Letting Agents – Don’t let them bash you without a fight

November 29, 2016

My old man was a 11 year-old Irish immigrant from County Cork when his family landed on these shores in 1950.

It was a time when boarding houses displayed signs saying no blacks, no Irish, no dogs.

Rough times.

And being one of the first of the new small wave of Irish kids in his class my dad was targeted by bullies.

_Paddy b***ard_ _Spud muncher_ _thick tinker_ were just some of the barbs thrown his way.

His reaction was to fight _ literally. Punch ups a plenty. The bullying eventually ended.

In fact _Paddy_ Lyons became his nickname and was something he wore as a badge of honour.

He always used to say to me _I_d rather take a hiding than be bullied._ He bashed his way out of the firing line.

Now if you are a letting agent or have a lettings department you_re in the line of fire at the moment too. In a lot of cases very unfairly.

Listening to Radio Five this morning it was clear the latest Public Enemy Number Ones are letting agents. The public it would seem hate you and the Government has latched onto it hence the focus on fees.

But how do you fight back against accusations of being heartless money grabbers charging exorbitant fees for sod all?

Well you might not want to even defend yourselves _ that_s your choice.

Or you could think about fighting back, not literally a la Paddy Lyons, but that would certainly generate more headlines.

Here are four ideas:

Start a regular blog to get across to the haters what you actually do for a living. Share your experience, expertise and how and why you earn your living. Show your humanity.

Remind your existing landlords why you are worth the money they pay you.

Get professionally written up testimonials and case studies from tenants and landlords on your websites and within your marketing materials.

Write a guide aimed at helping tenants. (I have a white label of this type of guide for sale on a postcode exclusive basis.)

The way you are perceived by the public matters and by taking the time, making an investment and sticking up for yourselves you can all influence this currently negative perception.

Thanks for reading and good luck.

Jerry

PS: Ping me an email saying Paddy Power if you want to know more about the white label letting guide for tenants.

 

Jerry Lyons

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