A day in the life
 

My day normally starts at 6am, up and out for an hours stroll with the dogs; it’s a great way to start the day and gain perspective. Then, I always check my emails for any urgent business, or clients needing to cancel early morning appointments, then to the office via the school run to drop my daughters to school in Exeter.

The office day starts with the morning meeting as a general post-mortem of the previous day’s activity and a look at upcoming business. The first task is to process any enquires that have come through overnight and the previous day’s valuation reports.  Every market appraisal generates a certain amount of admin; updating the database, writing a report and following up on meeting/viewings etc.

Then back in the car and out to conduct a market appraisal. This is my favourite part of my day; I love meeting people, understanding their motivations and background and discussing their goals and aspirations. We are so fortunate living in this part of the world, where we see some wonderful homes that by all rights we should pay to see! We are in a privileged position where we can impact people’s future and can guide and support them during the selling process, which can often be an uncertain and stressful time. I am very lucky to be backed up by an extremely experienced team, where I am one of the least experienced members with only 20+ years in the industry.   At Jackson-Stops in Exeter we have created a relaxed and positive environment in our office, to ensure clients and buyers feel comfortable and we spend time getting to know each buyer in an informal manner.

Whilst out and about often I would also accompany a viewing of a property by a prospective purchaser.  Accompanied viewings are a vital way to gauge prospective buyers’ reactions to our clients’ homes, as well as being the opportunity for us to share our considerable local knowledge.  This time spent with potential buyers allows us to help them choose a particular house positively and gives us the opportunity to better understand what sort of property will suit them. My colleague Michael Clark recently wrote an article on how to best accompany a viewing.

Back to the office and on with the day-to-day operations of the business. I also work on other projects, such as the advertising and marketing.  Part of my role is to sit on the Jackson-Stops’ national marketing committee, launching new advertising and marketing initiatives. We believe that social media marketing should be organic and authentic, and I therefore look after all the different forms of social media for the office. We are very lucky at Jackson-Stops to have a fabulous office in Southernhay, central Exeter, amongst all the other top, regional professional firms.

I normally leave the office around 6pm and head home through the beautiful Teign Valley to my wife and daughters.

David Lewis
Jackson-Stops Exeter