As the housing market shows no sign of rapid recovery, estate agents need to improve the way they work to “survive the storm,” according to an agency boss in East Anglia.
With forecasts for next year predicting only a moderate recovery to the market along with the uncertainty of a general election looming, Jamie Minors, co-founder of Minors & Brady Estate Agents and Lettings, points out that some agents are only now starting to take action rather than potentially be axed in the New Year, with a growing number choosing to diversify or go self-employed.
It comes as Knight Frank is carrying out redundancy consultation with staff, as up to 3% of its workers reportedly at risk. Meanwhile, there have been claims that The Modern House is in the process of reducing its workforce – by up to 25%. More agencies will almost certainly follow suit.
“Lots of agencies will go to the wall because they don’t have a grasp on how to do their business,” he said.
Minors, who recently launched ‘360 Growth Coach’, a new mentoring arm of his business, argues that many agents have no management accounting process and are not measuring their key performance indicators.
He continued: “You must give a five-star, ‘wow’ service, but if you don’t measure your numbers then you’re not in control.
“However, the storm we are in can be survived and agents can flourish if they adapt their processes, their service offering, their online presence and to be honest, work harder.
“I’ve been in the trenches of business, where every day can feel incredibly stressful. There’s still big business to be had in November and December; do you slow down for winter or do you keep your momentum going until the New Year?”
Minors added the key to success was accountability, sharing ideas, improving time management, reverse engineering (ie starting at the end and working backwards in your life, plotting how you get to where you want to be) and planning a ‘road map’ for your agency to move it forward.
Minors, who manages a team of 65 full-time members of staff, urged bosses to spend more time and money developing their workforce as individuals.
“Humans are our greatest asset therefore constant training and mentoring is crucial in running any successful company but particularly an estate agency where home movers’ emotions can run high,” he added.
