An estate agent who has opened up a business with no physical office is renting window space in local shops.
Scott Lucy, a former BBC TV property presenter who says he runs a hybrid agency, said: “We do not have high street offices.
“Instead we take under-used window space from local shops. This is a win win situation.
“The local shopkeepers get some needed extra revenue, we get high street exposure without the usual expensive costs, and this is passed on to our clients through lower commission fees.”
Lucy, who co-presented Living in the Sun while working on Spain’s Costa Blanca, has now bought a property franchise, Amazing Results!, in the UK, which he opened just days ago.
He said: “I moved to Cheshire to be close to my son and daughter following many successful years owning estate agency offices in Spain.
“The BBC work came by out of the blue and ended up being a lot of fun until the Spanish property crash in 2007.
“Thankfully the UK market has recovered well from its own problems and when the opportunity came up to buy an Amazing Results! master franchise for the Cheshire region, I released my pension pot, took a chance and we launched this month.”
So far, he has hired ‘window panes’ in a convenience store in Chester, a pet store in Malpas and, shortly, two village post offices.
He said: “I’ve been in estate agency for 15 years but the way Amazing Results! do things is certainly very different from anything I’ve experienced.
“We’re a hybrid of an online and traditional high street agent and we offer the best of both those worlds. We have huge exposure on the property portals as well as offering a sole point of contact to property vendors.
“This means customers will only ever be dealing with me rather than being passed around an office, or worse still, not having any real personal service.”
Lucy, pictured, said he had considered opening his own independent agency, but felt that the group negotiating power was beneficial when dealing with the portals. He also liked the branding and the shop window sub-letting idea.
Amazing Results! was set up two years ago by Colin Jenkins, whose industry CV includes spells at Your Move and Re/Max.
He started recruiting what he says is now a 50:50 mix of franchisees and self-employed agents in 2014, with the network now in Scotland and the north of England.
He said 97% of his recruits have “zero” estate agency experience, although he has recruited former colleagues whom he previously trained up.
He said that what he looks for in franchisees are people skills, desire and discipline.
He said that he was reluctant to label his operation as online, or hybrid, but that it had several unusual ideas, including that of renting window space. He said this would work particularly well in shop windows in streets full of estate agents.
Comments (28)
Last thought……… If this really works why not pay the 25p a week to the newsagent and get him to put it on their notice board instead?
Love it, love it LOVE IT!
In this day and age of easy to build websites, that’s the best they can do?
I wouldn’t ask them to sell an empty brown paper bag, let alone my property.
That’s made my afternoon!
Dave: Thinking of selling my house
Brian: You seen that guy of the telly is selling houses here now
Dave: Really? where is his office
Brian: Oh he works from his spare bedroom
Dave: Oh…..
Brain: Yes he advertises in the fruit and veg shop, the local cornor shop and rumour has it closing in on a deal with the butcher
Dave: Erm maybe i will stick with the high street agent that sells most the property round here …..
Brain: You could be missing a trick Dave, apparently he is cheap!
Dave: Yep i guessed that but my house is £300,000 i would like to get that for it.
Brian: Oh the chap off the telly said he can get you £320,000!!!!
Dave: Okay Brain ….. Thanks…… Think i will go with the professional!
OKAY… here’s my ‘starter for ten’ – I’ll keep it short:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54142826.html
’nuff said?
I prefer this one, http://www.vebra.com/amazingresults/property/25726158
Looks like who ever took the internal pictures fell over and was dragging themselves round the floor and the camera kept going off.
Does not give a premium feel ……
I hate to put the knife in (well not really) but it looks like the premier foods corner shop could do with a lick of paint as well.
All has a nasty smell of “cheapness” to me.
Hello is that the local knocking shop ? er yes, I was wondering can I stick my advert in your window ?…. Yes I’m offering open heart surgery and sex change operation training courses…… No the punters don’t need any experience whatsoever………. Yeah I thought of doing it with Estate Agency but who in their right mind would put their most valuable asset in the hands of a guy that delivered pizza’s the day before !!!……… 10 quid is fine, I’l be down with my blue tack in half an hour……. and what’s that you say I get discount to use your services for advertising with you………. I wonder if that could be passed on to my vendors hhhmmm food for thought…… I must log onto 1&1 to see whether http://www.sellyourhouseandgetafreeshag.com is available.
