YY Lau posing with her Real Estate Agent of The Year trophy at the recently held 2017 MIEA Gala Dinner

By AISYAH SUWARDI aisyahs@thestar.com.my

WINNING the Real Estate Agent of The Year accolade at the recent Malaysian Institute of Estate Agent (MIEA) gala dinner 2017 was never on YY Lau’s mind since starting out as a real estate agent back in 1992.

An accountant by qualification, YY Lau previously obtained her fellowship in FCCA (Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) before proceeding to take on a new challenge and to move on from her position as the chief financial officer (CFO) in a multinational company.

“I was contemplating between becoming a real estate or an insurance agent as I was looking for a career change that will allow me to deal with clients directly,” said Lau, adding that she ended up choosing real estate because she thought it would challenge her to become more resourceful, creative as well as utilising the financial knowledge acquired previously.

Currently acting as JLL Property Services (M) Sdn Bhd’s country head and managing director, Lau has often been asked whether there were any difficulties when holding a commanding position in a male-dominated industry.

“I don’t think there are many drawbacks in being a woman in this industry. It's just that as the leader, you have to make a lot of tough decisions. Sometimes it requires you to rationalise rather than following your emotions. As a woman, we, being more sensitive, can agonize over certain matters, especially those involving staff, although knowing that the tough decisions have to be made for the good of the team.

“Aside from that, I think this industry can benefit from having more women joining in as they are probably more patient, focused, caring, thoughtful and detail-oriented. These are traits that are needed to succeed as a real estate service provider,” she explained.

Lau elaborated further on other factors that come into play to become a successful real estate agent. “First of all, you must have an extensive knowledge of the property sector to explain in great detail to your clients and add value to the properties.

Having the right mindset is important: aspiring agents must have the passion, a strong thinking process and be solution driven. It is ultimately about bringing buyer and seller or landlord and tenant together.

Thus it is vital to be proactive (prospects, property listings, client-facing) as well as having the required skills: negotiating, persuading, and deploying the right strategy to close a transaction.

“At JLL, we practice three values: teamwork, ethics, and excellence. When doing a transaction, it is important to work well within a team as we can achieve better solutions together. Completing your job with ethics is required in JLL as well as doing it excellently and passionately. We, at JLL, are a firm believer and practitioner of “Diversity and Inclusion” because people from different age-groups and backgrounds contribute a lot to the company’s growth and development,” said Lau in the interview.

These efforts proved to be effective as the company also won the Commercial Real Estate Agent of the Year as well.

When asked about upcoming trends within the industry, she said that the importance of the industry would remain but focus would be shifted to the disruptive nature of technology and how it could affect the industry.

“I’m not worried about the industry itself. What I’m concerned about is the impact of data, internet and artificial intelligence. Instead of fearing it, it is important to embrace technology and use it innovatively as a tool to give better information and service to our clients,” said Lau.

Lau, whose parents have always been her mentors, has also offered some advice for young people who are still trying to figure things out.

“A lot of us don’t have a clue on what to do with our lives. We keep wasting our time, searching endlessly for what we want to do. My simple advice is to have the freedom to do what you like and find happiness in doing what you do like.

“Have passion for doing what you have chosen to do. This is the only thing that will make you want to wake up early in the morning and spend the rest of your day and life doing. Be grateful to your family and friends, and lastly, always be competent, positive and humble for you will never know who you might make a difference with your positive attitude,” added Lau.