nike, Red Bull, they've got no video, no photos of their products in any of their social media. 

Yeah, actually, I don't 

know if McDonald's has, I, I don't follow McDonald's. But you look at Red Bull. Yeah. Have you ever seen a Red Bull? can there? Never. 

All I think about as like action sports.

Correct. And like jumping outta planes and Yep. BMX'ing 

and stuff like that. Yep. 

Yeah. 

So you look at big brands, Nike, same scenario. It's people. Yeah, that are attached with Nike. Mm-hmm. Hey, how do you know Nike? Oh, Michael Jordan. 

Yeah. 

It's a name. Without knowing the brand, Nike. 

Interesting perspective. Yeah. And it's, it's never been articulated to me that way before.

Correct. And 

it's like Red Bull, like I, I'm close with a lot of Red Bull guys, so people know the names. Oh, he's a Red Bull guy. You know, Red Bull 

people. Yeah, true. Yeah. 

Oh, like a lot of people that are in like Nitro Circus and I oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So that are attached with Red Bull. But yeah, I think that's a biggest thing is know how you stand out, and what's your niche.

That's probably one point I would touch on. If people are laughing at you, laugh at 'em back because you're going to be different to them. That's the biggest thing. Don't be the same. Be different mate. 

Props to you. Yeah, I remember. And actually this is, the last point I've got written down. So let me just read this quickly.

Michael, I haven't seen you sporting a white belt since your appearance on Lords of Properties several years ago. Explain. Do you still have a white bell? What's the go? I do. Yeah, you do. Do you still wear it? I don't wear 

it. No. 

But in all seriousness, yeah mate, people would give you stick about that.

Yep. And but you know what? We saw it in the office and we thought it was funny. Like, oh, we know that guy. That's Michael Bacon and you, Correct. You were sort of on your way up then. 

Yep. 

And jokes on them, mate, 

because everyone was talking about you. But, and that's that, that's a good point. I forgot about that.

Like, I used to have this white Louis Vuitton belt, which the belt buckle was like this big. Yeah. 'cause I had no, nothing else and I couldn't find a white belt to match my shoes. And everyone I had, it was just shit. Yeah. So I was like, I'll do this. And I cop so much shit from that white belt, but every single person used to know me because of it.

Yeah. And you had statement 

suits and stuff. 

Different coloured suits. Yeah. Yeah. Like something, but, but you rocked it, mate. But the thing is, people make a joke about it. I'll make a joke about myself, about it. And then they've got nothing else to say. 

Yeah. 

Because like, oh, he is actually just a human being.

Yeah. Yeah. I I, I remember talking to some people a few years ago and I'm like, wait till you meet Michael Bacon. He's just a normal dude. 

Mm. 

Yeah. He's a normal dude. Yeah. Yeah. And that stuff was who gives a shit what the belt is? And mate, they're talking about you, jokes on them. Yeah. You're selling prestige property in Brisbane.

You came from Yeppoon. Yeah. And you didn't even know where Kangaroo Point was. 

Yeah, 

I still have the belt. 

I haven't work it for a very long time. 

I wanna see the belt come back. 

Yeah. 

Maybe the next Empire event. Will you bring the belt? 

Probably not. Because that's why, that's why I have 

pants now that don't require belts.

Ah, it's leveled up. 

Leveled up. Good. 

Mate, just to close this out, so we ask a unique question at the end. So we're here to raise the bar, the whole point being like we said, storytelling excellence in Queensland property. Yep. Putting you on the spot, what's a golden nugget for anyone that's listened to us talk about, you know, your real estate journey coming from the country, being a killer on social media, unique marketing, creativity - what piece of advice can you give back to the people beyond what we've already spoken about, something that sort of pops to head, that rings true with you?

I think you need to understand yourself before you try and understand other people. So that's one thing I talk about. If you don't understand yourself and you don't understand where you want to go in your own life, whatever industry you're in, and you're in an industry that can push those limits for you, if you've got no goal and if you've got no, I guess, clarity on how to get there, you're not gonna get there.

And it's also finding the right people on your bus. Get rid of the negative people in your life. And it's hard 'cause they might be very close to you. 

It could be family, friends, family 

friends. But we've all been through that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That has been the biggest. The biggest thing that I've learned at a long, a younger age is don't get the wrong people on your bus.

Get the right people on your bus and you go a lot further. The only person that can change things is the person in the mirror. Mm-hmm. So if you are complaining all the time, if you're upset about something yourself, look at yourself in the mirror and change.

And if you dunno how to change, ask someone to help you. I think that's the biggest thing. But regardless of business, I think one, you just gotta stand out. Two. Be confident what you're good at. If you're not confident, go learn more. 

Yep. 

And four, get the right people on the bus. 

Mate.

Love it. Thank you. Thank you very much Mr. Bacon. No worries for coming on the show. Efharistoume (thank you in Greek). Yeah, that means thank you in Greek for all those playing at home. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks guys.