The truths uncovered in this article are shocking and I urge you to share it with your teams. 

Last Saturday morning, like a dutiful father, I took my son to his football training.  Not keen to be sat around in the freezing cold for an hour and a half, I decided to take a walk down the local high street.  I thought it would be a good opportunity to undertake some mystery shopping.

 Branch 1

 I informed the agent I was interested in putting my property on the market in February and asked what portals they use. ‘Rightmove and Zoopla’ was the reply.  I asked if they were about to take up ‘On the Market’, their reply, although it may bring a snigger it filled me with dread.

“Yes we can put your property on the market for you.”

I told them that this was a new portal and they informed me they had never heard of it.  But let me ask you, which is worse?

1. They never took my personal details even though I informed them I wished to place my property on the market
2. They had no idea of ‘On the Market’ and how this may have an impact for buyers and vendors.

I hoped this was a one off experience and continued to visit the other agents on the high street.

50% of those who I visited again:

 1.     Never took my details

2.     Never heard of ‘On the Market’

This small snapshot but is sadly typical of what I’ve found up and down the country.  This shocking truth highlights the need, not only for training your teams, but also the lack of industry knowledge within the branches.

So I ask you, in your team meetings do you discuss industry news, and if not, why not?  Surely your team need to know your company’s stand on certain issues and also be abreast of what is happening outside their 4 walls.  Your customers may be reading articles in the news or online and I can assure you the last thing they expect is an agent who is not up to speed.  They come to you for advice and reassurance, you are supposed to be the experts.

I cannot stress this more plainly – Knowledge, whether product or industry, is an essential ingredient to the success of your business.

It is also of great concern the number of agents who didn’t take my details.  This is a potential listing/sale lost.  Have you trained your team recently on how to meet and great potential and existing clients and also set your expectations?  In other words you need to regularly focus on the basics.

In my next article we are going to look more closely about the need for concentrating on the basics.

The reality uncovered is shocking – act now and ensure your 2015 is on the course to success.

Mystery shopping is about identifying opportunities for improvement.  If you would like more details on this and other ways I can aid your business, please give me a call on 07976 297634.