Posts by Sam Ashdown
How to Win Instructions with Social Media
By the time you get invited out on a market appraisal by a prospective vendor, it’s probably already too late. The seller has a good idea of who she’s going to pick before you even walk through her door. You may be harbouring the hope that you have a one in three chance that you’ll…
Read MoreSoon is not as good as NOW
This is my favourite quote, from a marketing hero of mine, Seth Godin. And here’s why: I like to work with action-takers; with clients who want to fast track their goals. I spoke to an agent last week who told me he wanted to take his turnover from £50k a month, to £100k a month.…
Read MoreDouble Your Fees by Dressing Better
As some of you know, I run a vendor-focused consultancy, at www.home-truths.co.uk. Through a network of consultants, we provide often much-needed advice and support for those sellers who are struggling to sell their home. As part of the induction process for new consultants, I have a unique three day training programme. Part of that programme…
Read MoreForget Online versus High Street – Focus on Your Clients
Estate agency, as we’ve known it, is changing. Pre-internet, our job was to provide information; post-internet, it our job is to explain it. Every vendor and purchaser, landlord and tenant, not only has all the information they think they need, right there at a click of their mouse, but they also have something we don’t:…
Read MoreBehind the scenes of our marketing funnels
This article is going to help you to understand what a funnel is, what it can do for you, and what you can do if yours doesn’t seem to be working.
Read MoreDo you Have a Triple A Team? Attitude, Aptitude, Appearance makes for the perfect team
It’s not easy to get hiring right. That senior negotiator you bribed away from the competition with a 25% pay rise turns out to be someone they were about to fire. And that girl you promoted from lettings was so promising, but she’s developed a mystery illness and is never in the office. No one…
Read MoreWhat a Marketing Funnel is, and Why You Need One
NB: Read to the bottom for an offer you can’t refuse…… Your marketing acts like a funnel, or should do. The idea is, you put prospective clients – vendors and landlords – in the top, and sales – revenue; money in the bank – tumbles out the bottom. By its very nature, a funnel is…
Read MoreSocial Media – how to use it to get your phone ringing
“We’re spending £400 a month having our Facebook page managed; could you take a look and see if we’re doing the right thing?” I got this email from a Stoke estate agent and immediately popped onto her Facebook page to take a look. What I saw there literally made me face-palm… she only had 93…
Read MoreA day in the life of a social savvy estate agent.
When you go about your daily business as an estate agent, do you simply rush from morning meeting to viewings, viewings to valuation, valuation to the office, clear your inbox then clear off home? On your travels, in your everyday tasks, do you ever think about your social media accounts? Or is that “someone else’s…
Read MoreYour Facebook interests.
Have you ever wondered why you seem to get random ads on Facebook in your newsfeed? You’re not alone. We all do. I get completely irrelevant adverts. Like catfood ads. (I have a dog.) Or pregnancy tests from Clearblue…. Buried deep inside the Facebook algorithm, are the interests Facebook think you have. Want to see…
Read MoreDirect Mail – All You Need to Know
What is Direct Mail and how you can best use it to target and win the best new clients. Direct Mail is the source of much confusion and wonderment among estate agents, especially independent agents, with tiny marketing budgets. It looks like canvassing, but is it? Or does it mean leafletting? Or even just postcards?…
Read MoreMy Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising for Estate Agents
The why, what and how of advertising on Facebook as an estate or letting agent, to generate new enquiries and valuation opportunities. Are you confused by Facebook, never mind Facebook advertising? Are you fearful of falling foul of Facebook’s ever-moving terms and conditions? Do you worry about throwing your money away on endless Boosts that…
Read MoreFacebook for Estate Agents – the new stuff you need to know. (Don’t panic; it’s all good.)
Everything you need to know to make your Facebook page work for you. Facebook has changed. A lot. But we’ll come onto that in a bit. In the meantime, let’s look at: The power of Facebook today: 35.4% of the UK population has a Facebook account, that’s 33 million users. And a hefty 23 million…
Read MoreDon’t Forget your Buyers
In his film Phenomenon, John Travolta plays a character who gets hit by lightning, unexpectedly rendering him a genius, temporarily at least. One scene in the movie stuck with me. Travolta’s character, George, is initially perplexed by the fact that a rabbit is somehow getting into his vegetable patch, and resolves to fix the problem.…
Read MoreWhy you Don’t need an App
Where’s your phone, right now? I bet that it’s not more than three feet from you; am I right? And there’s around a 50% chance that you’re even reading this post on your phone. When I reach for my computer to search for something on the internet, around 50% of the time, that computer is…
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