“Transforming the property market for everyone” so says the strap line on the Boomin.com website.
Most are yet to be told what this really means in proposition terms but expect a big data-play, shared ancillary revenue streams and technology that will identify potential sellers early in the funnel as well as a move to maintain the involvement and brand awareness of Boomin and agents post-completion via homeware and financial services affiliates – a version of McDonalds’ famous “would you like fries with that?” principle.
The precursor to the impending Boomin launch has been an ‘Agents Together’ charm offensive that was unveiled to the industry in June as a ‘charity’ that has at its core a smorgasbord of mentoring for industry wannabee big-hitters that are able to grab time with a range of property well-knowns including founders Michael and Kenny Bruce themselves. Like a herd of Yodas schooling a gaggle of excitable Skywalkers in a space swamp somewhere.
The subliminal thread running through this mentoring assault and led by an unassuming Sarah Edmundson as CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) is one that screams ‘You can trust us now’.
Trust is a hard thing to earn. It takes a while to embed and is generally only achieved as the result of sustained proof that those seeking trust are truly worthy of such a status.
It can’t be bought although it seems that flattery might get you part of the way there in recruiting some troops to do your bidding so that assurance is grabbed in part at least, by proxy.
But, will the industry continue with their current cynicism that the Agents Together effort is merely a façade, a window dressing to suck in the gullible whereas really behind the curtain lays the same inward looking, self-serving emporium as before – just in a different colour?
The question of course is how do the Bruce’s themselves earn sufficient trust from estate agents for them to sign up to their new commercial venture, pay over their hard-fought cash and, importantly, hand the Bruce’s chunks of client data? Maybe the question is not how but if… if they can earn it at all, especially now that Gary Barker is no longer to front things, with Michael Bruce moving from the shadows to take centre stage again instead.
There are a lot of questions here. First on the subject of this trust, the Bruce brothers spent their purple years between 2014 and 2019 positioning their estate agency peers as expensive and inefficient. Actually, not just expensive but a ‘rip-off’. They ploughed about £100million into TV ad messaging that utilised such terms as ‘Commisery’ as a means of reinforcing that 95% of estate agents charge too much and end up making you miserable as a consequence. In fact more humiliated than miserable, arguably.
In addition to the aggressive ‘anti-fee’ messaging many agents, and indeed the Advertising Standards Authority, took issue with PurpleBricks’ integrity in the way that the company framed its own customer payment obligations – ‘pay later’ being a rather ambiguous way to say ‘pay later but you will pay regardless of outcome’. And there’s the issue of all of those proudly published five-star Trust Pilot reviews yet also the many one-star criticisms that seemed to evaporate as quickly as they were posted by disgruntled sellers. The matter of penalty fees attached to a client’s choice of conveyancing firm in certain circumstances was additional salt in the wound.
The upshot? An industry apoplectic at the collateral damage that the purple pound has done to their livelihoods.
But corporate estate agencies will, I think, be unperturbed by recent history and ill-feeling as they are instead enticed by future Boomin share-options in exchange for signing their principles away. This follows a well-worn approach as seen by Rightmove and Zoopla back in the day. You see, dancing with the Devil is acceptable as long as there’s a buffet to gorge on after the dance.
But what of the independents, the long tail of rank and file small estate agency businesses that were more sensitive to the Bruce wrecking-ball?
This 15,000 branch-strong mainstream estate agency fraternity will be less easy to convince that the poacher has transformed into a friendly shepherd that wants to coach, help and provide for the industry little-guy as opposed to eating them. And even if the poacher has transitioned to a right-on vegan rather than a drooling carnivore, won’t the schmoozing of the agency audience turn to disdain once they have been used to piggy-back toward ultimate traction?
After all, that’s been the modus operandi of Boomin’s competitors to date even though those competitors ‘promised’ to play fairly and ‘mutually’ until they smelt the cash on the Stock Exchange floor.
Launching a property portal is the proverbial chicken and egg conundrum – which comes first, stock or consumer traffic? Both are vital to each other. But how do you acquire both? Certainly the answer to part of the enigma is agents. For without agents there is no stock and this is why you people out there are so important to portals – until that is you gift them critical mass and then, ironically, you become individually irrelevant.
Will the Bruces pull off another sleight of hand? Will you be convinced enough at their metamorphosis to gift them your stock to enable them to become all powerful in the portal space?
