Data, drive and doing the work: the rise of Canberra agent Nik Brozinic

When Nik Brozinic started his real estate career in his mid-20s, he found himself in a double-edged sword situation.

On one hand, his previous career as an exercise physiologist and associated university degree had equipped him with a strong work ethic and valuable life experience, which helped him relate to vendors and buyers from all parts of society.

On the other hand, the now Carter + Co head of sales found himself back at square one, learning from others, rather than being the one with experience.

“It was mentally tough to come into an environment and go, ‘I know nothing about this … this is all new,’” he says.

“I started as an associate, which was hard for me. I was quite mature at that point and I had to take that step back and understand I was on a learning curve.

“A lot of other associates were in their late teens or early 20s, but I was doing it at 25, 26 and 27 years old. I just had to really grind, work hard and grow.”

That’s exactly what Brozinic did, joining his principal James Carter’s team as a sales associate about seven years ago and working his way up in the competitive Canberra property market.

He notes that it was at Carter’s suggestion that he joined the real estate industry.

“As an exercise physiologist, I was doing some rehabilitation work with James, and I was finding work a little bit boring and mundane,” Brozinic says.

“He said, ‘I think you’d be great for real estate,’ and at that point I thought I’d give it a crack.

“This is a job where your willingness to work will drive how much you earn and how much you can build for your family. And I haven’t looked back since. It’s been a great journey.”

Up until three years ago, Brozinic worked as part of Carter’s effective business unit (EBU), first as a sales associate and then as a co-agent.

He laments that he’s unable to recall his first sale, but he says one of his most memorable deals was a luxury four-bedroom, four-bathroom home on Quinane Avenue, in Forde.

It was his first “high-profile sale”, and Brozinic says it was set against the backdrop of a challenging COVID pandemic market, where they had to do away with traditional open homes in favour of timed private inspections.

“It was my first real taste of that luxury, high-end market and it allowed me to go, ‘If I can sell this and do it in tough times, in a market that is uncertain and so unknown, then I can do this,’” he says.

“It allowed me to have that bit of confidence in myself as an agent.”

Three years ago, Brozinic became a standalone agent and 12 months later set about creating his own EBU, which now includes a co-agent and admin support, with a view to growing further in the coming years.

Honesty, integrity and a relentless work ethic form the cornerstones of Brozinic’s business, but he notes it’s his and his team’s attention to detail and data-driven approach to marketing that really helps.

“We strategically track every single one of our campaigns and the marketing we do,” he says.

“Whether that be our viewership on the portals to the impact of our social media campaigns and the type of video and the type of photography we do.

“We track data on where our inquiry comes from, what our most responsive type of video is and what our most responsive type of social media post is.

“We do that on a quarterly basis, and we provide that data to every single client through our presentation.”

Brozinic says some properties are better suited to digital marketing, while others will have more success with print advertising or strong social media campaigns.

Analysing the data enables him to adapt as needed and recommend the best strategy.

“We don’t have generic marketing campaigns,” Brozinic says. “We have tailor-made marketing campaigns that use that data and spend our clients’ money in the most receptive ways.”

As for the proudest moment in his career so far, Brozinic says calling his first auction is right up there. 

“It wasn’t the best auction based on what I do now, but I was able to get up there, perform, call the auction, sell it, and sell it for well above what we were expecting on the day,” he says.

What would he recommend new agents do to establish themselves in the real estate industry?

“Back yourself to do what you know you can do, and be willing to do the things that other people don’t want to do, and you will succeed,” he says.