The Commercial Property Agents Are Next...

Nothing to do with my regular writing, my job, sector or industry, well maybe a little bit, but just my musing about things that often occur to me and that I actually have an opinion on. This can often be the main problem in most corporate job existences, your social media and particularly Linkedin is managed for you, or you are not allowed to speak for fear of you alienating a couple of clients who may have normally used your services but don’t agree with you. It all plays into this stage managed and PC world we seem to live in.?

Take the Area Manager I once had, who insisted that not shaving was lazy, just in case the next client you met was a former Army Major and that would then subconsciously tell that client not to use your services (incidentally, I shave every other day, still do). Or the banning of printed mugs in the office, as what if an Arsenal FC fan walked in and you supported Tottenham, that too would surely stop them using you, really?

People tell me you shouldn’t do politics on your socials, why not? I am a small business, I work for and on behalf of small businesses, selling the Corner Shop, the local Pub, the small Hotel chain, the village MOT Station, the Rural Farm, and everything that is said and done in London makes a difference to us all. I would much rather be giving advice on how the latest CGT or SDLT changes could affect my potential clients, or what the Ni and MinWage levels mean to their profitability and thus potential value going forward, than harping on about USPs, how we have the best marketing, and how you should use us because, because, because.?

I add value and knowledge in what I do, having a better understanding of the world around you and what impacts you and your clients is paramount to achieving the best outcome for them. Not just politics, everything. World events, the grain price report, and how any new administration or changes to this sort of thing matter, why? Because my next valuation and potential sale is a working Grain Farm across 121 acres in Devon, so it totally matters.?

Much of my blogging, musings, and writings, get me client interest that other ridiculous marketing spend costs cannot reach. People come to me, I am a personal brand, with an umbrella when it rains, but then, that is great for my clients as buyers know where to find me also. The old sales method of chucking it at the portals and see is no longer viable in this modern age. To sell assets these days requires knowledge, wisdom, and a lot of desktop research. Also, clients don’t want to hop around different agents looking for the right fit, “who can sell my house”, “who can sell my business”, “who can sell my farm”, “who can sell my little tea shop”? They want one broker, one point of contact, a personal agent who they can make 1 immediate phone call to. By lots of collaboration, that is the direction my own business has been led.?

Take the chap with a Petrol Station, Cafe Bar, a couple of ‘Buy To Lets’, a Cattle Farm, some Holiday Lets, and a big country Manor Home he has outgrown now the family have moved on. How many different agents over time would he have to contact, use, take advice from, have multiple valuations from, to and fro with. I first met him when selling his Cafe, and it went from there. Richard, you are my broker and advisor, I want to sell this next, what shall I do with it? Then came the Farm, the Petrol Station, and now the house, and so over 3 years this relationship became fruitful for me, but easier for him. Incidentally, he first came to me after reading an article in the local Gazette, so the Chris Watkins methods are true and tested.?

From a client feedback and recommendation perspective, I don’t go in for all this Feefo and Trustpilot guff either, endless how did we do emails that land in an email inbox with the same from Amazon, DPD, Evri, HSBC, The Perfume Shop, and gosh knows who else. I do seek feedback, it is very important to me of course, but I would much rather say to a completed client, do you mind if I let the odd person have your telephone number please, and then get a new potential client to call them up and say “what’s this Richard chap like” and in the words of Peter Swales, “is he any good”?

Personal broking is the way we are heading full time, and the corporate operators need to take note. 1, because despite how good they believe they are, their staff are all making enquiries about it so they will likely see a brain drain from the organisation soon, and 2, the overall package, lifestyle, income and pure existence of being a personal brand with total autonomy is priceless. The residential property market has long been this way in the US and Australia, and has grown in the same direction exponentially in the UK during the last 5 years. The commercial property world is next, believe me. It is already happening, and those older and wiser are already there, but if you are mid-career, you need to be considering it.?

Richard Payne | Elite Biz Mag (Dec 2024)