An agent who joined OnTheMarket as a gold member when it first launched has insisted there is no ill-feeling towards those now able to join for free and has hit out at ZPG for trying to exploit this.
David Leake, managing director of Housesetc in Goole, East Yorkshire, left Zoopla to join OTM in 2015 and says the leads have been of far greater quality. He also says the key is using OnTheMarket’s ‘new and exclusive’ marketing.
Leake – who still also uses Rightmove – said inquiries from other portals would previously come from outside the Goole area or for lettings when the agency only does sales, but are more accurate from OTM.
He said he still had regular contact from Zoopla representatives trying to get his agency back, but has been disappointed by their approach.
He said: “I had a bit of an argument with a rep who asked if I realised OTM was letting agents on for free.
“Rather than selling the virtues of their own product, they were trying to demean another.”
He said that he had approved proposals to let agents join for free at local meetings earlier this year, adding: “It doesn’t affect me if others join for free, as they need as many members as possible.
“Agents who are currently getting free deals will be happy to pay if they see they are getting quality leads.”
Leake’s testimonial reads in full: “We consistently get more good quality leads from OnTheMarket than from any other portal and believe a key factor in this is that we launch all of our properties exclusively at OnTheMarket 72 hours before all other portals.
“This proves to us that consumers follow the newly marketed properties and aren’t necessarily loyal to any particular portal.
“The leads from OnTheMarket are of a much better quality than those provided by the other portals. The customers who come to us via OnTheMarket return our calls and want to view properties, whereas some of the leads from other portals are irrelevant and fail to deliver.
“We are 100% committed to an agent-backed portal. Already, OnTheMarket has added competition to the market and it’s great to see it growing so fast.
“My business is a family run independent estate agent and we need to see much fairer value for money. It’s now that estate agents need to come together and start fighting back. Prices have risen across the other portals just because they can.
“We joined OnTheTheMarket as gold members and removed our properties from Zoopla on day one. We have no intention to return, despite their best efforts!”
Comments (40)
For anyone taking this chap seriously just check out what his agency is like.
Never has “You get for what you pay” been more relative.
£895 to sell a property? – forgive me if i do not accept business advice from you.
Your statement is rather childish, unless of course you know the Goole market inside out and are qualified to make it.
Well with 20 properties on the books, advertising properties from £895 and knowing the approximate running costs for a branch and the expected income an owner would like to make. I would say its a rather adult statement.
I’m sorry but having read this again and seen that David Leake comes from Goole – could this possibly be a kick in the Goolies for ZPG?
Well done Mr Leake !
I have to say my experience, and what appears to be the experience of many more supporters of OTM is the quality of leads and also the increasing number of leads being generated.
It is not just about the number of leads, in fact, poor quality leads have an adverse effect of staff time.
I sincerely hope that the decision makers of the larger agents are taking this on board, bringing on the larger corporates would be a real game changer !
I really don’t see Rightmove or Zoopla as necessary anymore. The “new and exclusive” feature on OnTheMarket has proved this for us over the last few months.
Leave RM then.
We did. At least five years ago.
Your agency is just on OTM? Wow.
I would love to leave RM. it’s defo my medium term plan.
JB43…. “defo”? how stripey is your shirt and colourful are your braces?
I must just be getting old and grumpy ….ier!
Aboslutely but we all know who is the junior partner
Have you been drinking NewsBoy?
Would everyone please remember that Hoopla is allegedly worth £1bn so this will have to get nasty before OTM wins out. I am also a Gold Member, delighted to see all the new members coming aboard for free.
We just really, really want to see OTM succeed and have no problems with any personalities at the top. Some you may like, some you may not – so what.
OTM is clearing winning the “second place” war and seems to be going from strength to strength. I do appreciate the views of jrsteeve but I’m sorry that does not represent the service we have had.
We have also had silly offers from Hoopla and gave them a try – all to no avail as we didn’t get any proper leads.
Zoopla (your nickname is neither original nor witty) isn’t allegedly worth £1bn. It ACTUALLY sold for £2.2bn 1 month ago.
OTM isn’t winning any second place battles. In regard to traffic it’s still some way behind Prime Location.
In terms of brand awareness it’s behind most agents websites, region by region.
Didn’t get any proper leads from Zoopla? I don’t believe that. You’ve either not been on the site for a number of years, or you’re not really an agent. There’s near parity with RM in regard to quantity in most regions (bar some anomolies) across the UK.
But I’m dealing with facts here, you may not like them.
I’m so sorry to cause offence Mr Hoopla but the facts seem to going very much in favour of OTM.
I had rubbish leads from Hoopla and it is pretty much irrelevant in this part of the country anyway. Unfortunately Wrongmove rules round here.
I’m definitely a real agent and have been for about 35 years. I am really looking forward to a world where Hoopla just own other businesses but see their portal disappear into the puff of dust it very nearly is.
Just to be clear I am sure that I, like many other agents, have nothing against Hoopla but just see it as an object in the way of progress.
Hoopla has to remember that, just like us, there is not one single agent that needs to use it, unless they want to.
No offence taken.
What are the facts you speak of?
