With just under ten weeks to go until the launch of OnTheMarket, agents are starting to nail their colours to the mast.
Major west country agent Webbers did so yesterday via Twitter.
The tweet also appeared on the Webbers website, which currently displays the logos of Rightmove, Zoopla and Radarhomes.
With 16 branches across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall plus six specialist offices, it will be interesting to see which logos are on display come January 26.
Comments (35)
Just thought I'd take a quick look at what comments may have been made to mine yesterday. Hey Jonnie if AM does work I can always join at any time after launch and still save money. The reality is it won't work so in the meantime I'll take the extra instructions. If you really don't believe the public consider the internet as a crucial part of your marketing you must be living in cuckoo land!!!
jmeapps01… Hmmm – I would be extremely surprised if Jonnie has even done a Drive-By in cuckoo land, never mind having purchased or rented a piece of Real Estate there!
I want to play Devil's Advocate here – seeing as this whole 'Savvy Agent' malarkey is something I initially raised here on EYE many moons ago with The AM Collective as a POTENTIAL big issue – and we've been arguing the toss over the matter ever since. So… let's put you in the moccasins of 'Savvy Agent', if I may, and fire a couple of questions at you:
1. WHY do you think that this one aspect of marketing will offer such a competitive advantage to you?
2. What increase in numbers of instructions do you see coming your way as a result?
3. Where are you currently in the 'pecking order' of Agents in your town – and why do you consider yourself to be in that position?
4. Which portal would YOU drop if you were going on OTM – and why?
5. Which portal do you think will suffer most loss of stock in your postcode/area – and why?
I'd be really keen to have your input if you don't mind. Thanks in advance.
PeeBee
Sorry, peeps – the Shinerock dropping-in thing was MY fault. He has no fwends to play with over on EAT so I invited him over to lose an argument or two here on EYE instead.
Sad thing is he came and went and I didn't get a chance to play on my home turf, cos I was making myself at home in his domain and marking the territory like a Jack Russell connected to a rising main! ;o)
Never mind – I'm sure he'll chuck another lit firework (or damp squib) back into the room again soon and I'll be waiting, ready to poke, prod and gnaw!
But thanks for giving him such a warm reception. I knew I could rely on my muckers! ;o)
@simonshinerock, I think I remember you from the old EAT site? If you are the same lad then you are one of the few contributors that could could address yourself as the 'Wicked Fairy' and be flattering yourself, anyway, I see your point……..a bit, you seem to be saying that you will sort if dangle about the valuations you have lost or didn't actually get invited to in the first place and do some odd ***** waving exercise in the 14 day cooling off period about the agent that won the listing not being on Zoopla? Good luck with that. – Jonnie
Hey Guys, its the wicked fairy here, I think your excitement in regard to Webbers is premature. I will never make the diplomatic core but I am logical by nature and I can definitively say that AM is a huge mistake, HUGE. However, I also realise that some very successful, excellent agents have chosen to go with them, agents I respect and yes, aspire to in terms of their standards of excellence. Equally however, I also know that most agents aren't that good and that's being polite, very polite, something that goes against my nature. Anyway, my point is this, if you are a market leading agent with no appreciable competition then you probably wont suffer directly from joining AM and dropping Z or RM, as for the backlash, that's another story. However, if you are unlucky enough to have someone like me lurking around on your patch, waiting for a way to take you down, well, you don't have to have much of an imagination to work out what happens next, especially if the market carries on cooling. What I am saying is that you will still be able to get instructions, the question is, how long will you keep them. I think you will be very vulnerable to attack during the cooling off period, something I'm partially responsible for by the way 🙂
It's just red rag to a bull Simon, as you well know. In the words of another good contributor on this site…."BRING IT ON".
YES!!! I've been quoted!
Fame at last… ;o)
Okay… I guess congratulations and kudos points aplenty to Webbers for having come out of the closet so as to speak – especially at a time when the AM Board of Director Agencies allegedly are keeping schtumm about everything portal-wise… and probably wouldn't even confirm whether in their opinion tomorrow follows today if asked! ;o)
Now to reality (at least MY version of it). I think, however, that the part of the article which states "With just under ten weeks to go until the launch of OnTheMarket, agents are starting to nail their colours to the mast" says it all – 'the later the better', perhaps?
Interestingly, while Webbers 'nail' has been somewhat driven through cloth into wood, their website still proudly proclaims to clients "Your home on all major property websites".
Pages dedicated to 'Fine & Country' and 'Signature Homes' departments make virtually identical statements – and in certain marketing bumf on the site the all-powerful word "ALL" gets bigger, bolder and even gets an upgrade to uppercase! ;o)
Hmmm – with "just under ten weeks to go" until this will NOT BE THE CASE, I wonder when they will go all the way and remove the references to those portals that will no longer be hosting Webbers' clients homes?
Just an observation… although I doubt anyone will agree with me! Feel free to tell me where and how I'm incorrect in my thoughts… ;o)
"Guys – I'm gonna miss these discussions! February is going to be proper boring… I hope! ;o)"…I take that as your first concession that you think OnTheMarket is going to work!!! or youv'e decided to sign up in February!!
