Was it A Con Job and Why the Secret is out for Estate Agents

Just over four years ago there was a young trainee plumber in Dublin.

He was skint, hated his job, drove a clapped out old banger and his career prospects were to use how own words, ‘pretty shite’.

But he had a vision (literally as it turns out) and strange things happen.

On Saturday 26 August 2017 that young man took part in the richest fight in combat sports history.

The Notorious Conor McGregor took on and ultimately lost to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.

It’s said McGregor will eventually bank around $100m from the fight – and that’s a conservative guess.

A lot of people hate him. They saw the fight as a farce. A con job with the punters being treated as suckers. An ugly orgy of excess and egos.

But there’s something we can ALL learn, especially estate agents, from how McGregor has achieved his meteoric rise.

I must admit that before his tangle with Mayweather I knew very little about Mr McGregor.

I knew he was Irish and flashy but that was about it.

But I got sucked into the hype. I started reading more about McGregor and his rapid ascent to becoming a world-famous millionaire was intriguing.

If you dig deeper and look beyond the trash talk and bling McGregor is a very intelligent man, with a genius for self-promotion and branding and, say it quietly, a decent bloke by most accounts.

Here’s five reasons why I think estate agents can learn from McGregor and how he’s achieved in four years more than 99.99999999 per cent of Planet Earth’s population will ever do.

  1. The Secret is out – McGregor said that a best-selling book about positive thinking and something called the law of attraction changed his life. It was called The Secret. Now I’m not suggesting you run out and buy it (I watched the film on Amazon Prime) but it highlights one aspect of success in any field – You must believe in yourself. I’ve met plenty of agents who are negative about pretty much everything and, low and behold, are still struggling their arses off.
  2. You never lose – of course we know by now that McGregor was comprehensively beaten by one of the greatest boxers ever in Mayweather. But McGregor describes all his losses and ‘failures’ as learning. It’s a great approach to take with marketing campaigns – if it didn’t work, learn from it and do something different based on those learnings. If it did work to win instructions do more of it – but look to improve it.
  3. Obsession – He admits to being so obsessed with his fighting career that he is a little insane about it. The best agents I work with, or have worked with, are genuinely passionate about what they do. And my definition of passion is something you’d do for free because you love it so much.
  4. Hard work – since his early days McGregor training (both mental and physical) regimes have been brutal. Nothing worth achieving is ever easy. You can visualise all you want but you need to put in the shifts to be a success.
  5. Give it a go – McGregor, as mentioned in point 2 is always learning. Added to that he’s not afraid to give something new a shot as he proved with his bout against Mayweather. Too often I see agents dismiss marketing ideas out of hand without trying it or having any useful evidence to argue against other than ‘it’ll never work.’

Imagine if Mr McGregor had listened to all of those who told him a few years back that his vision ‘would never work.’

Thanks for reading and here’s to your next instruction.

 

Jerry

Jerry Lyons

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

2026 Will Test BTR’s Potential and Government’s Resolve

By Justine Edmonds, Head of Build to Rent / Leasing Strategies, LRG Throughout 2025 I have spent hours in meetings with and on discussion panels with institutional investors, developers and local authorities. And everything I’ve picked up on in the last year suggests that 2026 will be a crossroads for Build to Rent (BTR). The…
Read More
Breaking News

December Cash Buyers on the Decline

So is a sale before Christmas still possible? New analysis from Springbok Properties reveals that the number of cash buyers declines in December, so any sellers who are keen to secure a quick sale ahead of Christmas might need to explore different avenues. Springbok Properties have studied historic data on the estimated number of cash…
Read More
Breaking News

Rental demand drops to six-year low

Rental demand drops to six-year low as supply improves and rental growth slows to 2.2 per cent reports Zoopla   Demand for rented homes has fallen by a fifth over the last year and is the lowest for six years. There are 15% more homes for rent than last year, boosting choice for renters UK…
Read More
Christmas Decorations - Good or Bad for Selling
Breaking News

Christmas move-in rush drives short-term rental spikes

Christmas move-in rush drives short-term rental spikes, while year-on-year affordability remains largely unchanged Year-on-year trends remain relatively stable, with most regions showing small changes in rent levels and required salaries. Short-term rental volatility is now the dominant driver of affordability shifts, with North East, Wales, South West, Yorkshire & Humberside, and parts of the Midlands…
Read More
Breaking News

Dwelly reveals the strongest rental market for current returns

The latest research from Dwelly has highlighted which pockets of the British rental market are currently providing landlords with the greatest returns, helping them combat the incoming tax hikes announced in last week’s Autumn Budget. Dwelly analysed the latest Government house price data alongside the most recent rental market figures from the ONS to identify…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

How to find out when a property was built and why it’s important to know

A leading provider of niche and specialist insurance to the home insurance market, Stanhope, has provided a step-by-step guide to finding out when a property was built and explained why it is so important for the homeowner to know its age. Matthew Ashton a Director of Stanhope said: “Knowing the property’s age is crucial for…
Read More