If your estate agent can’t dress smartly, can they negotiate your sale? - Alex Goldstein
I have long said that estate agency is a people business and we deal in emotions.
This principle is at the very core of everything property related. Technology has always taken second place, yet so many self-proclaimed disruptors have failed to grasp this most simple mantra.
However there is an even more basic principle on the other side of the equation. This puts your entire transaction out of kilter from the very outset, so let me explain.
When estate agents come to do a market appraisal of your home, they are effectively doing a job interview. They are there to extoll their virtues, why you should instruct them and what differentiates them from the competition. Yet so many of them essentially turn up in their pyjamas. This dress-down hangover from the days of Covid, has put estate agents and sellers on the back foot from the get go.
If someone turned up to a professional job interview in jeans, trainers and a fleece, what would your first impressions be without them even saying a word?
As humans we are hard wired to make snap decisions and this is usually done within the first seven seconds of meeting someone new. Afterall body language accounts for 93 per cent of nonverbal behaviour and tone. Only seven per cent of communication takes place via words.
Psychologically what attire we choose significantly affects how others perceive our personality, capabilities and trustworthiness. There is a reason why judges, police, fire service, lawyers etc all wear uniforms.
So many estate agents feel it appropriate to have this relaxed casual look, as they think they appear more approachable to clients and can saunter around properties on their social media channels in the latest trendy clothing hoping for more likes.
Going beyond the lacklustre first impressions and nonchalantly wandering around someone’s home, there is a far bigger issue underneath it all. If an estate agent doesn’t class themselves as a professional adviser in their own mind, nor gives a new client the respect to turn up in attire befitting of the occasion, it immediately puts them behind.
If the estate agent then needs to have a tough conversation about the guide price or perhaps that offer that didn’t quite hit the mark, they don’t have the psychological clout with the client to give them that news.
Is there any wonder then why so many estate agents just simply roll over and overvalue property to secure business or can’t even negotiate their fee?
Going one step further, if they are unable to do these basics are they really looking in their clients’ best interests? Afterall, if an agent can’t negotiate their fee, how are they going to negotiate the sale of your home? It is a bit difficult to do so if you are dressed in your pyjamas.
When I go to see clients, I am always suited and booted. Partly because few people do this and I stand out, but it also means that psychologically if I needed to have a robust conversation with the client or give my honest opinion, then I am able to do so from a position of strength and can have a more meaningful conversation. Alex Goldstein is an independent bespoke property consultant in Yorkshire and London (alexgoldstein.co.uk) 01423 788377