The Estate Agent Consultancy Podcast

More choice sounds like better service. But in estate agency, too many options can actually make it harder for clients to make a decision — and that could be costing you instructions, sales and conversions.

In this episode, I break down the paradox of choice and how it applies across your estate agency business.

From marketing packages and fees to pricing strategies, offers and even your website, we look at why bombarding homeowners with options creates unnecessary mental load — and why your job as the expert is to simplify the decision.

I cover how to n...

Want to charge higher fees, secure upfront marketing payments and make price and offer negotiations easier?

In this episode, I break down price anchoring — a simple psychological principle that can completely change how homeowners and buyers perceive a number.

We look at how to use anchoring when discussing your estate agency fee, presenting marketing packages, negotiating offers and having price reduction conversations.

The important lesson is that people rarely judge a number in isolation. They compare it with the numbers around it.

Use that correctly, and the exact same fee can su...

Your letting agency doesn't perform at the same level all year round and that's completely normal.

In this episode, i'm talking about the different seasons your agency goes through, from busy new-instruction periods and maintenance-heavy months to quieter times when you can finally step back to work on the business.

The trick isn't trying to push every part of the business at 100% all year. it's understanding what season you're in, what needs your attention right now, and where your energy will have the biggest impact.

Sometime the smartest thing you can do is...

Most estate agents focus their marketing on one group: homeowners who are ready to sell right now.

The problem? That’s only a tiny percentage of your local market.

In this episode, I break down the four stages of homeowner awareness and explain how your marketing should change depending on where someone is in their moving journey.

We cover homeowners who aren’t even thinking about moving yet, those starting to recognise a problem, those actively researching their options, and finally those deciding which estate agent to instruct.

If you want your...

Why is it so hard to form a consistent habit? How do we form habits that stick? What should we do if we fall off the wagon?

In this replay of Toby's weekly live YouTube show Distracted, he discusses the secrets to success with his guests. They cover the psychology of how our brains form habits, how to plan your day to produce consistently good quality work, and practical techniques that help to form new habits that last.

You can download a one-page summary of the practical tips in this episode from www.tobyisdistracted.com.  

Ollie Hawkins has spent nearly 25 years in estate agency, but it was moving into the self-employed model that allowed him to build the type of business he’d always wanted.

In this episode, Ollie joins me to talk about how he’s become a highly recognisable estate agent in Tadley, built a business around delivering a genuinely personal service, and created a growing stream of referrals and recommendations.

We talk about why he deliberately chose not to compete on cheap fees, how specialising in family movers has shaped his proposition, and why he wants clients to s...

Another round of your estate agency questions answered — and this time we’re tackling four big ones.

Should you reduce your fee when another agent is cheaper? When is the right time to make your first hire? Should you ever take on an overpriced property? And are you better off covering a huge area or becoming the dominant agent in a much smaller patch?

I break down how I’d approach each situation, including how to defend a premium fee, when outsourcing starts making commercial sense, the dangers of taking instructions you know won’t sell, an...

Referrals and recommendations are brilliant, but there’s one major problem: you can’t control when they arrive.

In this episode, I explain why every estate agency needs a predictable lead generation system that you can turn up when you want to grow and dial back when you’re busy. We look at the three main sources of instructions, why relying too heavily on referrals creates feast-and-famine months, and how to work out which marketing activities are actually producing a return.

If you want to stop hoping the phone rings and start building a more predic...

Friend of the pod and Alto Software CEO, Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson, is back!

Fresh from Alto's Summer Boat Party on the Thames, Ric's fills us in on what exciting things are happening at Alto. How they are using AI and "Skills" to help agents customise their CRM experience around the way their agency actually works.

How Alto welcome genuine feedback to help them continuously improve and why events like theirs bringing agents together with no agenda are so important for community and collaboration in the industry.

And of course we get Ric's thoughts on...

Networking can be a brilliant source of estate agency business — but only if it actually produces opportunities.

In this episode, I share a simple strategy for going beyond attending networking breakfasts and instead becoming the person who connects the local business community together.

I explain how to use local Facebook groups to find tradespeople and business owners, create your own free networking group, build a WhatsApp community and organise simple local meet-ups. Done properly, you become the estate agent sitting at the centre of a network of people who are speaking to homeowners every single da...

