The boss of one of London’s best known agents, Douglas & Gordon, has said that people need to be ‘thoughtful’ before instructing an agent to sell or let their home.
In an interview with EYE, James Evans, who joined Douglas & Gordon as CEO last November, said: “There is space in the market for online agents.
“But if you are a seller or a landlord you need to genuinely believe that the agent you are instructing can deliver the results you want.
“You need someone with a track record, someone who will be a steady hand and be empathetic in taking some of the heat and emotion out of the transaction.
“No computer can do that.
“Whether people want to believe it or not, selling a house is not easy.
“Getting to the stage of an offer being accepted is simple enough. It is in getting from offer to completion that sellers need someone who really knows what they are doing – and that is where the online model falls down.
“To get the deal completed, you need high-quality people, and that is where agents earn their money.
“If people want to choose cheap, that is fine, but quality and service are something else.
“However, it would be naïve to think there is not a place in the market for online agents.”
Evans, 36, joined from Foxtons and says of Douglas & Gordon that it presented him with a “fantastically exciting opportunity” to build on the brand and drive the business forward.
To do this, he says, will require passion, innovation and technology, plus a desire to make the process “much more user-friendly”.
His own work ethic will undoubtedly come into the mix.
Evans, father of four children under nine, commutes from his home in Sussex. He gets up each day at 5am to catch the first train, ready for a 7am meeting.
This is followed by attending a morning meeting at a different Douglas & Gordon office (there are 15), followed by a working day which does not usually end until 7pm or 8pm – the exception being Friday, when he makes a point of being home in time to read to his children.
Evans went into agency 15 years ago because he liked the idea that the harder he worked, the greater the rewards.
He does not just mean the financial rewards but the emotional satisfaction of helping people at a crucial time in their lives.
He was specifically attracted by Douglas & Gordon because of the high calibre of its people and what he calls the family culture among the 200 staff.
Immediate investment is being made in technology, with a smart new website increasing online bookings for viewings by 140%.
For the future, he sees scope for expansion into the south and east London markets, where homes are more affordable than the central postcodes.
He also envisages the firm expanding outside London into the commuter belt.
He will not be drawn on the long interregnum which preceded his appointment – previous CEO Ivor Dickinson went on sabbatical leave in 2013 after 26 years with the firm. That leave turned out to be permanent.
Chairman Michael Hodgson stepped in to take on an executive role but, seemingly with the help of headhunters, recruited Evans last autumn.
Evans insists he is not interested in the past, preferring to focus on the future.
Does the competition in London’s crowded estate agency market trouble him?
He says that the competition varies between the patches where the offices are, but adds: “Our biggest competitors are ourselves, because of the way we operate. For example, our Balham office can sell property in Battersea and vice versa.”
Competition between the offices was highlighted in a very funny series of three videos, which turned out to be spoofs.
What did Evans make of these, we asked. He says he hadn’t heard of these and never saw them.
At a guess, he was too busy working.
However, if he wants to catch up over the weekend . . .
I don’t really care about anything that was written in that article about the history of a guy that I don’t know, but the video is just absolute genius. Lol.
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“I don’t really care about anything that was written in that article about the history of a guy that I don’t know…”
Well… perhaps you should, as it might give you a tiny glimpse of what being successful in the world of PROPER Estate Agency looks like…
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Bit harsh Peebee!
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Harsh?… maybe.
True?… ABSOFLIPPIN’LUTELY.
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“Gets up at 5am and does not finish until 7 or 8pm has 4 children under 9yrs at home. ”
thats not a good thing to crow about how ‘hard’ you are working it shows you are stupid for working like that in my view. Sounds like you never get to see your children or have any quality of time with the most important people that should be in a persons life. To put the ‘board’ and ‘company life’ ahead of real people, your own family is not a good quality to have in my view.
I work hard and have 3 children under 11 and run my own business – I make more then enough to give a great lifestyle I get to see my children every day, go cycling with them after work, help with the homework, help with the shouts and screams in the mornings !! Its a family and team effort – Im not a company man. I could not give up my ‘job’ as a Dad just to earn even more money.
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Well said seenitall. This guy needs to take a very long look in the mirror and think long and hard about his priorities.
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Hi Guy’s just got in to the office 1:55pm. Did I miss anything?
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