Purplebricks has strongly defended its sales progression processes in support of its Local Property Experts.
It did so after one of its LPEs entered the argument as to how many properties the online agent sells.
Her take suggested that Purplebricks may not know the actual figure.
Samantha Sullivan, who runs Purplebricks’ Swansea territory, said on social media: “The problem we face are with the sales that complete when clients use their own solicitors. They simply don’t tell us.”
She said that in her area there were at least five such sales a month.
Purplebricks has used percentage statistics in claims about its sales, but has faced consistent criticism about the lack of actual numbers. 
In other comments, Sullivan went on to say of sales progression: “We have a post sales team who offer a reactive service to assist as and when needed, which tend to be the ones with chains and other estate agents nagging….”
Engaging with other posters, she also said: “You have already mentioned in a previous post you are aware we don’t ‘sales progress’.
“We let the solicitors and brokers get on with their jobs instead of waste their time off a clients file chasing for an update. We have post sales if anyone needs assistance chasing anything which most don’t.”
Asked by EYE to comment, Purplebricks said last night: “We have a whole team of people in our head office dedicated to post-sales support and to making sure that sales go through as smoothly as possible.
“The LPE also stays in contact throughout the process to ensure our post-sales support is seamless and thorough.”
Sullivan was also strongly defensive of how hard Purplebricks agents work.
She said: “I have a chain of 11 at the moment where a high street agent is in there twice, not a clue what it looks like top or bottom. Get your facts straight, enough of the lies and nonsense out there. We do a ****** good job and 95% of the industry quick enough to spread lies about us, totally forgetting most of us were branch managers!”
Sullivan was taking part in comments on Christopher Watkin’s LinkedIn page.
Watkin has made a video interview with ex-Purplebricks UK CEO Lee Wainwright.
In the interview Wainwright – who left his post earlier this year – refuted claims that Purplebricks sells only 50% of the properties it lists were untrue. He said that over 80% of Purplebricks listings are sold – close to the 88% figure given by former global CEO Michael Bruce on Watchdog.
The 50% sales rate claims were made by Anthony Codling, then an analyst at Jefferies.
Comments (45)
ShambleBricks! Utter, Total, Resounding Shambles.
You’ve got to laugh though …..they do keep fooling the public.
Am I being to simplistic. Being 1005 honest I suggest that between 45%-75% is the average hit rate of Instruction to sale having once been active in a large national company across all differing markets. So call it 60% to be generous overall. Why does PB feel it needs to say 88% when they could just claim the company average and then suggest they can do it cheaper. I think we know why. Because that means 40% of sellers never sell and the model falls apart. I thought you had to back up such claims with hard evidence if challenged by say ASA-its a mockery and our industry has been cheapened to nothing more than a picture of a house on RM.
Samantha, if you get a phone call today and the number begins +49 (Germany). It is best you do not answer.
Sorry, but a simple check on Purplebricks OWN website this morning shows a total of 38075 properties including those that are sold subject to contract. If you remove the stc properties that leaves 20263 properties that are currently for sale. That equates to 17812 that are sold subject to contract. That’s 46.7% that are stc NOT 88%, or 80% or even the 50% that Antony Codling was claiming!
That’s also not including the all those poor people who have paid upfront, not sold their houses and eventually taken them off the market which would make the figures even lower.
Even allowing for a margin of error or some inaccuracies in my basic calculations, that’s way off the figures that have been claimed. Why are these BS claims allowed to be made without being verified? And why are they clinging to figures that were made last year which (even if accurate then) are clearly outdated now?
……if 17812 is Value X and 20263 is Value Y and you wanted to know what percentage Value X is to the Value of Y you’d get 87.9%
Which if you only count available property as a listing would reconcile with the statement(s) –
“He said that over 80% of Purplebricks listings are sold – close to the 88% figure given by former global CEO Michael Bruce on Watchdog.”
Similarly, there are 100 people.
53 of them are women and 47 are men.
Therefore 88.7% of the women are men.
Good grief.
Reality check………..The conversion rate will be the same for Hybrid and the High Street.
Its an open market and estate agents merely pass on messages between the vendor and the potential buyer.
