Outsourced auction management provider IAM Sold (IAS) has launched a new training service for estate agents to help them with valuations.
IAS, which provides a white-labelled service for partner agents to offer their own auction services to vendors, has partnered with training provider Estate Agency All Stars to deliver the valuation training programme.
Jamie Cooke, managing director of IAS, said the half-day interactive sessions will address the key challenges that valuers face on a daily basis, providing essential tips and tools. Agents will also be able to share their own tips and best practice.
Cooke said: “We are committed and passionate about continuing to provide superior services and support for our agency partners – helping them to become the best in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The new training sessions will enable the IAS business development team to add yet another level of support to existing and new clients.
“We have a huge network of agents across the UK – 1,900 branches and over 2,200 valuers. Our aim is to ensure that everyone has the confidence, knowledge and skills to offer auction to their clients when it’s the right advice for them.
“On average we are completing transactions within 44 days and this is a huge benefit to certain clients where speed and security is important to them. In addition, last year we achieved more than £7m above reserve for our clients and we are 35% up on instructions year-on-year, but we recognise that many agents in our network still have knowledge gaps which restrict them from offering the full suite of disposal options to their clients.
“We have invested heavily in our new training and feel confident that Agency All Stars will deliver a programme that is second-to-none.”
Bryan Mansell, of Estate Agency All Stars, said: “IAM Sold should be, in our mind, a fundamental part of all valuers’ toolboxes and we can’t wait to help estate agents and their customers make the most of the benefits of the modern method of auction. IAM Sold is the ideal solution to some of the pain points being felt throughout the industry and we are excited to be working with such a progressive business and team.”
Comments (3)
I Am Sold need to remember that Trading Standards are already looking at their model and, as the law stands, they owe only a fiduciary (that is a basic duty of care) to their vendor clients who pay nothing and their primary duty is to the purchaser who pays the commission/fee. We’ll be seeing a lot more about this over the coming months, for certain. There is definitely a place for I am Sold’s model in the marketplace but, come on, this is not “the modern method of auction” it is simply “the alternative method of auction” and the clarity and transparency of the traditional auction is emphasised by comparison.
I AM SOLD the company that takes half your fee whilst you do all the work, whilst also ensuring that the person who buys the property wont use you when they come to sell it.
They make a lot of money for running a website and hiring rooms for sales. Haven’t vendors cottoned on yet that buyers will factor in the minimum £5000 + VAT reservation fee in to their bids? Net proceeds may well be quite a bit less than if they’d gone to somewhere like Auction House.