How much time should you be spending on post-sale?

Imagine you’ve just tied up a sale. As an estate agent, you want that sale to get to completion as soon as possible because until then, in the majority of cases, you won’t be receiving your income. So how much time do you put in to making that happen vs time spent winning the next valuation or making the next sale?

Truly pro-active sales progression takes time, patience, dedicated resource and persistence. It can however, shave valuable time off the process by being the driving force, making sure every party is doing what they need to do in a timely manner and ensuring progress is happening at each point of contact. It also has the benefit of consistent and valuable contact with your buyers and sellers which can help reduce the amount of lost sales.

It’s not just the time you have to consider either; it’s the motivation, skill and dedication. How much do your sales team enjoy dealing with post-sale? Are their skill sets equal in selling and progressing? It’s not the most exciting of tasks and probably one of the most frustrating, so do they avoid it when things get a bit difficult?

In a recent survey we read about, 78% of home movers found the communication merely adequate or complained of a lack of communication. That is not the level of dissatisfaction that any estate agent or conveyancer aims for and that can lead to less repeat business and a higher risk of the sale falling through.

Once the sale is agreed, that’s only the first step. Without proper attention that sale is at risk for the next 10-12 weeks on average and (beyond in some cases) so it needs to be managed just as pro-actively as the getting the sale.

The issues you then face are the resource and time it takes to do that. For those estate agents with an in-house sales progressor; you’ve probably got that covered. For those using the sales team, you may still push for that level of dedication but what opportunities are being missed? How many additional valuations or sales could you win using their time for that purpose?

As a provider of such services, we think outsourcing sales progression can help address the issues you face and ensure that you use the best resource for every part of the process. It’s not the most suitable option for everyone, but it’s something to consider if you’re currently using your sales resource to manage both pre and post-sale.

The answer to the original question of how much time you should put in once your sale is agreed is pretty clear – a significant amount! To minimise the risk of all your hard work going to waste, along with the money you’ve spent on winning the business and marketing the property, an investment of time and energy into post-sale is extremely important. So you should ask yourself 2 questions –

Is our post-sale service pro-active enough?

and

Could we be saving more sales and winning more business?

Savvy Sales Progressors offers outsourced sales progression services to estate agents. More information can be found on our website: www.savvysalesprogressors.co.uk

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Buying Alone? What Solo Buyers Need to Know Before Making an Offer on a House

Figures show that solo buyers accounted for 36.9% of Barclays’ mortgage completions in June 2026, as more people chose to step onto the property ladder without a partner beside them. Choosing independence over waiting for a joint purchase has doubled over the last 50+ years, with solo first-time buyers doubling from 15% before 1980 to…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

How to Make a New-Build Living Room Feel Less Like a Show Home

An empty new-build living room can be surprisingly difficult to furnish. The walls are freshly painted, the sockets are in place, and there is nothing to remove before decorating begins. Yet once the sofa arrives, the room can still feel unsettled: too bare in some places, awkwardly crowded in others. The answer rarely involves buying…
Read More →
Breaking News

Mortgage Borrowing Dip

Key points: Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals decreased to £3.9 billion in September, from £4.2 billion in August, below the previous 6-month average of £4.9 billion. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased to 53,400 in September, below an average of around 58,800 over the previous 6-months. Approvals for remortgaging increased to 42,600…
Read More →
Breaking News

Autumn Budget 2026: Property industry reaction

Following today’s Autumn Budget, reaction from property industry experts on six key areas for the property market. First-time buyer support: The £4.7bn Your First Home equity loan scheme, supporting 70,000 buyers, alongside the introduction of a new First Time Buyer ISA. Inflation and borrowing costs: The extension of the fuel duty freeze, household energy support…
Read More →
Breaking News

Can you legally BAN Halloween Trick or Treaters?

People who dread the annual knock of trick-or-treaters may have more power to keep Halloween callers away than they realise. As millions of children prepare to take to the streets on October 31, a property law expert has explained what homeowners can do if they do not want strangers walking up their path or knocking…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

What the sector need to do differently to give first time buyers a chance

By Peter Hawley, Director, SOWN (part of LRG) The mortgage and property sector needs to stop assuming that younger buyers are either ready to buy outright or not ready at all. For many, the reality is somewhere in between. They may have stable employment, a deposit and a strong desire to own, but still find…
Read More →