Name me an industry that does work for 100% of it’s customers but only gets paid by half?

Not only that, the work that is done is paid for, on average, about 7-9 months from the time that they were first instructed. That business, fronting all of the costs for their customer until it’s time for payment.

It’s time that as an industry we start to respect ourselves for the value that we add. When you think about the business models of accountants and lawyers, the work is done on a time basis. If the client pulls out after they have instructed then costs are charged for the time that has been spent.

Those businesses have nothing like the investment that agency businesses make in lead handling and portal costs. These costs are increasing and our revenue model is anchored to the housing market.

What are the consequences?

It’s hard to grow a business like that quickly, because the business has to cashflow the growth.

The customers who do sell, end up paying for the customers who don’t sell, often through no fault of the agent. This leads to higher commissions being charged to those who do sell to take on the risk, however this too has been eroded over time.

What’s the alternative?

The basic principle of flexible fees are that every customer is given a choice on how and when they pay for the service you offer.

Do they want to pay for the service regardless of the outcome, but have a the lowest cost in return?

Do they want to pay nothing towards the service with everything paid on the outcome? This is the highest cost, because of the risk

Or do they want something in the middle, where the risk is shared and the cost is somewhere in the middle?

How is this working for other businesses?

On average this approach (if properly implemented) leads to a 23% increase in revenue per transaction. For most businesses that’s a doubling of profits.

I am convinced now, having seen the results that these agencies are going to be the ones who grow fast in 2026. This system is being used by over 30 brands in the UK including a successful pilot in the UK’s biggest agency.

I’ve been exchanging messages with one of my clients who over the 2nd and 3rd of January has taken over £10,000 in marketing fees from his first few listings of the New Year.

His business has three branches and does good volumes, what he’s chosen to do is to spend time, on the road with his listing team, showing them how to do it, and observing them having a go.

Implementing this change

I believe that Q1 is the best time of year to implement this change.

The approach I support is using a method called IMPACT

Incentives: The biggest barrier to change is in your listing team – a well judged competition or incentive to create a good reason to

Maths: One of the biggest mistakes people can makes is by offering the wrong level of reduction for an upfront marketing fee. I have a tool to help business owners work it out on this page

Process: The foundation is a great listing process. I encourage a full review of your listing process so you can differentiate

Agency Agreements: If you are offering an upfront fee, you will need a new agency agreement for these instances

Commitment: An ironclad commitment is essential for a successful implementation

Tech: Making this very simple for customers is essential. Tools such as a slider can help hugely in presenting this to customers

If you would like more help with implementing this change, please feel free to get in touch and I will be more than happy to run an analysis on the financial impact to your business.