With a company motto of “big enough to count and small enough to care”, Queensland based livestock agency network business, Grant Daniel & Long (GDL) has grown to be one of Australia’s largest and most successful private agencies with a proven track record.
GDL was founded in 1997, when highly experienced and respected livestock agents Noel Grant and Jamie Long, joined with the youthful team of Peter Daniel and John Cullen.
Today, the company covers a footprint of 15 branches forming a marketing network throughout southern and central-western Qld.
GDL Livestock and Property Sales managing director Peter Daniel said staff are the company’s greatest asset.
Peter said when he’s selecting candidates to join the GDL team, he‘s looks for people who’re “well presented, energetic, are easy to have a conversation with, have a strong work ethic, are eager to listen and learn, and are committed to forging a long-term career in the industry.
“It’s a people person business, we can train people to market livestock, but you have to have pride in yourself to be successful, that includes, presentation, everyday discipline, respect for others, and the ability and drive to soak up as much market knowledge as possible,” he said.
“It’s a tough game and requires long hours and a lot of dedication to win the confidence of clients to market their livestock through you.
“We may sell stock every week, but you might only deal with a particular client two or three times a year, which makes it imperative that you’re always making decisions that are in the best interests of your client.”
Peter said the company runs a two year traineeship course to provide applicants with a broad knowledge of what being an agent is all about, throughout the GDL and Ruralco network.
“The course allows successful applicants to be based in a GDL business, and travel throughout the Ruralco network so they gain deep and vast experience in different areas and involving different stock types. They’ll also form their own network of friends along the way, which will be extremely useful throughout their careers.”
Peter said the company always looks to retain the staff they train up, by providing pathways to accomplish any goals they’ve set for themselves within the industry.
“The longer you stick with this industry the more rewards you will receive. You’ll also have the satisfaction of becoming a lifelong friend of the people you deal with.
“As you progress through the ranks we provide an incentive program for those that do well. We ultimately want our top performing staff to become branch managers within the company, and enjoy a fulfilling lifelong career with GDL.”
