It’s often said there’s no “I” in team but there are always exceptions – as Sales Manager Mike Ireson, one of the linchpins of the RiverStone success story, proves.
Mike was on board when luxury builders RiverStone got off the ground and, some 15 years and the creation and sale of countless beautiful luxury homes later, he’s still setting – and surpassing – his goals. And achieving goals is something that has literally been a major part of Mike’s life.
Emigrating from Bournemouth, England, in 1961 Mike soon blazed a trail as a midfielder/striker with North Perth soccer club.
A First Division career spanning 14 seasons(North Perth/Kiev/Olympic and Tricolore) saw him eventually become Olympic captain/coach. But even higher honours awaited, with him captaining WA a dozen times and leading the state against visiting soccer royalty, including Manchester United.
Off the field, Mike Ireson went into the building trade with his father-in-law but after around 10 years he eventually moved into selling, rather than building, homes. It was here he found his true calling.
In 1995 he joined RiverStone, which at the time was blazing a trail in limestone construction.
“We wanted to be set apart in the market and built a display home, the Avignon, an all-limestone home in Mt Claremont was a great success. In the first or second year we entered in the home of the year in a couple of our products and won and came second. That really boosted the name of the company. Limestone was becoming more popular and we were able to build it almost the same price as brick, which amazed people.”
Mike still follows soccer (he casts a critical eye over Perth Glory from the sidelines now) but his other great passion is helping people achieve their dreams through RiverStone’s exceptional, quality custom-built homes.
In his career he’s probably sold “thousands” of homes but although coy about his age (“I’ve stopped counting the birthdays now”) he isn’t planning on slowing down any time soon. “Why I’m still working is because I enjoy what I do. I’m passionate about it and love talking to people. I was talking to people this morning who have got their ideas of an ideal house and I helped talk them through them. When they move in I’ll get a real kick out of it.”
Mike Ireson says having a few “runs on the board” does help when it comes to dealing with clients and he’s passing on his experience as a mentor to other RiverStone sales staff. “You know within the first two minutes of talking with a client if you’ve got them on board,” he says.
Of all his myriad RiverStone sales, one is particularly memorable. “About 12 years ago we built a home called The Cumberland in St Peters Square Mt Claremont. It had a very high pitched roof and gothic arches, a great entry. People said ‘oh it’s like a church’. From that we built a lot of homes and we had a lot of people coming through; it was all very positive.”
There’s more competition in the luxury home sector now, clients are probably more demanding too, but Mike Ireson is confident RiverStone’s exceptional attention to quality, value, personal customer service and individual design (“all our homes are unique”) still gives it a clear edge over competitors. “Competition keeps you on your toes, there’s nothing wrong with that. Clients are more fussy, but why shouldn’t they be?”
