Feature
knowledge so they become the face of that local branch. We defi nitely don’t want to be a faceless organisation so we make sure we off er all our clients the personal service that they deserve. We give our local managers as much autonomy as possible so they can make the decisions that directly aff ect their clients. Managers are rewarded fi nancially on customer feedback so of course it is in their interest to make sure clients are being serviced really well. One way in which we do this is to make sure that all clients across the board are called once a week to update them on progress.” In this tough market, Hamptons believes it
is its ability to reach out to a huge audience and access buyers from a wide resource that sets it apart from the competition. “Our reputation overseas means that we are often the fi rst port of call for many international clients. We get the fi rst opportunity to impress them because we are the ones that they are familiar with.”
THE INDEPENDENT: ASTON CHASE IN REGENT’S PARK
THE AREA Aston Chase covers a wide area of central London including St John’s Wood and Regent’s Park and surrounding areas through to Hampstead. It also has a Hampstead Garden Suburb offi ce covering North West London.
THE PROPERTIES St John’s Wood and the surrounding areas have a wide mix of property types including Nash properties in Regent’s Park, apartments in Prince Albert Road and Victorian stucco fronted Regency houses and Georgian property in St John’s Wood.
THE BUYERS Aston Chase sales fi gures show that 75 per cent of its buyers are from overseas, mainly from Eastern Europe. Rather than Russian oligarchs, more middle-class Russian buyers are emerging as well as Chinese and Indian buyers, all attracted to the safe market of London with excellent educational establishments. Together with his business partner Richard Bernstone, Mark Pollack has been running Aston Chase for the last 26 years, somewhat of a record for an independent estate agent. However, although Aston Chase has just two offi ces, one based in Regent’s Park, one based in Hampstead Garden Suburb, it runs on a par with any major national branch. “We don’t really make a major play of being
an independent because we compete with the corporate agents now on many levels,” explains Pollack. “Over the last few years, it has emerged that our major competitors are Savills and Knight Frank so the fact that we are independent is really secondary to who we are and what we do. Although being an independent means that we have excellent local knowledge and a long history in this
18 ● June 2012 ● TheNegotiator
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Interior of the newly refurbished offi ces at Aston Chase in Regent’s Park.
Aston Chase
area, it can also sound a little parochial and when you are competing with the major players in this industry, we need to convey our professionalism and the fact that we have a very sleek operation.” However, for Pollack being an independent
is extremely important and to be his own boss and to run the business as he sees fi t allows Aston Chase to respond to changing circumstance and be a dynamic and vibrant business. All their sales and lettings staff are on salaries but also very attractive commission structures which makes them equally as hungry as Pollack to succeed. The recently refurbished offi ce in Regent’s
Park also enhances the way that Pollack likes his staff to work. “We are a pro-active business and our staff communicate very well with
make a major feature out of each property,” explains Pollack. “We want the property to stand out rather than our branding, which is something that clients are very keen on. What ultimately comes across when we meet clients is that we are very passionate about what we do and when we are pitching for new business, this is what we drive forward.” According to Pollack, the internet has really helped independent companies such as Aston Chase to compete with the bigger names in the business. “Even with just two offi ces, we can still attract a global audience with the right marketing and advertising avenues,” he says. In fact, it was Pollack’s quick thinking that got them key positioning when Primelocation launched. “At the time of launching, agents were still slightly sceptical
“Our major competitors are Savills and Knight Frank– independence is secondary
to what we do.” Mark Pollack, Co-owner, Aston Chase
each other. It sounds obvious but sometimes that doesn’t happen in other agencies. Our lettings staff talk to our sales staff which often results in increased business just by communicating clients’ needs. We don’t have an offi cial training process but most of the people we employ have cut their teeth at competitor agents but we have spotted their raw talent. “We operate in a very open-plan offi ce,
which again helps with the good fl ow of information. I also think it helps inspire people and gives them a buzz to listen to and learn from their colleagues.” In terms of marketing, because Aston Chase is an independent they can be as creative as they like in terms of design. “It would be a lot easier to have standard advertising but we tailor each advert to really
about marketing on the internet but we felt that this was a great opportunity so we were able to secure the Featured Property Carousels and the Landing Page for sales and rentals. While other agents were cutting costs, we saw this as a unique opportunity so we went for it. It was probably one of the smartest business decisions we made.” Being able to access the global market is
clearly paying off for Aston Chase as 75 per cent of the agent’s sales are currently to overseas buyers. They are also selected to work with the big named corporate agents on new build developments and are increasingly being asked to advise developers early on in the process. This is very unusual for an independent but something that is playing a major part in making Aston Chase a local and global agent. ●
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