When vendors get the wrong estate agent.
Something happens.
Not, that the property doesn't sell.
Not, that it might sell for a lower price.
Not even, that the vendor might have paid too high a fee.
What happens is that yet another brick has just been removed from the 'wall' that is holding up the entire profession.
The 'wall' that is perceived trust.
And just as quickly as the 'good' estate agents lay more bricks.
Another brick is removed from the wall.
If not by the unscrupulous agent, then by the agents that try to be all things to all vendors.
That 'wall' is looking pretty flimsy, right now.
Don't expect the vendor, though, to fix the problem.
They know so very little about how things are done.
Clueless, in most cases, about the process of choosing any estate agency.
They fail to ask the right questions.
And when they come up with a good question, they don't realise the nuances of the answer they get.
So, there's often no follow-up question.
Vendors have a preconceived opinion of estate agency.
It's not trusted.
And, no amount of advertising, no social media storm, no search engine optimisation is going to fix the problem.
Attention, as a result of the promotion, gets the enquiries.
It also gets a vendor that is wary. Before you even set foot in their door.
Estate agents, themselves, have to fix the problem.
Estate agents have to fix the problem of vendors choosing the wrong estate agent.
Not through 'education'. Very few vendors want educating. They simply want their home sold.
If vendors can't choose the right estate agency, then estate agents will have to choose the right vendors.
Otherwise, we're all going 'to hell in a handcart'.
"Choosing the right vendors? We should be so lucky.
Hunting down the leads. Prospecting. Giving out business cards to anyone with a warm pulse.
Hustle. That's an average day at this agency."
There are those that would encourage you to continue on this God-forsaken path. In fact, they earn their living in precisely that way.
Peddling half-baked ideas that have been discredited in other industries.
"Become a chameleon." is one phrase I've heard recently from an agency trainer.
Whose 'shiny object' is the time-worn assessment that is DISC psychometric profiling.
Adapt your behaviours to those of the vendor.
If they want quick, give them quick.
Forensic detail? Bring along the comparable data. Add a splash of metrics, for good measure.
Intuitive? Flatter them. That's easy.
Steady? Re-assure them.
Adapting your behaviour, though, tells the perceptive vendor one important thing.
You're a fake.
Who can't be trusted to just be themselves.
An agent that is willing to say and do most things to win the instruction.
I could go on at length of the merits, or otherwise, a structured training programme brings.
And whether N.L.P might be a better indicator of behavioural type.
Both, though, designed to polish and perfect your appearance as an estate agent.
But the honest truth is this:
Vendors buy from someone they like.
Not from a better version of what the agent was, yesterday.
Might it not be advantageous then, to give them a reason to 'like' you?
A personal brand that illuminates your qualities.
As a human being.
Generous? Humble? Creative? Persistent? Dynamic? Gregarious? Precise?
Authentic? Patient? Bold? Courageous? Courteous?
A full spectrum of choice.
Introverted? Not many agents will readily admit to that label.
But you can bet on the fact that there are many, many introverted vendors out there.
Vendors that feel more comfortable in a low-stimulus environment.
Just waiting for someone like you.
But if you show up with your high stimulus, life & soul of the party persona, that's often a No from them.
If the hat fits, wear it.
Don't be something you're not.
Vendors can smell the BS from afar.
And if they don't choose you, or your agency, it's not because you weren't good enough. Not competent enough, at what you do.
Not because the fee was too high. Or the valuation too low.
It's because they liked another agent more.
And once that liking turns to knowing.
Trust is the next logical step along the road.
Vendors and agents working closely together with mutual aims.
Not some perplexed agent that can only manipulate and promise what may well go undelivered.
Those days petered out with the fairground hucksters.
You're better than that.
You are.
Aren't you?
Personal Brand?
It's not something you'll find many champion, in the world of estate agency.
Not from those that coach.
You already possess the qualities you need for a Personal Brand.
So there's little incentive, financial or otherwise, for the coaches to guide you down that path.
Not from the eCommerce technology providers such as Feefo.
Finding out why your agency didn't win that latest instruction?
Here's the bottom-line. Again.
They didn't like you enough.
Independent verification of customer reviews?
If you want vendors to trust you, asking a third-party to verify the reviews won't help.
Trust is a two-way connection. It doesn't need a third.
And not from the vast majority of agents, themselves.
Preferring instead to hide behind the safety of a corporate brand.
Popping up every so often to snatch an hour of vendors' time.
Selling them almost everything. Except, something they want to buy.
The assurance of knowing that the agent they will eventually instruct, shares an affinity.
When that happens, vendors will no longer get the wrong estate agent.
Gradually, and then suddenly, the bricks in the wall will start to resemble something worthwhile.
An industry that is respected. One that is trusted.
Even, an industry that is loved.
I have a dream. That one day.....
Estate agents will realise their full potential.
"The truth about strategy in a competitive environment:
if you are doing what everyone else is doing, if you are inside the band of common,
then it's not an approach that will move you forward." - Seth Godin
It's time to ditch, shock horror, the competitive sales environment. The quick fix. And the shortcut.
Time to drop the desire to prove you're the best.
My bet is that you're already a well-developed human being. More than capable.
Just one that has been led astray by siren voices.
Time to stop feeling badly about charging for your work.
We can all tell ourselves a logical story to justify the emotional decision we made.
Forego the glamourous narrative. The one where your agency is number one.
Or, where you're more passionate. A better negotiator. More available, even.
It's time to be the one who chooses.
Instead of the one being chosen.
Much more joy and prosperity will come your way.
A relief, even, from the purgatory of endless comparison & rejection.
Working only with those that share your values & beliefs.
Richard Rawlings alludes to a polarisation of agents.
Those that wish to be 'everything to everybody.'
And those that wish to be specific.
Bring it on. The sooner that happens, the better.
There will be a lot of happy vendors out there.
With more idea of who is the right agent for them.
An agent they know.
And the more they know the character of that agent, the higher the probability that it will create affinity.
Or not.
Either way, vendors will no longer get the wrong estate agent.
And estate agents will no longer get the wrong vendor.
A utopian vision?
It's preferable to the dystopian implications of a dog-eat-dog race to the bottom.
Here's the 'thing' about Personal Brand.
It changes. It develops.
Who I was six months ago is not who I am today.
Or, who I will be in six months time.
My values might have stayed the same.
My beliefs may have changed.
My opinions could be open to debate.
And the story that is woven around this life has more appeal to vendors than any review on TrustPilot.
Thanks as always for reading this far.
If you would like more detail on personal branding, check out www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk
It's for the very specific.
So, don't worry, there's little chance of me being hurt in the rush.
Best wishes for the year ahead.
Chris.
The post When Vendors Get The Wrong Estate Agent. first appeared on And so the story began.