Last Saturday morning, like a dutiful father, I took my son to football training. Not keen to be sat around in the freezing cold for an hour and a half, I decided to take a walk down the local high street. I thought it would be a good opportunity to undertake some mystery shopping of the local estate and letting agents.
Upon entering the first branch, I informed the agent that I was interested in putting my property on the market in February and asked what portals they use. Unsurprisingly, Rightmove and Zoopla' was the reply. I asked if they were due to take up OnTheMarket'. Their reply, although it may bring a smile to your face, filled me with dread. Yes we can put your property on the market for you, I was informed.
I went on to tell them that OnTheMarket was a new portal and they said they had never heard of it. With the new portal set to launch a week on Monday, it is not right that the agent wasn't able to tell me how this may have an impact for buyers and vendors.
Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the problem. I wasn't asked for my personal details, despite explicitly informing the agent in question that I wished to place my property on the market in the near future.
I hoped this was a one off experience and continued to visit the other agents on the high street. However, roughly 50% of those who I subsequently visited had never heard of OnTheMarket' nor took my personal details to follow up on.
This small snapshot, although just that, is sadly typical of what I've often found up and down the country. This scenario highlights the lack of industry knowledge within some branches and backs the case for more internal training.
One simple solution to this problem can be to discuss industry news and goings on in your team meetings. Your team need to know the company's standpoint on certain issues, like, say, OnTheMarket. Due to the world we live in, it is now not uncommon for your customers to be consuming industry news and I can assure you the last thing they expect is an agent who is not up to speed. They come to you for advice and reassurance; your team are supposed to be the experts.
As previously mentioned, it is also a great concern the number of agents who didn't take my details. As you well know, this is a potential listing/sale lost. In a New Year it can be beneficial to retrain staff on how to meet and greet potential and existing clients.
*Stephen Brown is Director of Stephen J Brown Consultancy, providing training and helping estate agents from all over the UK to generate more revenue
https://www.sjbconsultancy.co.uk/
Comments
I'll take it then that you concede your argument is fatally flawed, 'Rosebud'.
See you next time the author posts another touting story, no doubt...
"...do you really think the guy who wrote the article actually did what he said..."
Of course not, Real Estate Agent - I've read and been fed MDT like it many times before by other companies - and whilst the article could well be based upon actual events, many would say that the likes of this smack of a shameless tout for business.
What WILL be interesting is if any of the Principals that have no doubt been approached to offer 'help' will read this - and put in THEIR two penn'orth as to how they feel their staff perform!
Now THAT would make interesting reading... ;o)
@PeeBee - spot on. I hate getting enquiries like "please can you send me the brochure" WHY (SHOUT) all details are the portal and our website ANYONE who doesn't want a meaningful conversation isn't really interested unless they are massively shy and if they are that shy they wouldn't even leave the house to view a property. A negotiator following up a lead.... WELL DONE NEGOTIATOR!! ALSO - do you really think the guy who wrote the article actually did what he said - NO CHANCE #selfpromotion
Okay I'm going to type this quietly - as I don't want to draw any more attention to how ridiculous you are making yourself out to be.
"All I asked for (politely by text, phone and email)..." I never suggested that your requests were anything other than polite - did I However, you also stated that, much to your obvious annoyance, the Agent had made several attempts to contact you for further information (we call it "qualifying" a buyer, by the way...) which you have seemingly ignored - which a)[b] isn't[/b] particularly polite and b) tells both the Agent and me that you aren't serious enough about this (or any other property for that matter which they are potentially able to advise you of) to volunteer some basic information. Jeez - they want your address not your bank account details - what's the problem with that The laughable part of this is that if you'd actually bothered to haul your @$$ into the branch you'd probably have been able to pick up the info without this malarkey - and proved that you're a half-serious, at least, buyer to boot.
You say you don't want to be the Agent's best friend - just as well because I am absolutely certain that feeling will be mutual. But the Agent works for the [b]seller[/b], not the buyer - and as you haven't given the Agent the remotest hint that you're even a half-hearted buyer I reckon you're way down the pecking order in terms of who's on the company's Christmas card list, I'm afraid.
As a seller, I simply want my property sold. As you clearly don't want to buy it - why would I give a chuff that you weren't sent a brochure
To you...
Wrong on so many SHOUTY levels PeeBee. As a seller, I would expect the estate agent to disseminate the information to sell my property. All I asked for (politely by text, phone and email) was the brochure and indication of service charge. Not beyond the wit of man. Or woman. Go on SHOUT BACK.
Sorry, 'Rosebud' - but NOTHING of what you have said above tells me that the Estate Agent has "lost a buyer" - simply weeded out a timewaster. The Agent has responded to your request asking for you to simply follow their registration process - which they do to qualify that enquirers are genuine - also to potentially provide you with additional property information that fits your criteria - again - doing the job correctly on behalf of their retained clients. They have subsequently - IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE INFORMATION YOU SUPPOSEDLY REQUIRE - attempted to re-contact you on no less than FIVE occasions, which you have ignored.
I would say that the Agent has bent over backwards for you. I would also say that if you had ANY INTENTION WHATSOEVER to purchase this property you would not have taken such a blinkered approach. Hah - here's a funny one - you MIGHT even have visited the Agent and asked for the details in person!
But, of course - that was never going to happen, was it
WOW!! - a training consultant telling us that it might not be a bad idea to revisit out training procedures - THERE'S one I would never expect!
No doubt the letters of introduction have been mailed to the Principals of these Agencies, Mr Brown - with the usual "...of course you may well be perfectly happy with the current level of your staff performance in Key Result Areas and do not wish to capitalise on the potentially significant additional income that certainly could be generated by their improvement to only normal industry standards - in which case I sincerely wish you good luck in the future."
The old tricks are still the best...
Oh - and it could be argued by those reading this that a '"dutiful father" would have actually STAYED AND WATCHED HIS SON'S FOOTBALL PRACTICE, and not jollied himself off on a business-touting exercise - you know - offering motivation... encouragement... to increase performance!
I have had an equally exasperating but totally opposite experience with an estate agent. Having contacted them through their website about a property, I left my email address, name and mobile. Then got a call 'we just need to complete your registration before we can send you details'. Having replied that I just want to see the full brochure and know service charge details, surely the information they have is sufficient No, it appears they want my entire life history. This is a BTL investment - not an exclusive mansion. I don't need the estate agent to be my best friend, but he's texted twice and rung 3 times wanting more details. Each time, I've asked for the same information. Nothing forthcoming. If that was my property, I'd be hopping mad that they've lost a buyer.