Why do independent estate agents say that they will always work harder than corporate companies?
After months of hard work, trials and tribulations, viewing appointments, offer negotiations and weekly progression updates with the legal process and solicitors, there is no denying that estate agents work hard. But there is a difference between a corporate agency and an independent company, find out why.
Many times in life, we look for experts to provide us with a service.
Dentist, doctor, lawyer. We want to know that we have hired the best person for the job. And, as we're paying for their skillset and expert knowledge, we trust that they have our best interests at heart.
The same applies to estate agents. As experts in the property market, they know the market trends before the economists, making them best positioned to estimate your homes' value.
They have a clear idea of marketing, often better than some marketing companies, ensuring that your home receives the most robust marketing strategy and promotion.
They understand photography, property staging and styling to rival some interior designers so that your home looks at its absolute best when preparing the marketing to attract those all-important buyers.
And perhaps most importantly, they need to understand buyer psychology to maximise the negotiation of the offers for you and ensure that there isn't any money left on the table.
Estate agents must understand many aspects and possess skills to ensure the property sells.
The key driving force is to maximise the property's sale price. Of course, agents may perhaps employ other professionals within their firm, photographers or interior designers. Possibly even copywriters to write up a dazzling description to win the hearts and minds of buyers. But how does an independent agency compare to the large national corporate brands? And more importantly, how does that affect you as the seller?
Within a branch, a prominent corporate agent will earn a basic salary and usually a commission, payable for either instructing a property for sale or completing a transaction, depending on their role within the branch. This commission figure could be a small share of the agency's fee or a fixed amount.
But, compare this with the independent agent.
After months of hard work, trials and tribulations, viewing appointments, offer negotiations and weekly progression updates with the legal process and solicitors, the agent will see the total fee amount when that sale completes.
Of course, there are overheads and costs to consider, but the agent has a vested interest in obtaining the most for you and your property sale because every pound earned is felt on the bottom line. There are no shareholders or board members that will scrutinise huge broad-figure reports.
Corporate companies do not look at the detail of each individual sale or customer in the same way that an independently owned company does.
They wouldn't notice one or two sales falling through or the lost revenue from a few withdrawals.
But an independent agent absolutely would. They are with you at the coal face, in the thick of it. They are working with you to get the sale through because it is as important to them as it is to you and your family.
If they work for months to sell a property that falls through, they are as disappointed as you are - they've done all of that work, paid for the marketing and salaries, for nothing. It's wasted.
An independent agent has a vested interest in ensuring that you have a wonderful moving experience and maximise the amount that you can sell your home for.
In contrast, a corporate agent likely wouldn't notice whether you sold or didn't. To them, your fee is just a tiny drop in a vast ocean, whereas to an independent branch, your fee could mean an awful lot to their business.
This could be why local, independently owned companies seem to care more about their clients. Because they actually DO.
You might think that you would need national coverage that can only be found with a national company to get the best sale price for your home. But not anymore. Nationwide coverage through a connected database of independent premium agents, working together to ensure that sellers don't have to compromise between fantastic service and national promotion.
Instruct a By Design agent and get the best of both worlds. Local independent agents that are attentive, really care and do a truly incredible job of selling premium homes, with the nationwide exposure and marketing prowess that corporate agents use as their only USP.
