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

Breaking News

Breaking Property News 18/5/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Labour’s flagship social housing provider Vistry flounders   For the past 18 months, Labour’s housing strategy has been built around one central promise: accelerate delivery, unlock planning, and hit ambitious housebuilding targets through large-scale partnerships between government, housing associations and major developers. But the…
Read More
Breaking News

UK’s most affordable locations for first-time buyers

New Lloyds research reveals the most affordable places in the UK for first time -buyers • East Ayrshire tops the list, with average first -time buyer prices below £150,000 • Blackpool, Merthyr Tydfil and Mid and East Antrim also rank among the most affordable • Average first -time buyer age is 32 – but falls…
Read More
Breaking News

House prices trending into negative territory for just second time in a decade

The latest research by Yopa has revealed that average monthly house price growth across Britain has slipped into negative territory in 2026, marking only the second time this has happened over the last decade. Yopa analysed the average monthly rate of house price growth across Britain, England, Wales and Scotland between 2016 and 2026 so…
Read More
Breaking News

Homesellers face months of delays

The latest market analysis from House Buyer Bureau has revealed that home sellers in some parts of the country are facing Local Authority search waiting times of more than 90 days, with growing legal bottlenecks increasingly putting transactions at risk before they reach the finish line.   House Buyer Bureau analysed the latest Local Authority…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 14/5/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   The art of getting noticed as a recruiter in a world noisy with AI Why personal branding, humour and sharp messaging cuts through all – meet Daniel Fisher MREC Cert RP As a two times editor, journalist, author, analyst and consultant I get to…
Read More
can you drink tap water
Letting Agent Talk

What tenants really want from a HMO in 2026

By Allison Thompson, Chief Lettings Officer, Leaders part of LRG   Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), also referred to as multi-lets or room rentals, have come a long way in the past couple of decades. Once thought of as very much at the bottom of the accommodation pile, with a reputation for being sub-standard, many…
Read More