AHEM… ‘ow come it’s ME everyone expects to jump on the chancers, snake-oil salesmen and associated *********** (credit: Jonnie) the second they emerge from behind skirtings or beneath stones?
don’t worry – I’ll be gnawing later. Just doing a couple of take-ons…! ;o)
A through glass Interactive Touch Screen actually provides huge benefits for established agents when renting a window in out-lying areas. The system is linked via the internet to their existing office and allows clients to view comprehensive property details, book a viewing or request a valuation.
This strengthens your brand by promoting your agency to a wider audience whilst also providing an innovative USP to assist in securing additional property valuations.
At a cost of 6k it does not represent value for money. Add on the cost of a window to rent it really is an expensive advertising choice.
Advertising is indeed expensive, however effective advertising is cost effective.
Just checked the stats on a remote screen at an unmanned office in the Midlands
– 139 users within the last week resulting in one instruction gained and one pending.
At a cost of just £75.00 per week for the system, that is indeed effective advertising by any standard.
Many vendors now recognise the benefits of comprehensive Touch Screen marketing.
I love the phrase “Cost effective advertising”
Almost as good as “One deal and it pays for itself!”
The amount of times we have all heard that one!
Surely an agent need planning permission to use retail windows for estate agency displays?
Same old, same old. We were using vacant window space in neighbouring towns and villages in the 70’S!!
I regularly walk past a local solicitors window which is full of property being displayed by a number of agents in the town that use them.
Oh and to really light up Pee Bee Ewemove also do this – I drive past one of their window displays in a local newsagents daily – it’s been there for a couple of years now.
You lot at times remind me of the Governor of the US Patent Office who, in 1899, told Congress that they might as well close the office down as “everything that could possibly be invented has now been invented”.
I just love the bit where he says people signing up have little or no experience, well that should give you confidence NOT …. and yes madam I have no idea about property and your property will be displayed in a vacant window we have rented outside wandsworth prison !!! Amazing bull
“He said 97% of his recruits have “zero” estate agency experience.
And that’s where it will fail !
This concept is nothing new, we did the same type of thing back in the 80’s, utilising general stores windows in outlying villages.
it had a very limited effect in directing people to our offices.
Hang on a minute, I thought it’s all going online (innit). What’s with all this shop window display malarkey?
“He said 97% of his recruits have “zero” estate agency experience” – One more reason for regulation of our business,the public need protecting from being able to sell their most valuable asset by someone that may save them a small fee but lose them thousands on price,or not sell at all due to incompetent over valuing
Are you not simply just proving to the competition that you need a high street presence?
Is the newspaper boy going to know which way the garden faces at 4 Acacia Avenue? Or hold brochures for you? Or book viewings for you?
Best of both worlds? Methinks not.
Vacant shop windows are best left for circus and stunt show posters…..
Using shop windows of other business’s is not that cost effective. Commercial rents are still pretty cheap as long as not bang in the centre of town. I am guessing he will be paying between £100 – £200 per month per window add in 4 windows you could easily rent an office which looks far more professional.
Five dislikes on a factual post, am i that wrong or is my stalker back?
4 rented windows in 4 local village shops is likely to get more brand awareness then 1 office on main rd that everyone drives past. Also the office needs to be staffed to look professional.
Think we will have to disagree on this ringi.
As others have mentioned utilising shop windows is nothing new and does not lead to any real business.
If i was a seller or a landlord i would feel much more comfortable dealing with a professional with an office as opposed to a chap with a few posters in the fruit and veg shop and working out of his spare bedroom.
Jesus wept, somebody is going to have to calm PeeBee down this morning!
After throwing a wobbler at Glen Ackroyd for turning our industry into little more than a menagerie yesterday, he is going to wake up this morning to find out we are now advertising in pet shop windows and (when he reads the other site), Countrywide have just appointed Johnny Morris!
His posting history for the past umpteen years suggests Wednesday is Peebee’s day off. They might be lucky and escape a Peebeeing. Their gain is our loss!
DAY OFF?
I wish…
Very similar to a model we use to do. We had traditional offices and took on redundant windows a few miles away.
Creating additional in community branding helped us win additional business. But to make this work takes other elements. The windows alone are not enough.