During the Tinted Glass Cabin era of 90's, Home Buyer and Builder were bridged by a species called Dalal or Broker. Neither the Builder nor the Customer could ignore this ubiquitous yet influential Safari Clad person.
As the Real Estate Industry entered the new millennium, piggyback on economic liberalisation, the galloping pace of Real Estate growth attracted the entry of suave and dynamic entrepreneurs, fascinated by the dazzling glare and glamour of the Industry. Soon they realised the importance of reaching the customer quickly and directly in order to capture the market share. And the revolution of Real Estate Marketing earnestly arrived. The evolution of Electronic and Digital World further brought the Builder and the Customer closer. The over-dependence on the wily broker was certainly on the wane. Soon the traditional broker was
pushed to the corner for an occasional transaction here and there.
Not to be outdone, the broker community reinvented themselves leading to re-christening of their profession. From Safari Clad snooty broker to Suited-Booted Channel Partner, our middleman has gone through multiple renaming ceremonies. Dalal, Broker, Estate Agent, Property Consultant, Real Estate Advisor, Channel Partner, Asset Aquisition Advisor, Property Specialist, Real Estate Enthusiast etc., are some of the Verbs and Nouns, proudly displayed on their social media handles.
The 'Safari Suit' gave way to 'Blazer, Jacket & Necktie'. Vernacular local language has taken a backseat while sophisticated English is dished out more often.
This external transformation of the broker seems to have convinced or even overawed the Not-So-Marketing Savvy developer who is already stressed with so many other aspects of Real Estate business. Outsourcing being the latest fad, Marketing is handed over to the mercy of untrained, unorganised, not so loyal, rechristened Channel Partners.
Focus of many builders has been Sourcing the Sourcing Manager who in turn Sources the Channel Partners, who in turn Sources the prospective Customer. The distance between the Builder and the Home buyer just got longer. In fact builder's staff are busy
sourcing brokers than customers. So much so, that in the property exhibitions, most commonly asked question to a visitor was Are You a CP?
This over reliance has led to unethical practices. The unholy nexus between the sales staff and channel partners, has thrown the ethics out of Sales Office window. Even a direct Walk-in is being routed through a broker by unscrupulous sales staff. The loyalty of sales staff and channel partner towards builder is at the lowest ebb.
Many sales staff turn channel partners after a short stint with builder, walking away with precious data. Worst, those who fail to find success in their newfound profession, are already hunting of a job. It is indeed scary to recruit an employee who has tried his hand at being Channel Partner. The traits of his previous profession will come to haunt the builder sooner than later.
To make matters worse, the so called IPCs (Institutional Property Consultants) who call themselves as marketing companies, have compounded the problem. Most of them are now ICPs (Institutional Channel Partners) and act as an umbrella for hundreds of untrained, unprofessional channel partners to sell a project they have taken mandate for. In the name of Customer Experience, ignorant builders are made to spend huge amount of money, most of which could have been avoided, for the launch of the project, adding to the already high prices.
Poaching of customers has led to catfights in many projects. The aggrieved channel partners subsequently boycott the project or start spreading mischievous information in the market tarnishing the image of the builder. The gullible customer becomes the sacrificial lamb who will ultimately blame and brand the builder.
Some developers have already realised the folly. Recently, a big Real Estate Brand had circulated a message about series of hand-in-glove incidents in one of their large projects. The message also carried the names of those who were sacked, including senior staff.
With job opportunities diminished post pandemic, the number of Channel Partners have multiplied to such an extent that during the recently concluded property exhibitions, a huge majority of the visitors were channel partners.
The pertinent question is:
Are we walking into a CP trap? Are we risking the confidence of the customers gained post RERA?
Ironically, while a CP TAP (chrome plated tap) can enhance the beauty, a CP TRAP (channel partner trap) can ruin it.
Marketeer or Broker? Real Estate Industry is at crossroads on this subject.
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