Trio of agents volunteer testimonials for OnThe Market

| Rosalind Renshaw

A new round of testimonials from agents has been published by OnTheMarket.

The latest trio of member agents say that OTM is providing “an extremely high standard” of leads, and is liked by consumers.

The agents also say that without the additional products favoured by Rightmove and Zoopla, OTM is seen as a “much fairer system” and that buyers and tenants are becoming increasingly aware of the portal’s new and exclusive property listings.

A further comment is that OTM is different because it “listens to its members”.

Ben Gershon, director of Frost Property in Purley, said: “It’s been almost a year since we decided to remove our properties from Zoopla and this decision has not affected our business.

“I have no regrets leaving Zoopla and other agents should know that even as an independent agent, it has not cost me instructions.”

Mike Marsh, from Raine and Co, said: “The leads supplied to us by OTM are of an extremely high standard.

“We decided to join OTM as soon as we reviewed the strategy and costs. We didn’t take much persuading!

“We were fed up with Rightmove and Zoopla because of their ever-increasing fees.

“Whenever we have met representatives from the other major portals, we have felt that they are more focused on increasing the portal’s income than on providing a high level of service to us, their estate and letting agent customers.

“It was our industry which built Rightmove and Zoopla into the powerful giants which they are today with their enormous profits and stock market valuations.”

He added: “We hear frequently from our customers how user-friendly OTM is and how cleanly it displays the properties on the market.

“In my own opinion, it is only a matter of time before the property stock on the portal increases and OTM will be able to compete head-on with Rightmove.”

Scott Mason, director of the Home Partnership, said: “We were tired of the up-selling by the other portals and decided that OnTheMarket’s approach – without all the bells and whistles of additional products – was a much fairer system for agents and a cleaner search service for consumers.

“OTM does not allow an agent with deep pockets to gain advantage over another by buying greater prominence in the search results.

“Furthermore, we were disillusioned with the way the other major portals had facilitated the rise of online-only agents whilst positioning their properties identically within the presentation of the overall search results.

“It is the traditional high street agents which have kept the portals in good business over many years.”

He added: “At the Home Partnership, we launch most of our new-to-market properties at OTM 48 hours ahead of advertising them on Rightmove.

“Recently, we listed a property exclusively at OnTheMarket and within the first 24 hours, 15 viewings were lined up via the portal which was just over half the total number of viewings held across the entire weekend.

“We have been more than impressed with the power of the portal in attracting serious buyers.”

The testimonials are here

http://www.agentsmutual.co.uk/testimonials.html

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26 Comments

  1. surreyagent
    January 7, 2016 at 07:10

    listen – whatever anyone thinks, we have to stick with OTM for the benefit of controlling our own future. if not the other 2 get bigger and more powerful and eventually we will be puppets on a string calling to their shots (sound familiar?). at some stage they will offer private listings to combat the online portals. we are just filling their pockets in the meantime. do we get enough leads at moment – no – but then the others aren’t coming up with much either. HANG IN THERE…..

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    1. Lamby45
      January 7, 2016 at 07:24

      Hang in there until when? PurpleBricks has more stock than me in my local area? £700 AND they do a better job of marketing the property?

      The problem here is that the longer this goes on, the better agents who aren’t with Agents Mutual are getting at winning business from those who are on it. Its admirable that the guys have come out swinging for them but you can’t hide the truth of the size of OTM’s audience forever, and once a consumer truly understands what their agent is up to, they don’t like it.

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    2. Disillusioned
      January 7, 2016 at 07:42

      If yours was the 4th testimonial surreyagent, you can quite easily see why Springett stuck with just the 3.

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      1. RealAgent
        January 7, 2016 at 07:49

        That was quite funny for you disillusioned.

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      2. jmeapps01
        January 7, 2016 at 08:56

        Maybe just the 3 was all OTM could get. Either way it feels like clutching at straws. I would say by the lack of comments being made nobody really cares any more!

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        1. Property Pundit
          January 7, 2016 at 12:06

          They’re turned off by posters (trolls) like you regrettably.

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          1. Paul House
            January 7, 2016 at 13:59

            There does indeed appear to be one set of posters that are shouting louder than others at the moment, which is exactly what Agents Mutual advised us would happen.

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            1. Property Pundit
              January 7, 2016 at 14:15

              El Burro had it on the nail yesterday when he questioned why the anti-OTM brigade even bother anymore. Understandable I guess coming from online agents and portal reps who desperately want it to fail. After a while they become utterly predictable jumping on/highjacking threads as soon as they are published in the morning. Ultimately they become just white noise.

