The RE/MAX 2016 Annual General Meeting, which was held on the 19th February 2016, this year took on a new format and was divided into two sessions: The first was a convention which saw the participation of two top International Speakers and Trainers engaged through the global RE/MAX network followed by the local Annual General Meeting which consisted of top management overview and insights acquired from 2015 and strategic direction for 2016.
A first in the history of RE/MAX Malta was an event built on the theme of Strength, carrying the promise of "I will find the strength to persist until I succeed". Gil Li-ran, the first international trainer, spoke of building a "Mind of Steel" to achieve success within the Real Estate business and further. His motivational talk evolved on how to create positive energy, reliving past successes and believing in our own self. "Positive thinking can create life-changing results such as increased happiness, health and wealth" he said to more than 260 RE/MAX sales associates attending the AGM. He added that a Real Estate Sales Associate can only retain his strategic path if the mind is strong and adamant enough to cast away surrounding negativity.
Dario Castiglia, Regional Director for RE/MAX Italia spoke about "How to become a successful real estate agent and stay that way over time". He identified 7 highly proactive strategies that a sales associate should adopt to enhance his profession. These strategies were tried and tested in other European markets and success rates and best practices were presented for each. "If you understand and implement the fundamentals and the 7 enterprising strategies, your level of success will exceed your expectations" he said.
The second session of the 2016 edition of the RE/MAX Annual General Convention hosted top RE/MAX Malta Management who spoke about the performance recorded in 2015 and identified the strategies for 2016.
Kevin Buttigieg, CEO for RE/MAX Malta outlined the 2016 business strategy, the challenges as well as the opportunities that the company will face in this calendar year. He also revealed that during the first two months of 2016 the company is already experiencing Y-o-Y Growth. Whilst thanking the administration, associates, managers and franchise owners for their excellent performances, Mr. Buttigieg encouraged everyone to remain focused, set their targets and be true ambassadors of the Maltese real estate industry now more so being that the Industry has been recognised and pushed towards being acknowledged as a proper profession.
Jeff Buttigieg, COO for RE/MAX Malta gave a brief overview of the 2016 strategy for IT, Marketing and the Real Estate Academy. He said "Business year 2016 would be a year of further consolidation, growth and increase in market share. We will be investing heavily in technological resources as well as implementing new training courses based on the various needs for our team, multi- channel marketing strategy, as well as, re-solidifying and enhancing company core values that are in line with our strategy".
Other speakers at the Annual General Convention included Edward Agius, Letting Manager who gave an overview related to the letting sector and Joseph P. Theuma, General Manager of the Group, who gave a review of the company's performance.
In his presentation, Joseph P. Theuma, noted that the company increased market share in all segments, including but not limited to the first time buyers, second time buyers, rental investments as well as the luxury markets for all types of property and all geographical areas of the Maltese Islands. The highest recorded improvement of almost 90% was recorded on foreign investment and a distinctive demand was experienced in the commercial property sector. He concluded by saying "As witnessed by the company's overall record result, 2015 was a year which proved that through the consistent hard work given by all the members of the RE/MAX Malta family we can continue to reach new heights. The industry has now come to recognise the brand as a market leader in our sector and thanks to our high level of activity backed by the professional quality of service.".
The accomplishment of 109 top achievers was celebrated by a presentation of certificates followed by 11 performance awards. "Top Letting Associate" was awarded to Mario Caruana, Jeff Debattista & Gordi Felice; "Top Selling Office" was awarded to RE/MAX Alliance Tigne & RE/MAX Real Estate Specialist Tigne Point; "Top Sales Associate" was awarded to Philip Incorvaja and Etienne Vassallo. This edition witnessed the introduction of a new award developed with the specific aim of showing true appreciation towards RE/MAX Malta loyal partners and family. This award went to the esteemed Michael Galea from RE/MAX Gozo, Mike Bonello from RE/MAX Alliance, James Busuttil from RE/MAX Central, Kevin Deguara from RE/MAX Blue Harbour, Edward Agius from RE/MAX Letting and Joseph P. Theuma from Head Office.
The full agenda of surprises, successful positivity and awards were celebrated during a networking reception.