Sunil Kumar on his journey of building Reliance Real Estate from the ground up
He began his career knocking on doors, but ended up breaking new ground.
Sunil Kumar, who came to Australia in August of 2004 to complete his master’s in Professional Accounting, can remember those days only too well. “To support myself while studying, I started door-to-door selling. It was hard work, tiring, but I never gave up. To be honest, we think it is those days of sweat and toil that set the foundation dreaming Big and taught me perseverance,” says Sunil, who seven years later, in 2011, set up Reliance Real Estate Victoria Pty Ltd, which has grown to become one of the fastest growing real estate businesses in Australia and very well-known firms for all the good reasons in Victoria.
From day one on the job, says Sunil, always values self-education, customer service has been his forte. “I realised my passion for sales, when I have given the opportunity to work and manage business clients at Salmat Group in a short while after joining them,” says Sunil.
After three years with the Salmat Group, Sunil found himself laying the foundation for a career in real estate once commencing a sales role in the Hobson’s Bay Area. “I have always strived to be a top level performer and have dedicated my energy to growing my knowledge of the industry evidently so I can excel in exceptional customer service,” says Sunil.
Reliance Group is primarily an education and training programme which brings best of people to perform at their best in personal and professional lives. We work hard in training so the real estate game becomes easy. We encourage our team to be the best version of themselves. And that sets us apart from the other real estate agencies. While other agents try to do what everyone else is doing, our focus remains to become better than yesterday to serve better our clients and community,” he says.
“Most people in business choose to play the short term game possibly for big profits. It works for some but not so much for others Starting Reliance Real Estate was choosing the hard path for long term success. Keeping our clients and team members was the number one priority. And that’s why we started Reliance Real Estate. I am proud to say Reliance is producing many current leaders who are leading the real estate industry and giving it a new direction,” says Sunil.
Like with most entrepreneurs, Sunil too began his company with a small office and a big dream—just two team members (including him). But soon enough, the dream took over, and Reliance has now grown to be one of Western suburbs’ largest independent employers in the professional services network and home to almost 60 team members in five branches, a new office on the horizon.
There was a time in 2012 that Sunil thought his dreams would come crashing down. “That was a difficult year. I was faced with the decision to give up my company—the only thing that got me through it was the support of my family and the positive influence of my peer group.” But with blinkers on, Sunil followed his mantra of “Give More Take Less”. “If you sitting across the table negotiating with someone the aim is not to always get up from that table feeling like you are winning. The pure aim is to make the person on the other side of the table feel like a winner. This is a mentality of growing something bigger than yourself. It’s now a continuing motto with the company,” says Sunil, with a smile.
Wyndham is where Sunil says he has seen the biggest opportunity—constant growth, increasing house prices and expenditure is what he appealed him to the district of Melbourne’s West. “My instinct has been proved right,” says Sunil.
Two years after hitting rock bottom and making a comeback, Sunil wrote his first book Sold, which he calls a must-have guide created to educate home owners and someone who wants to know what goes in real estate or want to work in real estate on how to increase the value of their property. “Navigating the sale of a property can be confronting if you are unsure of how to optimise the outcome. Knowledge is power and empowerment is what Sold aims to give all property owners,” he says.
To share more of his knowledge, Sunil has begun offering traineeships to students within the Warringa Park School and Werribee Secondary College, giving them the opportunity to work within the company to help grow their business and learning skills in the industry. “With each new office opening we are more able to offer these opportunities to students and trainees across the whole Wyndham Region,” says Sunil, who adds that he sees Reliance as a personal development company.
In 2015, Reliance joined the Real Estate Network Group to develop, improve and train his team to do better. “As we continue to grow, and follow our dream to become the top real estate group of Australia we must ensure all our team are the best. Weekly sales training, outsourcing auction training and improving our overall skills is what makes us different from our competitors,” says Sunil, who is all set to open a Reliance Head Office in Point Cook.
The Reliance Group isn’t only home to real estate, but also has a finance arm of the company called Funding Force for mortgage and home loans.
As the Reliance brand continues to grow Sunil says he wants to ensure the company sticks to its core values of commitment to excellence, staying customer-focused, maintaining expertise and never losing sight of ethics and innovation.
Sunil prides himself on knowing that he has grown an “amazing team that works together so well”, a team that has a like-minded passion for not only real estate, but customer service and results.
Reliance’s efforts and hard work have also been recognised nationally. In 2016, Reliance Real Estate was named Australia’s 43rd fastest growing company in Financial Review’s BRW Fast 100, which also outlined them as Australia’s fastest growing independent real estate company.
Sunil’s dedication and support to his team led Reliance and his staff to win awards such as the ARERA 2017 Rising Star Agency of the Year, Vic Agent of the Year and Sales Performers of the Year. “Just goes to show that hard work and commitment do not go unrecognised,” says Sunil, who adds that when he is not at work, he loves just being at home with family—his wife Ramandeep Kaur and two beautiful boys Arshaan (6 years) and Armaan (6 months).
Community connect
Sunil is extremely passionate about giving back to the community that has given him so much—he is involved in business groups Australian Indian Business Council, Business Network International and Wyndham Biznet where local opportunities are explored.
“Our company’s connection within the local community we serve runs deep. In 2016, we started the Reliance Foundation to provide a platform for our staff to contribute to local charities and fundraisers,” says Sunil.
Reliance Foundation’s recent initiatives include the Werribee Support and Housing Donation (for food and supplies to help support local families in need); Baden Powell P-9 College Breakfast Club (helps feed 300+ student per week); Red Cross Blood Donation Drives; Warringa Park School Leadership Support; and the largely successful World’s Greatest Shave which was held in Watton Street, Werribee.
Upcoming events that the Reliance Foundation is taking part in include the Act for Peace Ration Challenge, where for a week some of the staff will be living off the same food supplies as Syrian refugees as well as raising funds in support of them; and Miracle Babies Foundation to support research and care for premature births.
Reliance is always looking for hardworking and talented individuals. If you want to see what Reliance has to offer please email on sales@rrestate.com.au
To get your free copy of Sunil’s book SOLD go to, www.skumar.com.au.
To find out more on the growth of the Reliance Group head to, www.reliancere.com.au
Sunil Kumar can be contacted at sunil@reliancere.com.au
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