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    3. harry hood
      January 7, 2016 at 15:32

      Hang in there for four more years and then, maybe, just maybe….

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  2. the message
    January 7, 2016 at 09:55

    Testimonial from Lord Saville:

    Take a letter miss Jones….

    Can I say what a bloo@y fantastic job springers and the whole team have done at OTM over the last 12 months. When Sir Frank K and I thought this wheeze through over a fantastic bottle of Chateau lafitte at the Club, we never thought it had a chance of getting off the ground. But springers is made of stronger stuff than that, and he has delivered exactly what we want.

    In only 12 months, we have really hurt primelocation, have supported that vitally important site countrylife, have built a stonkingly good overseas service, have manged to get off the board any independent agents whatsoever. I have never had to travel further north than islington, and countrywide seems to be imploding.

     

    Here is to the next 12 months springers old chum, you keep reeling them in, we will keep benefitting. I reckon this time next year we can start running some london only tv campaigns, maybe a sponsorship of the lonson evening standard, and maybe even get rid of those oiks who fill the site with the cheap and cheerful rubbish.

    Hats off old chap

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  3. the message
    January 7, 2016 at 10:18

    ok, sorry. The above wasn’t my best effort at humour. Instead, something more heartfelt I posted last night on another thread, now defunct. It was replying to a Peebee thread about how the AM vision came to be. I am like one of many who love the vision, but despise what it has been turned into. It genuinely feels we are living in a real life Orwellian nightmare
    peeBee. I agree with all you say. Its the DO IT PROPERLY where I am aghast at how we have let the high end agents take your great idea, and turn it into something as sly and dirty as what we have ended up with. I genuinely cant believe the antipathy towards a site that in 12 months has built no new consumer features (and we need to have parity or close to parity with RM to be able to genuinely provide the consumer with an easy cross over) but has instead found the time effort energy and money to white label countrylife and build an overseas home section

    I also cant believe we allow no standard corporate governance controls to ensure all members interests are looked after

    And I cant believe we pay the CEO a fortune from day 1. I am happy him and his senior team making million if this is successful….IF this is successful…..but there has NEVER been a start up, anywhere in the world paying the kind of salaries this obscenity does, regardless of success or failure, nor burning through cash the way this does, YOUR cash by the way.
    Thats the gist of it, and why this will sadly fail. Businesses dont just work becuse we want it to, they need proper principles, good governance and the proper controls. And you, and otehrs like you, have allowed a wonderful idea to be turned to S@!t by the greed of others
     

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    1. Harree
      January 7, 2016 at 13:30

      the message…

      Your points are exactly why I have changed my stance from supporting an agents owned portal but not AM because of its fatally flawed one portal rule.

      As I said yesterday, allowing the big corporates … my competitors … to gain control of my portal advertising now seems like a rank bad idea whether their is a one portal rule or not.

      Any idea that their motives include ‘caring for the small independent against the nasty duoply’ is bs. There never has been, and never will be, any real voice given to independents as to where AM advertises as shown by the high end marketing and overseas section that serves only the minority of those on the AM board or in their pals in the cosy elite club.

      AM is motivated only in bringing down RM and Z and taking control of portal advertising so that the corporate minority can ultimately control the independent majority.

      Absolute power corrupts absolutely and on reflection I would far rather have RM and a strong Z competing for my business than a monopoly controlled by my competitors.

       

       

       

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      1. Property Pundit
        January 7, 2016 at 13:38

        A post by El Burro reproduced here for the benefit of Harree

        What I don’t get about the anti OTM brigade is why are they bothered?If OTM is as rubbish as they suggest and all their agents are just flushing their money down the pan in a Ponzi scheme (HarryN) why aren’t they just letting their competitors get on with it?

        Surely you’d love them making complete ars*’s of themselves, after all it’s money on a doomed project that they could be spending on much more effective platforms competing with you?

        It seems to me Zoopla were openly rubbishing OTM at the start, that has given way to an almost evangelical campaign to teach others the error of their ways by a band of non OTM agents. Or are they? Maybe Zoopla decided that openly rubbishing a competitor was never going to get them many votes and a different approach was needed . . . . . .Who else would give a monkeys?

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      2. RealAgent
        January 7, 2016 at 14:21

        Harree I actually had to read your post twice to make sure it wasn’t a spoof. You are genuinely unbelievable. You got caught yesterday with your massive U-Turn and so having had the night to reflect on how you were this is what you come out with!

        For a start the corporates (your competitors!?!) mostly support Zoopla and RM in fact have of have had shares in them! You certainly don’t seem in the least bit bothered about the fact that most of those corporates have made millions from your support!?!