On the 3rd of September I sat down in front of a camera and didn't get up for twenty-four hours — forty-four sessions with some of the best people in estate agency, raising money for Breast Cancer Now and Andy's Man Club. Rory Sutherland on why the negatives are what sell the house, Stephen Brown winning a £14,000 fee with a single question, an Australian buyer's agent explaining why "just listed" is the worst marketing you can possibly do.

This is one lesson from every single session, in the order they happened. 

You can donate to the fund...

AI is everywhere in estate agency right now — but are agents actually using it to transform their businesses, or simply using new technology to do old jobs slightly faster?

In this episode, I’m joined once again by Mark Burgess, founder and CEO of Iceberg Digital, to talk about what AI could really mean for the future of estate agency.

Mark argues that simply plugging AI into an existing CRM isn’t enough. The estate agencies that win over the next few years will rethink how their entire businesses operate — using data and AI to identify...

In this episode, I’m answering four questions that come up again and again when I’m speaking to estate agents about growing their businesses.

We cover how to turn social media into something that actually generates leads rather than just likes, how to handle a valuation when you know another agent will be cheaper, and how often you should follow up a market appraisal without becoming annoying.

I also answer a big one for self-employed agents: if you only had two hours a day to generate new business, where should you spend that time?

This is a slightly different podcast from me.

I’m not a mindset coach, and I’m definitely not pretending to be one. But over the years, there are a handful of lessons that have genuinely changed the way I approach business, work and life — and I wanted to share them.

In this episode, I break down five ideas that have helped me enormously:

Now, video marketing is Toby Martin's territory not mine but video doesn't just have to be for your marketing, it works best best it's creating a connection between you and your landlords.

It doesn't have to be fancy, perfect lighting or hours of editing. It can be getting your phone out, pressing record and creating a message for your landlord.

In today's episode, I'm sharing how I use simple videos throughout the landlord journey, from a quick personalised video after a valuation, to pre-recorded videos explaining rent payments, statements and what happens next.

...

Something slightly different for this episode.

I’m sharing the full recording from one of my live estate agency coaching sessions, where agents joined me to work through how to convert more market appraisals into instructions.

We look at the entire journey — from what happens before you knock on the seller’s door, through to your market appraisal, closing for the instruction and following up afterwards.

You’ll also hear me coach agents through their questions live, discuss real conversion rates and break down practical changes they can make to their own market appraisa...

Four estate agents. Sixty seconds. No hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Recorded live at The 24-Hour Open House — a 24-hour non-stop charity broadcast for the property industry — Natalie Barton, Sarah Hood, Rowan Waller and David Mintz take on the classic parlour game, with subjects drawn entirely from the world of estate agency. Buzzers are pressed. Challenges are disputed. Nobody manages a full minute without incident.

The 24-Hour Open House raised over £4,500 for Breast Cancer Now and Andy's Man Club. Thirty-five sessions from the event are now available on demand in exchange for a donation — including Rory Sutherl...

Most estate agents are doing marketing. Far fewer actually have a marketing strategy.

In this episode, I’m joined by Cindy Slaughter, Head of Marketing and Communications at IAD UK, to discuss why estate agents need to stop doing random acts of marketing and start thinking properly about who they’re trying to reach, what they want to say and what result they’re actually trying to achieve.

We discuss why simply posting on social media isn’t enough, why Rightmove isn’t a marketing strategy, and why the customer journey can begin years before somebody a...

Most estate agents want more leads.

More enquiries. More market appraisals. More homeowners to speak to.

But before you spend another penny generating them, there’s an important question to ask: what are you doing with the leads you’ve already got?

In this episode, I explain why follow-up is one of the biggest leaks in the average estate agency sales funnel. You can spend thousands on social media, prospecting, letters and advertising — but if you don’t consistently nurture the people who respond, you’re pouring more water into a leaking hosepipe.

We lo...

Estate agents are paid to talk — but sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is say absolutely nothing.

In this episode, I explain how strategically using silence can make you a better salesperson, improve your conversion rate and even increase the perceived value of the work you’re doing for your clients.

