Morning in Paris.
Morning in Paris: a coffee with a proper croissant. ☕🥐 Really looking forward to today. I'm running a workshop on seller leads for one of my clients. It struck me that two things I love most come t
Read moreInsights
The latest HUNTERS insights on real estate seller service infrastructure, agent ranking, and the seller experience.
How ready are you for seller leads?
Most portals I talk to can't answer one question: how ready are you for seller leads? Not "do you have a valuation form" — but the full chain. Capture, distribution, scoring, feedback, pricing, billi
Read moreEvery portal I talk to knows its traffic to the decimal.
Every portal I talk to knows its traffic to the decimal. Almost none can tell me its revenue gap. Here is a funnel that looks perfectly normal: 15,500 seller profiles a month. 1,395 become leads. 1
Read moreRory Sutherland (Ogilvy) has a thought experiment I just love.
Rory Sutherland (Ogilvy) has a thought experiment I just love. Imagine every car on the road is electric. And someone tries to sell you a petrol one: – It's loud and pushes smoke out of a pipe. –
Read moreA seller of a one-bedroom flat in Vilnius for €60,000 is as nervous as a seller of a €2m house in Berlin.
A seller of a one-bedroom flat in Vilnius for €60,000 is as nervous as a seller of a €2m house in Berlin. In some countries I hear the same argument: our commissions are high, our sellers compare, so
Read moreWe built "live call transfer". Sellers asked us to slow down.
We built "live call transfer". Sellers asked us to slow down. The setup was straight from the US playbook. Our qualifier talks to the homeowner, the homeowner says yes, I want to meet with an agent
Read moreAsk a portal what a seller lead costs. You'll get a number in seconds.
Ask a portal what a seller lead costs. You'll get a number in seconds. Ask what it's worth. Silence. That's the enemy in this business: pricing by pain. Most portals sell seller leads the way they
Read moreOn Wednesday I spent a full day with the immowelt team on one topic: seller leads.
On Wednesday I spent a full day with the immowelt team on one topic: seller leads. Thank you, Dmytro Aleksandrov, for the invitation. I've worked with many portal and broker teams over the years. It'
Read morePOST 6 / 6 — Nurture value, not pressure.
POST 6 / 6 — Nurture value, not pressure Fundamentals 6/6 — the last principle behind my seller leads system. I share these because they work for us — maybe something fits your model, maybe something
Read morePOST 5 / 6 — Zero tolerance. One warning.
POST 5 / 6 — Zero tolerance. One warning. Fundamentals 5/6 — the principles behind my seller leads system. I share them so you can test your own against them — this one is the simplest to say and the
Read morePOST 4 / 6 — Trust the rating, not the complaints.
POST 4 / 6 — Trust the rating, not the complaints Fundamentals 4/6 — the principles behind my seller leads system. I share them because they work for us — and this one took me the longest to learn.
Read morePOST 3 / 6 — One lead. One agent.
POST 3 / 6 — One lead. One agent. Fundamentals 3/6 — the principles behind my seller leads system. I share them so you can check your own against them — this one usually provokes the most pushback.
Read morePOST 2 / 6 — Agents want to sell.
POST 2 / 6 — Agents want to sell Fundamentals 2/6 — the principles I build my seller leads system on, after 22 years in real estate. I share them because they work for us
Read morePOST 1 / 6 — The seller comes first.
POST 1 / 6 — The seller comes first In 2004 I was selling my first home. the agent was dishonest. It hurt. That pain started my journey: 22 years in real estate — as a home seller, a buyer, an agent,
Read moreEvery strategy deck says the same thing: move up the value chain.
Every strategy deck says the same thing: move up the value chain. Get closer to the transaction. Meanwhile, in the real world, the opposite is happening. The most established seller lead businesses
Read moreThis chart stopped me.
This chart stopped me. People are googling "how to meet people" and "where to make friends" more than ever. Not dating. Friends. Basic human contact. Something in me tightened when I saw it. Becau
Read morePortals raising fees without adding real value are running out of road.
Portals raising fees without adding real value are running out of road. For a decade, portal growth followed one formula. Raise ARPA. Add a tier. Repeat next year. Rightmove, Funda, Hemnet — all
Read moreNobody became a broker because they love prospecting.
Nobody became a broker because they love prospecting. Ask any agent what they love about the job. Nobody says finding listings. They say the deal. The negotiation. The moment the seller signs. Yet m
Read moreHome sellers lie. Not to deceive you. To protect themselves.