"I take that as your first concession that you think OnTheMarket is going to work!!!" Erm… I don't actually think I've ever said it WON'T work, matey – have I? I've merely voiced my concerns, for the sake of all that matter, of what I consider to be its' Achilles heel(s). I have nothing to gain from it failing – potentially far more to gain from the reverse. But come February, the barn door will be open and the horse will have been set free – so on 26/1/15 ALL pre-start argument is meaningless… unless, of course, the launch is re-rescheduled, that is… ;o)
Hopefully some of my competitors will do the same. I can then promote the fact that they are not promoting their properties in their clients best interests. Should be perfect timing for the New Year rush!
I assume you are one of these ones that thinks because agents like mine aren't on Z anymore you will have my leg in the air on valuations and have some magical instruction winning advantage? You poor boy. – Jonnie
Now then, Jonnie! ;o) You've put me a difficult position here – 'cos I agree with you (and I've even 'Liked' your comment to boot…) BUT the point that jmeapps01 is making is one that I have been banging since the whole AM show hit the road – that "Savvy Agent" as I called him/her would jump on the fact that their competition were offering their customers an inferior marketing package to save themselves a few quid every month, whereas Savvy & Co plastered their gaff all over RightZoop and therefore do a better job. I STILL think that will happen, Jonnie – and I still firmly believe that they will gain SOME instructions as a result… BUT… it's all down, at the end of the day, to customer perception of the portals' role in bringing in buyers, and the respective Agents' handling of their prospective clients' perceptions. You know as well as I do Jonnie that there are Agents out there which, despite having a swish office filled with natty looking negs, without t'interweb would be devoid of paddle and well & truly up said creek – and may as well class themselves as 'onlinies'. The strange thing is that I would lay a year's wage (for what it's worth) on the vast majority of those who post here don't 'need' the portals – and would love it if the web collapsed in a steaming heap – but we pander to the public perception… that WE created in the first place all those years back!
Still, ho-hum – we're a day closer to OTM and a day further away from The Big Bang so "this space" is being well and truly watched, mon ami… ;o)
@jmeapps01 This is brilliant, I really can't believe that any agent would still believe this. You are effectively going to try and win instructions from your competitors because they have chosen an alternative website?????? Good luck with that well outdated idea…….that's the type of line agents were using when they were on with sites like findaproperty in addition to rightmove "we can offer you 2 sites instead of 1" scenario……like I said, totally outdated.
Hey Jonnie & Wilko….jmeapps01 clearly hasn't got a clue about the world of trouble coming his way in January if he wants to start spurting that sort of nonsense on a val! Dear oh dear!
Gents… as 'Chief Regurgitator' of warnings relating to "that sort of nonsense" being adopted by some of our competition I'm sitting here wryly smiling that it's not ME you're suggesting needs to extract his head from where the sun don't shine! ;o) As said before, I REALLY hope that you are right. But, like everything, you can't win 'em all – and SOME of the time 'Savvy Agent' will score. As I have said in past, it will hinge on what, if any, loss in revenue is suffered against cost saving. RoI – simple as. The real question is "What if…?" – and the answer depends upon an infinite number of variables that only the individuals concerned can factor in.
And, in many cases, I very much doubt if the question will ever be raised…
The thing is though PeeBee you started the 'savvy' agent discussion back in April/May, and time has moved on since then, there are no longer only 1850 branches, there will be 5000+, and in some areas there will be more agents/listings #OnTheMarket then there will be on one of the other portals. The discussion has now swung full circle, take a look up in South Shields mate with some 82% of listings #OnTheMarket…there is simply no way that those agents with 18% of listings are going to win a val based on a negative sell against those agents not a cat in hells chance mate. But your right it depends on a number of variables which in my view are slowly evaporating!
"…take a look up in South Shields mate with some 82% of listings #OnTheMarket…there is simply no way that those agents with 18% of listings are going to win a val based on a negative sell against those agents not a cat in hells chance mate…" Paul H – like I've said 'til face turns blue, for the sake of the public we serve and our industry, I SINCERELY HOPE I am severely wide of mark. The problem in my eyes is that, in the main, who I label 'Savvy Agent' would be the customer's WRONG CHOICE. They SHOULDN'T be able to turn this to their competitive advantage – but, like those "pioneers" we now see on our TV screens trying to juggle the jelly we have in our hands day in: day out there will always be a percentage who will take an alternative path to the well-trodden one and ignore the skeletons at the roadside. If it is one in 20,000 then "so what?" I hear – simple answer is that it is a relatively insignificant hundred units that are 'lost' – but in reality for some Agents, if ONE of those hundred are in their patch it could well mean the difference between profit and loss for them. But what if it's one in TWO thousand? Ten times more instructions going to second-string Agents and a ten times statistically higher chance of YOU losing one to 'Savvy & Co'. I'm worried – have been from second #1 as you know – that this potentially won't tilt the playing field in the direction OTM Members want (or expect) it to. None of us know.
Guys – I'm gonna miss these discussions!
