1. Stephen John Haigh
69 Woodlands Park Road
Bournville
Birmingham
B30 1HA
Tel: 07903903845
Email: stephenjohnhaigh@gmail.com
PROFILE
I am a highly experienced and motivated customer service professional with skills primarily
developed within a property environment. Efficient and organised, as well as an excellent
communicator, I seek to provide the highest standards and exceed expectations at all times.
KEY SKILLS
Customer Service: Business Generation: Strong relationship management: Negotiation:
Planning and organising: Business transfer and commercial valuation: Residential Sales:
Marketing: Business strategy: Project management: Residential valuation: Administration:
Management
CAREER REVIEW
October 2014 – Present: Pennycuick Collins
Nature of Business: Chartered Surveyors
Position Held: Residential Sales Manager
An autonomous role to create a new Residential Sales business for Pennycuick Collins from a
standing start, and to bring about functionality and profitability. I devised a full strategic plan which
once agreed led to:
• Setting up all of the administrations systems and sales chasing processes, development of an
applicant database
• Introduction of standards and procedures for operating a Residential Estate Agency taking the lead
in compliance and law.
• Designing and implementing marketing campaigns to raise brand profile and generate business
• Cover all aspects of running an estate agency including administration, sales and negotiations,
viewings, valuations, preparation of details, instruction of property, advertising, sales chasing,
market analysis.
• Writing of all company profiles for agency websites e.g. Rightmove and Zoopla microsites
• Writing of articles for the Pennycuick Collins website, for example ‘details and impact of recent
changes in stamp duty’.
• Direct reporting of progress and figures to the board
• Future strategy in a changing market place
Due to staff shortages, I have also voluntarily acted as the Lettings Manager maintaining and growing
this part of the business. The lettings role involved:
• Valuation and instruction of property, viewings and administration and promotional activities
2. June 2014 – October 2014 Career break due to the birth of my son (May 2014) and
relocation from the South West back to Birmingham
November 2012 – June 2014: Kavanaghs
Nature of Business: Residential Estate Agents & Chartered Surveyors
Position Held: Lister/Senior Sales Negotiator to Assistant Branch Manager
In this post I was successful at bringing together the sales and the lettings functions changing the
strategy of the branch to increase the cohesive operation of the office. This led to an increase in the
delivery of targets across the branch and sustained profitability. As a result I was promoted to
Assistant Branch Manager.
General Duties Include:
• Management and development of branch employees
• Working alongside the Director to define the strategy of the branch identifying business
development opportunities
• Valuation of residential properties, involving visiting people in their homes, benchmarking price
against market comparisons and competing with other businesses to win instructions.
• Production of accurate property details in accordance with the Property Misdescription Act
• Achieving and exceeding highly competitive monthly targets
February 2012 – October 2012: National Trust
Nature of Business: Heritage
Position Held: Visitor Reception Assistant
Working at two of the National Trust’s sites, I have successfully exceeded all targets set regarding the
sale of membership and gift aid conversion. I have built a reputation for excellent customer service
and demonstrated a willingness to work hard.
General Duties Include:
• Meet and greet of visitors to the National Trust
• Provide assistance, knowledge and advice on the site’s features
• Sale of National Trust membership
• Management of National Trust volunteers
• Administrative duties
September 2009-January 2012: Countrywide
Nature of Business: Estate Agents
Position Held: Lister to Manager in Charge
Originally as a pure listing role for a busy Bristol office, where I achieved an award for top lister for a
thirty office region, then moving to Bath office as a number two to support the manager. Here we took
the office from loss to profit in challenging markets. Finally I was positioned in Swindon to start up a
residential sales business within an existing lettings office.
General Duties Included:
• Valuation of residential properties, involving visiting people in their homes, benchmarking price
against market comparisons and competing with other businesses to win instructions.
• Production of accurate property details in accordance with the Property Misdescription Act
3. • Maintaining average fee level to 2.1%
• Selling of conveyance and financial services
• Achieving and exceeding highly competitive monthly targets
June 2008 -Sept 2009: Michael Tuck Properties Ltd.
Nature of Business: Estate Agents
Position Held: Valuations Manager
This post required me to turn around an underperforming estate agent to a situation where continued
success and increased awareness was achieved in the local area. I successfully completed the
project within the 3 months, increasing the number of properties on the books, increasing the average
fee obtained for each property by 100%, fully training existing staff in the latest estate agency practices
and streamlining the administrative processes helping to increase the efficiency of the branch.
General Duties Included:
• The training of a small team, in order to maximise sales within the branch, creating improved fee
culture, and to make compliant.
• Improvement of administrative processes, including accurate sales chasing and customer records
• Valuation of residential property, involving visiting customer property, aligning price against market
value
• Negotiation and sale of property to branch target
• Proactive marketing and canvassing, including the design of marketing material to be used in
advertising campaigns in the local press, internal displays and leaflets
• Maintenance of company computer database
• Reporting to Directors including weekly targets, progress against target, marketing activity,
ongoing sales
• Liaison with a range of external bodies including lettings agents, solicitors, mortgage companies
and financial advisors
• Chairing branch meetings to discuss progress, generate ideas, support staff
June 2007 – June 2008: Christie & Co
Nature of Business: Commercial Property Agent
Position Held: Business Transfer Agent
In this role I was instrumental in increasing the company’s pipeline of sales of businesses in the Retail
sector, achieving sales in excess of the targets set for the branch. I also increased the profitability of
the Retail Sales function by raising the average fee achieved per business sale from £5000 to £7500.
This was achieved through the building of lasting relationships with clients and the demonstration of
tenacious, focused and determined approach, with a clear adherence to targets.
General Duties Included:
• Valuation of businesses as a going concern, involving the assessment of accounts, analysis of
square footage for sales potential, calculation of business potential yield, comparison to market
trends
• Sourcing and identification of potential business leads, cold calling and customer visits
• Building of long term relationships with corporate agencies by attendance at networking events,
ongoing relationship management and corporate events
• Negotiation and ongoing management of business sales, including the liaison between clients,
solicitors and financial organisations
• Proactive marketing and canvassing, through targeted and mass email campaigns, attendance at
corporate events to raise company profile, production of business details and distribution to
potential purchasers
• Use and maintenance of internal company database
4. • Reporting of sales figures to company directors on a weekly and monthly basis
• Various ad hoc administrative duties
Sept 2004 – June 2007: Sequence UK (Shipways)
Nature of Business: Estate Agency
Position Held: Senior Sales Negotiator
In this role, I was consistently in the Premier League of Sales Negotiators which listed the top
performing people within the company on a National Level. I therefore assisted in placing my branch
ahead of all others in the local area. I was able to consistently exceed branch targets, increasing sales
of residential property and related financial and legal products.
General Duties Included:
• Negotiation and sale of property and financial products in a driven, competitive environment, to the
public, housing associations, letting agents and investment groups
• Proactive marketing and canvassing of company products and services, involving marketing
campaigns, production and distribution of sales literature and maintaining regular contact with
existing and previous clients
• Dealing with customer enquiries and all aspects of business face to face, by letter and over the
telephone
• The achievement and exceeding of competitive sales targets, including property, financial and
legal products
• Development of ongoing relationships with potential customers
• Identification of sales opportunities through customer interaction and assessment of the market
May 2003 – Sept 2004 Burchell Edwards
Nature of Business: Estate Agency
Position Held: Valuer
In this role I was involved in the valuation of residential properties in direct competition with other
companies to win business and gain instructions. I was successful in increasing the company’s
property portfolio within the first 6 months of employment. I consistently exceeded the allotted average
fee structure for the branch leading to increased profitability.
General Duties Included:
• Valuation of residential properties, involving visiting people in their homes, benchmarking price
against market comparisons and competing with other businesses to win business
• Production of accurate property details in accordance with the Property Misdescription Act
• Marketing of the company through targeted and mass campaigns
• Selling of conveyance and financial services
• Achieving highly competitive monthly targets
Feb 2000 – May 2003 Dixons Countywide
Nature of Business: Largest estate agency in the West Midlands
Position Held: Senior Sales Negotiator (from December 2002), Sales Negotiator
This was my first role in estate agency and I rapidly became one of the top performing sales
negotiators for the area, regularly exceeding targets of both property sales and related products.
General Duties Included:
• Negotiation and sale of property and financial products in a driven, competitive environment, to the
public, housing associations, letting agents and investment groups
5. • Proactive marketing and canvassing of company products and services
• Customer enquiries and dealing with all aspects of business face to face, by letter and over the
telephone
• Working to achieve and exceed competitive sales targets
1993 – 2000 Concessions Management International
Position Held: 1997 – 2000 Site Manager (UK, Germany and the Netherlands)
In this role I moved quickly through roles of responsibility, taking on larger teams and was given
increased autonomy to make decisions and set direction. I was instrumental in turning around a loss
leading Capital Radio store into a profitable branch within 9 months and increased the acquisition of
merchandising contracts across Germany.
General Duties Included:
• Responsibility for ensuring quality standards and maintaining high levels of service and sales in a
high-pressure environment
• Managing sales staff and co-ordinating teams operating at premier locations throughout the UK.
This involved the speedy recruitment and training of new staff in order to meet tight deadlines
during the busy events season
• Financial management and stock control
Position Held: 1996 – 1997 Store Manager – Capital Radio Store, Leicester Square, London
General Duties Included:
• Resourcing of suppliers and negotiation of best price deals
• Promotion of key items, through displays, offers and linked buying
• Training of branch staff
• Setting of targets and KPI’s to increase performance
• Reorganisation of store and stock holdings to promote fast selling items
Position Held: 1995 – 1996 Assistant Sales Manager
General Duties Included:
• Provision of a sales service to premier locations and venues across the UK
• Financial and stock control
Position Held: 1993 – 1995 Merchandiser Team Leader
General Duties Included:
• Sale of a range of promotional items at live events
• Overseeing sales staff
• Production of merchandise displays
1992 – 1993 Bankrupt Clothing Co
Nature of Business: Retail
Positions Held: Sales Assistant (Birmingham, Liverpool and Oxford Street)
1990 – 1992 Department of Health and Social Security
Nature of Business Public Sector
Position Held: Pensions Officer
