Hybrid estate agency Keller Williams has appointed Matthew Thompson, formerly of Douglas and Gordon and Foxtons.
His new position at Keller Williams, which is part of a giant self-employed estate agent network based in the US, will be operating principal at the company’s central London Market Centre, known as KW Prime.
Thompson was previously the area director for South London at Douglas and Gordon since 2016 with responsibility for 10 branch departments and 70 people. He was instrumental in training and strategy formation – being credited for improving the agency’s average fee from 1% to 2%.
Previously, he ran Foxton’s Brixton branch and, at £3m annually, oversaw one of the highest branch revenues of all Foxtons’ offices. He spent nine years at Foxtons before moving to D&G. But Thompson now believes that the hybrid sector offers plenty of room for growth.
“The established agency model isn’t quite right,” he said. “It’s too transactional and so often the merits of talented staff can be diluted by a ‘list, list’ list’ attitude pushed by estate agency leaders.”
Thompson added: “My belief is that superior client service and agent performance can be smothered by a relentless KPI culture whereas in truth, nurturing great relationships with clients and agents is the key to long term success.
“The Keller Williams model will allow me to promote and further that ethos with a focus on fulfilling agents’ earning potential.”
Ben Taylor, CEO of Keller Williams UK commented: “Matthew is a huge talent with great experience in the London property market with two of the best corporate estate agency brands in the capital. But as the industry is changing to become much more people and relationship focussed, it’s important to me that Keller Williams is not just attracting the best individuals in the industry but also those, like Matthew, that are passionate about supporting and nurturing relationships with ambitious agents and the public alike.
“The consumer is becoming more sophisticated and expectant and our industry must now move in line with this progress.”
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Comments (32)
Robert… The industry does have good leaders just not enough of them. I agree with some of that list but some of the others I beg to differ. I don’t think they even understand what servant leadership means. I’m not advocating that KW or any other brokerage/hybrid model is a panacea. What I am saying is that our current industry needs reform in many ways; it needs more great leaders (whilst they’re are some they’re the exception not the rule) and it needs to put the people at the coal face and the customers first and NOT the owners/shareholders.
So much to unpick here…
Businesses exist to make profit, if they don’t, then they ultimately cease to exist.
KPIs are useful, but perhaps more to the point, you must have a clear plan to achieve the goal (in the case of a business this is to make a profit). That plan needs to be one that every person involved understands and subscribes to. That’s what good leaders do. Otherwise, your chances of achieving your goal are considerably lower.
The broader problem is that leadership, the often-quoted tagline for a manager/director (whatever) that’s done well in the corporate world is almost always incorrectly applied. What exactly have they ever lead? They’ve managed, they’ve directed but have they actually ever lead? The people underneath have been obligated to do what they say because they’ve been employed by the organisation that person is a manager/director (whatever) of. They’re very rarely leaders.
Leadership is a skillset that isn’t taught in estate agency – that is why there are so few true leaders in the business. Please call me out on this with your proof?
The corporate model (small or large) exists to serve the shareholders (the owners of the business) and the managers etc. (who enact a strategy to serve the purposes of the owners); these managers are then well rewarded for doing so. The people that are always most poorly served in this model are the customers and the people that actually do the work (the agents on the ground).
Is this a status quo really worth preserving?
Considering 85% of estate agents are small independents with no senior management structure … Yep, ‘leaders’.
“A leader is someone who can see how things can be improved and who rallies people to move toward that better vision. Leaders can work toward making their vision a reality while putting people first. Just being able to motivate people isn’t enough — leaders need to be empathetic and connect with people to be successful.” So are these ‘leaders’ who respresent 85% driving change in an industry that desperately needs it. They can’t agree over ROPA. They can’t even bring Rightmove to task. Perhaps they need to up their game…
Well said.
Business doesn’t “exist to make a profit.”. They exist to provide a service/product that contributes to society. Profit is the result of a job well-done, not a reason for the company’s existence.
Nuts.
I’m glad we disagree on that point.
Come on now, lets all play nicely.
Anybody in this industry who claims not to look at KPIs, is either a liar or foolish. Its sales. Sales relate to turnover and ultimately profit. KPIs are the yardstick to help ensure we stay afloat. We all should know what “I have to achieve to pay my bills”. With that said, there is a growing sense amongst many foot soldiers in the agency world, that KPIs are becoming more unrealistic, with agency leaders placing KPIs above staff welfare and retention, which in turn leads to staff feeling disenfranchised. Which then ironically leads to many agents looking toward the self employed model, from which it will be down to the individual to ensure they hit their own KPIs to pay subscriptions and to also oversee the % they have to give back to the umbrella company.
There is space for all types of agency, just like there will be all types of user for each style of agent. Rather than knock the other model to your own. Lets compete against it with our skills as agents, not fears of the competition, and lets not start mocking them. Be assured the cream will always rise.
Well said.
Well said!
Correct KPI’s are what keeps a business on course. Likewise you are correct that they are often unrealistic and over the years I have seen some companies make it so, deliberately. Treated their staff like cannon fodder and many a reader will know who they are. Staff turn over was obscene and messed with their heads.
There is always a place for others within the industry, it is the ‘disrupting factor’ that gets everyone’s back up, particularly when it fails (as many do). KW model is similar to the USA operation where their workers are part-time realtors with other full time jobs. They play at being estate agents as and when it pleases them.
“The consumer is becoming more sophisticated and expectant and our industry must now move in line with this progress.”
KW is not progress, its an old model and I would go as far as to say will fail when the customer realise sophisticated and expectant is wanting? The UK is not USA, thankfully.