We look at why you should stop talking after asking for the instruction, how an awkward silence can encourage sellers and buyers to reveal more information, and why talking too much can actually cost you business.

I also explain how sile...

You've got happy landlords. They tell you how brilliant you are. They thank you for going the extra mile...

So why aren't they leaving you reviews?

The truth is, even most happy customers aren't going to think about leaving a review unless you actually ask them.

In this episode, I'm talking about why reviews matter, when you should ask and how to make it ridiculously easy for your landlords and tenants to leave one.

We'll also look at how to build reviews into your customer journey, so asking isn't something your...

If too many of your listings are sitting on the market and not selling, the first place to look is usually pricing.

In this episode, I break down the stock management process I’d use to get more properties under offer, including when to have the price reduction conversation, how to prepare a seller for it properly, and why your communication should actually increase when viewings decrease.

We cover:

 Ask Rory Sutherland what he sees when he looks at estate agency and he doesn't hesitate: complete dysfunction. Recorded live during The 24-Hour Open House, Ogilvy's Vice Chairman Emeritus takes apart the psychology of buying and selling homes — why people who'd never list their house will happily consider a private approach, why Rightmove's search makes you eliminate options you never knew existed, and why the garden photo is always number 26. It's a half hour that will make you uncomfortable and give you at least three things to do differently on Monday. 

This episode was recorded live as part...

What separates the estate agents building highly profitable businesses from everyone else?

In this episode, I’m joined by Chris Buckler to discuss what he’s learned from building and selling his own estate agency business, joining TA UK and now working alongside hundreds of self-employed agents across the country.

We discuss:

•  Why the best agents aren't afraid to charge 2%+ fees 
•  How to defend your fee instead of immediately discounting 
•  Why carrying fewer properties can actually make you more profitable 
•  How to win the valuation before you walk through the front door 
• ...

Estate agents and sellers often wait for the “perfect” time to put a property on the market.

September. Spring. After Christmas. After Easter. When the weather improves. When the market picks up.

But in this episode, I explain why the best time is almost always right now.

We look at how to create urgency around both new instructions and price reductions, why waiting carries a consequence, and how the best estate agents frame the current market as an opportunity rather than an excuse to delay.

We cover:

* Why almost any...

Most estate agents are pretty good at explaining what they do.

Professional photography. One point of contact. Great communication. Longer opening hours. Better marketing.

But there’s one problem: why should the seller actually care?

In this episode, I explain how to turn the features of your estate agency into compelling reasons for a homeowner to choose you — and how to phrase your proposition so that saying “no” becomes a genuinely difficult decision.

We look at how to connect what you offer to the things sellers actually care about: more money, less tim...

I know I say it all the time..."Go back to your Customer journey"

But it's because I genuinely believe your customer journey can help you solve far more than just a few process problems.

In today's episode, I'm looking at 3 common agency challenges and how your customer journey can help you tackle them:

- Cash flow: Where are the opportunities to increase income, add value and improve your management service.

- Complaints and friction: Where are landlords, tenants or your team getting frustrated, confused or having to ask the same...

Stealing is wrong… except, perhaps, when it comes to business ideas.

Some of the most successful things I’ve implemented in my own business weren’t completely original ideas. I’ve seen something that works, taken inspiration from it and adapted it to work for me.

My social media content. YouTube. Podcasts. Books. Webinars. Even elements of our partner coaching model.

Very little in business needs to be invented completely from scratch.

In this episode, I explain why you should study people who are 10 or 20 chapters ahead of you, identify what they’re...

Why does selling a property now take more than 20 weeks when transactions once completed in six to eight?

In this episode, I’m joined by Silas J. Lees, who brings nearly 30 years of experience across estate agency, surveying and property investment. We examine why the UK property transaction process has become slower, more expensive and increasingly frustrating for agents, conveyancers and homeowners.

We discuss:

If something in your estate agency is working perfectly well today, you should still be asking one question:

How could we make it better?

In this episode, I explain why every successful business should be prepared to cannibalise itself before a competitor does it for them.

We look at how Apple effectively replaced the iPod with the iPhone rather than waiting for another company to do it, how Blockbuster became complacent while the world changed around it, and what estate agents can learn from both examples.

