A stereotypical Estate Agent?
I have always thought of myself as a non stereotypical and un-clichéd estate agent, but as I slip on my Barbour and Hunters every morning at 6am and trudge out in the dark with my two Labradors, I wonder if people think that I really do carry that very image.
Lately, I have found myself wearing comedy trousers and a tweed cap whilst shooting pheasants with my trusty gun dog at my side and I have to laugh at the image of the typical country estate agent that I have morphed into without even noticing it! Wasn’t I supposed to be that non stereotypical un-clichéd estate agent?
I admit that I have ditched the string of BMW’s that I have owned over the years and opted for an Audi, but now I hear that this is also a typical estate agent thing to do!
How many times have I knocked on a potential client’s door with a shiner of a black eye on a Monday morning and wondered if this is a stereotypical estate agent’s image? The stud marks across the face and stitches across the nose have, without fail, been a wonderful ice breaker on door steps, but an issue that one of my previous business partners had remained completely paranoid about! I found myself apologising for my looks and assuring the potential client that I had not been involved in a drunken brawl at the weekend, but I had actually being playing rugby. At this point, and without fail, I was welcomed over the threshold with open arms!
So are rugby players all stereotypical estate agent types and are estate agents stereotypical rugby types? I don’t think so, but as I stride out across the fields with my black Labrador and shotgun, I still wonder if I have morphed into that dreaded being.
The challenge that presents itself to any estate agent is the lack of knowledge of the character of the person who is going to open the front door as you stand on their doorstep, black eye or not, and the challenge of how you will be received during your one hour interview with that potential client. This is why an ice breaker is always a good start to any such meeting and I will always search for one if my fellow rugby combatants have not already unwittingly provided me with one.
So, rugby player or not, an agent’s day is never typical or mundane and, ideally, an estate agent should also not be stereotypical or mundane, and I still sincerely hope that I am neither of those things. The ability to change ones persona to match that of your potential client is a great asset and a good start to every potentially fairly involved transaction. I have equally enjoyed the company of a family-moneyed old gentleman and then a young self made millionaire in the space of a few hours and both have invariably become clients and friends.
So every estate agent’s day is a challenge and every door opening within that day is also a great challenge and a potentially exciting one to every keen estate agent, whether he or she is a stereotypical one or not!
Scott Wishart, Hill Clements, Guildford.
To view more about Hill Clements click here
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