February is going to be proper boring… I hope! ;o)
Putting the logo on your website is one thing, but putting it on letterheads, compliment slips etc is something else – unless you order letterheads and compliment slips weekly – which let's be blunt you don't. My point is, you're going to look daft if your letterheads say "Coming January 2015" … and you're still using them in September 2015. Equally, you're going to look daft if you just display the OTM logo now, when there are no properties on the website yet.
Not really daft, unless you can't comprehend "Coming January 2015". We actually print out letter heads and details in house so it takes 5 mins to change the Coming Soon logo to the standard OTM logo. Sorry to put it bluntly.
Yes & No Taff….. certainly I plan to Brand pre Xmas as I will have huge passing traffic then….. if others choose earlier then they obviously feel that's right for them so I can't comment against as they should know their business better than me.
You need to make sure any current sign ups that will be on with you post the 26th know so they have a choice to stay or go. If in the clients eyes they came on wanting a main reason you offered you'd need to retain it for the contract period. Give fair reason of whats changing and why (ie feel being charged too high by portals or a portal). To simply break what was offered would be a CPR breach (if its a main reason a seller or landlord came to you).
Cheers Trevor. I'm winding down from RM so my New Contracts cover the New Instructions. The old ones should be sold soon ish'. I will remain for the timebeing on RM , having jettisoned Zoop, albeit on Standard Listing Terms only…… we can then decide on hopefully to jettison entirely. Rumour has it that RM will re-issue new terms or want to enforce new contract etc, if so, I will walk away early. The real test will be the progress of OTM and I have supported from Day 1 and will do so until it fully succeeds or doesn't. In my view it's a wake-up call for agents so whatever their opinion they should support OTM, and then decide whether they wish to fully terminate RM , Zoop or whoever their main portal has been. As we know, every view on here…… if we don't try we will never know?
Good luck GLP. If an agent was just on one main portal (being RM OR Z) then the addition of AM could be seen as a PLUS even if OTM only got a few hits in the first few days.
The trouble is when the client knows your on two main portals, but would be unaware of losing one – to replace with an unknown one.
So long as Joe Seller has good pre warning and the WHY – ie as in the agents view some portals are expensive. Then the client knows what the score is.
Dumping RM or Z could be very agent lucrative, but consumers shouldnt be dragged in blindfolded in support of what agents want.
So GLP – so long as clients know why and when in good time, with the right to continue what they have/had when signed up (even if it means the ability to walk) then your be on the right side of the line. Good luck – hope all goes well.
"So long as Joe Seller has good pre warning and the WHY – ie as in the agents view some portals are expensive. Then the client knows what the score is." Oh, REALLY, Mr Mealham? I'd disinstruct that Agent in a heartbeat if they offered cost saving to THEM as an excuse for switching from a fertile stream of leads for my home's potential next owner to a sterile pond that will take time to populate… and I'd bet YOU would too if truth were told. Ratner moment. Thank about it.
THANK about it?? Dear me – the digits have developed dyslexia…
Oh!…… my Terms of Business have also been amended to show "and online marketing as selected by our agency"….. so no issues over anyone being misled!
I am removing all references to RM etc at present from my Branch Windows, Website, Local Newspaper Advertising, Schedules etc as this has been Free Advertising for these portals in prominent High Street locations, on our local website and the sales schedules which we send out or are viewed online and in our very prominent Local Newspaper Advert. OnTheMarket Branding will replace all of the aforementioned. If we all do our bit then the message gets out there and the brand grows….. that after all is the aim…… to grow the OTM Brand….. we won't be No1 or 2 portal week 1, month 1 or year 1…… however each step moves us forward. Congratulations to Webbers for getting the message out there now. Thing is…… all we are doing is asking fellow professionals to support fellow professionals. Looking forward to the January Launch of OnTheMarket!
We are also dropping all other web sites. Duploy is a waste of money and we want the traffic to go to new OM, otherwise some clients will continue to use the old ones. The market will follow agents, always does (and is how RM & Z got to where they are and just as easy to fall) so don't even bother with the other web sites and save yourself a bundle and respect from your clients.
They have only just mentioned it now? Come on Webbers, catch up. We've had it on our website, letter heads, sales details, letting details and social media pages for over a month now!
What's misleading is that they still the article says that they show both RM and Z logos. As such anyone instructing now would be under the impression they will get RM, Z and OTM. If Its not made clear to clients that one of tbe big two will be lost then it is a breach of CPRs come the 26th Jan
Fantastic idea – well done Webbers! This is exactly the kind of free promotion, previously afforded to the likes of RM and Z, that OTM needs prelaunch.
As you say, it will be interesting to see who has what logos in their websites in January. Some of our "competition" still have the old OFT and even the OEA logos displayed on theirs! Will OTM have a logo police dept. who go around checking who's got what displayed and when the agent says they can't afford to pay their website company to change it (which must be the only reason they still have OFT & OEA logos displayed?), what will they do? Return their funding cash?
I would love for this to work but I really can't see it getting in front of the consumer enough to make them back the agents who are on it.
By the way, I'm only on one portal anyway, Rightmove, so not a choice of who to drop for me, I just don't think it will work so "I'm out!"
That's fine……you can sit back and watch Rightmove increase your fees annually, why we get offered lower prices to stay with them (and otm)