Q: What does it say on your business card?
Andrew Potter, director and co owner of My Online Estate Agent
Q: Who are …….?
My Online Estate Agent as the name suggests is an online estate agent. We challenge traditional estate agents by offering a comprehensive estate agent service, at a fraction of the price. We acknowledge we are not for every seller or landlord but there is clearly a place for online estate agents in the market.
Q: How did it all start?
My background is originally in finance and I worked in the city for 8 years. Never one to be content with working for other people and having always had an interest in property I was able to finance a few small scale development projects so dealt with estate agents quite frequently. I had dealt with estate agents as a buyer and a seller and in found myself questioning what they really did to justify their fee. After doing some research and consulting with friends in the estate agent industry, myself and co owner Michael James partnered with an internet marketing company to set up My Online Estate Agent.
Q: How long have ……… been trading?
We launched the website 2010 but did not launch the full online estate agency business until May 2012. Partnering with an internet marketing company means we have search engine optimisation specialists in house so we wanted to build up a steady flow of traffic to site before launching.
Q: Why choose ………?
We are a national estate agent and offer a range of packages to meet the needs of both landlords and sellers which is one good reason. We charge what we believe to be a fair price for our services which is far lower than a traditional estate agents fee. We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction service and use the latest technology to provide the best and most effective service. Feedback and recommendations are key to the business growing
Q: What are your three unique selling points?
- Our fees our very low and if we don't sell a property in the first 6 months we don't make any profit.
- We use the latest technology and are very innovative in thinking of new ways to improve our service.
- I am driven and determined to deliver the highest quality service to our customers. Just because we try and utilise the latest technology does not always mean it provides the best customer service and we constantly strive to achieve the best balance.
Q: Who do you currently work with?
We offer our services to landlords and sellers and are growing month on month.
Q: How do you overcome your competitors?
There are lot of online estate agents now but I believe there are only a handful that offer a really great service. I believe that My Online Estate Agent offers a very comprehensive service but we are still one of the cheapest. We get charged per property by sites like Rightmove and given that our fees are quite low we have more incentive to sell properties otherwise we don't make any money. This leads to us selling our properties quickly and keeping our customers happy.
Q: How do you create value for your clients (how do you go above the call of duty)?
Everyone who works for My Online Estate Agent has an interest in the company and is not in it for the short terms so they are very incentivised for the company to grow and this means delivering a high quality service. We're not 9 till 5 and often work well past the office closing hours of 8pm. Whilst we do not receive commission for the sale of property, if we sell a property we can keep our portal costs down and if we keep our customers happy we can get good reviews and feedback which ultimately helps the business to grow.
Q: What is your greatest achievement and what made it so special?
There isn't one that stands out. Receiving great feedback from customers is always pretty special as it makes you feel like you are providing a valuable service, especially if it is from a customer that was initially a bit sceptical about using an online estate agent.
Q: What do you feel it takes to be successful in the industry?
You have to be very driven and determined, set goals and targets for yourself and the company and constantly review your service and find ways to make it better. Customer satisfaction is the most important thing and so you should never forget lose sight of that.
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