        All the estate agents subscribing to AM have one vote, regardless of size of company. That certainly can’t be said of Zoopla, where we know for a fact that corporate agents and share holders are paying a lot less than most independent agents to advertise on the site!

        In fact is this actually Harree at all because while you were only banging the drum of leads and exposure I might have understood that argument whilst not necessarily agreeing with it. This post however suggest a wholly different agenda.

        By the way please let me know which town your err estate agency is in because if your competitors are corporates then I would like to open an office there. Its clearly a town stuck in the 90’s!!!

         

         

         

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      3. harry hood
        January 7, 2016 at 15:30

        That’s exactly it. This catchphrase of “re-gaining control of the industry” is absurd and smacks of the promises of communism which inevitably leads to corrupt dictatorship.

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        1. RealAgent
          January 7, 2016 at 15:40

          What and comments such as “A CEO paid a fortune” don’t smack of communism then???!

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          1. the message
            January 7, 2016 at 17:06

            We keep on getting told that those of us moaning must be Z reps, as why else would we care. We care becuase we want to join, but its being run in such a manor we cant. This is animal farm all over again and you are just too blinkered to see.

            I am happy for a CEO to earn millions when he deserves it, not before

             

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            1. RealAgent
              January 7, 2016 at 17:09

              Right so let me get this right. You are moaning about how its being run yet you are not part of it?!…..Are you for real????

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              1. the message
                January 7, 2016 at 17:16

                haha – are you – I, like thousands of others, are moaning because the concept is great but the execution dire. Wouldnt you prefer to know why I havent joined? I genuinely cant believe that people who want this thing to succeed (and I assume you do) refuse to listen or even acknowledge the rational and genuine comments of those who wont join for various reasons.

                Are you genuinely so blinkered that you think just ignoring all negative sentiment will work? It is sadly people like you who will be to blame when it fails

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                1. RealAgent
                  January 7, 2016 at 17:24

                  What negative sentiment might that be? How many of the 5000 odd offices have said they are unhappy, do you know? How do you know how much the CEO is paid and the terms of his agreement? How do you know in fact any of the responses members are getting and how their clients are receiving OTM……you think you know because you read on here from those who do not want to see OTM succeed for whatever reasons voicing their opinions not facts!

                  If you genuinely want to know how it works and how much of an uplift we have seen in our average sale price (market increase deducted) then if you ask EYE nicely they might forward me your email address and I will share it with you.

                  In the meantime this isn’t a communist state so you are free to say what you want but if I were you I would perhaps stick to what you know rather than what some on these pages would like you to think you should know.

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                  1. the message
                    January 7, 2016 at 17:40

                    so you are doing better because of OTM….do me a favour mate. I am all for the bravery of those joining, braver than i (or maybe more foolhardy) but lets stop playing silly games in that you are even better off because of OTM. I do know OTM, from a superb start, has floundered. I know the viewing figures are desperate despite £12m of marketing spend, I know thy have focused on things that are no interest to me or most paying members, but are to their very few top end guys, who also happen to be the only board members.

                    I genuinely hope I am wrong, and in 2016 I will doff my hat and run along and join, on probably much cheaper terms than you are paying, but I doubt it, until they get some semblance of digital knowlege and an independent board this will remain a plaything of the uberrich

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                    1. RealAgent
                      January 7, 2016 at 19:07

                      I did offer to do you a favour “mate” but I should have known better than to make an offer of help to someone who feigns interest in OTM merely to try and add credence to their comments.

                      You crack on “sunshine”

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          2. harry hood
            January 8, 2016 at 09:21

            In response to “What and comments such as “A CEO paid a fortune” don’t smack of communism then???!”

            The answer is yes. The ruling class of all communist countries could hardly be said to be poor:
            Stalin Russia
            Zao China
            Sung North Korea
            Castro Cuba
            the list goes on…

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            1. harry hood
              January 8, 2016 at 09:23

              Feed the masses with utopian rubbish and get rich!

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  4. Stevie
    January 7, 2016 at 12:28

    The fourth testimonial (Surreyagent) was the only one worth reading as it was the truth from start to finish, unlike the 3 others but then if you are asking for testimonials from clients you aren’t going to publish/release those that are close to the truth and hurt!

    The same could be said for Z and RM but we don’t have those rammed down our throats and be expected to swallow!!

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  5. Stevie
    January 7, 2016 at 15:46

    its quite amazing that I have pointed out the obvious and I get 4 dislikes and much like my comment above, the truth hurts and you can’t take the truth so you knock me and further bury your head in the sand ****** amazing

     

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