Successful Estate Agencies Leave Clues

A quick one this week folks as I’m knackered after being a detective for the past couple of days (hopefully more Columbo than Inspector Clouseau).

Several of my clients have been very successful recently at different industry award competitions.

And success leaves clues as I’ve discovered while researching a future article on what makes some agencies do a lot better than others at awards.

The three clients I’ve featured here are all at different levels in terms of size.

One is a single office agency, another has three offices following a rapid expansion, and the final agency has 15 offices spanning four counties and several property disciplines.

They all have very good market shares in their patches, which let’s face it is a lot more important than awards.

And they all do quite a lot of things better, or at least differently from their rivals.

Small examples include:

Single office agency – The first agency I saw using personalised email signatures with a smiling, approachable looking photo of the staff member. And great social media use.

Three office agency – Have a mantra of ‘How will this benefit our clients? The owner is obsessed by learning about anything which can propel his agency forward. And that’s rubbed off on his well-motivated team.

15 office agency – Invest thousands in staff training, getting involved in local community events and never missing a trick to get their brand out there.

And although the above examples are different, and the agencies individual, they are all united by three things.

  1. They all have some sort of newsletter or regular method of staying in touch with precious (not a typo, work it out) clients who they have served in the past.
  2. They pay their bills on time. (I can usually gauge an agency’s attitude to clients by how they treat suppliers).
  3. The heads of all three companies are very decent, hardworking and honest people. Making a mockery of misconceptions about ‘dodgy agents’ which in my experience is a load of old bollocks anyway.

There are loads more things they do that make them great agencies but I’ve got to go now and solve the case of the missing bagel from my office (I really fancied it for lunch and some Herbert has nicked it).

Thanks for reading and here’s to your next instruction.

Jerry

PS: The Earlybird offer on my new Letting Agent Articles (31 great articles to win some landlord love) ends tomorrow at 5pm. To find out more simply ping me your postcode so I can see if your area is still available and I’ll reply with the deal and more info.

Jerry Lyons

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

5 trends driving London’s landscaped gardens

London gardens can add more than £205,000 in value as Chelsea tops table for prime buyers seeking outdoor space Ahead of this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, research by Enness Global has revealed that a garden can add more than £205,000 to the value of a London home, whilst Chelsea fittingly boasts the highest degree of…
Read More
how to present your property for sale
Breaking News

Six in 10 tenants say Renters’ Rights Act improves their housing protections and conditions

Awareness of the Renter’s Rights Act 2025 has increased amongst tenants from 19 per cent in October after the bill passed, to 60 per cent when it came into effect 19 per cent of renters are now more likely to remain in their current property but 45 per cent are concerned about the legislation’s long-term…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

West Oxfordshire tops list of first-time hotspots defying national trend

New analysis by the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals the first-time buyer hotspots where buyer demand is increasing, bucking the national trend over the last month West Oxfordshire leads the way, with demand for typical first-time buyer properties up by 45% year-on-year: A 37% increase in available first-time buyer type homes for sale and…
Read More
Breaking News

ONS Private Rent and House Prices Index- May 2026

The latest ONS house price figures show that the sales market that is broadly flat. Average UK house prices were unchanged year-on-year at £268,000 in March 2026, with annual house price inflation slowing from 1.7% in February to 0.0% in March. Main points Average UK monthly private rents increased by 3.5%, to £1,381, in the…
Read More
Overseas Property

Cyprus in demand as international property inquiries spike

Interest in Cyprus has more than tripled since the start of March, while sales to non-EU buyers have spiked by more than a fifth Cyprus is the best option for residency by investment in a major EU Mediterranean country, after Spain closed its Golden Visa in April 2025 and Portugal closed the property route in…
Read More
Breaking News

Inflation falls to 2.8%

Industry response to the latest inflation figures and their impact on the housing market.   Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark “It is very welcome news to see inflation dip this month; however, today’s figures still sit some distance away from the Bank of England’s target rate of 2%. It remains important to consider continued overall…
Read More