I'm in Christopher Watkin's studio in Grantham for the Letting Agent Podcast, and he doesn't waste any time.
"Why don't people want to be estate and letting agents when they grow up? Talk to me, Neil."
"Oh, come on. That's like asking who wants to be a journalist or a secondhand car salesman." I don't dodge it either. "Let's be honest, the reputation of being an estate agent isn't a great one."
Then I tell him I'm a weird one on this. Because as a kid, I played at being one.
That was July 2019, one of a run of short videos I recorded with Christopher about estate and letting agents.
The ironing board shop
I was born in the '70s. Christopher tried to make it the late '70s, and I put him straight. Mid. So this goes back to when house details were typed out with a photograph glued on, and they came through the post because my mum and dad were very often thinking of moving. We moved about every seven years, but we'd spend at least four of those looking.
My mum and dad would flick through them and say no. I'd catch the ones they wanted to throw away and keep them in a box, a bit like a photocopy paper box, full of house details.
When my nan came round, "my mum's ironing board would go up, and that would become my shop". I'd make her look at buying houses from me. I just found the whole thing fascinating.
And what did everyone do to their houses back then? Double glazing. "I made my mum buy me a tape measure and a notepad, and I was measuring everyone's windows and writing them out quotes."
Christopher couldn't believe it. "So hold on. You wanted to do two of the three dodgiest professions when you were a child?"
Fair point. My answer was that "I was fascinated by these people-orientated businesses." I liked the human interaction. Earlier I'd said that if somebody had told me back then this is a regulated industry and a credible profession, "I might have ended up in it." That just wasn't how anyone saw it.
The heroes nobody films
Then I went deeper on lettings. This country has a problem with the amount of housing available. I said there isn't enough public or housing association housing to solve it, "which is why the private rented sector is so important."
The public don't see it like that. They see the "one or two rogues" who get turned into documentaries on Channel 4 or stuck on the front of a newspaper. Christopher said bad news sells newspapers. He's not wrong.
So I said it plainly. "The real heroes in my opinion, in terms of putting a roof over people's heads right now are landlords and agents. Because if there were no landlords, there'd be no stock." And agents, because it's the main thing they do, generally have a better grip on the regulations and responsibilities. They keep everyone safe and compliant. That's one of the main reasons a landlord uses an agent in the first place, for the peace of mind and that hands-off, armchair investor approach.
I said both groups should recognise they're heroes in the housing crisis, and that it's a story that isn't out there enough.
Tell their story, not yours
Which is where I landed. "If I was an agent myself, I'd be making videos about the heroes that I serve." All those landlords housing people. "I'd be telling their story."
Christopher made the point that more people would eventually want to be agents because they'd hear those stories. I agreed. In 2019 I also said "it's pretty much inevitable it's going to become a regulated industry", and that when it did, it'd become more of a profession people aspire to. That was my prediction at the time. It amazed me that here you could just decide to become an agent and become one, when in the US you've got to pass exams. You could do exams with ARLA, but they were optional.
We'd talked in other videos about mentioning the things you do that other agents maybe don't, like ARLA or Guild membership. But only if you explain what it means to the landlord, "rather than we put a sticker in the window and we think that's enough." (I've written more on how to tell stories in your business if you want somewhere to start.)
Watch the full chat
Start with one landlord
If you run an agency, pick one landlord you look after and ask if you can tell their story. Who they house and why they do it. Make a video telling it.
That's a better story than a sticker in the window.
First published July 2019 on Christopher Watkin's Letting Agent Podcast.
