Estate agent case studies: ‘abandoning the corporate world for the new’

Keller Williams now boasts 377 estate agency partners across the UK - agents that have set up and run their own businesses with the support of the world’s largest real estate business and its massive infrastructure of technology, training, marketing and, of course, a fantastic culture.

It is the largest ‘hybrid’ estate agency in the UK, although ‘hybrid’ is probably not an accurate term. Rather, it’s a business that helps and supports go-getting estate agent individuals to venture out on their own to grab big rewards.

But what is it really like to work ‘for yourself’ outside of a corporate comfort blanket with no basic salary, no company car and no boss to ‘motivate’ you each day?

Ask some real life agents at some of Keller Williams’ most successful UK Market Centres:

Coventry and Warwick

Suzanne Regan has been an estate agent since the age of 18 in her home territory of Coventry - the epitome of a local agent.

Suzanne joined Keller Williams in July 2020, at the height of the pandemic, yet has listed 34 properties totalling £5.97 million in value in the eight months since.

Some 29 of them have sold and at an average fee of £3,000, Suzanne is able to retain up to 90% of the commission she earns.

Her previous roles include some of the UK’s best known estate agency brands.

“I love the way that I can focus more time on fewer clients now,” says Suzanne, a mum of two boys under the age of 12. “I would run around under pressure to list at huge volume with not much commission per property to show for it. It was stressful and the money wasn’t great.”

Now, work is moulded around Suzanne’s family.

“What I love about being my own boss is that I can organise my time around my family and work albeit sometimes with one eye on the kids’ football match and another on my emails to see if that offer has come in.”

“And I’m earning very, very well indeed now and enjoy having an actual relationship with fewer customers but for a lot more commission at the end of the day,” adds Suzanne.

KW Prime - Central London

Sharon Hines’ motivation is honesty. Now in her third year of property sales, her experience of selling a home compelled her to become an estate agent ‘by accident’. And she found her skill set matched brilliantly, having completed on £14.5 million worth of property sales in the last six months alone.

“After selling my customer service company in 2017, I finally had the time to sell my family home on Wandsworth Common and downsize.”

“I had two of the larger local agents come in for a valuation and was incredibly concerned by the result. The price difference between each valuation was alarming and it’s now evident that one was over valuing my property just to get the instruction and the other wanted a quick sale."

"It was clear that neither had the integrity to represent my largest investment” she says.

“I was introduced to Keller Williams by a client from my previous company. After going to an introduction evening, I knew without doubt that following their training I would most certainly be able to sell my home myself. What I didn’t anticipate was that, three years on, I would be selling property for others too”, she adds.

She goes on to say: “It is easy to see why agents have such a despondent attitude to their job. The demand to gain instructions and to work super long hours, all in order to make their commission deadline, all the while their boss is earning the big bucks.”

“As an independent agent by sacrificing their basic income they will earn more money as a commission-only agent. They can take fewer instructions which in turn allows them to offer a super individualised service. A win-win.”

Bristol

Ross Mckenzie is Keller Williams’ Bristol Market Centre Director - specifically responsible for attracting agents and ensuring that they earn via productivity.

His previous roles include Purplebricks as a Territory Owner, Regional Sales Director and National Sales Trainer, as well as haart and Countrywide. He has a BA in coaching.

And he is a man on a mission…

“My Keller Williams journey began after a long search trying to find a platform that allows me to do what I love doing most – empowering agents to live the life they’ve always dreamed of through building a career that they can be proud of. Keller Williams provides the perfect opportunity to do just that through it’s proven models of success.”

“The KW Bristol Market Centre is about to officially launch and provides agents with the perfect support network to enable them to build a successful business. Over the coming year, I am looking to onboard and work with 100 agents across Bristol and the surrounding areas providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to earn the money they deserve whilst gaining back the time they need to spend with family and friends. We will create true wealth for those agent partners,” says Ross.

There’s been lots of talk about the new fangled ‘hybrid’, ‘self-employed’ estate agency model, a model that has existed very successfully in this form in the USA and Australia for decades - and so it’s nothing new, but it is arguably better than a corporate 9 to 5.30 grind and for lower earnings than a good agent can otherwise achieve.

These case studies prove such and demonstrate the beneficial reality of the so-called ‘new model’.

*Ben Taylor is CEO of Keller Williams UK