Four Simple Steps To Win More Instructions.
October 16, 2014
We have spent the past few months travelling the UK and speaking with hundreds of estate agency and letting agency directors.
Two constants wherever we go are that there is a shortage of stock for sales and rentals, and the battle to win instructions routinely centres on the fee being charged.
In this short article Rajeev Nayyar of Fixflo looks at an alternative approach that should pay dividends for your agency over the longer term.
The Power of Your Brand
Think about your last trip to the supermarket.
When you went down the aisles did you fill your shopping trolley with branded goods or their generic (and quite possibly cheaper) counterparts?
Put simply, branding works by selling a product to you before you even decide that you need that product.
If you want to win instructions before attending a valuation your brand is key. Here are four simple steps to help you to unlock the power of your brand.
Understand Your Brand
Start by visualizing your brand as a person. Would they be fun, quirky or traditional? Are they loud and brash or understated and serene?
Then at your next five valuations ask yourself whether the prospective client would like your brand if they were carrying out the valuation? Crucially would they trust your brand with their largest asset?
Once you have identified what your brand is and why clients would choose your brand it’s time to speak with your team.
It Lives and Breathes
A brand is something your agency should live not just a catchy tag-line on your website.
Before exposing your thoughts to customers get feedback from your entire team. For example, if you’re the agency that does everything with a smile then you will need the buy in from every single member of staff.
A single scowl from an overworked team member could shatter what you’re trying to achieve.
With a clear idea of your brand and buy-in from your team you should review how you treat your current customers.
Think of People NOT Roles
Building a brand is a long-term exercise that requires real commitment.
Start to think of everyone you interact with as someone who should see what your brand offers. For example someone may be a tenant today but they may be your landlord, vendor and/or purchaser of the future.
Every interaction your agency has is an opportunity to show off your skills and corporate ethos.
Make those opportunities count and in the long-term potential vendors and landlords will be sold before they walk through your door.
Build Your Proof
Unless someone has instructed you it can be hard to show the value that you add.
Ask customers (and yes that includes people who are or were landlords, tenants, vendors and purchasers) to give you feedback you can use for your marketing communications.
A quiet word from a peer is more powerful than you shouting about your value and your brand.
See how we use testimonials in our business here.
You May Also Enjoy
Landlords and tenants advised to work together to get through extreme heatwaves
With some areas set to be hotter than Portugal this week, lettings and estate agents across the UK are issuing advice to protect properties ahead of extreme weather Prolonged periods of hot weather across the UK are placing additional pressure on homes, from overheating and poor ventilation to damage caused by extreme temperatures. Today, lettings…
Read More 
Nearly half of UK home listings fail to sell
A London estate agent has warned that thousands of homeowners across the UK are pricing themselves out of the market by setting asking prices that no longer reflect what buyers are willing to pay. The warning comes after new analysis by Zoopla, covering more than two million property listings between 2023 and 2026, found that…
Read More 
Lowest number of new build developments coming to market since 2017
New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that the number of new build housing developments coming to market is at its lowest level since January 2017 The figures are despite the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes over the course of this parliament Higher mortgage rates continue to set a challenging…
Read More 
What Every Estate Agent Should Tell Clients Before Moving Day
For most estate agents, the job is done once contracts are exchanged, completion takes place, and the keys are handed over. For your client, however, that’s when one of the biggest challenges begins. Moving day has the power to turn months of excitement into an incredibly stressful experience, or a smooth finish to what has…
Read More 
Breaking Property News 9/7/26
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. PropTech is evolving but WhatsApp is still winning the Property transaction battle A home-moving process that a decade of PropTech failed to fix Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink There are a particular series of messages, somewhere in every property chain, that decides whether…
Read More 
Heatwaves haven’t diminished love for south-facing gardens
The latest research from Yopa reveals that despite 81% of people saying they have been avoiding their garden during the recent heatwaves, south-facing gardens continue to be the preferred orientation of choice for UK homeowners, attracting house price premiums of over £20,000 on average. However, the insight from Yopa also suggests that should heatwaves become…
Read More