CIELA, the Charter for Independent Estate and Lettings Agents which aims to represent the collective interests of independent agents, said yesterday afternoon that it is not currently receiving enough support to have any realistic chance of launching on October 1.
The admission came as it emerged that voting turnout by the NFoPP bodies at Friday’s AGM represented an apathetic 4.1% of membership.
CIELA said it may have under-estimated independents’ desire for a new trade body to represent them. It also spoke out on the eve of a rallying tour to get agents involved and, more importantly, committed.
At the moment, CIELA is in its pre-launch ‘incubation’ period until September 30.
It is inviting owners of independent agencies to join at £35 per month with the intention of attracting enough members to be able to fund a full launch and operation.
However, yesterday CIELA founder Charlie Wright said: “While we have received very strong vocal support, thousands of agents visiting our website and much encouragement from agents and suppliers we meet, this is not translating into membership sign-ups.
“Less than 5% of the hundreds of agents who pre-registered with us declaring their support when we first announced our intention to form have actually proceeded to join.
“It seems to be a case of chicken and egg.
“Everyone agrees the independent industry needs a collective voice to improve its national reputation, but hardly anyone seems willing to risk even £35 per month to support it.”
He said CIELA is not a functioning organisation yet, but is in a pre-launch period in the hope that adequate support will materialise to provide the resources necessary to fund such an operation.
Wright, a property software entrepreneur, said CIELA was formed in response to “a lack of alternative offerings of representation for the independent industry”.
He said that CIELA has built a website that allows members to join online, and has already also built the system that will allow members to virtually vote on operational matters, giving them direct input as to what the organisation will actually do on their behalf.
He went on: “The wait-and-see problem will cause CIELA to die before launch unless it’s overcome. Everyone is waiting for everyone else to join first.
“Or, there simply isn’t the demand for such an organisation that we were led to believe.
“Each agent needs to ask themselves the question: Is it worth risking £35 per month for the chance to form an organisation which will represent me nationally for the first time? If yes, join now, or it will never achieve the necessary support to launch.”
CIELA has announced a series of roadshow dates, free to owners of independent agents who want to find out more to attend a talk and debate the matters affecting the industry, with the first tomorrow, June 21, at the Manchester Airport Marriott Hotel at 9.30am.
The following talks, all at 9.30am and expected to last around two hours, are:
Birmingham, Wednesday June 28;
Bristol, Wednesday July 5;
London, Wednesday July 12.
There are then more dates throughout September, during the final month of the pre-launch period.
Tuesday 5 (Leeds); Thursday 7 (Liverpool); Tuesday 12 (W. Midlands); Thursday 14 (E. Midlands/E Anglia); Tuesday 19 (Exeter); Thursday 21 (Bournemouth); Tuesday 26 (Gatwick); Thursday 28 (London).
£35 plus vat = circa £500 p.a.
You are right it’s not a massive amount of money. But looking at the website I still fail to see what you actually get for the money.
The proposition is just not clear or strong enough.
It has failed to set out what it plans to do and where money is spent.
There is a thirst for a new industry body. But agents are not going to just hand over their money on the promise for a “Voice in the industry”
Go back to the drawing board and set out the aims and objectives clearly. And if you are charging more than the established trade body you need to show where the money is going.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I agree with many of the comment already made – why on earth do we need another Industry Body?
The current ones seem fairly ineffectual – and perhaps that is down the the members not being more demanding of them. Why not put your energies into supporting those which are already established and encourage them to change and function and work for all agents, instead of the subscritions we pay supporting rebrand after rebrand and a body of administrators who do not seem particularly effective in the market place.
THe thought that there is need for a shake up is correct, but not sure another body is the way to do it.
Good luck!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
What you get for that money is a voice to create the organisation you want/need. Less than £10 a week to see if we can solve genuine issues & evolve- I call that a bargain.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
So what does this voice do?
Its pretty non-committal.
How about you or I be the voice of the industry and get paid X thousands per year to do it without actually laying out what will be said / done / achieved.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Because you get to choose what the voice does- rather than the voice do its own thing regardless of your opinion. Why are you afraid of helping shape what that voice is? As agents we keep saying people don’t understand our view because they don’t do/face what we do. Well………
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I get that.
But what i still not get is where my membership fee goes?
I am assuming Charlie wants circa 500 agents minimum to proceed (and is having little luck getting them).
500 x £500 p.a. is £250,000 p.a.
What does he need this money for? – Are there FULL TIME employees? Will he be working FULL TIME on it?
I doubt it, from the set up that was shown early days, its him and his current team at his property software group.
