A lack of training and a laissez-faire attitude to leads and listings is preventing agents charging higher fees, industry leaders have claimed.
The revelations were made in the latest video released from a meeting of senior property executives late last year.
They covered a range of subjects that have been split into separate videos to be released over the next week.
Former Foxtons chief executive and current board member Peter Rollings said agents don’t do enough to prove they are worth 1.25% or 1.5% as they don’t give a good service.
He said: “This a vicious circle as you then don’t employ the right people as you don’t charge the right fee and can’t pay them very much.
“It is not a piece of cake to sell a house now, you really have to be better than the rest.”
Rollings also blamed the portals and online agents including fellow panellist Russell Quirk’s former eMoov brand, for pushing down fees.
The panellists said better training and leadership is needed and agents should be better at differentiating themselves and their service from eachother.
Sarah Edmundson, chief executive of Agents Together, suggested a “laissez-faire attitude” has emerged where agents wait for leads to come in, which she suggests has got worse over the past two years.
She added: “We are not equipped to go into a tougher market.
“A lot of agents be like a rabbit in the headlights, this is where we need great management.”
Watch the full debate on the video below:
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You get paid small fees for what you do and big fees for WHO you are.
Too much emphasis on the “value vomit", trying to add things to justify a higher fee when all most vendors really want is an agent they can trust.
I agree Chris. Most agents DO more or less the same thing. So it comes down to two other attributes: WHO you are, and HOW persuasive you are. The first is inherent and the second is a training issue/opportunity. There is no excuse for pathetically low fees. 😊
You can't put a value on experience. Newcomers to the industry lack the skills and knowledge to win business. Being able to overcome objections convincingly and confidently is the key and this can only be attained over a long period of time and requires quality mentoring. We have a skills gap in the industry a lot of which is owed to the internet dumbing down our profession.
David, if you do your job well, there is never a need to “overcome objections. "
According to many consumers, Estate agent Sales valuers are comparable to double glazing sales reps and most are not to be trusted, they speak a load of trollop, try and trick you into listing with them, over value to get instructions, tie you in to long term contracts and many lie about the market conditions, this industry will never be trusted or be any better. Too many online agents with sales tricks that just list on the portals and make consumer's think thats what all agents do. Rightmove is a major contributor towards this type of sharp practice allowing anyone to list its become a rag site like gumtree, ebay, facebook marketplace or any site that allows this free for all undercutting fee war, the industry needs a kick up the backside with a professional approach by all involved standards need to improve before anyone can justify higher fees.
Definitely worth paying a little more to a small independent who will work hard for you, who will get everything top and tailed like you are their number 1 client. High Street alternatives are shocking, more so than online models. They are way over valuing to hit targets, listing services which lack the sales because they can't accommodate viewings, truly shocking.
A rebuttal on fees is a request from the owner for more information, or put another way, "you haven't told me why you are worth 2% so I am not prepared to pay it", which most agents who find themselves faced with this feedback, present it as the vendor simply wanting a cheap fee or the market won't tolerate higher fees. Yet when leaving the house crestfallen, do they take note of the B&O TV, the Miele dishwaher, or the merc on the drive. A question only of perceived value, not expense.
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