JULIAN SAYS:  I had a fascinating conversation with a lady who recently had her property valued, a rare chance to get a genuinely objective view of the customer experience.

She invited three agents to value, one as “they had a lot of presence in the village, I see them sponsoring events, they have a high street branch and sell a lot of property where I live”.

The second was ‘online’ – “I see them advertising and was curious as to what they did or didn’t offer compared to a traditional agent; a cost driven decision but I was absolutely expecting them not to offer as much in terms of service”.

The third had a “strong village presence, we viewed houses through them when we bought this”.

I asked her how the agents convinced her to instruct them.

THE PITCH

“Agent 1 – excellent, the first on the day and really set expectations high. He introduced himself, he removed his shoes (we had just had the whole house re-carpeted, so this was really appreciated). He sat down and had a drink, spent time getting to know a bit about us – why we were looking to sell, timeframe and so on.

“He asked us to show him around, paying attention to improvements we had made which I liked. He showed me a couple of examples on my estate that they had sold, one with another agent still on the market, same as mine but without improvements.

Even the best of the three didn’t broach the subject of fees, in the end I had to ask – one response was, ‘As low as I have to be to get this on the market.’ I suggested 0% but he didn’t seem too keen!

“I was really impressed with his knowledge of the area and market. He spoke at length about house prices, that our property type was very desirable and would appeal to typical buyers. I was genuinely confident he could find me a buyer at the price he suggested.”

“Agent 2 (Online), was pleasant, on time, removed his shoes and accepted a drink. He didn’t ask any questions but explained the details of what his company do – ‘All the estate agency advertising without the cost’.

“He seemed sure that my property would ‘sell itself’ but didn’t convince me why. He said it was a flat fee and asked what price I was looking for. I said I had had it valued that morning for X amount with Agent 1 and thought it was on the money. He suggested it was slightly top heavy and gave me an example of a house like mine but not on my estate (in my opinion a less desirable estate but I could be biased!) that they were marketing for the amount he was suggesting. I don’t think he knew a great deal about the market and almost all of his ‘pitch’ was about how little it would cost.”

“Agent 3 was very poor in comparison. The first two spent 30-40 minutes. He was out in 15! He didn’t take his shoes off. He stated ‘we have listed houses like this before so I can show myself round if that’s ok?’ I was already unimpressed. He came down and suggested we should list at x – £30k more than Agent 1, and said he would list on the portals and it would go in his window.”

THE RESULT

I asked her which agent she would have chosen and why.
“Agent 1. I would have expected to pay more for Agent 1 but get a quicker sale at the agreed rate. I liked Agent 2 but didn’t think the service would measure up (I didn’t like having to do my own negotiations plus I have heard not very wonderful things about post sale service).”

So, what advice would she give estate agents?
“Local and wider market knowledge was one definite point of difference. I felt totally secure that agent one knew their stuff and could do what they said they could. Agents 1 and 3 did themselves no favours on fees.

“I honestly do not know what they wanted to charge me other than ‘as much as I can’. Even the best of the three didn’t broach fees and in the end I had to ask – with the response being ‘as low as I have to be to get this on the market’ which I genuinely had not been expecting. I went with a suggestion of 0% but he didn’t seem keen!”

An interesting tale. I urge agents to review their appointments and improve them where necessary. Those who don’t may well struggle to survive.

Julian O’Dell is founder of TM Training & Development.