Women in Build Awards 2017

Build 2017 Women in BUILD Awards 14 rawing on the vast industry experience of Christine and her team, Michael Wright deals with clients ranging from first time buyers homes through to vendors selling mansions with acres of land, as well as handling rentals and potential development sites. It is the firm’s dedication to excellence and providing an honest, supportive service to its clients which marks it out as the ideal option, as Christine is eager to highlight. “When I set up Michael Wright over 40 years ago, estate agents did not have a good reputation, and despite the growth in regulations there is still often unease among clients today. Integrity is a key aspect within our Company work ethic as an estate agent, and therefore I wanted to steer my firm to success by supporting clients and providing the very highest standards of service. I have proved that someone can be just as successful, if not even more so, by building on very strong and solid foundations. Giving a good and honest service has secured our untarnished reputation and given us repeat business and recommendations time and time again. Honesty does pay off. “As such, at Michael Wright, we always offer an honest, efficient, friendly, welcoming approach and make people feel very comfortable in dealing with us. They are treated with professionalism and respect but also with enthusiasm. It could take anything up to six months or even longer to deal with a client, and therefore it is important that there is a good rapport throughout this whole period.” Operating in the competitive estate agency market, Christine has achieved phenomenal success over the years, and believes that, now more than ever, women in this market have the chance to achieve great things. “Through my position as Senior Partner, I single-handedly started Michael Wright Estate Agents just over 40 years ago and it has since gone from strength to strength. Being in my nature, my genes and my upbringing, I knew of only one route and that was to follow a straight and honest road, building good relationships and solid foundations along the way. Joining the NAEA was an obvious choice and I am proud to be a Fellow Member of the National Association of Estate Agents, and to provide clients with added assurance. Michael Wright is accredited by the association as a NAEA Propertymark Protected Agent, which means that we belong to a Professional Body that expects and maintains the highest standards of service, even beyond the legal requirements. “To be a good Estate Agent, and especially in running your own business, you need to have many skills and attributes in order to be successful; from accurate valuations, a good knowledge of the market, the sales process, good sales and negotiation skills, people skills, empathy, loyalty, honesty, integrity, enthusiasm, common sense, logic, intuition, good communication skills, patience and stamina, to name but a few. “As far as I can see women have as much opportunity as men to recognise potential sites for development. I am very proud of how far I personally have come, and believe that many others can emulate my success in the future. There is no doubt that it is tougher for women to succeed in what is, still predominantly sterotyped as a man’s world of business. At the end of the day most people do prefer to deal with an estate agent that they can trust. However, as a businesswoman, one would need a very strong team that can be relied on, be able to prioritise and time-manage, as well as to delegate. From a personal point of view, having help where needed at home for children, family and domestic needs is more than justified. Having some breaks and holidays is also essential in order to change environment and to re- charge one’s batteries.” Thanks to Christine’s forthright approach to client service, many customers of Michael Wright are profuse in their thanks and always happy to work with the company again. Christine discusses her approach to client service and how she personally works to provide the very best possible service to every client. “With regards to my own personal approach to client service I am very strong on negotiating, valuing and sales progression skills. It is also very important to communicate with all other agents within a chain, as well as the client, so that everyone is in the loop and involved in order to achieve a good end result”. Following on from the company’s incredible success over the past 40 years, Christine is eager to grow the company even further, and she is excited to showcase her plans for even greater future achievements in her concluding comments. “With our latest achievements and awards to be proud of, my vision is to look at franchising the Michael Wright name and brand. It has an untarnished reputation spanning more than 40 years, and depicts the way a true Estate Agency should be portrayed. I would like to see the Michael Wright name go national, working with an even wider range of clients, and this ambition will ensure great opportunities for myself and my team over the months and years ahead.” Michael Wright Estate Agents Most Trusted Estate Agent - UK & Best Independent Estate Agency - London Michael Wright Estate Agents, a Cockfosters based company that covers North London and South Hertfordshire, deals with all ranges of property. Founder Christine Michael talks us through her company and how it works to ensure that clients receive the very highest standards of service. D