1. Think global, act local
That might
the buzz word with green activists or Hampstead Yummy Mums
that say ‘Darhhling’ .. but it’s the worst thing you can do when start your own
online agency. Yes, the internet is global but that doesn’t mean your agency
should be. People use local agents to sell their property .
If you are going to open up online, you
should think locally, act locally.
It is irrelevant you don’t have a piece
of glass on the High Street that you sit behind. What is relevant is potential
house sellers think of you and your agency for a free valuation. Everything
else doesn’t matter. You have a level playing field with the big boys with RM
and Zoops to find those buyers (let’s be honest .. nobody puts themselves on
mailing lists anymore do they?) .
2. Not being different
Potential house sellers and landlords have 20, 30, 40 even
more agents to choose from in your town. As your estate agency and lettings
agency business has competition, you have to give your potential customers
a reason to choose your offering over another.
I see this all the time with new agents. They essentially
mimic or copy what other agents are already doing in their town with their
marketing. I suppose they think “if it works for them, maybe it will work for
me.” But think about it from the punters perspective. If they find
your agency, they’ll be asking themselves “why is this agent worth spending any
time on?” You have to answer that question quickly and clearly, especially as
you are online, before they click the back button.
You can’t expect to grow your agency by being an inferior version of some other better known agents. Even if your agency is arguably better than the competition, “better” is subjective. Instead of simply trying to be better, you need to be different. Then, when someone asks why your agency is worth their time and attention, your answer will be objective and easy to understand.
3. Not another (yawn) estate / letting agent opening
House sellers and landlords have problems that need solving
or opportunities that need to met. If the problem your business solves is
important enough, you will not even have to look for punters as they will come
to you. Imagine if you had a 100% cure for hayfever or clean unlimited energy
for example. However, you are just another agent unless you are different or
the problem you solve is different.
New start letting agents and estate agents fail all the time
because they try to solve a problem nobody really cares about. If you put your
product or idea out there and nobody buys it, there’s a good chance you should
look for a more important problem or you try to help with the opportunities.
4. You don’t love property ...... enough
You are going to need deep subject knowledge, fresh creativity,
and unwavering stamina about the local property market. There will be
competitor agents who appear to be more knowledgeable about the local property
market than you do (because they have been there for years – little do they
know the office has had 8 managers in the last 11 years ... quick staff
turnover is not good).
How can you compete
if the gap between your love of a topic and your competitors’ is so vast?
If you love property, I mean really love property, you know
your property values, your yields, how different areas in your town have gone
up quicker in value than others, stamina won’t be an issue. If you love property,
creativity will flow, and influence will be easier to build.
5. This won’t be easy, and it won’t be quick.
Building a successful agency business (be it online or High
Street based) is a massive undertaking. If your plan involves eight hour work
days, or if your timeline is measured in months, you will probably fail.
These are the hard truths that agents rarely talk about.
Overnight successes does not exist. Your original plan will probably have to be
completely shredded and rewritten, many,
many times.
You see what you need
to ask yourself is if building this agency
business will still be worth it to you if it takes years to get there? What if
building the business is harder and more stressful than your current job ...
because let me tell you .. it’s even worse than you think?
Talk to some entrepreneurs who have achieved something close
to what you want to achieve. Ask them what it really took, about stresses, the strains on family and
friends, the length of time it took and what they had to sacrifice to get there.
Tell them not to dip it in honey and really I mean really listen.
Only then can you ask yourself if you are prepared for your
own version of that?
PS One of my longest standing customers, Steve Frost who runs one of the largest Martin and Co's in the MAC group in Chelmsford., gave me this lovely Linkedin Reccomendation. Thank you Steve - for anyone who wants to see what we are doing in Chelmsford .. have a look at his blog http://chelmsfordproperty.blogspot.co.uk/ .. This is his feedback on the landlord farming system "I have been working with Chris for over a year now and am really pleased
with the changes he has made to my business. His ideas are new and
innovative and are proven to work. Nothing is too much trouble for him
and he is always at the end of the phone. I look forward to working
with Chris in 2015 and beyond. "
... and now for a picture of Joey at Christmas (the dog we rescued from the DogsTrust just over a year ago)
