Estate agents are perhaps unlikely to be modest by nature, but I’m always surprised at how much many agents know, yet never shout about it.
Any High Street will have six or more offices and at first sight they seem similar. Yet, inevitably, some individuals within those offices will have finer grains of local knowledge, more success at sales or lettings, a string of awards or a host of Propertymark qualifications. Yet how would a customer, selling their home for the first time in years, even know?
Now with the market potentially hitting a rough patch, it’s time for agents to boast a little more.
Savills is predicting transactions will drop to 870,000 in 2023 from around 1.1m this year; the Council for Licensed Conveyancers is even more pessimistic, telling its lawyer members to prepare for a drop off in business of up to 40 per cent.
So if the transaction cake is getting smaller, how can your agency go for a bigger slice? Basically, it’s by putting your people-skills - and your people’s skills - to the fore.
Show You’re a Good Agent - I’m always advising would-be buyers to look for Propertymark-member agents as a way of finding agents who care enough about a profession to be in the industry’s largest trade body. So if you’re in it, show it prominently on your branch window, literature and most of all your website, listings and social media.
Let Local Knowledge Shine Through - If you’ve worked in an area for 20 years, say so on as many platforms as possible. You don’t have to shout it, but make it a sign of how much you can be trusted to know the market. Long-standing residents will know it but newcomers won’t, and buyers moving into an area won’t find out unless you tell them.
And Your Professional Knowledge Too… - Let’s be honest, we know estate agents are not highly regarded by society at large and often that’s because (wrongly) they are thought to be unqualified. So if you have the training, flaunt it - not just by putting initials after a name but by making the skills of your staff a prominent part of pitching and advertising.
Awards - A trip to the ESTAS in London is the highlight of many agents’ years but picking up the gong should be the start, not the end, of the process. Not every firm on your local High Street will have the customer endorsement that winning an award typically means, so don’t be afraid to have your success on display in your window and not buried on a shelf.
Be Helpful and Authoritative - These are key characteristics I recommend sellers look for when choosing an agent. So be better than the rest - put guides to moving on display, produce monthly market reports, give straightforward and plain-English advice on how you market homes, especially in the sticky market which we’ll have for some time to come.
Smile and be Enthusiastic! - This sounds superficial but isn’t. I know an agency that placed the principal’s desk closest to the front door, which was often open. This allowed the boss to say hello to those he knew passing by. Why? Because this showed he was friendly, popular and approachable - characteristics he reckoned won him business.
Be Tech-Friendly - This goes without saying in 2022, but make sure the most customer-friendly tech is part of your marketing. The finer points of your CRM system won’t affect prospective customers, but if you show them your share of the local market on Rightmove, or a dashboard keeping track of viewing feedback, most will be duly impressed.
Become A Community Force - The pandemic has made us all more community-minded, and a good thing too. Many agents are already good at sponsoring school or church events, having a link with a local charity or manning a stall at the fete. It’s impossible to overstate the benefit of local goodwill and word-of-mouth recommendations won this way.
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Many agents, of course, do at least some of these already, but I bet even the most on-the-ball company can do extra to show their skills and knowledge. This is especially the case after a frantic market of the kind we’ve seen in recent years, when agents have been too busy working for customers to consider how best to project their own advantages.
The market in 2023 is gearing up to be far more muted and competition between agents is likely to step up a gear as a result of fewer customers. Using the coming winter slowdown to prepare for that - and putting people skills to the fore - will pay dividends next year.
See you next month…
*Phil Spencer is a presenter, author, businessman and property investor. Phil’s consumer advice platform Move iQ, is a website, YouTube channel and podcast. Each preserve and reflect the same impartiality that consumers trust and base their property moving plans.
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Smile and be enthusiastic? Seriously?
Remember, 'smile while you dial'? And my favourite, stand up when conducting an important phone call! Oh, how I miss corporate agency....
In a tightening market, you must focus on good training, good systems and good data management.
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