A day in the life of an estate agent
Most agents in France are self-employed and work on commission, only paid if a client buys or sells with them. This work status means they are self-regulating in how, where and when they work. The best ones are team players.
Across the industry some people work on a part-time basis, others full-time, and the best rewarded full-time and then some! So the example we set out here is real, but perhaps not entirely typical.
Jason is personally driven to succeed. He sets himself targets and thrives on a job well done and good customer feedback.
He is a consummate time manager and starts each working day with a plan.
He’ll clear emails before other people are up and about, and schedule calls throughout the day between other appointments according to which timezone his contact is in.
If he has a full day viewing with a potential buyer, everything that follows below must somehow be fitted in around that.
If he has several days blocked out viewing like this, it is very easy to reach the end of the week with a long list of unfinished tasks.
The core job is one of matching buyer with seller and breaks down into the reactive elements of answering questions about his portfolio of properties to potential buyers and also to colleagues, and also prospecting more proactively for new instructions to sell. And getting to know other local listings and he’ll have one eye on those properties that are not generating interest. Is it the price? Could the photos be better? He might liaise with the marketing team about website activity. Sunny days see agents scurrying around re-taking exterior pictures.
Last minute viewings trump data entry, and so the latter - maybe planned for the morning - may get pushed back into the evening.
He’ll send out property details to clients who are considering a viewing trip, and he’ll review reactions to this and try to fine-tune what he offers.
He might call a satisfied buyer or seller and ask for a testimonial. He’ll have contact from sellers keen to sell, and he’ll try and make contact with new enquirers.
Re-planning works both ways round. Clients cancel appointments at short or no notice, and some simply do not turn up. All the work invested in arranging viewings - often over months and years - is wasted and he’ll have disappointed sellers to let down. Now he has some unexpected free time, and so the less time-critical elements of his job come to the fore. See above!
The law requires on-going training. He might address some of this if it can be done alone. Possibly he can bring forward taking a new instruction - the best part of half a day’s work.
There will also be scheduled commitments across his diary, such as sales meetings, to discuss hot buyers and sellers with local colleagues. And the more structured group training, maybe a day’s drive away.
Across all this he will be closely involved with the progress of deals he has previously agreed. Buyers, sellers and notaries all require information and attention.
And there is a physical attendance at signings, time waiting at properties for septic tank inspectors, surveyors, builders, mortgage insurers….
As a successful professional, this adds up to a lot of time, some of which can be planned, and a lot of which happens at short notice and without negotiation.
And negotiations themselves, of course. Buyer or seller may call at absolutely any time. The stakes are high. Money meets emotion. A cool head is required, whatever else is going on around him.
His success is seductive. In a healthy business culture he’ll be mentoring less experienced colleagues. They might shadow him as he works, or simply phone him to share good or bad news, to ask advice, or to answer questions he has asked of them.
His phone is busy, but if he is with a client or in a meeting he can’t necessarily take the call. More backlog.
As he reaches to switch off the bedside light, the email on his phone might ping.
Everything planned for tomorrow is up in the air; the budget of his buyer has reduced. Or a buyer has pulled out of a deal. A seller is no longer selling. A potential vendor needs to see him; they are only in France for one more day. And the accounts team want to know why he hasn’t invoiced to be paid on his last few completions!
So you’ll have gathered by now that the job has little to do with looking around other people’s homes.
If you ever meet a calm estate agent, you might spare a thought for what is probably going on below the surface.
If you would like a job (not a hobby) let’s talk!
