How Sam Rigopoulos from Jellis Craig went from vacuum salesman to top real estate agent

Sam Rigopoulos, auctioneer and director of Jellis Craig’s inner-north group, began his working life selling $4000 vacuum cleaners door-to-door. This top-level junior basketballer quickly discovered he had a flair for sales, so he left university and entered real estate. Last year, he was named the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s residential salesperson of the year.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up between Northcote and Doncaster and I went to Templestowe High. Now my wife, three kids and I live in Northcote again – in the golden triangle in Westgarth. It’s 100 metres between work, home and Westgarth Primary.

What were you like at 16?

I was addicted to playing basketball. I was quite sporty and very focused on not much else other than my basketball dream. I played a power forward or centre position, which I was very, very good at as a youngster.

But then I hit about 17 and I stopped growing – and everyone else around me kept growing. I needed to be another foot taller or so.

Rigopoulos is Greek originally?

Yes, I’m from a Greek family and I’ve been to Greece many times. My mother is from the northern part, in the mountains. It’s a ski resort in the winter so that’s a good time to visit. My father is from the coast – that’s a great place to visit in summer.

Do you still have a love affair with Greece?

Yes, we try to get there every two years. It’s too big a trip to take the kids more frequently.

What is your favourite Greek dish?

It’s my mum’s moussaka. She makes it for family celebrations; actually, she makes anything on demand really. She’s pretty good like that.

How did you get into real estate?

I started studying international banking and business finance at uni and I enjoyed it. I got a part-time job while I was at uni selling American vacuum cleaners called Kirbys. I would go from house to house door-knocking. I got to number one or two in sales in Australia and New Zealand within a few months and I thought,
“I seem to be good at this. Maybe I should just keep trying to sell things.”
I started to look at other sales roles and I thought, “What is the most valuable thing I can sell?” and I realised it was real estate. So I left uni.

You began in real estate in 2005 and opened your own office a few years later – at 26. What was that like?

My success with the vacuum cleaners, and early success in real estate gave me the confidence to not second-guess myself or my career path. I have always followed my intuition.

In those initial days, what was your impression of the local market?

When I opened the office in Northcote 10 years ago, I was of the view that the suburb would always benefit from being neighbours with Fitzroy and Fitzroy North, and this would lead to growth in property prices. A surprise has been the quality of restaurants on High
Street and how that had developed.

And you now cruise around your patch in style?

I’ve always had a passion for cars. I have an ’86 SL 560 Mercedes; it’s fully restored and in pristine condition. It was a weekend car but now I’ve started to drive it around full-time.

I started to look at other sales roles and I thought, “What is the most valuable thing I can sell?” and I realised it was real estate. So, I left uni …

You began in real estate in 2005 and then opened your own office a few years later – at 26. What was that like?

My success with the vacuum cleaners and early sales success in real estate gave me the confidence to not second-guess myself or my career path. I have always followed my intuition.

Have you found anything a surprise running your own office?

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve found anything much of a surprise. My perspective on it from when I opened the office in Northcote, 10 years ago, was that Northcote was always going to benefit from being neighbours with Fitzroy North and Fitzroy … and this would lead to growth in property prices. The real surprise has been the quality of restaurants on High Street – how that has developed.  The lifestyle element of property price rises is interesting.

And you now cruise around your patch in style?

I’ve always had a passion for cars. I have an ’86 SL 560 Mercedes; it’s now fully restored and in pristine condition. It was a weekend car but now I’ve started to drive it around full-time. I don’t have a garage at home, so I keep it at work.