Home sellers lie. Not to deceive you. To protect themselves. "We're not in a hurry to sell." The bank called twice this week. "Price isn't the most important thing. We want good people to live her
Read moreMost brokers don't have a skill problem.They have a rhythm problem.
Most brokers don't have a skill problem. They have a rhythm problem. I've lived this from both sides. I worked as a broker myself, and later I led more than 250 brokers at RE/MAX Lithuania.
Read moreMost brokers don't have a skill problem. They have a rhythm problem.
Most brokers don't have a skill problem. They have a rhythm problem. I've lived this from both sides. I worked as a broker myself, and later I led more than 250 brokers at RE/MAX Lithuania.
Read moreLast week I visited the Huispedia team in the Amsterdam.
Last week I visited the Huispedia team in the Amsterdam. Thank you, Maxim Bours, for the invitation. I lived in Amsterdam some years ago, and I still love this city.
Read moreFor years we had a waiting list of agents wanting to join our system.Think about that for a second.
For years we had a waiting list of agents wanting to join our system. Think about that for a second. Agents queuing up to pay for your service.
Read moreA survey once found that selling a home is nearly as stressful as going through a divorce.
A survey once found that selling a home is nearly as stressful as going through a divorce. 77% of people who'd sold called it stressful — just behind a relationship breakup at 78%.
Read moreA dolphin show in Japan confirmed something I've known for 20 years about managing brokers.
A dolphin show in Japan confirmed something I've known for 20 years about managing brokers. Last week I visited an aquarium in Japan with my daughter. We watched the dolphin show. Backflips. Tail-walking. Perfect synchronization. I couldn't stop wondering: how do you get a wild animal to do that?
Read morePortals already have the sellers. They just don't see them.
Portals already have the sellers. They just don't see them. Around 70% of buyers are also sellers. They're selling one home to buy the next. They're already on your portal. Every day. Browsing, comparing, running valuations.
Read moreMost portals deliver seller leads to brokers. And have no idea what happens next.
Most portals deliver seller leads to brokers. And have no idea what happens next. Here's a pattern I see again and again talking to portals across Europe. They deliver seller leads to brokers.
Read more"Agents will never report their deals to a portal."
"Agents will never report their deals to a portal." This objection has killed more seller lead projects than any technology ever has. And it's right. Agents won't report anything out of goodwill.
Read more"We can't monetize only the best agents."
"We can't monetize only the best agents." I've heard this sentence from portal executives more than once. And it's exactly why most seller lead businesses in Europe don't exist.
Read moreDrinking my coffee here in Tokyo, I fell down a rabbit hole into how Japan's property market actually works.
Drinking my coffee here in Tokyo, I fell down a rabbit hole into how Japan's property market actually works. Here, the buyer pays the broker too — not just the seller. Up to 3% from each side.
Read moreEvery time I visit a new city, I try to just relax.
Every time I visit a new city, I try to just relax. But after 22 years in the real estate business, my brain has other plans. Seoul completely hooked me with how they handle renting.
Read moreA portal is neutral. On purpose.
A portal is neutral. On purpose. It gives you tools, listings, even an estimate of what your home might be worth. But it won't tell you whether now is the right time, or which offer to trust, or what you'll regret in six months.
Read moreWhat if the portal owned the price — not just the listing?
What if the portal owned the price — not just the listing? We price the most expensive purchase of our lives like we'd price a second-hand sofa. Pick a number on day one. Defend it for three month. Cut it when the silence gets too loud.
Read moreEveryone's asking if AI will replace real estate agents.
After 22 years in this industry, I think that's the wrong question. 👇 Here's what I've actually
Read moreEverything I do wrong in business, I can now hear. Literally — on a drum.
Everything I do wrong in business, I can now hear. Literally — on a drum. For two years now, I've been learning to play the djembe. Mostly, I'm learning to stop interfering. A while ago, something shifted. I understood that the rhythm isn't something I need to acquire — it's already in me.
Read moreMost people in real estate guard their conversion numbers.
I'll just put ours on the table. From a seller creating a profile to a property selling, this is the funnel we actually see:Profile → sales lead: 13.8% Sales lead → matched to an agent: 56% Matched lead → signed listing: 16.7% Listing → sold: 73%
Read moreProperty portals measure their own health. Not their clients.
Property portals are excellent at measuring their own health. Revenue, margins, listings, year-over-year growth. They report these with immense pride, and fair enough—they pay the bills.
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