Myself and two local businesses I speak to confirm that Zoopla is dead in the water as regards leads, and that they receive much more from OTM. I too found this and have now dropped Zoopla. (having said i was dropping RM before i couldnt justify it on the basis of the lack of leads from Poopla.)
Well said Boy. There are certain parts of the market where OTM is doing very well. Teaming up with Country Life is a very clever idea. £500,000+ seems to be where OTM is strongest.
We were offered a deal to go back to Zoopla and took it (number of reasons).
Here is my opinion on how I find the 3.
RM – solid leads, usual mix bag mostly sales leads as opposed to letting leads. Can sometimes find it difficult to contact the lead.
Zoopla – almost as many leads as RM but oddly mostly lettings as opposed to sales. Also a lot of leads on stock that’s has sold or is let.
Prime location- Nothing.
OTM – very little. What we do get seem to be generic add me to your list as opposed to an inquiry on a property. Also very difficult to contact.
Our own website – between Zoopla and OTM lead level but the quality is great. Always able to contact in the main.
Prime Location & Zoopla leads come through to agents as one and the same, so you’ll never see a Prime Location lead anywhere, only Zoopla.
At least you’re honest about the very near level delivery of RM & Z. This is true almost everywhere across the country.
Your best leads (all agents) in terms of quality will always come via your own website, but the traffic to your website will likely come from the portals.
Good to know the PL leads come through as ZPG leads – never knew that!
Yeah, I don’t think many do…!
Z probably do that as proportionatly almost all leads will be from Zoopla…
I agree wholeheartedly – we now have more leads from Onthemarket than any other portal – I will never rejoin Zoopla – it’s a complete joke. Last time I posted something similar on here I was accused of being OTM rep – I run one of the most successful independent agencies in Yorkshire.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only agent having success with OTM – The key to this is “new and exclusive” – all of the London buyers now use “new and exclusive” – they’re savvy and they’ve realised this is the is the way to find properties before anybody else.
I’m also gold member – and yes, although I agree it isn’t an easy pill to swallow giving away free membership – but strength in numbers has to be the key here.
Well done David and well said.
This is an outright lie, Jonny and you know it. OTM has a fraction of the audience that either RM, Zoopla or Prime Location.
Success with OTM is usually £0 membership and a handful of leads a month, at best.
There is nowhere in the UK that OTM is outperforming RM. Nowhere.
You ok hun ?
I don’t know whereabouts you are based in the country – if you’re anywhere near Yorkshire please come into my office and I will prove this to you.
We are a high-end agency and locally Zoopla has a terrible share of the market over £300,000 I’m sure they’re doing quite well below £300,000, but that’s not my market.
Rightmove and OTM I would say are pretty close, but onthemarket leads are generally of better quality – and also we get a lot of telephone enq via onthemarket too. As I said earlier most of OTM success is in the “new and exclusive”
Do use onthemarket? Do use “new and exclusive”? Please don’t call me a liar – you know nothing about my business and how it operates.
Which Agency David?
Happy to confirm that in any given month OTM matches rm for leads- sometimes exceeds it. You want to know how much i pay for each lead as well? RM to the tune of £25 per enquiry. OTM zero.
….you are paying £0 to OTM for leads? Beano because I and others are actually still paying V1 Members!
Remember that!
On my way home now, ooh there’s GPL again, hat tip and warm smile
Look up from your armchair ht79 …..that’s me at your window!
I’ll be cancelling my contract with them. When I opened a new branch I asked them to pause/hold membership for the new office for 3-6 months, they refused, not what I expected from a portal made by agents for agents.
Added to this, knowing I’m paying hundreds per month versus agents paying nothing/next to nothing, just another kick in the teeth.
I support the idea behind it but not the people behind it.
Why leave then?
Because of the pretty crappy treatment, similar mentality to RM, not what it was sold as. If they want me to stay they’ll have to drop their pricing, especially as the enquiry levels are still **** poor.
More £ollocks!
It’s watching that OTM Logo swinging back n’ forward that must be hypnotising the new disciples or is it just because it is Free? ……for now.
I had the Zoopla fella bouncing into my office recently, nice enough chap, I told him I’m stuck on this OTM Hamster Wheel until 2019 so I won’t be joining Zoopla now. He commented about how many OTM Members had jumped ship and were not challenged by OTM, clearly they (OTM) want to play that down, I said I’m old fashioned & honourable and unlike OTM I stand by the Gold Member Contract I have, until I can fly away free as a bird.
OTM remain the large seagull flying overhead emptying its tank, from my experience, as a Day 1 V1 Gold Member.
All those V2 Free Members …doff your bowler hats when you see me as I and others are paying for your V2 Free Membership.
So you have received no shares then?
Beano? …..you are No Dandy.
If you are a V1 Member you will know that despite Voting against the Let’s Go Round Again V2 Version (and see if we can become millionaires this way?) one does receive a Naughty Child Fixed Allocation reflecting the Money Originally Loaned by my Company to OTM V1…. however if you Voted in favour you got the Spangly Share Allocation ……and apparently the promise of The Gift of Immortality I believe.
Anything else I need to draw on the flip chart for you?
Consider bowler hat duly doffed
The 1st to do so ht79 ….and a hearty “Enjoy my Money” wave back from me.