Because “we’ve always done it t...

A difficult property market doesn’t have to mean a difficult year for your estate agency.

In fact, a tougher market can be exactly where the best estate agents start to stand out.

In this episode, I look at what you should be focusing on when properties are taking longer to sell, buyers are more cautious and the market isn’t doing you any favours.

We cover why pricing becomes more important than ever, why you need to stop blaming things outside your control, and how proper estate agency skills can help you put...

September has a funny way of feeling like a fresh start in agency life.

The summer holidays are over, the kids are back at school, you and your team are feeling refreshed and your landlords are getting back into business mode too.

So if your marketing has gone a little quiet over the summer, now is the time to get moving again.

In this episode, I’m sharing 3 simple things you can do right now to generate more landlord conversations, win new instructions and grow your managed portfolio:

Reconnect wi...

Most estate agents hope happy clients will recommend them.

The problem? That’s rarely how referrals actually happen.

In this video, I break down the exact referral system I used in estate agency to consistently generate recommendations without relying on luck. You’ll learn how to create memorable customer experiences, build referral opportunities into your process, and stay front of mind long after completion.

In this video you’ll discover:

Alex Tan began her sales career making more than 100 cold calls a day before entering estate agency during the 2008 financial crisis.

Today, she is Group Sales Director at Andrews Property Group, helping lead sales across a network of 40 branches.

In this episode, Alex shares the experiences, lessons and mindset that helped her progress from junior negotiator to senior leadership.

We discuss:

Estate agency can get incredibly noisy. Social media, emails, meetings, new technology, AI, admin, marketing, training — there’s always something demanding your attention.

But if you stripped everything away, what are the one or two things you absolutely must do consistently to grow your business?

In this episode, I talk about identifying the non-negotiable activities that genuinely move your estate agency forward — and separating them from all the things that simply make you feel busy.

We look at how to cut through the noise, identify the key actions and metrics that actually matter, and pr...

There’s no shortage of estate agency advice online—but not all of it is good.

In this video, I share five pieces of advice I hear repeatedly that I believe are actually damaging estate agency businesses. From discounting your fees and claiming you’re available 24/7, to chasing more leads when your existing processes need fixing, I explain what I’d do instead after coaching some of the UK’s top-performing estate agents.

If you’re looking to build a more profitable, sustainable estate agency, these mindset shifts could save you years of frustration.

In this vi...

Everyone sees the successful agency owner travelling, growing a team, choosing their own hours and celebrating the wins.

What we don’t always see is how they started.

The late nights. The financial uncertainty. Working another job alongside the business. Doing every single role yourself. Saying no to things. Watching every penny. And, yes… having beans on toast for dinner.

In this episode, I’m talking about the reality of starting and building a letting agency and why you shouldn’t feel like you’re failing just because you’re not living the “high life” yet...

Are you constantly busy in your estate agency but still not making the money you want?

In this podcast, I break down the biggest mistake I see estate agents make—confusing activity with progress.

I’ll show you the simple framework I use to focus on the work that actually grows an estate agency, including:

✅ Why being busy isn’t the same as building a profitable business
 ✅ The estate agency sales funnel you should be improving every week
 ✅ The £10, £100 and £1,000 task framework
 ✅ How to prioritise lead generation over low-value admin
 ✅ Why time bloc...

Google search is about to change forever.

AI is transforming the way people search online, and for estate agents, that means the strategies that worked for the last decade may no longer be enough.

In this video, I’m joined by SEO expert Ben Marley to unpack the biggest changes happening inside Google, how AI search is replacing traditional results, and what estate agents need to do to remain visible as search continues to evolve.

We discuss Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, Claude, zero-click search, local SEO, Google Business Profiles and why...

I work with estate agents across the UK every single day, and despite every business being different, I see the same mistakes repeated again and again.

In this podcast, I break down the biggest issues holding estate agencies back—from poor marketing and weak value propositions to leaking leads, inconsistent follow-up and systems that only exist inside the owner’s head.

Whether you’re an independent agent, self-employed, or building a growing team, these are the changes that can have the biggest impact on your business.

In this video you’ll learn: