Insight from Jon Byers, Founder of leading prime London estate agents Anderson Rose
I have been an agent for 25 years and have represented a large corporate agency and Anderson Rose (my own independent brand) for equal lengths of time and I believe that clients choose people first and their brand second. Relationships are built and maintained through trust, delivery and continuity. Clients ultimately judge you on results and the service provided in-between, and independents are just strides ahead at this moment in time.
To be clear, this isn’t going to be an exercise to bash big name corporate agencies because there are many good multi-national companies with some exceptional individuals representing them. Instead, this is an analysis of how over the past few years there has been a noticeable shift in attitudes towards smaller agencies with ‘big’ reputations as a stuttering market has demanded more from the property industry.
According to Rightmove, in the core area in which my Tower Bridge office operates (SE1 2) in the last 12 months we have taken on the second most instructions out of 59 offices and achieved the most sales (with a market share of over 20%). Having first opened in the area in 2011 and with all the big names represented in our area this is testament to the reputation we have nurtured, which is underpinned by honesty and expertise but ultimately delivering for our clients.
Due to our investment and focus on digital marketing and social media from an early stage we became the agency people would turn to when their property wasn’t shifting, or they felt their chosen agency weren’t delivering. Now, we are often the first port of call and this has allowed us to control the narrative from the outset.
This is backed up by us having one of the shortest average times for homes being on the market in the area (175 days on average) and the highest ratio of instructions to sales ratio (both according to Rightmove). This demonstrates that our approach, methods and business model is leading to a higher success rate of selling the properties we are instructed on, at a faster rate and with fewer price reductions which endorses our more accurate and experienced understanding of the market.
Independent agencies can have an edge over large corporates because they can be more selective over who they work with and the listings they take on. We can also be more candid when it comes to valuations or in our opinion of the market because we are not dealing with internal competition or dealing with the pressures of meeting targets (high instruction numbers look great on a firm’s KPIs or staff leaderboards).
Importantly, since the rise in prominence of successful independent agencies the client now has a bank of case studies to reassure any inhibitions of entrusting a smaller firm and perceive that the relationship will be closer and last longer than if they choose that impressive new manager at the big corporate next door.
When I was at a large corporate agency I, like most of my colleagues, was restless to be promoted to more senior roles within the company and that took me away from the clients that I had brought on board, whereas since I launched my own business, I have never been far from the front office and my clients all have me on whatsapp! It’s that connection and direct access that truly makes a difference and has attributed to our success and strong market share compared to our competition. People now know who we are and that we deliver, so word of mouth is a major contributor to our new business prospects.
In conclusion, it is crucial that we (and other independents like us) don’t now rest on our laurels. It’s important to remain hungry and continue to prove to current and prospective clients that we remain the best choice. We will continue to innovate when it comes to marketing and use of social media, which is in the midst of an explosion and those at the forefront will enjoy the fruits of their labour.