FEBRUARY
Insight Feature - By Simon Brown
My piece is a very short and simple one this month. I want you to ask yourself a question, what is your reputation? By that I mean your personal reputation and your businesses reputation. Write down what you think it is and ask a selection of people inside and outside your business what they think. Trust me you’ll be very surprised at the answers.
Your reputation is everything for the simple reason it arrives before you do. It determines customers mindset before you have had any communication with them and it will determine, in advance, whether they trust you or not.
The trust relationship between agents and customers is critical but amidst a pandemic that challenges us all, it is crucial to look at how we are adapting to consumer choices. Or rather, when life changes the way it has over the last year, how this amplifies with many of us, a need for something tangible and meaningful. When we are searching for something that matters, we seek honesty, reliability and – above all else – sentiments of good intent. We look towards the authentic, the honest and real. Trust and integrity are more important than ever and also much more visible.
Most people vote with their feet. If a certain company show’s it doesn’t care there are plenty of others that will show them they do.
Could it be that people are already beginning to reject faceless corporations in favour of those they can relate to and understand? Just looking at our nation’s collective dismay right now, it is easy to understand why companies that have an ethos that can be believed in and trusted are so captivating to the consumer.
There is always room for human error but it is often acts of humanity like acknowledgement and having the courtesy to listen and learn from mistakes that can be the difference behind something that damages your reputation or upholds it. The simple message is never take your customers for granted, they are part of your extended family so ignore their feedback at your peril.
To change your reputation agencies must engage in more than just selling houses and the business of property. They need to immerse themselves in their local communities. Be honest and transparent and your reputation will do half your job for you before your customers walk through your door or you through theirs.
ESTAS Key date update
Four Fridays in May We know how much it means to make it onto The ESTAS Shortlist each year. It’s the culmination of 12 months of blood, sweat and tears as your teams strive to deliver exceptional service to your clients and never more so after the last 12 months. As Phil Spencer says “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, to make it onto The ESTAS Shortlist is a great achievement in itself”. So with this in mind we want to give you a chance to watch the regional shortlists be unveiled and celebrate your success if you make it onto one. So here are the dates for your diary. Shortlist will be announced for agents, conveyancers, mortgage brokers and suppliers.
Friday 7th May at 4pm - Regional Shortlists East of England, East Midlands, London, North East
Friday 14th May at 4pm - Regional Shortlists Northern Ireland, North West, South East, Southern
Friday 21st May at 4pm - Regional Shortlists South West, Scotland, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire
Friday 28th May at 4pm - National & Specialist Awards Conveyancers, Mortgage Brokers, National Group Awards, People Awards, Supplier Awards
DON'T FORGET to save the date! 22nd October – ESTAS 2021 Forum & Awards. Reserve your tickets here
At ESTAS we like to keep things simple
We take pride in the fact that ESTAS is a review platform specifically designed to property professionals. That means there is no complicated process to send out reviews to your clients. We keep things nice and simple because we know how busy you are!
So sending out a review request to a client couldn’t be easier. You can simply type in their name and email on your dashboard and press SEND, Or put their name and mobile number in and press SEND. Your dashboard keeps a track of who you’ve sent review requests to in case you forget.
Or if you prefer copy your unique review link and email it out from your own computer – simples!
We’re committing to keeping our platform simple and easy to use so you can concentrate on the day job!
If you have any ideas on how we can make it even better please let us know.
This Slow Roast Leg of Lamb is going to take your Easter Weekend roast to a whole new level! It’s ultra easy and very forgiving. It does take patience, but you’ll be rewarded with 
tender lamb leg that can be pulled off the bone, served with a wickedly delicious rosemary garlic infused gravy.
View the recipe here
Previous Newsletters:
Last month I wrote about the difference between customer experience and customer service. I got some great feedback from agents, conveyancers and brokers alike and often the response was “sure I get what customer service is but how does it really impact my business”. Whenever I get this question I’m always reminded of a conversation I had with Grenville Turner who was [...]
Read moreRecently some people in the industry have said to me that customer service is not relevant anymore, today apparently it’s all about the customer experience or ‘CX’ as it’s often termed – sounds much sexier doesn’t it? However I would argue that customer service and customer experience are NOT the same thing. Customer experience is all about improving the customer journey [...]
Read more
