Personal - Let me spell it out for you.
P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L.
That's the future of estate agency.
Personal, not transactional.
Personal, not digital.
Personal, not social.
Most agree that estate agency is a relationship business. If that's not you, I don't know what else to tell you.
That relationship, though, can be merely superficial.
And, if that's what you want, then fine.
The appearance of empathy.
The bonhomie, intended to persuade.
The promise of willing servitude, played out 24/7.
The superficial relationship that is the 'norm' for most estate agents.
Vendors might know quite a bit about any estate agency before they meet.
They've done their research.
Found that your agency is top-of-the-pile. It says so on your web site and on TrustPilot.
Your agency has even won awards.
There might even be a mission statement. Or some timeworn copy about values.
So, some vendors will know more than quite a bit.
Enough to choose. But not enough to decide.
Enough to 'plump for'. But without sufficient conviction.
Is that the sort of vendor that you want?
A vendor that says Yes, because they simply have to choose.
If you're a fixed-fee, up-front payment agency, of course that's the sort of vendor that you want.
But if you're 'betting the farm' on bringing a vendor to completion, might it be wise to have better vendors.
In a stagnant and ever more hazardous market, estate agents need a vendor that is committed to them. And only to them.
They don't need a vendor that 'jumps ship' at the first sign of distress. A vendor that tests the market, instructs and then switches allegiance.
When other agents seduce with their flattery.
Agencies talk about adding value to the transaction.
When they should be talking about adding value to the relationship.
Making it more than superficial.
You have value in just being you. Let that show.
The vast majority of agents won't have the guts.
Preferring instead to hide behind the corporate brand and deliver precisely what they've been taught to deliver.
Scripts, however delivered, that bring the vendor from where they are to where you want them to be.
Said differently, manipulation.
Even those forward-thinking agents that believe sharing a story or two will help convince and convert, don't fully understand why that won't always work.
There are overseas agency trainers that could tell stories until they're 'blue in the face', but I'm not buying.
Why?
Because I've a preconceived opinion.
I don't like them.
And nothing they say, for now, will change my mind.
Vendors have that same preconceived opinion of many estate agents.
They don't like them, but they're a necessary evil.
And within the hour, of this listing appraisal, you have to change their mind.
No small feat.
Which is why so many agents live with endless comparison and heartless rejection.
Vendors know what estate agents do. They pretty much know how it's done. Less certain are they about why the agencies do what they do.
Clueless they are though, about who that estate agent, or agency, is.
What they stand for. Their beliefs and convictions. What interests them aside from winning the next instruction.
Scratch the surface of most estate agents and there's a back-story.
The Boy Genius.
Creativity Wins the Day.
The Reason Why.
Hardest-Working?
The Irrepressible Agency Boss.
Café Culture.
Each agency different. Not better, or worse. Just different.
And the more you share your differences, the more comfortable vendors feel around you.
That's P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L.
Most agents won't get this far.
So if and when you do, you're already ahead of them.
Check out www.andsothestorybegan.co.uk Being different, not better. That's what it's all about.
There's a CTA button that will get you much more detail.
What it won't get you is a phone call, an email, a text or anything else that interrupts your day.
If I can help, great. If it's not for you, thanks for reading this far.
Estate agency is, I believe, at a very important crossroads. The choice is stark.
More transactions, for lower rewards. Less transparency and accountability.
More digital clicks & bricks. Less trust in the service.
Or, more real. More human. More personal.
As Seth Godin says: When all deals are a handshake.
Thanks again for reading.
Chris.
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