I’ll start this blog by declaring how much pain I feel deep in my soul when it comes to estate agency industry events.
I can’t stand them, the events that is, not the actual agents who attend.
And it’s nothing to do with the line-ups, the accompanying awards, the networking opportunities, the content, etc.
It’s just the ‘we’re so happy with ourselves back-slapping,’ the ‘legends’ lining up on social media and ultimately, that I feel I don’t fit in with many of these people.
And that’s why I set up the EAN.
There’s a certain type of agent I’ve always been able to work well with
Luckily for me, it’s the ones who are down-to-earth, community-minded, and care about what they do and how they look after their clients and colleagues.
We share values. And those shared values led to the founding of the EAN.
It makes me laugh aloud when I read that people are on a mission to change the industry.
That may be the case for an exceedingly small section, and kudos to them, but mostly people want to make a few quid, AND there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that; it’s called business, and the goal of business is to make a profit.
If, while doing that, you can help people achieve their ambitions while achieving yours, that’s a win-win.
The EAN is our attempt to help ethical estate agents succeed. Because the more business they win, the more the public will trust estate agents, as their experience with these agencies is usually positive and, in some cases, memorable.
Why the EAN Wins in the Living Room
I’m going to have a boast up now unashamedly.
We are seeing more and more of our EAN members win business because they are in the network. Clients are telling them that their membership swung the decision their way.
It’s a proper point of difference: once the entry criteria have been successfully navigated (not every application makes it past even the first hurdle), there’s only one agent per area.
The key to our success in the living room on valuations, I believe, is that the Ethical Agent Network is a concept that is really easy to understand. It does what it says on the tin – it’s a network of ethical agents. We support our members with marketing materials that explain the network, including the mandatory brochure and a range of educational content.
For someone selling their house every 10-15-20 years or so, it’s hard to know what a good estate agency looks and feels like – we aim to educate them and help them know the difference.
So no, I won’t be on stage anytime soon collecting a “legend” award.
I’d rather be hearing about our members’ success in the living rooms of clients who chose them because they recognised something different. These estate agents treat selling or renting a property on someone’s behalf as the privilege it actually is.
That’s the industry I want to be part of and the profitable business I want to continue building.
And if you’re the kind of agent who’s quietly nodding along reading this, we should talk.
Cheers,
Jerry
PPS: If you want to have an Ask Me Anything chat about the EAN, please send us an email.
