Inspiration

Magnetic Estate Agency

The key is in the detail if you are to become the agency of choice

“Becoming the agent of choice” is the primary objective of most of my clients, and is clearly a worthy aspiration. Yet I find many agents focus on the wrong things to help them achieve this status.

It is possibly because estate agents tend to concentrate their energies within a relatively small geographic and social area that they have not sought to identify those service enhancements upon which some other industries thrive. As a result, they have allowed their businesses to expand only as fast as providers of estate agency support services can think up new agency software, phone systems, digital printing, internet services, virtual tours etc..

The trouble is, these products are also being offered to your competitors, and it is only a matter of time before your latest bells-and-whistles gismo is in daily use by the agent next door. I’m not saying don’t embrace such innovations as interactive “For Sale boards” – you definitely should; some of them are superb, but once you allow your agency to rest on the use of such material resources, it is easy to forget to develop the intangible.

I believe intangibles can make any agency magnetic and the ultimate agent of choice. I know of too many agents who have great systems, highly efficient processes, amazing marketing and superb support technology, but they lose out on instructions because their human representative, usually the valuer, failed the personality test set by the vendor. How often has such an instruction gone to a competitor who hasn’t invested anything like the amount you have, yet seems to pip you to the post more often than is comfortable? Perhaps that agent has been around longer, or the senior partner impressed the client with his/her gravitas, experience and command of the business.

However, you know how difficult it is to find senior people who come back with every instruction, at the right price, at double the fee charged by your competitor. About as rare as slim Americans at Disneyland!

If your ability to secure the business is linked to the magnetic calibre of your people as much as it is to your service offering, if not more, than it follows that your fee percentage is also linked to this. In other words, those who are good at securing saleable instructions are typically better at securing higher fees because vendors want to give them their business.

So what is it that creates this magnetism, and is it possible to apply it to staff who might not naturally be endowed with the greatest charm and charisma?

I believe the answer lies in detail. Essentially most agents do more or less the same thing (with a few stunningly notable exceptions). However, it is those agents who consciously attend to the detail that creates amazement who will win the day. I have said before that a satisfied client is no longer good enough. We should be aiming for delighted clients, and preferably devoted ones! All the concrete agency products on offer are unlikely to create delight and devotion as much as personal attention to relevant detail.

This detail can be miniscule or huge, but either way there are two rules to follow. Firstly, they must address the largely unspoken needs of the client in a way that demonstrates great understanding and significant empathy.

Secondly, the detail must relate not just to the sale, but also to the move. After all, the purpose of the sale is to move. Yet too many agents focus on the sale itself, which is probably less exciting for the client than their new home. It’s as if the agent is saying “I want to sell your home, because that’s where I make my money”. True, but hardly attractive. Hardly magnetic! Hardly strategic!

Agents who share the concerns and hopes of buyers and sellers in the wider context of the whole move are more likely to get the business, and be trusted earlier (which is useful when it comes to securing the property at a saleable figure!)

For example, when the vendo r mentions prior to your visit that they are moving to Cambridge, what do you do with that particular detail? Usually nothing I suspect. But what if you were to arrive on their doorstep armed with a list of respected agents in Cambridge, a printout of properties available in Cambridge, or even the local Cambridge property newspaper. Surely that would create a brilliant first impression as an agent who has listened, is in tune, and is prepared to take the initiative to go the extra mile without prompting. It doesn’t matter whether the information is useful to the client. The point is you did something potentially appropriate and helpful when the other agents just walk round talking about the sale.

Another example? When you see the state of the vendor’s garage why not offer to come round (or send someone round) that weekend to help them clear it out. You then offer to take all their surplus stuff round to the charity shop. This literally helps them with their move, whilst increasing their chances of selling. And you come out smelling of roses, which is great for getting the instruction and does wonders for your reputation locally. With this sort of approach applied to various areas of your business you become known as the obvious agency of choice.

There are numerous examples of using the detail in people’s lives to enrich your business. And for those of you who think it seems like a lot of trouble and “not the done thing” remember that its not how good you are that counts – it’s how different!

Agency should, like any game, be fun. In this business if you win the game you make say £2,900. But if you lose the game you are effectively giving £2,900 to a close competitor! Surely the stakes are too high to be just another agency, especially when there are so many things you can do to create service way ahead of expectation.

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© Richard Rawlings 2012
Richard Rawlings is the founding director of Estate Agency Insight, which specialises in helping estate agencies harness opportunity through innovative method, marketing, publicity, and training. He can be contacted at or on 0845 838 1354.

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