Agents need to be able to admit when they are wrong and be willing to change how they work. That’s the view of ‘larger than life’ industry veteran, Simon Bradbury.

After leaving agency Thomas Morris, where he worked since 1992, earlier this month, Bradbury is now able to reflect on the current state of the real estate industry.

He told The Neg he firmly believes that no matter how long you have been an estate agent you should always be prepared to learn lessons.

He talks as the leader of a business that won multiple times at The Negotiator Awards. Led by Simon, Thomas Morris won the Gold award for the East of England region last November.

“You need to be challenged and you need to admit where you are wrong,” he says.

Talk a good game

Bradbury, who was Managing Director at Thomas Morris for six years, says he never shied away from training, and was always prepared to spend whatever it took to bring a coach in from outside to look at how things were being done.

“Most estate agents talk a good game when it comes to coaching, but actually doing it is another thing,” he says.

Astonishing

It can cost thousands for expert trainers in, but it pays off, he says, with the results sometimes “astonishing”.

And he banned the phrase ‘that won’t work here’ because it is block to positive new ideas.

In one case, the advice from a trainer was to try raising the fees, and there was a lot of resistance from negotiators to the idea.

But it worked, he says, the fees were increased by 25%, and after six months the company saw increased revenue.

Higher fees

Bradbury says the rise of the personal agent will benefit the industry with higher fees overall. He also believes licensing of agents would help to improve the public’s perception.

He plans to stay involved in the world of estate agency, offering consultancy services and is available for commissions and projects.