A VERY simple step could save your agency from throwing thousands of pounds down the drain

We’ve all been there.

When a big shining penny so blindingly obvious drops into our laps and screams ‘What the f**k took you so long?!!!!’

Let me explain.

Twice this week I’ve had conversations with clients about their PR and marketing plans for the next quarter.

Both times I’ve heard words to the effect of;  ‘We do it but we can’t measure the response, so we don’t know if it’s worth doing.’

It was at this point that I leapt to my feet, spun around 360 degrees and leapt in the air like a Scottish fresh water Salmon and said: “Listen up my bricks and mortar marketing amigos!

“There is a way you can keep a track on how your marketing performs. Use tracking numbers.”

Now I know this doesn’t sound like the discovery of a 100 per cent cure for a hangover (that’d make billions!) but I was surprised these two clever and proactive agents weren’t using them.

It’s simple. The ‘virtual’ number sits over your existing numbers so that for example a flier / newsletter you have sent out has a ‘virtual number’ at the bottom.

At the end of the week / month the virtual number provider sends you a report telling you how many times that number was called so you get to know if your flier generated leads rather than guessing.

The numbers can be applied to your email marketing, newspaper advertising, billboards etc.

In my experience they are surprisingly cheap but well worth having.

Ask yourself why would you spend hundreds or in a lot of cases thousands on a marketing campaign and not measure the response? Bonkers really.

Anyway hope that helps folks and here’s to your next instruction.

Jerry

PS: My September Sizzler offer is any article you need written for your agency for just £29.99 (Up to 350 words – usual price for this £49.99).

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 3/6/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor launches shared vision to become a top-10 global innovation cluster Later today, at a major science and innovation conference hosted by Bidwells at Westminster’s QEII Centre, the Chancellor, Science Minister Lord Vallance and Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook will set out a…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Refurbishment budget requirements approach £86,000

Jonathan Samuels, CEO of specialist lender, Octane Capital, believes that whilst refurbishment projects continue to offer some of the strongest value-add opportunities within the property market, investors must ensure they budget appropriately from the outset, with contingency planning often proving the difference between a successful project and one that stalls before completion. Octane Capital analysed average…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Renting for Life: Six in Ten Tenants are Staying Longer Than They Ever Planned

Six in ten tenants across England and Wales are renting for longer than they ever planned to, according to new research from LRG. The Spring 2026 Lettings Report, which draws on responses from 650 landlords and tenants, found that 40% say they have been in the rental market for much longer than they expected, with…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Keep Your Move on Track: Reducing the Risk of a Fall Through

Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial commitments most people will ever make. Unfortunately, not every agreed sale reaches completion. When a transaction collapses before contracts are exchanged, it is known as a “fall through”. Fall-throughs can be costly, causing delays, financial losses, and significant stress for everyone involved. Buyers may…
Read More
to let sign 2025
Breaking News

London rents up just 0.7% since RRA became law

The latest research from London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that rental growth across London has remained consistent since the Renters’ Rights Act received Royal Assent, with rents increasing by just 0.7% since, the same rate of growth seen during the equivalent period prior to October of last year. In fact,…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Will RRA mean almost 50% of renters need a guarantor?

A surge in tenants who require a rent guarantor is coming to the post-RRA rental market   New analysis by Zero Deposit reveals that the proportion of local authority districts in which the average tenant is likely to need a rent guarantor to secure pass tenancy affordability checks could increase from one-in-five to almost one-in-two…
Read More