Setting up your own estate agency and launching your own brand is an incredibly exciting time and one filled with high expectations. The amount of work that has gone into your vision behind the scenes to get to the launch stage is huge and you must ensure you hit the ground running. Recently, I’m seeing more and more people setting up on their own, looking to burst onto the scene and capture market share, fast!
Working for the UK’s most established estate and lettings agent prospecting company, I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with all types of agents, from large established brands, to complete cold startups and agents looking to launch new brands. Working with new agents and agents that are rebranding is a great passion of mine for a couple of reasons - firstly, I successfully launched my own agency in the past, and secondly, I used Spectre to help grow quickly, so I have experienced first-hand how effective it is as an agent. And that was 5 years ago when Spectre didn’t have anywhere near the number of features it has today!
With that in mind, I want to share some of my thoughts with you on how to launch your new brand with a bang.
Hit the market with a big launch
As you may know, over 50% of properties sell with the 2nd agent they instruct and a 2nd instruction is 66% more likely to sell than a 1st instruction - so we can help you get your brand and your message in front of sellers quickly when they are thinking about who is going to be their next agent. Spectre enables you to create a one-off letter or postcard announcing the news of your launch. You can choose to send these to the whole of the market or a specific demographic, based on price or time on the market - whatever suits your new brand best.
Include launch offers
As mentioned above, 50%+ of sellers are looking to switch agents and you need to give them an added incentive to pick you, the agent they have possibly never heard of before:
Are you offering the first 25 instructions a discounted fee?
Do they get free videos, social media campaigns etc?
How will you create a buzz and make the offer exciting and valuable? Have you considered a time limit - offers can’t last forever.
How about a future launch event at your shiny new office - free coffee, biscuits, expert advice and no-obligation property review? (Perhaps only a post-COVID option)
Service levels
If anyone is going to have time for sellers at the moment it is you! Every new vendor is an extra-special one to you, so get that point across. You should communicate your background and what can you do to help these sellers. People are more likely to instruct you if they like you as a person so don’t just rely on your funky new logo. Get your ethics, experience and personality across.
The Vault - bring people back to the market
The Vault tracks properties that have withdrawn from the market in the last 24 months and checks that they haven’t re-listed or sold since the withdrawal, giving you the opportunity to contact them. Many of these sellers are wondering when is the best time to come back to the market and who to instruct? The advantage of this feature is they aren’t in a contract and so can be an easy win when you drop your knowledge, brand and enthusiasm in front of them at the right time.
Off-market focus
With our off-market tool, you can target specific locations, estates etc where you know properties sell well. Prospecting isn’t just about 2nd instructions, Spectre helps you get your message to properties in certain demographics that may be thinking of selling. Refine by property type, property value and time at address.
‘Valuing in your road’ letters are hugely under-rated letters. Talk to neighbours about your new listing in their street, explain they will see you around more and to come and ask questions. Advise them that demand is high and they may see increased cars and strangers passing - now is the time to list if selling is on your mind!
Stay strong
Stay true to your brand. While it is tempting to slash your fees just to gain some traction in the early days it is a fine balance between a few quick wins and setting the wrong tone for your brand. Don’t sell yourself short and if you don’t plan on your offers being long-term, make it clear that they are for a short launch period - and stick to it.
This is an incredibly exciting time, and there are many ways that Spectre can help with your launch.
