[Reading time 9 mins]
"If you build it, they will come." The classic line from the late 1980’s movie Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner, yet such advice on starting your estate/letting agency could prove catastrophic for any start-up Estate and Letting Agent in 2019
I see it all the time with 20 and 30 somethings, top class Valuers or Branch Managers, working for the ‘man’, be that Corporate or Indy. They are the very best listing machine around, converting every free val they go on, yet when they open their agency, that same thoroughbred listing machine, who put everything (house, mortgage, car, soul, loans etc) on the line to open their own agency turns out to be not very good at generating valuations.
It doesn’t matter how good you are at converting if you have nothing to convert.
Most great valuers/listers are simply not good at generating their own free vals? Harsh but true
Don’t believe me? Look back over your last 30 free vals – how many of those did you generate yourself? How many came directly from YOUR direct methods such as door knocking a competitor’s board, how many came from YOU directly ringing them up every week for 12 weeks? How many came from YOU dropping off brochures of properties they are looking for? How many rang YOU on your mobile or tracked you personally through Facebook because they used you 10 years ago but you worked for another agent?
Be honest – not many
So, what makes you think putting everything on the line and starting your own agency business is going to create the shed loads of free vals you need?
Still thinking I am talking cr*p .. how many times have you seen a hot-shot competitor lister/valuer move from one of the big boy agents to a smaller agent (bribed by a large increase in salary and fancy company car) only to bomb out.
So, what’s the answer? Stay employed and work for the man for the rest of your life?
No
What I advocate is this … instead jacking the job and building an agency, hoping ‘they will come’ .. do it the other way around.
Make people come to you first – then build your agency
Make people come to you, whilst you are on the pay role of your boss, so you dont have to put it all on the line. I advocate you build a brand around you as a person whilst working for the ‘man’, then then once that is established – open an agency with a queue of people wanting to do business with you on day one
You might say, “I already have a brand”, to which I would say how many times have you moved estate agencies, yet the old vendors and purchasers still went back to your old employer to sell their home? How many times have you lettings people moved agency – yet your landlords didn’t follow you. If that’s you in either circumstance – your personal brand wasn’t strong enough…. Again, hard but true
I want to give you the best piece of advice that is going to be all about your own personal long-term strategy in estate (or lettings) agency and show you the most significant insight that I have about opening your own agency
Most of your free vals come in because of the name across the door (the agency branding)…. But everyone tells me estate/letting agency is a people business .. so why don’t we spend some time building up your personal brand whilst working for your existing employer?
Your existing employer will love you for it – as their perception is you are promoting their agency. You will be like a prized footballer playing for one team. All your good work will shine on the football club when you are there whilst you lift your personal brand AT THE SAME TIME … but when you leave to another club, and if you have done it well (improve your personal branding), and all the advertising deals and cash will follow the footballer to the new club.... and same will when you do this.
Build up your brand in the next 12/124 months - then leave .. why, because...
Build up your brand in the next 12/124 months - then leave .. why, because...
To build your brand – you have to play the long game
Most of you (not all) are in it to hit this month’s exchange target – your actions and thoughts are all about hitting your targets in the short term. You might think you are long term – but your actions don’t match your thoughts.
When was the last time you saw me try and sell anything on social media? Most of you don’t even know how I earn my money. The biggest difference between myself and most (not all) other gurus trying to give you advice is that all of my advice, videos and content is free.
Yes, I run courses in how to do video – but 99% of the course is available for free on my YouTube channel. Yes, I ghostwrite articles on an agents’ local property market, but if you can be bothered to watch my 800+ free training videos on Youtube – you will know I will send 20 templates of articles you can do yourself if you can't afford me – for free and if you are worried how to implement the marketing technique I suggest …. All of my training videos I give to my paying clients – are available on YouTube - again for free
I don’t need to monetise you and I certainly don’t need to sell you. I have built a decent sized business and I’m just getting started. Being Chris Watkin, doing the interviews of people in the property industry, doing the #PropShow with my colleagues Matt and Chris is really a dialogue about branding. To me, it’s my side-hustle and most importantly, its bloody good fun to do.
I am building my personal brand for the long term, because I think in this 21stcentury social media tech savvy mobile phone era … its only about the brand. So many of you are in it for the quick sale, and you are going to be forgotten. I engage the estate/letting agency industry which turns into building trust by giving away my content for no money.
The difference between personal branding and sales is easy. Are you trying to convert me into a sale or are you trying to make an experience … because in this world … the latter always wins.
So, what creates a brand? Well a brand can be a person or a company. A brand is how you feel in the second you interact with the person, product, service or company. When I say “Apple” or “Virgin” or “Tesla” or “Fortnum and Masons” each of us have a very definite intrinsic response to our feeling about that brand.