So US business models don’t work in the UK?
– McDonalds
– Starbucks
– Google
– Facebook
– Amazon
It could be a long list.
I’m not saying that KW is the answer but to say that it won’t work in the UK because it’s from Yankyland isn’t really a very effective argument.
Now your splitting hairs with chalk and cheese and ridiculous comment for comparisons. Try comparing real estate in US with UK and then you may have something more positive to contribute.
OK – I’ll indulge you. What makes UK estate agency so very different? Also, surely you can see that the current status quo is far from ideal for the actual agents that do the work and customers that often receive appalling service?
If you don’t know the answer, what are you doing on this site!
Never the brightest button in the bo, that Gaven
KPI nonsense being spouted on here. Only corporate agents have a KPI culture.
Most of the people running these pyramid schemes come from companies they were responsible of pushing the KPI culture.
Many successful independent agents don’t have a KPI culture.
And guess what their clients the vendors and landlords get a full time agent dealing with them.
Bedroom agents / online are the most hypocritical agents out there. Oh and guess what the unicorns that make a few quid open offices!
Changing the narrative to suit.
Pyramid selling scheme, always good to come in at the top
Comments above once again from pusillanimous individuals too afraid to show their names and afraid of this growing trend of property professionals changing the industry for the better for agents and their customers. Choice is a good thing not something to be feared. Matthew is a high quality leader, I’m delighted he’s joining to help more London agents break free from their limited earning potential in employed models and offer customers the time and expertise they deserve. Most estate agents are great but they are in businesses with a KPI culture that requires such high transactional volume for them to earn a decent living that the customer never truly gets the best version of them. Wake up and smell the coffee… this is happening, it’s not for everyone but it gives agents choice to develop wealth and making silly comments to try and dumb down an agents expertise just because they don’t work in an outdated office environment …. please, you are better than that and customers can see past that!
There is nothing dubious about Matthews past… he’s built significant businesses wherever he has gone… he’s not done this on a whim. He’s a strategic leader and always has been.
that’s funny, ‘cos I remember you and Ben from when you took over at John D Wood, when you lost half your managers in 12 months, precisely because of the KPI culture you tried to implement.
And where are all these terribly low paid agents everyone keeps talking about? In my experience (20 years) it doesnt matter who you work for, if your good at your job, you tend to earn well….
You then have to question why an individual who has been engaged in a senior managerial role for a decade who has been in a position to influence strategy affecting customer service now has the neck to disparage the culture and that Keller Williams are any different .
To any casual observer it sounds like sour grapes
Let’s see if he is still there in 6 months time as lots of noise when people join KW who then fade away
Love to know the real story behind this. Nobody goes from area manager to bedroom agent.
More to this story I bet.
He started his journey at Foxtons and escaped ,He sounds less than complimentary.Whoops ,I guess he didn’t expect to find himself back there and maybe the feeling was mutual !
Seems you didn’t bother to read the whole article. He isn’t joining as a “bedroom agent”, he’s joining as operating principal
Zzz… Give it a rest with the “bedroom agent” comments.
Though you and the usual suspects who comment on every article might not like it, the reality is that most agents with half a brain don’t want to work for an outdated high st agent with technology from 2005, awful compensation, and a clueless management team.
The move to independent self-employed agents operating under an umbrella brand is coming – it will start in London, move to other metropolitan areas and in 10 years the estate agency landscape will be unrecognisable.
I’m not convinced it will be an American import like KW or eXp leading the market, but there are some interesting homegrown businesses who are going to start taking market share.
Bury your heads in the sand if you want – but if you think sitting in your high st office and paying your negs a pittance is going to be the way business is done in agency in the next few years you’re deluded.
35 years ago Prudential Black Horse and all the other FSA 86 industry incomers were predicting the same thing. It hasn’t happened.
The technology might change but this industry doesn’t and what is happening right now (today) is swinging the pendulum back in favour of full service #local estate agency who charge for service, care and skill.
It might be easier to grab a foothold in activity centres where anonymity and one hit gigs are the go but the ability to put 100+ digital sold boards on Google in a tight geographic area by a traditional estate agent makes the completions of a hybrid agent covering multiple activity centres less compelling and appear sporadic
Ewemove have advantage in the space so EXP, KW etc have those to compete with before they start competing with the 6 #local agents in each activity centre
That reply just proves you don’t understand the broker model. Who said anything about an agent “covering multiple activity centres”? Whatever an “activity centre” centre is.
Self-employed agents will by and large have a tight target area, the same as a traditional agent.
“The technology might change but this industry doesn’t” – let’s see.
Property Industry Ostriches!
Don’t understand the broker model? you will find I was suggesting it in 2013 and was the first one to describe the principle to the chap who was going folk singing in Dorset. I also predicted Ewemove was more likely to prosper than Emoov and Hatched. while debating new models in Autumn 2013 on EAT.
There are 3500 activity centres in the UK which can be a town, village or district of a city that has enough sales and lettings transactions to support 3 branches of agency.
The points I was raising 8 years ago have all been born out in practice and even when Purplebricks was on the rise and rise I was was consistent that #local will always top trump price.
Those complaining about “bedroom agents” are so far behind the times I cannot believe they use the internet! The world has moved on in the last 25 years. People are buying more online than ever before so retail shops are suffering. Many firms now have their staff working from home in home offices which are either spare rooms, extensions or purpose-built sheds.
They have everything at their fngertips and yes, they do go outside for instructions, viewings etc and return to do their admin, often after normal working hours.