Transforming the property market for everyone – all for one and one for all?
Or will it transpire to be a case of ‘all for us and none for all’?
… those in glasshouses
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Precisely pot calling the kettle black
“Even though those competitors ‘promised’ to play fairly and ‘mutually’ until they smelt the cash on the Stock Exchange floor.
From someone having exhausted all other avenues suckered in investors on the lender of last resort the low hanging fruit Crowdcube. Promised a Stock Exchange floatation offering “Fools Gold” for small investors only to find out it was just to keep the lights on for a few months
What must have been particularly galling whilst Headphones was apparently doing everything he could do to save the day he had already put in place other businesses to protect himself
As redundant staff faced a miserable Xmas and small investors mourned their losses ,Headphones had hit the ground running was already sending out free bottles of wine to media journalists for Xmas to enjoy promoting his new business
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Please go away.
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Most agents HATE the Bruce brothers for what they did to agency.
Most agents would include you in that category.
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We really do need a laughing emoji on here!!
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Having had the privilege to look at the Boomin platform my advice to agents is have a look for yourself and make your own decisions about it . For my part I can’t find fault with the model the tech or the intentions.
Agents want to break free from the stranglehold of the pay to list portal model, one element to achieve this is to look at the challengers and make your decisions , no decision means no change it’s your call.
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Iain your business model must be boomin’ with all these companies desperate for press
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Maybe he’s the only one in the industry not to be asked to ‘consult’ on their new business or to participate in Agents Together. Failing to appear in the Top 3 of the most influential property people list tomorrow (and therefore not appear at all) will surely accentuate the pain.
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Said a man who knows little of the meaning of Trust and how to achieve it.
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Interesting times.
The hatred running through agency is palpable.
It has always been a profession full of wannabe independents who never really make it; disconnected corporate Goliaths; and a sprinkling of well meaning brilliant local agents who genuinely serve their communities.
Having had a taste of all three I say that the third of these is the way forward…..just make sure you make the best decisions for you and your firm and don’t necessarily follow the other two……..it can be costly : see Rightmove for example / the herd made others wealthy….
As for Mr Q’s article; it doesn’t really say much really does it….?
Plough your own furrow…….and enjoy the spoils…
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James
I think you have hit it on the head there .
A silent majority of local agents who go about their business in a quiet professional manner .Happy to promote themselves but without false promise .
Open minded to embrace new tech. changes to increase efficency but shy away from using remote third party operaters as their front of house .
Promote from within giving staff a genuine career path ,support training and professional development .The very real prospect for them of attaining equity in the business.
Trainee – Negotiater – Manager .Associate Partner,Salried partner ,Equity partner ,Senior partner .
Facing good and bad times aware that neither last forever and salt some away for rainy days
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Perfect apart from the Partnership bit….
Someone once told me a partnership is the worst ship that ever sailed……
Go limited instead……
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the herd dont have a choice (in the commercial real world)…….
they have been coralled …..are being milked constantly…… and cannibalism is rife when signs of weakness or suggestions of leaving the herd surfaces….
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Do Not pass opinions on someone you have never met or spoken to. You are entitled to your opinions but when you pass judgement on an individual who has given her time to help many many individual agents needing support (including some that you personally ruined) you really have sunk to a new low. Part of the old school of agents who have neither the skill nor personality to become relevant.
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I came straight to comments since, on principle, I never read an article written by RQ.
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BUST BOOMIN !
It’s in your hands……..
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Quirk’s monthly “Water is wet” article (certainly not a story).
Sadly i bet he Bruce’s do well out of this as such a small amount of the industry are aware of sites like this to educate themselves.
I for one will not be signing up. The best part of owning your own business is deciding whos pockets to line and i certainly will not be helping Boomin.
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What is highlighted is “Trust“. Getting into bed with ‘Boomin’ could end up being something you later regret. You honestly believe that Bruce’s care for agents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I imagine it went something like this…………?
Brucie bubble chat……..”I know, lets build a portal get proper traction by getting all the agents to “buy in” and trust us, scrape all their data, and then let’s pull the scorpion move and offer free listing to sellers direct……. It’s called doing a Zillow isn’t it?”
Looks to me like they are building Purple V.2. with much stronger foundations
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Interesting challenge on “trust” Mr Q. Perhaps you are not best placed to make such a challenge!!
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