It’s the same when mention the name such as Donald Trump, Nelson Mandela, Elon Musk or Richard Branson – as they are all ‘brands’ albeit people brands or personal brands
The only thing I care about, is to make a difference to the Estate and Letting Agency industry. To make the industry looked upon in the same reverence and esteem it used to be 40 years ago. I want to create a long-lasting legacy, because I want you to have a good reaction when you catch my name. Its important to me that I want you to feel great when you think about what I do with all my videos and posts, all heling agents be better agents, enjoy their job more and lead better lives.
The truth is, the greatest companies in the world such as Apple or Tesla don’t sell, instead they brand. Stop for one minute and think, when was the last time you got an advert from Apple telling you to purchase their computers or phone? Never.
Instead, Apple concentrates on building a relationship that will last by putting all of their time, money and effort into company branding and telling you how your life will change (for the better) once you change from an Android to a iPhone. Their adverts on the tube and billboards are pictures taken with an iPhone, not telling you how many megapixels their camera has. Why do you think Tesla bring out Elon Musk or Virgin roll out the bearded wonder that is Branson when they have a new train to launch.
…and that’s how I think.
I get emails all the time asking when my next training course is. Just for the record – I am not an Estate or Letting Agency trainer. True, I give training advice and opinion in my videos – but I give them away for free. Once every 8/10 weeks I co-host a training session on how to do video in agency – but 95% of that course is on YouTube – again for free.
I publish this stuff not because I’m trying to sell you anything. I am doing it to build a long-term relationship because I am building brand. Life is a long game. It’s not about being the King of Instagram and bragging you have the most followers, its not about shouting about your Rightmove market share, its not about what you have sold this month, it’s not about trying to create one viral video .. no - its about putting in the hard work over the long term
The people you look up to in this world; the music artists that put the years in busking, the business people like Branson and Sugar that grafted for decades… they have all played the long game. …and you should do that as an agent.. yet 96% of you reading this wont (or cant) because so few of you can build a brand over the long term and a long term relationships for the decades to come.
Most estate agents are too transactional in their approach to the craft. Instead, you need to start thinking about Estate Agency as a long-term relationship game, not just a game of getting the next sale over the line to hit this month’s targets.
Everything I do is about building my brand and the 4% that do want to make a difference should create their own brand . It’s about telling my story, my account and recording my successes (and failures) and that is what you should do as an agent. I have built a real business with real estate/letting agency clients helping them organically grow their agency’s. Trust me - I don’t need to sell you.
I know that if I bring a shed load of value to my audience on Facebook and Linkedin and they get good at running their estate or letting agency, then when they become the top dog agent in their town, when they chat to their agent mates at the ESTAs or ARLA meeting, they are going to talk positively about me. ….. and that will have a much greater impact on my personal brand than getting one of them to come on £1k for the day courses but then never get the success because they don’t implement it
If all I do is create decent content, the very best content that people would pay money for – but I give it away for free and circulate on the internet better than anyone else, then if you read/watch/listen to what I have to say and you buy into the marketing concepts of being the local property guru of your town (ie landlord farming and vendor farming technique) that I suggest … and you too play the long game - then I know you will also be successful, meaning you will continue to pass on my thoughts of how I impacted your life and your agency and so and on and so forth.
…and that is what I advocate the 4% of you that do want to make a difference for others (and ultimately yourself). Create content on your town’s property market whilst working for your existing employer under your own name (ie landlord and vendor farming technique). Give such great advice people would be happy to pay it. Also, tell all the landlords where the very best deals (irrespective of what agent is selling it) are to make the most money at buy to let – for free. Create local property market reports on video, create the top 30 streets in your town.. hell - even create a TV show on your town and ultimately create a brand.
.... and in 18/24/36 months... even longer - you will create such a following, when you do move - you will have the attention, engagement and trust already built on YOU ... and people do business with people they trust
.... and in 18/24/36 months... even longer - you will create such a following, when you do move - you will have the attention, engagement and trust already built on YOU ... and people do business with people they trust
There is no quick win in creating your personal brand, no app that make it go quicker, no course, no shortcut .. nothing …..there is no alternative than hardwork. You have to earn the opportunity of building a personal brand, and the only way to do that is to actually put the work in.
It’s an awful lot of hardwork but even worse – it requires patience as well. Get used to that my friend because once you become a brand, the work never ever stops, yet if you truly love your vestige on this world, and love and respect the process to get you that place .. you will be creating a legacy and trust me – it will be the greatest decision you will ever make.
Use social media, put the hours in, use the power of video, be patient, work silly hours, create content, never automate, have even more patience, recycle and repurpose that content and continue to work hard… because nobody in this world, unless you inherit it or won the lottery ever gets it gifted to them
If you are in the 4% and want to make a difference – ring me on 07950147572 and I will personal talk you through it