At the end of the day, being a cynic is a second-rate and crummy tactic in life .. so what is true in life – must be true in Estate Agency? (.. and lettings)
Many Estate Agents are cynical.
They are pessimists because they have seen it before and they believe they have already done it as well as it can be done. They are stuck in their ways with the way the operate and act. One example of cynicism I see all the time, from both young and old Estate Agents, is to deride the online threat, poking fun at the Purplebricks of this world … calling them
listing agents/call centre agents etc and saying their service is rubbish. Whilst another example of Estate Agent cynicism is the ‘if you cant beat them join them’ mindset, with overvaluing and cheap fees.
listing agents/call centre agents etc and saying their service is rubbish. Whilst another example of Estate Agent cynicism is the ‘if you cant beat them join them’ mindset, with overvaluing and cheap fees.
But taking the pi$$ of the PB's and Yopa's of this world isn't a solution to the online threat .. because whilst you laugh .. they are eating away, virus like at your market share and as you laugh, they eat, one listing at a time, your market share.
The opposite of being a cynic is an optimist
Thankfully, not every estate agent is a cynic
However, many Estate Agents are optimistic (and hopeful) of the future but have no plan to counteract the online estate agent threat, or neutralise the issue of low fees, or offset the problem of overvaluing, and even compensate of a shrinking market (less property being sold) by taking a bigger market share (as even more competitors pile into the market).
You need a plan to beat these threats, because Optimism and Hope without a plan doesn't produce the leadership needed to move onward and upward. ... because those agents without Optimism, Hope and a Plan, let’s be frank, there is no future to work for, no reason to carry on being an estate agent
On the other hand, those Estate Agents leaders who do have Optimism, Hope and a Plan will succeed
So what next?
Well if you agree with me, you need three things …
Well if you agree with me, you need three things …
- Optimism
- Hope
- a Plan ..
I can help ... we can help
We have a club, a group, a team of 400 estate and letting agents. We all have a plan to beat online agents, we all have a plan to beat over valuing, and low fees… but more importantly .. we all help each other to give each other optimism and hope. With the knowledge of the plan and the group support to help, guide and support each other, hope and optimism natural flows between us.
Each six months, we all meet up (you might have seen the videos of us all) .. here are a couple of short videos of us all sharing ideas on our plan how to grow our businesses, how to beat online agents, how to beat cheap fees etc https://youtu.be/gYBy0eLR07k and https://youtu.be/eoeRVg5mlt4 (these are just Part 1 and Part 2 of a series of videos)
…. and then there is our Facebook Group, which has at least 6 to 10 posts a days of the fellow agents sharing ideas on what is working for them, sharing with the group.
.. and it costs nothing to be the Facebook group either (we just need to know you are an agent) …. and the cost of the 6 monthly get-togethers is normally only £40 to £45 ish (to cover the room hire and food).
Its not about making money – its about helping each other. The group has agents with 1,400 managed properties down to baby letting agents with a handful – it has Estate Agents with 8 offices down to the baby estate agents who havn’t even opened.
.. and the name of the group on facebook … Landlord Farming Club (yes we know its sounds lettings focused – the group was when we started two years ago until our group members found out the techniques worked even better for resi sales and by which time the name had stuck ..and anyway .. ‘Vendor and Landlord Farming Club’ is quite a mouthful)
Hot topics at the moment include ..
- How to make ValPal really work – how to get the 90% of people whom don’t fill in the ValPal form to communicate with you (so you can get their details)
- Turning Gumtree Landlords into Disciples for Your Letting Agency
- The ‘Frozen Peas’ method (yes its called that) to get more more Resi Stock on your books
- 30 minute training video on Social media
- How to get the hundreds of email address of landlords in your town at no cost
- How to identify the addresses of your Competitor’s Letting Agents stock (not just what is on now but including the ones let)
- Systems to help you streamline your estate agency business
- How to incentivise your landlords to go out of their way into recommending you without paying them a penny
kind regards
Christopher
07950 147572
christopher@christopherwatkin.co.uk
PS If you do want to join – we would love you to join us if you have our same values. We also need to know you are an agent and because every agent gives all their ideas away for free, we need to check we already don’t have an agent from your area already in the group. So please apply, but send me an email or text me or ring me so we can ensure everything is is ok, so we can get in you in the group PDQ