Take a long-term view of portal potential
The top portals have all been innovatively marching forward this month, with OnTheMarket releasing record figures ahead of its TV campaign, Rightmove revealing its new search pages and Zoopla launching its new-look dashboard.
But what we should all be doing as agents is looking to the future – our own future – and deciding what we want the portal landscape to look like over the next three years. Do we want to be forever beholden to paying high fees and at the mercy of the bigger portals or do we want to have more control and get behind OnTheMarket, owned and controlled by estate agents?
Before you decry this and re-ignite the debate over who drives the most traffic or the better quality leads, I urge you to take a pragmatic long-term view. What would happen if Zoopla merged with Rightmove or another big player? Or if Zoopla became a niche portal for internet estate agents? Or joined forces with newspapers?
They will only be looking to strengthen their position and in doing so will tighten their stranglehold over the estate agents they currently serve.
For those agents still sitting on the fence, unwilling as yet to commit to OnTheMarket, all I ask is for you to consider the future. I’d say ‘come on in, the leads here are warmer’. It won’t be long before OnTheMarket overtakes Zoopla. My advice is ‘don’t get left out in the cold’.
When should you ‘blow the whistle’?
The word ‘Whistleblower’ conjures up all sorts of negative connotations. Perhaps someone has ‘snitched’ on their workmates because they aren’t happy with what they see, maybe they’ve ‘told tales’ about their employer because they don’t agree with the way the business is being run.
But in my book it’s absolutely crucial that people in the workplace feel confident they can ‘blow the whistle’ without any repercussions if they see anything that is a criminal offence, such as fraud, or if they feel there are any risks to health and safety or the environment.
If you work for a single branch or a small agency, you may feel uncomfortable about raising the alarm. But what if one of your colleagues is taking money from the firm and, despite checks and balances, it still goes unnoticed? Perhaps what we need in estate agency, especially lettings, is our own version of PayPal, which acts as a go between when it comes to handing over any cash!
Many people don’t realise they are protected by law if they disclose something that is deemed to be in the public interest, i.e. protecting the public, including customers. This means employees can’t be treated unfairly such as being passed over for promotion or dismissed from their job if they report an issue.
Whether your company has a whistleblowing policy or not, you should still report your concern to your employer but be mindful that the whistleblowing law does not cover personal grievances such as bullying, harassment or discrimination, unless it is deemed to be in the public interest.
If you know your colleagues are doing something they shouldn’t be, it could affect not only your livelihood but the viability of the whole business. Get your whistle out and blow it loudly. The longer you leave it, the worse it will be for everyone in the long run.
Comments (7)
I’d love to join and support them. The only problem is that although I am a licensed ARLA member, on the high street, close to the station and accessible to Landlords, Tenants and contractors in person whenever required, I cannot join as I do not have a shop window.
So as far as I am concerned I only have two options.
Questions: 1. Within the agent controlled portal, who decides on the direction and development of the portal product and pricing? 2. What are the options for agents who want to invest more in standing out from their competition within the portal? 3. Who manages the tension between investing in the future to protect the portal in a changing business environment and the seemingly numerous (be honest) ultra orthodox agents who believe that internet based property services (IBPS) won’t change elements of estate agency in the future? and the same agents are unlikely to pay extra for what they see as investment in that area? Knowing (or believing you know) what’s wrong now is not the same as having a solution in the future. It seems to be that some agents are very clear on what they don’t like now (with plenty of shared experience and data to support their view) but the clarity and shared opinions are far less certain when looking forward. This isn’t about OTM really, it’s about understanding the difference between running Estate Agency Groups and running – sustainably and relevantly – a national property portal with a diverse customer base with different needs. Answer questions like these well and you have a real contender. Genuinely I wish those involved every success.
With regard to your second question, interestedobserver, surely the portal is about the PROPERTY, and not the Agent?
That’s what those who visit the portal are looking for…
No a portal is about delivering response to paying customers – the agent. So If an agent wants to push a particular property, can he on OTM? Or will OTM be a complete level playing field with no way to differentiate your properties, even if the agent is under pressure from the owner of the property to improve visibility and response. Leaving the agent with the need to try another website before the vendor tries another agent.
I would understand why they wouldn’t allow agents to buy prominence but that’s a valuable revenue stream turned off which in turn means marketing budgets have to be found elsewhere.
Applying a one size fits all approach is noble but sustainable?
You are confusing eggs with elephants here. PURCHASER simply wants to locate property. VENDOR simply wants to locate purchaser. Portal is ONE TOOL in an Agent’s toolbox used to accomplish this.
If all properties are equally advertised – then it’s a level playing field. Offer ‘upgrades’ – then everybody wants one and the only properties that ‘stand out’ are the ones with the normal size, normal colour ads that don’t cause seizures with their flashing beacons.
Agents want “prominence” – then they should try selling the property. NOTHING works better than a ‘SOLD’ flash to show who’s doing the business.