Skill…………I’m still laughing
7days to go before the Purple Bricks shares rocket north.
On track for another £6million banked this this month, great business model.
The commission model is dooooooomed!
Have a great day and don’t forget to switch the answer machine on at 5pm 🙂
I do love how the majority of people who defend Purplebricks on here, I imagine them to be between the ages of 8-10 years old by the way they type their messages.
That figure range could also be their IQ.
I think its a little longer than 7 days before Axel can get stuck in and perhaps they wont have it all their own way.
However that situation hasnt arisen because Bricks have a superior service but more a damage limitation exercise for Axel to salvage ther investment but as you intimate this should boost the share price.
Having spent hundreds of millions you have to have some sympathy with our Teutonic friends .They must be a little puzzled that the basic estate agency skills of negotaitions and anticipating problems ahead of the sales journey could have been mastered .
Perhaps you havent noticed but Bricks instructions in June are substantially down from Last year and the year before !
Having read some of your previous posts it does seem that a headlights inspection tops the level of due diligence you deem appropriate.
Keep paying the PI premiums !
“7days to go before the Purple Bricks shares rocket north”.
“On track for another £6million banked this this month, great business model”
The city don’t agree, dropped 2% at close on Friday to 97p and getting closer to the 80p recommended. How much of that banked is lost in expenditure? Answers on a postage stamp. Not such a great business model on self-sufficient, LPEs claiming slave labour and many customers claiming they were dupped by the advertising that doesn’t match the service. The longer it goes on, the better it comes clear what PB are … the cracks are getting larger and larger each week. I’m just waiting to see if a PB vendor takes them to court for Conmissary.
Another active PB comments section with people moaning and ********. You don’t like PB? Sell some houses rather than being little keyboard warriors
pot kettle black
Chased PB today on a sale to confirm status etc as they are at the top. Answer – “we dont have that property on our system”…….yes you do……no we don’t…..ooohhh yes you do………no we cant find it……panto panto pantomime !!!!
“We let the solicitors and brokers get on with their jobs instead of waste their time off a clients file chasing for an update.”
Clear that LPEs don’t think they can contribute anything to the party .
That explains a lot .
No wonder 6-18% of those properties appearing on Zoopla as “FIRST LISTED” are actually recycled properties where sales have fallen through
How hard must the Bruce’s laugh whilst you lot progress their sales because you have to and they don’t!
Where is Ducky
Laying an Egg, i suppose!!
He’s busy posting stuff like this classic guff over on lse:
‘They’ve always said their post sales is reactive to problems rather than proactive. You can ask the buyer direct with PB and if things aren’t progressing as you hoped then you can contact the post sales team and they’ll look into it for you. My solicitor refuses to take calls from Estate Agents so this idea that Estate Agents are on top of the post-sales process is nonsense. All they are doing is pestering Solicitors all the time because their clients don’t know what’s going on. With PB you can just message the buyer and if they don’t respond get PB’s post sales team to look into it.
PB £900. Traditional Agent £7500 on a £500K property. £3750 on a £250K one. You can save a lot of money if you stay on top of things yourself and take incompetent Estate Agents out of the equation. I’m sure they’re not all incompetent but why take the risk?Hopefully one day all the post sales side of things will be automated. The buyer/sellers can look online to find out where things are and who’s holding things up.’
And he wonders why he gets slated on here.
PB are advertisers of properties in the same way as Autotrader advertise cars.
Good lord. What a load of tosh.
I look forward to Michelle’s drunken ramblings on this one, I can hear the cork popping as I write. *Troll mode – enaged*
Looking at Samantha’s profile she is an NAEA qualified member and changing estate agency for the better
Samantha’s journey to estate agency.
Experienced, NAEA qualified estate agent, working in the property industry since October 2002. Joined Purplebricks February 2015 as a Territory Owner. The modern, more flexible way of selling homes is the way forward for home owners and buyers. With advanced technology, a 24/7 platform, an honest and transparent service to clients, we can work together to sell their homes 7 days a week. We are changing estate agency for the better, and I’m so proud to work for Purplebricks being the game changer in the industry.
