As the housing market shows no sign of rapid recovery, estate agents need to improve the way they work to “survive the storm,” according to an agency boss in East Anglia.
With forecasts for next year predicting only a moderate recovery to the market along with the uncertainty of a general election looming, Jamie Minors, co-founder of Minors & Brady Estate Agents and Lettings, points out that some agents are only now starting to take action rather than potentially be axed in the New Year, with a growing number choosing to diversify or go self-employed.
It comes as Knight Frank is carrying out redundancy consultation with staff, as up to 3% of its workers reportedly at risk. Meanwhile, there have been claims that The Modern House is in the process of reducing its workforce – by up to 25%. More agencies will almost certainly follow suit.
“Lots of agencies will go to the wall because they don’t have a grasp on how to do their business,” he said.
Minors, who recently launched ‘360 Growth Coach’, a new mentoring arm of his business, argues that many agents have no management accounting process and are not measuring their key performance indicators.
He continued: “You must give a five-star, ‘wow’ service, but if you don’t measure your numbers then you’re not in control.
“However, the storm we are in can be survived and agents can flourish if they adapt their processes, their service offering, their online presence and to be honest, work harder.
“I’ve been in the trenches of business, where every day can feel incredibly stressful. There’s still big business to be had in November and December; do you slow down for winter or do you keep your momentum going until the New Year?”
Minors added the key to success was accountability, sharing ideas, improving time management, reverse engineering (ie starting at the end and working backwards in your life, plotting how you get to where you want to be) and planning a ‘road map’ for your agency to move it forward.
Minors, who manages a team of 65 full-time members of staff, urged bosses to spend more time and money developing their workforce as individuals.
“Humans are our greatest asset therefore constant training and mentoring is crucial in running any successful company but particularly an estate agency where home movers’ emotions can run high,” he added.
Good article and so true. Some agents are sleep walking into problems.
As a business we are investing into our people with good support but making it clear within the teams it’s about performance. Two way street.
Great article, Well done.
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Would rather drive a van then have to do lettings. Goodbye industry
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Good article. Think you need to speak to the corporates whose ideas of mentoring /”motivating” are daily reporting and personal development plans. Small wonder that they are struggling when front line staff are beholden to tiers of unproductive management and bean counters.
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This is nothing new, happens in every recession. Those that have scraped the surface when the going was good and easy, start to stand out when the going gets tough. Its always about service and standards. I don’t believe there is an agent in the UK who cannot point the finger at those that fall into the category of ‘day to day existence’ and wonder how they manage to survive. One has only to stand outside their office and wonder! For those hiding in the bedroom self-employed, well you will find it very, very hard as those with a high street presence will be the first the customer wants to use in a recession and has confidence in the service ……. you can’t compete against a good name/reputation that has stood the test of time in a local community, particularly as these are the agents that are always at the top of the game, flexible to market conditions and they aren’t corporates with over tiered staffing/expenses.
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Three independent have closed where I live in the last 6 months
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The ones I see the most close, are property developers jumping on the bandwagon when the goings easy. In the last thirty years there isn’t one that lasted more than 3 or 5 years once the gravy train stopped.
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The managing agents so often have zero first hand knowledge of the properties they are managing.
Nor any basic understanding of maintenance. Instead they just take a cut to act as a go between another managing contractor who more often employs their own sub contractors. They don’t appear to check on workmanship, nor work to get the best rates of service. Some even charge a % so no incentive to get the best value for the landlord. And they charge VAT, which most landlords can’t reclaim on residential. I’d much rather deal with someone with some basic knowledge of building and property law, than someone with a pleasant telephone manner who doesnt know how to change a lightbulb.
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‘The managing agents….’,
And so continues the most childish rant not seen since the days of the purplebrick fan boys (now jan-buyers?)
Do all your opinions get based off a single experience? or the shelter website? I suggest you live a little more and get out of your cave.
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