Last week Friday my colleague Germain Gulevic and I found our way to the Eight Members Club, EC2A 2BX to attend the Iceberg Digital course with Mark Burgess, CEO and the author of the top-selling estate agency book “Where did my industry go?” speaking…
Every page and chapter of this book resonated with my own two decades of industry experience so when the opportunity to attend the course I was first to sign up.
To be brutally honest the thought of sharing a conference room with 48 other estate agents is not my cup of tea, however by the end of the day I found all delegates on the same page realising that the landscape of our estate agency businesses and the property world is rapidly changing and we either accept and adapt to the change i.e. ride the wave or face the alternative… carry on as we have always done and most likely get washed out/dumped by the wave of change.
The refreshing news for me attending this course was realising that our evolving Horton and Garton business plan and market strategy is already 80% ‘ish’ in line with the guidance and advice of the speakers and whilst I recognise there can always be improvement on existing systems and procedures, which can only assist and strengthen our position as West London Hammersmith and Shepherds bush market leading estate agents, I know that our ability to adapt and react sooner to market changes keeps us on the forefront of every update to our business and industry.
To be brutally honest there are simply just too many estate agents open for business today ‘working in the wrong age…’ you know who these corporate offices and companies are… many of these failing offices and agencies are simply dinosaurs – simply too slow to adapt to change, they cannot attract and employ qualified and experienced staff to manage any genuine market share and the corporate agency gravy train is buffering.
There have already been some high profile corporate estate agency offices closures in central and west London in recent weeks and months and reading the property industry press I predict there will be more blood on the carpets and closures of failing high street estate agents… watch this space…
For every business owner or any estate agent who values their profession, this book is a must-read… it’s a lightbulb moment for the industry… option 1 adapt, innovate and embrace change or option 2 … fail to adapt and ask the question “Where did my industry go?”
John Horton is the Director of Horton and Garton and we are the market-leading selling and rental estate agents in W6, W12 and W4.
