Estate Agent – The Problem with the Competition

September 5, 2018

Looking at other people’s clothes when we go out, their cars, their watches, their lives must be better than my life .. I wish I was them. The human trait of envy .. comparing ourselves to others is really a disheartening waste of time, efforts, mind space, thoughts and positive energy.

…and this is where we as agents compare ourselves with our competitor agents

Don’t get me wrong, it’s essential to know what your competition is doing in the Estate/Letting Agency game in your town, because that is called market research.

Yet there is a thin line to be drawn between the awareness of your competition and it turning into some kind of obsession. Awareness makes you to communicate and express you and your agency’s value and bring your thoughts and notions to the people in your distinctive and matchless way, whilst my intuition tells me .. go too far into awareness and it turns into obsession, which results in irrational anxiety, insecurity, diffidence, misgiving, doubt and ultimately … paralysis.

Most of you reading this have allowed yourself to get caught in a state of relentless and continual assessment and comparison of yourself against others and by doing so, you constrain and hold back your capacity to make a difference of your own.

There is no rationing when it comes to good ideas and the world hasn’t maxed out on making a difference.

Do you worry too much?

Christopher Watkin

I teach, guide, support, mentor, consult, counsel, partner many hundreds of UK Estate and Letting Agents in their quest to grow their estate and lettings agencies business. Old school techniques of touting, landlords wanted leaflets, ring us for a free valuation, we have sold this in your street leaflets don't work anymore. There are too many competitor agents .. meaning cheap fees are epidemic, overvaluing is almost a norm to get the stock and don’t even mention about the online/hybrid threat. So a few years ago, I set about looking around the UK and spotted that certain agents (not many mind you) in certain towns were still seen as the ‘go to person on property’, the person the newspaper editor rang up every week for a comment and I looked at what they did and they were doing some thing quite remarkable…. Only one thing but they were doing it so well .. and reaping the reward in terms of decent listings and decent fees, happy staff, decent sales pipeline and exchange income, managed lettings portfolios in the many hundreds .. but more importantly, they really enjoyed the job… they enjoyed getting up in the morning and people looked up to them Over 400 agents around the UK are on a mission to change the way our Estate and Lettings agency profession is perceived and looked upon, doing it town by town, city by city. I guide these 400 agents, teach them, mentor them and support them to be seen in a different light, to be seen as the ‘go to person for property’, actually be the ‘local property expert’ and prove it. Christopher Watkin 07950 147 572 christopher@christopherwatkin.co.uk

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