So the majority of their time they are working on his income (rightfully so) but he maybe spends a day or 2 a week on this idea, which he uses his current resources.
If he does indeed get it to take off and snowballs agents to say 2000 members he has a cool million a year coming in.
I see whats in it for him, but just covering the cost of a hotel meeting room and sending out invites for agents to attend and shape there own voice – Its a bit rich.
Of course i maybe totally wrong, but most people are sadly thinking like me which is why the numbers are not there.
If i (and others) have got it wrong, tell us.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
It has been proven time and time again that agents will not and cannot collaborate
The train wreck that is OTM is testament to that
Nfopp Property Mark or NAEA ARLA is another example looking at this article
RIP Cilla, it was no surprise surprise
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Team network, relocation agent and many more collaborative enterprises would disagree. It’s not for everyone, nothing is, but for quality professional diligent agents this is a great opp. Just have a little faith and take a punt. If you’re not happy where it’s heading 6-9 months after launch walk away.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
It’s an “alright” idea but it hasn’t been well presented or fully explained and I’m not sure anyone can see the advantage of joining. Therefor it will fail.
Have a good day.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
For better or worse it’s letting agents shape what it is and will be. If you’re an agent with a vision for the future then you should be all over this.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I think the problem with CIELA is that it is trying to address the failings of other organisations, for the cause of independents, but without a unique enough message of its own.
People are sceptical of ‘more of the same but better’.
I know I have been banging on about something new for the last year now, but I think it needs to start addressing the problems we currently face with a unique approach.
We are all short of stock, so we need a way of helping generate more valuations. Where we are losing out to ‘investor subsidised online lister offerings’, because we weren’t invited to appraise in the first plaice, we need to have a reason for people to engage with us initially as well.
We need to develop ways of ‘showing’ not ‘telling’. We need to have collective intelligent marketing.
This is what the free Ideas Network is all about. If you are interested in joining IN just send an email to in@agentv.co.uk
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I would like to understand why the dislikers don’t agree with the idea of a forum for the free exchange of marketing and prospecting ideas between like minded independent agents?
Doesn’t make any sense to me at all…..unless of course you don’t want to see good independents thrive!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Tell me more
I have just clicked through, and given you a TU
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
“I think the problem with CIELA is that it is trying to address the failings of other organisations, for the cause of independents, but without a unique enough message of its own.”
I think that your vision of “the problem with CIELA” is one ice crystal found somewhere within the middle third of a behemoth iceberg.
BUT… in fairness… they picked up the poisoned chalice and drank from it when we were all standing around looking at it.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I think it is a bit like elections and referendums – we have no appetite for yet more organisations!!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
The fact is that ‘local’ agents don’t see the value in ‘national’ profile. Probably correctly
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Agreed, this is also where OTM have missed an opportunity. An agent centric/local portal approach is needed.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
So where do local agents think they are losing out to online agents and large corporates? Isn’t it the fact that they have deep pockets and large marketing activity?
Imagine a TV ad that purveyed the personal service & quality offered by a national network of agents? One that conveyed a message of local business with local people with money going back in to the local economy?
Who can’t see the value for independents in that?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Does this come out of the £500 p.a. per agent or are we expected to contribute further on this?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
This is what Collective Intelligent Marketing is all about (but not on TV which is too expensive….but more in better areas that reach further).. I don’t think CIELA have ever put this forward.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Someone please take AgentV to one side and quietly explain why he needs to find a new name for his Collective Intelligent Marketing before converting it to an acronym… PLEEEAAAASSSSEE!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
The tricky thing is agents don’t seem to want to be told what they need, they/we (rightly) want a say. Charlie has allowed that framework by saying- join & make it what you want it to be. The trouble with that is that is has no ‘hard’ marketing message right now- but what’s wrong with that? It could be a national voice, a legislative voice with govt, a data source, a prospect tool or even (date I say it) a portal one day. For all the moaning that goes on in our industry I have been staggered by both the apathy of agents and how fast people have been to criticise CIELA but that is a sign of how cynical people are having been let down so often.
Either agents will decide to take a punt and see if they can form something fantastic or one of the greatest opportunities for independent agents in the last 20+ years will disappear before it even launches. If it does I just don’t want to hear any more moaning- but I think that’s wishful thinking!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
You make some valid points, but why charge?
I see no reason an agent should part with £500 p.a to just hope a bloke with suppossed good intentions can speak on my behalf.
What does he need the money for?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
To be effective surely takes structure and that takes staff and that means costs. Nothing is free, nothing good anyway, but cheap is close.
