Don’t rely on Rightmove to sell homes, agents told

The way to sell a property has changed and agents shouldn’t rely on just listing on Rightmove, senior property leaders have claimed.

Speaking in the latest video released from a meeting of senior property executives late last year, industry trainer Matt Giggs, suggested firms won’t have any success if they are relying on the portals to generate demand this year.

He said agents must be better at using their database to generate and match leads but Mark Burgess, chief executive of Iceberg Digital and the Lifesycle CRM, suggested property professionals don’t have the software and technology to know who to call and mistakenly celebrate instructions rather than leads.

The panellists also debated whether the market sets the price and the role a negotiator and agents can play in setting prices and getting the best offers.

Iain McKenzie, chief executive of the Guild of Property Professionals suggested an agents job is to sell property at the best price they can achieve, “which is dictated by market conditions.”

But Sarah Edmundson, chief executive of Agents Together, said it is important that selling property doesn’t become a commoditised product and said agents must show what they offer beyond pricing such as the help in finding a buyer.

Burgess added: “An agent should be confident enough to say politely that my job is to make money by selling houses so I’m not interested in trying to sell your house for a price I don’t think I can sell it at.

“The key is to find the best buyer attainable and work in the vendor’s best interest to get to exchange.

Watch the full video debate below: