A FOCUS Strategy for Estate Agents

A FOCUS Strategy for Estate Agents Image

I have a coaching client at the moment – a very successful four office owner from Kent – who can’t wait to use the techniques and strategies I’m sharing with him in his business.

There’s just one problem – he wants to do them all.  Right now.

As estate agents, we like shiny new things, right? I certainly do.  The latest tech, the hot new trend, the newest style website. We want them all, and we want them now.

It’s not our fault; we’re made that way. 

 We’re salespeople,  and that means we love the thrill of the deal, and the roller coaster ride that goes along with it. After all, who in their right mind would run a business where we do all the work months (or longer) before we take a single penny from our clients, and where even then, only around 75% of deals will come off??

So if you want to implement all your new ideas, immediately, you’re not alone.  Trouble is, you can’t. Well, not successfully, at least.  You’ll get overwhelmed, frustrated and burned out before you’ve managed to implement everything. I know this, because I’ve been there, lots of times.  I too felt overwhelm at all the exciting new ideas I wanted to apply to my business, and ended up with a lot of half-baked, half-finished, poorly-executed initiatives, most of which just didn’t work.

Then someone told me about this acronym:

F – follow

O – one

C – course

U – until

S – successful

It made a lot of sense.  So I reined in all but one of my ideas, putting all the rest of them on a list called ‘Backburner’. Then, I divided up the campaign or project into several smaller steps, and put them in the best order for implementation.  I printed out a calendar and wrote each step on a date that represented a realistic timeframe to get it done, and a final delivery date for the entire project.

Then I worked on it until it was finished. Without looking at any of the other shiny ideas on my Backburner list.

And it worked!

My tactic was to work on each project first thing every morning, for at least an hour or two, before opening any email or switching the phone on.  Perhaps you’d prefer saving a couple of hours at the end of each day, or taking a whole day every week to work on your current project, maybe from home, to avoid work distractions.  Whatever works for you is fine, just so long as you actually set aside the time to do it. Otherwise, as we both know, it will become sidelined amongst all the detritus of your working day.

Are you going to try it? Let me know in the comments; I’d love to hear from you.

What to read next: Is Your Diary Running Your Business? 

What to do next: Do you get my Supertips? They’re jam-packed full of great tips and marketing strategies just like this one, and best still – they’re free! Get yours here -> www.samashdown.co.uk/samsupertips

Speak to Sam: If you’d like to know how I think you could improve your marketing, just answer a few short questions here and I’ll tell you if and how you could be more effective.

Sam Ashdown

Sam is an industry-renowned marketing strategist to estate agents. She helps agents grow and flourish, using her unique smart marketing techniques and strategies. Sam works with agents throughout the UK to help them gain more valuations, win more instructions and sell more properties.

You May Also Enjoy

Overseas Property

Why 2026 is the Best Year to Invest in Dominican Republic Land

If you’re eyeing Caribbean real estate, 2026 offers an exceptional window to invest in Dominican Republic land. The country has emerged as the fastest-growing Caribbean economy, creating ideal conditions for land investors. Tax incentives, infrastructure projects, and rising international interest are converging at just the right moment. Whether you’re searching for beach land for sale…
Read More
Breaking News

Property expert on how to bag the BEST mortgage deal in today’s market

Finding a good mortgage deal in today’s market demands more than just comparing rates. While the average 2-year and 5-year fixed mortgage rates have gone down this year, they’re still higher than rates pre-pandemic. This means those in their current homes will have to pay more than they once were each month, and new buyers…
Read More
Breaking News

Halloween Named the UK’s Most Popular Moving Day of 2025

Halloween was the most popular day to move house in 2025, breaking the long-standing trend of summer being the busiest time for home moves. We analysed the data and spoke to industry experts to understand why the peak moving day has shifted and why it fell on an international holiday.  Compare My Move reviewed more than 170,000 house moves made in 2025 and…
Read More
for sale sign london
Breaking News

Industry Response to Halifax House Price Index

Industry response to the Halifax House Price Index December 2025 The latest index shows that: – On a monthly basis, house prices fell by 0.6% between November and December of last year. Annually, house prices were up 0.3% versus this time last year, although this annual rate of growth had slowed from 0.7% the previous…
Read More
Breaking News

Halifax House Price Index December 2025

House prices in December 2025 were 0.3% higher compared to the same month a year earlier. UK house prices dipped in December • House prices dipped by -0.6% in December, following a -0.1% fall in November • Average property price is now £297,755, the lowest since June • Annual growth slowed to +0.3%, down from…
Read More
Breaking News

Homebuyer demand returns following Autumn Budget

New research from Property DriveBuy reveals that Bristol, Tyne & Wear, and South Yorkshire emerged as the UK’s most in-demand areas of the housing market following the Autumn Budget, with as many as 61% of homes listed for sale successfully securing a buyer in Q4 2025. Property Drivebuy analysed residential listings data across the nation…
Read More