The sales pitch on the website states
Getting you over the line
Our support doesn’t stop once you’ve accepted the offer. Our Post-Sales support team will guide you through the conveyancing process and be on hand to assist with any questions. We complete on thousands of properties each month, so whatever your query they’ll work it out for you.
and
The finishing touches
We’re with you every step of the way; from the valuation at the start, through to helping guide you through to exchanging of contracts, so you can relax and enjoy the next chapter.
Its the best bit when you’re told its exchanged….who does a little dance to celebrate…. I do, always…I suppose LPE’s never get that rush of emotion
Oh they do JEL. When they bank the listing cheque and do a little dance to celebrate ‘job done’ (at least so far as they are concerned!).
As a Sales Progressor its my job to get confirmed dates from the chain and also from your clients, and solicitors, obviously PB do not do this might I suggest you get your staff trained up and start Sales Chasing as every other agent does.
OMG Samantha you are completely clueless! Wow! Leave all the proactive sales progressing to the professionals. I wonder what your fall through rate is, not that you care as you’ve already been paid, but a decent ‘proactive’ sales progressing team actually knows, and cares about their customers. Getting a sale through, causing the vendors and buyers as little stress as possible is what a decent ‘full service’ agent does. COWBOYS!
Purple bricks couldn’t care less how many properties have actually sold. Their business model doesn’t include selling houses.
88% is what was claimed in 2016 by Mr Bruce of #PURP on @Moneybox and, Wainwright on @bbc5live @GoldbergRadio bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0… “saying that 78% of customers successfully sell their home” from start and at 11minutes in crucial point where he admits it’s STC. Purplebricks PLC wouldn’t know what honesty was if it sat on its face and wriggled.
Oh well, just something else to show clients when they say they have has pb out , thanks Samantha
Purplebricks ‘may not know’ actual number of completed sales.
Purplebricks ‘may not know and do not care about’ actual number of completed sales.
Fixed that for you.
A chain of eleven?
“We have a post sales team who offer a reactive service to assist as and when needed, which tend to be the ones with chains and other estate agents nagging….”
Reactive sales progression, nagging estate agents.
Oh you mean the nagging estate agents doing diligence on wrapping up a sale. Or proactive agents sorting the mess of links in a chain you do not.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a load of bs in my life, just proving how out of touch lpes are and that their system is broken beyond repair!
Unbelievable -finally admitting that as soon as a property is listed,fee paid the instruction is left to wither on the vine or sell itself. No checks-no negotiations no service
Ratner moment…
No, Keyser Söze – when you bought from Ratner you actually received the goods you had ordered.
BIIIIIG difference.
I believe it was the opposite, poor Gerald admitted it was C***!
I also don’t remember him blaming H Samuels for their problems either.
These are of course the same solicitors that don’t need any assistance or chasing at all as they just get on with their jobs.
PB ‘May not know’ how many Completions they’ve done? PB don’t give a hoot how many Completions they’ve done because they don’t need to sell any properties to make money? They just need to get instructions, why would they care?
I’m a letting agent, so sales is not my area of expertise, but I used PB to sell my house and what an abortion it was. I’ve not paid them a penny and they’ve tried suing me using a clueless solicitor. I’ve asked for something/anything to show what exactly I agreed to, but nothing’s been forthcoming (except them saying when you clicked on ‘list my property’ lots of contractual obligations on me came into force). What was it I agreed to? What service are customers paying for precisely? Is it for listing on their site? I know we all casually say they’re a ‘pay anyway’ agent, but there must be something they agree to do in return…
Anyone know? Surely there HAS to be *something* in return…what, specifically, is it?
It really does say it all…
“The problem we face are with the sales that complete when clients use their own solicitors. They simply don’t tell us.” This is possibly my most favourite comment ever! Thank you Samantha for making me smile.
If they dont tell them, how do they deal with key release on completion day. Do their vendors have to hang around until the buyers show up? What if they arent local, what if they arent even moving in that day?
What a shambles.
leave the keys under the mat
I know where you are coming from Eric but nothing to smile about – quite sad actually when so many representatives of this industry trying over the ages to not only be professional but also portray a professional image are plagued with what amounts to a non service. I wonder how could Samantha, especially as an ex branch manager, walk away never knowing if the sale completed and not being in touch with what was her client