It is not an exaggeration to say that Zann and Gary are a dynamite couple. Even with the consecutive achievements of $1 million in sales commissions as a couple for the past 5 years, and the Top 3 ERA Husband and Wife Award in 2019 and 2020, Zann and Gary remain selfless towards their clients and team.
From a commonplace life, drawn to the dynamism of real estate
Zann and Gary have a collective 19 years of real estate experience – Zann has been in the industry for 10 years, and Gary 9 years. Both of them joined ERA 5 years ago forming Galaxy Group. More recently, they set up the Zann Low Division 1 to 2 years ago, and now has a tight-knit team of 30 agents.
Zann herself had humble beginnings, being a Malaysian who had to cross the customs to work in Singapore each day. She also took on the responsibility of caring for her parents, who were hawkers back in Malaysia. Although she had worked as an accountant for a few years, Zann felt that her job was mundane and stagnant. Her cousin was in the real estate industry and convinced her to give it a go — Zann was particularly drawn to the job’s flexibility and the possibility of meeting new people.
Real estate became a life-changing experience for Zann and her family, as her parents were able to move to Singapore. Together, Zann and Gary own more than 4 properties in Singapore. 
Gary was an MOE secondary school teacher who taught Physical Education and Mathematics. After completing his bond, he desired a change of work environment and met a friend who was in real estate. Gary, too, was convinced to join real estate and become an entrepreneur. As his own boss, Gary enjoys freedom at work and helping others purchase the biggest investment of their lives.
Despite the career change, Gary has brought the best of his teaching background with him as he has honed strong communication skills. These allow him to educate his clients on property knowledge and market observations, while building rapport by understanding his clients’ needs.
Zann and Gary’s lives have been changed by real estate—they are now able to make sound financial investment decisions, and help their clients with their property investments too.
Transforming hardships to rewards
It was not an easy start for the couple. Long before joining ERA, Zann and Gary had started their real estate career in a smaller agency with limited opportunities and resources. As they had given up their full-time jobs, they had no stable income and could only engage in little-to-no-cost marketing. They had to attain leads through roadshows, door-knocking, and cold-calling. It was through plenty of hard work and tenacity that they finally saw results and eventually got rewarded for their efforts.
Besides their achievements as a couple in real estate, Zann and Gary are also powerhouses in their own right. Both of them are Top Producers in ERA. Out of ERA’s 8,500 agents, they have consistently received the Top 50 position in the past 4 years. While Zann was named the Top Division Director in 2020 and was recently promoted to Senior Division Director, Gary himself achieved the ERA Millionaire Award in 2021. 
In particular, when Zann had just started her team and was promoted to Division Director, she was given the opportunity to be the Project-In-Charge for Pullman Residences, Clavon (70% sold on the first day), and Pasir Ris 8 (85% sold on the first day). Her effort and expertise had paid off—in the hugely-successful Clavon and Pasir Ris 8 developments, Zann helped ERA sell more units than any other property agency, achieving more than 40% of the market share. 
Zann also emphasised the sharing of her expertise. As the project trainer for these projects, she conducted training sessions for ERA agents on a company-wide level, which included training in product knowledge and market analysis to aid agents in their sales. 
A client-first approach that is refined, yet coming from the heart
Zann and Gary specialise in new launches, and project marketing to generate leads. Their approach is strongly client-first, and they always begin by getting to know their clients through a consultation session to understand their needs and objectives. Based on their budget and financial ability, they will then propose properties to clients.
What makes their approach unique is the one-stop service they offer their clients, by helping them check their loan eligibility and following up with deal structuring. They even extend their services to help clients with the key collection process, checking for defects, rentals, and other areas. They always emphasise having their clients’ best interests at heart. 
For instance, before the pandemic, they used to assist foreigners who seek to purchase property in Singapore for investment purposes. They will help their clients with navigating the Singapore property market and guide them along the conveyancing process.
Constantly going above and beyond for clients has led to many clients referring them to their own friends; they have always received positive feedback and testimonials from clients. This has thus allowed them to depend a lot on word-of-mouth marketing.
The root of such success is no secret: it is their pride in building rapport with clients and making them feel comfortable enough to feel that they are being given trusted advice. Zann and Gary ensure that they only offer advice when they have put in the time to understand their clients.
Nurturing a strong, close-knit team
Zann and Gary are human-centric in more ways than one: they are also focused on building and strengthening a diverse yet tight-knit team. They started building up their team 1 to 2 years ago; currently, there are 30 agents in their team, which is itself a mix of seasoned and new realtors. Their team boasts a 100% retention rate as their agents are all supported. Last year, most of their agents made sales commissions crossing $100k per annum and some agents achieved more than $500k in annual sales commissions.
There is a sense of selflessness in the team, as all agents help and support one another, including in terms of sharing personal knowledge. They see each other as family, with a trust so strong within the team that members have helped one another conduct viewings. Zann and Gary themselves consistently make time to mentor their agents and help them stay on track to achieve their sales targets.
The dedication they have to their team is also rooted in how they started out in the industry. When they first joined real estate, they focused mainly on sales and making ends meet. Eventually, they started seeing real estate as a career for life, deciding over the years to do more and step out of their comfort zone to set up a team. This drive comes from wanting to help other agents who feel helpless and alone in the industry, much like they did when they first joined. They understand how terrible such feelings are, and they believe that no agent should ever have to feel this way.
For their team, Zann and Gary employ a proven system, SuperNova, which is a step-by-step programme focused on building the foundation of a real estate agent. This programme consists of marketing, engaging clients, conducting client presentations, churning appointments, performing market analysis, closing, after-sale services, etc. Being a strong platform to support all agents throughout the process of becoming a realtor. All agents under the Galaxy Group may also access an exclusive mobile app with tools that boost the agents’ efficacy.
Additionally, Zann and Gary conduct weekly division meetings to catch up with everyone, provide agents with support to overcome any challenges, and give them advice on how to achieve their goals. They conduct one-to-one yearly reviews as well, which evaluate agents’ performance and aid them in setting goals for the following year. As agents who are still heavily involved in their personal sales, Zann and Gary remain in the know of any market changes and on-the-ground sentiments, which allows them to react and share with their team too.
Zann and Gary welcome all agents who have the same mindset as them, who are motivated as well as willing to grow and learn. They must also be willing to share with others, put in the effort and hard work, and stay committed. Their team culture is family-based and they uplift one another by celebrating each other’s successes.
Final few words for younger agents
Zann and Gary add that agents must be passionate about and love their work, through finding enjoyment in their daily tasks to keep them going. They also emphasise putting clients’ interests first, and acting in their best interests.
Find joy in helping clients secure their own homes, and a great sense of satisfaction and warmth naturally arrives. Also, think of real estate as a long-term business, and clients will then start referring them to others.
The post Zann Low and Gary Ong: the dynamite couple who marries capability with people-centrism, nurturing a solid client base and a strong, close-knit team appeared first on 99.co.
