Being a letting agent is more difficult now than it was 20 years ago.
I read somewhere that
said whilst the number of rental properties has doubled over the last twenty
years, the number of letting agents has tripled. It’s really hard work being a
letting agent in 2015.
Here are four reasons
why I think it’s harder and some solutions to make it easier for you.
1. Have you ever wondered by landlords stay with rubbish
letting agents? Those landlords should be dissatisfied, but they are
not. In fact, I bet most of those landlords don’t even know that there are
better agents out there who could produce much better results. Some of those
landlords don’t believe that better results are possible. A good chunk of them
are complacent, happy to keep the mediocre status quo. If a landlord doesn’t
believe that change is required, there is no reason to change. This is the
biggest problem letting agents face .. apathy. Just like you can’t be bothered
to swap banks even through you don’t like them, it’s the same with landlords
and their letting agents. In fact, I would go so far as to say this is the most
harmful problem facing letting agents.
2. Risk and the Fear of Change: Plenty of
landlords know that they need to change. But they are afraid to change agents.
Changing agents brings risk.
3. Too many letting agents in town who all look the same: You don't
have to like competition in order to understand that it exists. Your fair share
isn't going to be yours unless you give the landlord a reason to pick you. For
most of you, there will be heaps of letting agents in your town. You might not
think so, but to the landlords in the town, we look and sound the same. It’s
difficult for those potential landlords we want to swap to us know which agent
is worth spending time and effort with and who isn’t. Landlords think all
letting agents are the same, just like we think all travel agents are the same
or all the banks. We know we are different – but how do you expect a landlord
to know? We all merge into the background, part of a haze of agents in your town,
they think we are all the same with our shiny suited wide boy grab the cash
quick attitudes of the 80’s. Take a look at every letting
(and estate) agents’ website. The websites bend over backwards to be just like
all the others. You can't identify one agents’ website from another if you
delete the name of the agent. Sometimes, we try so hard to fit in we give
landlords no choice but to seek out the cheapest. After all, if everything is
the same, why not buy what's cheap and easy?
4. Cheap Fees and talking of cheap, some landlords think the
only thing that matters is cheap fees. They believe that they can have faster, better
and cheaper. Then there are those landlords who aren’t even willing to have the
free val, if the letting agent won’t surrender to the fact that they will try
to meet or beat their current cheap as chips fee they have with their current
agent.
So what are my thoughts on all these things.........
First up, point 1 - beating
Landlords’ Apathy - You make selling your lettings service to a landlord easier
when you create dissatisfaction. You do that by not telling them that they are
dissatisfied in leaflets with messages such as ‘Does your agent do this, does
your agent do that?’ No my friends, you need to show them, not tell them.
You need to show that portfolio landlord what better looks
like, but you can only do that if the landlord is prepared to listen to what YOU have
to say.
I have said many times on my blog that everyone has the right
say something, but you need to earn the right to be heard, but once you have
earned the right to be heard, the landlord will listen to what you have to say
.. only then will the landlord realise what you offer is so much better ... and
that is the crux of the issue ..making the landlord listen.
Second, point of Risk. You will make
selling your services easier when you eliminate risk and fear. You do that by
spending time explaining how you are going to make sure the landlord succeeds and
how you are going to alleviate the risk. Again, you can only do that, if
the landlord is prepared to listen to what you have to say.
On the
third point of too much competition. Bottom line here my friends, you will
make selling what you and your lettings agency offers easier when you
differentiate yourself and your offering. You will make it easier to win new
business when you avoid playing the same game as all the other agents in town. How
do you do that? Well I coach all my clients to look at it from the landlords
point of view, not their own. If you talk about something the landlord is
interested in, they will listen .
The final
point of cheap fees, you will make it easier to get the listing by making
the case for the right investment and building consensus high enough that you
make the landlord want such things. You will make it easier on yourself, by occasionally
instilling the obligatory fear that your prospective landlord should have
around their lack of investment. However, whatever you do, always, always
provide proof that spending a bit more gets so much back. Comparables of what
you let a property for compared to other agents, Rightmove reports,
testimonials .. print it off and present it. However, what you need to do is to
get
the landlord to listen to that proof and even those fear stories.
Conclusion
My fellow letting agents, you need grab the attention of
landlords and ensure they want to listen to what you have to say. To make a
landlord listen to you, you have to do something quite simple my friends .. be interesting.
In my humble opinion, a half page newspaper advert or 10,000
leaflets stuffed through local letter boxes, with phrases like ‘landlords
wanted’ and ‘properties wanted ‘ is not interesting. It might be to you, but it
isn’t to landlords .. they know they are wanted, they don’t need you to tell
them. So instead of talking about things that you want and need (properties to
manage) and crossing your fingers that the one day your card hits the doormat of
a landlord looking to swap agents the very same day because things have just
gone nuclear at their existing agent, I’m going to suggest you do something
different and quite radical.
Think like a landlord and think what flicks their switch? S8
or s21 notices aren’t at the top of landlords ‘most interesting ‘lists, nor is
your ARLA membership. All are very important, but that is what that they pay
you for. However, there is one thing a landlord is interested in, in fact any
homeowner is interested in ... the value of their property. Homeowners and
landlords alike want to know what is happening in their local property market. If you are in
Maidenhead or St Albans or Tonbridge, what is happening to the UK property
market has hardly any direct affect on your property. Local issues like the
building of a bypass, Crossrail, a big employer closing down or opening or expanding makes huge differences to the local property market. .. and here is the
best bit, most landlords tend to buy in the same area they live in (because
landlords like to buy what they know).
My advice to you all, to grab the attention and interest of
local landlords, is just to talk about the local property market. Just start
writing them .. and if you need some inspiration, drop me a line and I will email
back some great agents work in this field, who do it all without any help or
guidance from me.
However, many lettings agents do use me to help them. Some of
my clients like to write the weekly articles themselves but have asked for feather touch coaching to guide them with their
article writing and helping them get those articles in front of the landlords.
However, most of clients like me to hold their hand all the way, almost doing
everything for them, as we work together, hand in hand , I can provide them with bespoke weekly articles specific to their
local property market that they can use them in the newspapers, newsletters,
facebook, twitter, linkedin and blogs, in essence a one stop shop for all their
marketing needs, giving advice, opinion, coaching on all aspects of their marketing
material to attract and keep their landlords.
If you like the idea of talking about your local property
market and don’t know where to begin, let’s have a chat. You have a choice as a
letting agent what are you are going to change in your lettings business? There
are many people out there telling you what to do. Each one is valid.
My principles are, if you want more landlords to use your
lettings agency, all you have to do is make them want to come and talk to you,
so you can build a relationship with them, so they believe you are a better
person than their existing agent, because they like you more, trust you more
and you give a better a service .. people do business with people they like
and trust . All I do is give them a reason to make them want to talk to
you.
Only a few of my blog post readers will do anything
different, but perhaps you are one of them? Please, let me know, it will be
good to hear from you. christopher@christopherwatkin.co.uk