Choosing An Estate Agent With Circus Experience!

In this fast-paced, instant-access, target-driven world we live in, so much emphasis is often placed on salesmanship. It doesn’t matter whether you are involved in potatoes, poodles or property, the principles behind selling and selling techniques are mostly the same across many business sectors.

Arguably, estate agents have a more unusual process to do business – they need to sell themselves twice. Firstly they need to sell themselves (and their company) to get a property on to their books. Secondly, they then need to turn around and sell the property to the market. Only after this do they get paid. This requires excellent salesmanship, great communication and being affable.

With so many other business sectors employing people with these “sales skills”, is it any wonder that many have decided to leave their roles in “sales” and go in to estate agency? Afterall, sales is sales, right?

Amazingly, anyone can (albeit with a fairly sizeable upfront cost) legally buy a franchise/online estate agency business or simply start operating as an agent tomorrow. So how do you cut through all the sales-speak and what is the critical factor in choosing an estate agent to sell your home?

The answer – experience!

Money can buy you a franchise business, but it can never substitute for hands-on property experience and knowledge built up through the years.

The most unusual example I have seen of this, was when I spoke with a homeowner who was concerned why their house sale wasn’t going well. I met with their appointed agent in person. He had excellent sales and presentation skills, however something didn’t quite add up. On closer questioning, it turned out that he used to be involved with Cirque du Soleil in London and “fancied a go” at estate agency and bought a franchise opportunity!

Whilst he could sell marketing packages for a circus, he nor his team had the experience to navigate through the rigmaroles of a property transaction.

So next time you speak with an estate agent, make sure you understand what their and their company’s experience is in property – otherwise you could find yourself on a tightrope without a safety net!