I have no idea if CIELA will succeed, I do t even know if it will champion the objectives I hope it will but for £10 a week I willing to roll the dice and see what it can achieve in 1 year. If it fails, it fails but surely it’s better to try no?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Do you know how many pitches a week i get with that sentence …
You can cancel anytime …
You only need one sale for it to pay for itself…..
What have you got to lose ….
If i agreed with all of these pitches i would have zero money on my account.
I like the idea. I think we do need a voice.
I have very large reservations that Charlie is the man to make it happen, The information coming out has not filled me with confidence he is the man with the right plan.
Hopefully he will see feedback here and the other news site which echo a lot of the comments here.
He still has time to get a strong messgae out to get agents to commit,
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Why do we need another certificate to hang on the office wall? Those who are not affiliated to anything at all, carry on trading with impunity and behaving like cowboys. The industry needs mandatory regulation with strict enforcement. In London an agent can be thrown out of an ombudsman scheme (if they bothered to join in the first place) so they just don’t bother joining another. Nobody monitors them. We’ve ditched NALS, London Rental Standard ends next month as members were mostly associated with ARLA anyway, we’ll drop SAFE AGENT soon and are seriously considering ending membership of ARLA & NAEA so as to just be regulated by RICS and with membership of The Property Ombudsman.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
CIELA isn’t about another logo the public don’t understand or recognise. It doesn’t need to be. It’s about a voice championing what we do educating the public, helping independents have a larger voice in both media and government and it can be an enforcer of current regs- if that’s what agents want. Personally I feel that stringent enforcement, especially within Lettings, will solve a heap of issues & CIELA could be that- or part of it at least.
Again, it can be whatever us independents want it to be- but we have to join up to shape it.
What I also like, and one of the many failings of OTM, is that all joining members will have a future stake in the company should it become an entity that is (one day) worth floating……and members who join up pre-launch (if that is achieved) will get double the shares of those who join later. This is not meant as a motivator but as a reassurance that if this evolves in to a financially viable/successful entity we will all benefit- rather than a few big players involved from launch.
If we wait for a kick-ass entrepreneur to set something like this up at low cost for the ‘good of agents’ we will either be waiting a loooooong time or will get stung again when the figures & data volumes stack up.
We can all keep picking holes in it, or we can get onboard and shore up those holes to create something amazing. The voice is ours and I for one think it’s worth a damn good punt!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
My tuppence worth …. There is a need for an organisation to be representative of the industry. The current model is broken NAEA & ARLA to be exact. It is all down to apathy by many, not seeing they actually are worth the effort or investment and as someone said earlier, agents have never been able to get around a table and hold hands. Others have seen the advantage and used it to their own benefit as they see it.
If this new venture wishes to replace the current status quo they have to sell themselves, not just another organisation and seen as just the same and no better benefit. I ask people to ponder over those last three words for they are key.
CIELA needs to find funding and not from agents to get off the ground. Too many will be turned off, for being twice bitten = thrice shy. The second hurdle is the captain of the ship has to be someone who is a level headed go getter, trouble shooter and can shout loud and far and not afraid to confrontation. Someone who can be respected by all (if that is at all possible?) as their CHAMPION. Communication is also the key, it should be never ending and demonstrate it is not just a helping hand, standing up for agents without being asked but not going off on one, to their own ends. They are there to represent and support agents are they not! A tough job.
CEILA need field agents to call and develop relationships with agents, not only seen at the Christmas party. These are the people who sell CEILA, the people who are the go between, the ears on the ground. One of the best idea was luncheon clubs, take a leaf out of Rotary and Lions!
CEILA needs to get agents queuing to join and the only way that is going to happen is hard work and communication. What benefit is it to join? If you are going to be the same as the other two lame ducks, you are a dodo from the off. Sell, Sell, Sell benefits, not ideas people don’t want or more importantly, don’t need.
You need to get your foot in the door with regulators and government, shout loud in the media more times than you have hot dinners and gain respect. Don’t fall into the recent trap of thinking you need yes people on the board (mentioning no names) that does not inovate or demonstrate being confident to stand up and be counted when it is appropriate. A good negotiator can sell snow to eskimos.
I wish you good luck, there is no reason why you shouldn’t succeed if you go about it the right way. We certainly need someone!!!!!!!
Probaly too late in the day for many to read, that should please the dislikes?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Woodentop – explains it better than my rants.
He / She understands perfectly what is needed and the difficulties faced.
If anybody is interested in setting up an industry body, CEILA, NAEA, ARLA, RIC’s – Look at Woodentops comments, if you address the majority of them you will have our support on mass.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Born a man, shall stay a man.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I liked it!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register