Maybe you worked on the high street for one of the ‘big names’. Maybe you were a top agent at one of the indomitable independents. Or perhaps you’ve just finished watching Selling OC on Netflix and want back in at high commissions?
Whatever, it’s a big jump, what now? The most important thing on any new self-employed broker’s mind is how to get their first few listings. As an agent working for a the UK 'High Street' that job is mainly done for you. The phone rings - wham - new valuation booked. It happens so frequently you probably didn’t think twice about it. That is, until you walk out from the comfy shelter provided to you and into the woods on your own.
Having set up an agency from scratch I know personally how difficult it is to generate your first few valuations, let alone convert them into listings. We used to go to the pub to celebrate if we got a call for a valuation. A good friend of mine reminded me over a beer how we all went outside looking for money on the ground after our colleague found a fiver on the street - just in case there was any more cash lying around. Yes - suffice to say things are tough when you start. It’s times like these you tend to live by quotes like this one from Roosevelt:
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
Indeed, years ago I had this pinned to my computer so that every day I was reminded why I was doing what I was doing. All jokes aside, the reality is it’s bloody hard to get going from a cold start. Thankfully though, I can tell you that it’s become a lot easier now that joining a self-employed brokerage is an option. These “platforms” usually provide access to a network of brokers, a substantial back catalogue of property to lean on, pooled property portal membership, and often but not always, a public-facing brand too.
Having a credible brand on your business card from day one is a major advantage of joining a platform like Moveli (read this article on things to consider when choosing a brokerage). Though still it’s not easy. So without further ado let me dump on you some knowledge I have gained from the past two decades working in estate agency in general and marketing in particular.
Ask Yourself Why?
Let’s start at the beginning. You’ve got to know why you are doing this in the first place. Yes the commission is killer and the lifestyle can be great but the reality is that you really, really have to want it. Also you need to enjoy what you do and be passionate about doing a brilliant job and be the best at it. This alignment at the very beginning of your marketing journey will help you communicate your message to your market without it coming across like you’re faking it. I can tell you right now, not one person wants you to sell their house so that you can earn a packet and be able to take the day off to play golf. Yes people like to work with successful people, but they are looking for value add.
Then Think How
It’s human nature to want to find short cuts. With the never-ending stream of proptech startups promising a million leads a minute it’s easy to get lulled into thinking there’s some clever magic bullet out there for generating new business. Some modern prospecting tools have a lot to offer but the reality is that there’s no short cut to consistent lead generation. In my opinion the formula is simple:
Consistency x Quality x Volume = Response
Let’s look at that in a bit more detail:
CONSISTENCY
The job of your marketing is two-fold. First to build brand equity in the market in which you operate. Second to precipitate leads from that market. If people haven’t even heard of you (i.e. your brand) then you won’t be on their consideration list.
The first thing any would-be seller does is wonder who are they going to sell with? They begin to search for the answers to that problem. If you want to be found in that search, or better still be at the forefront of their minds eye, then you need to get in front of your audience regularly and build brand awareness step-by-step over a significant period of time. That’s where the consistency comes in. It’s an old marketing adage that people need to see your marketing eight times before they remember it.
So there’s no point posting on social media for a few weeks and then getting side-tracked, or blowing your whole annual budget on two brilliant pieces of print marketing and expecting success all year. It just doesn’t happen. You’ll need to market with the kind of regularity that only arises from careful planning and habit. If you cannot commit to a consistent output then cut down your social media to one platform or focus the area you’re canvassing to a more manageable size. Prioritise frequency and duration over reach. Create a plan and stick to it. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.
QUALITY
If you can be genuinely consistent then you will be seen by your audience, but what use is that if they don’t like or engage with what they see? You’ll just be marketing yourself as somebody not to use. There’s simply no point breaking your bank or your back delivering marketing if it looks sub-standard or even just standard. Competition is stiff and you have to get noticed.
I would say that many agencies cut corners here and the result is a bucket with a hole. As the great advertising genius David Olgivy once said;
“Your customer is not a moron, she is your wife.”
Sellers are looking to do business with somebody who can talk to them on the same level. That is through both production and presentation quality which can open the dialogue before a word is read, plus the message you are trying to get across. That goes for digital and print based products, as well as networking. If you’re wondering what message you should send out then try not to think about what agency advertising should say and instead focus on being sincere and providing valuable content. Content is king.
VOLUME
No one has the budget to hit their whole market, it’s always a trade-off. The key is knowing where to put it to generate maximum return. When it comes to printed products this is particularly poignant. Work out the time (for delivery if you’re doing it yourself) and money you have available to commit to consistently delivering high-quality productions. That will dictate the volume. In my experience, per broker, that can range from 1,000 printed products a month to 10,000+. Next choose an area that has good turnover and good price tags so you can maximise the potential return per address over ‘X’ years. From this you can build your plan.
With social media of course you’re going to have to work a lot harder. Not only will your volume be limited to your network and where the algorithms push your posts, but it will be sporadic. You can spend a good amount of time creating posts that will be read by people across a wide, and likely global arena, who will never (even if they like your posts with the fire emoji) sell through you. Yes all this networking is good, yes you will also hit people who are potential clients but you will need to look more cleverly at where to devote the precious time you have. Advertising has become a lot more difficult too since the restrictions placed on targeting property related adverts to age and geographic areas on Meta platforms. Though you can still create a look-a-like audience from your database that may pick up more relevant audiences than a simple and enormous radius with all age ranges included.
All of this can be quite daunting to an agent stepping out on their own. There is a lot to think about and a lot to plan and implement. Many agents simply don’t have the time nor inclination to setup their marketing properly and instead rely heavily on what they are usually best at - networking. I often think of this as a farmer going to market. Most agents are brilliant at the market, they can sell their socks off, negotiate a great deal and can network like there’s no tomorrow, they are in their element. But very few are good at consistently plowing the fields, sowing the seeds and growing the crop to bring the product to market in the first place. This is the purpose of marketing.
In some niches it’s possible to survive as a network only agent, doing an amazing job for your clients and getting recommended to new ones. But why limit yourself? Set your marketing up right to grow the deals of tomorrow while you’re busy doing the deals of today.
Start with small ambitions, be consistent, put one foot in front of the other and do it as well as you can with the best of intentions, before you know it you will have come a long way. It still amazes me when a client calls out of the blue and says "I’ve been watching you for a while, can you come over and value my property." Only now we don’t hit the beers every time.
