Inspiration

Expo Highlights Gaps In The Market

Richard Rawlings investigates opportunities and threats at Agency Expo 2008

I must firstly congratulate the organisers of Agency Expo 2008 (formerly PCS) for a rejuvenation of the show, and extremely well organised and promoted. As both a speaker and exhibitor, I was able to experience, first-hand, the reaction of sponsors and attendees alike.

It was certainly expected that the number of attendees would be down on previous years. Nevertheless, some 75% of those attending my “Estate Agency Insight” stand committed to buying at least one of our products and we actually had a record year! But this was a very different picture to the feedback I received from some other exhibitors who found the response to their products to be mediocre. For this, they simply blamed the market, and I had to bite my tongue. I wonder if it was actually their products that were indifferent from those they had presented at last year’s show!

Frankly, once you already have a HIP or software provider, portal subscription or floorplan service, the only way you are going to switch allegiance, is if an alternative provider can blow your mind with some amazing innovation, substantial cost saving, or additional revenue stream for you from their service. Yet some of the suppliers I spoke to were offering the same services as they had in previous years. No wonder some delegates were not inspired, and I would strongly urge certain exhibitors to take a hard look at what they are actually offering and how inspirational this is.

Agency Expo attracts progressive estate agents with enquiring minds, who want to investigate the latest innovations in estate agency technique, method, marketing and support systems. They are open to, and embrace, change, and they come to both enjoy the training sessions and various seminars, as well as seeking out new opportunities for their business. And, as the market changes year on year, so their appetite for modified relevant solutions evolves.

For example, my business has been providing estate agents with Pre-Instruction Packs for three years, and we have hundreds of delighted clients. But despite returns of up to twenty times the initial £4,000 investment, many prospective agents have understandably been wary of spending this amount at a time when the future is uncertain and cash is tight. So we modified our proposition and now offer the main element of the pack, known as “The Pricing Persuader” to agents for less than 10% of this cost. Evolve or die!

Likewise, and perversely, agency training budgets for in-house seminars have been shaved to the bone; so I now produce audioseminars on CD, such as “Top Tips for Tough Times”, also selling for just 10% of the live version. Again, evolve or die!

Probably the best example of this is the Vendor’s Advice Evenings that we organise and present for agents; whereby you invite your competitors’ clients to a free advice evening, where these increasingly frustrated sellers are exposed to some powerful advice from a third party that is highly influential in helping them decide to switch agents! Evolve or die!

Any supplier to the estate agency sector has to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the agent’s situation in the context of the prevailing market. Agents are flexible and adaptive, but they do not suffer fools lightly!

Speaking of understanding the market in the context of estate agency evolution, part of my “Top Tips for Tough Times” seminar at Expo reminded delegates that most estate agents’ primary focus has always been on securing stock - he who controls the stock, controls the market.

But today’s market forces a shift of emphasis which can, for some agents, be difficult to acknowledge, let alone accept. For example, in this market, a healthy cash-flow is critical and probably outranks all other business parameters. This should concentrate the mind on identifying the difference between the important and the urgent. Whilst acquiring stock volume is important, it is not currently urgent. Acquiring stock costs money and servicing it costs even more.

What is urgent is an increase in your ability to sell your stock. Whilst this has always been important, you can no longer rely on taking a property on, and waiting for it to sell. That is now an expensive luxury which has no place in the current market. You need to look at every instruction, current and prospective, through new lenses and ask “is this an opportunity, or a potential cost?” and be ruthless in your actions. I recall a business consultancy speaker at The Negotiator’s recent Survive and Thrive Conference recommending that you should “take massive action and act earlier, harder and faster than you thought you would ever have to”.

The key is absolute saleability of stock. The simple fact is that even if a property is “correctly priced”, it probably still won’t sell! (Have you ever tried selling a £10 note for £10?). Your stock has to be ahead of the wave, not on it, and certainly not behind it, if it is going to sell.

So make sure that you only take on those properties that categorically represent best value. And constantly re-evaluate.

There is another new opportunity here as well – the way you work with buyers. People currently tend to look at about a dozen properties before they decide to buy, but when there was little stock available, buyers were forced to register with numerous agents in order to gain access to that dozen properties.

But now, with more stock available, you probably already have access to those dozen or so properties. If you can identify the opportunity here, you will change the way you work with your buyers. You will grade them, understand them, impress them, cherish them, spend time with them, help them and be there for them. Make a conscious decision to sell to your best buyers and everyone else can go on that mailing list if they must. With this in mind, one could argue that it partly obviates the need for printed property details. Too many agents still rely too heavily on their property details to do the selling! This is simply not good enough in this market.

When buyers register, your job is to show them enough properties for them to be able to make a value judgement as to which one would suit them best. So your conversations with your buyers should revolve around actual viewings. You don’t even have to discuss details on the phone. I have seen great success with agents who simply say something like “I have several houses that might suit you. Could I collect you at 2:30 and I’ll show them to you?”, or “The best way for me to get a good idea of what you would really like is to see how you respond to a handful I’d like to show you today”.

Going further, if you decide to ACT for the buyer, then you have access to every property on the market and more, and a whole new revenue stream. I believe buyer representation within an agency framework is one of the greatest opportunities of the moment, and I am currently working with agents across the country in helping them set up a buyer representation service within their agency.

Ultimately, the agent who maintains a calm, confident approach, and has the self-assurance and skill to recognise that change brings opportunity will enjoy short-term benefits and long-term business success. And those who really want to move their business to the next level would be well advised to diarise to attend next years Agency Expo event!

Richard Rawlings is Managing Director of Estate Agency Insight, the specialist estate agency consultancy that creates distinction for its clients via radical training, marketing and prospecting initiatives. www.estateagencyinsight.co.uk 0845 838 1354.

Exclusive for The Negotiator Magazine. October 2008

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© Richard Rawlings 2010
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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