Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents

Rob Graves
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated weekly

Welcome to The Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents , your go-to podcast for insights, tips, and inspiration in the world of estate agency. Join us as we interview industry experts, successful estate agents, and thought leaders who share their experiences, strategies, and innovative ideas. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, our episodes are packed with valuable content designed to help you elevate your skills and enhance your services. Tune in to discover practical advice and fresh perspectives that will empower you to become a top-performing estate agent and take your agency to the next level. Subscribe now and start your journey towards excellence in estate agency! #EstateAgency #RealEstate #Podcast #IndustryInsights #ProfessionalGrowth

  1. 21 Oct

    Self-Employed Estate Agent: A Business or Just a Different Job? With David Lindley

    You’ve left employment, gone self-employed and started earning more. But what happens when you stop? Have you built a business that can work without you, or does every pound still depend on your next instruction? In this episode of The Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents, I’m joined by David Lindley, former CEO of Fine & Country and now CEO of By Design, to explore the difference between being a successful agent and building a business with a future. David explains how By Design’s licence model gives agents an exclusive territory and the opportunity to recruit their own team, supported by a shared premium brand. But the conversation goes well beyond the model. We discuss: Why going self-employed doesn’t automatically create a business you can eventually sell. The case for fewer properties, higher fees and healthier margins. Why premium property is about more than a price tag. How recruiting the wrong people can damage the very business you’re trying to grow. The shift from managing employees to supporting independent business owners. David also shares why he walked away from a comfortable CEO role, the self-doubt behind starting again and why leadership, for him, means serving the people in his network. Whether you run a traditional agency or work as a self-employed broker, this episode asks an important question: are you building something that will give you choices, or something that will always need you working in it?

  2. 15 Oct

    Why Should Anyone Choose Your Estate Agency? With Gareth Melly

    If sellers think every estate agent does the same thing, why wouldn’t they choose the cheapest? Before you spend another pound on advertising, you need a convincing answer. In this episode of The Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents, I’m joined by advertising specialist Gareth Melly to explore what makes an agency stand out, why that matters and how to turn that difference into business. Gareth brings experience working with brands including Dyson, Rolex and Pepsi. Now, he’s applying that advertising background to estate agency through his business, David to Goliath. We discuss: Why effective advertising starts with your values, positioning and offer. Why posting more isn’t enough, and why giving up too quickly doesn’t help either. How independent agencies can use their ability to move quickly to compete with the corporates. How Gareth uses AI to respond to and qualify enquiries while the prospect still has their phone in their hand. Whether AI will help agents deliver a better service or simply fuel another race to the bottom. We also challenge the assumption that customers will always prefer a human. If you can’t get an agent to call you back, would you really care who, or what, finally responds? A practical conversation about giving people a reason to choose your agency, then making sure your marketing and service deliver on it.

  3. 8 Oct

    Everyone Knows the Basics. Why Do So Few Agents Get Them Right? With Michelle Gallagher

    Returning calls. Preparing properly for valuations. Following up with buyers. Doing what you promised. Every estate agent knows these things matter. So why do so many businesses struggle to deliver them consistently? In this episode of The Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents, Rob Graves talks to Michelle Gallagher, Sales Director and co-owner of JDG Estate Agents, twice named Overall Winner at the EA Masters. Michelle shares what getting the basics right actually looks like inside her business, from aiming to respond to enquiries within 30 minutes to making sure every valuer does their own preparation and calls the seller before the appointment. We also explore: Why closing their Morecambe branch helped them perform better in that market.• How clear standards, morning meetings and practical accountability support the team.• Where AI saves time, and why the personal touch could become even more valuable.• Growing through acquisition while maintaining continuity for clients.• Why, when the phone stops ringing, your team needs to start dialling. An honest, lively conversation about turning good intentions into consistent service, and building an agency that gives clients a reason to choose you.

  4. 1 Oct

    “Where Has All the Profit Gone?” | Paul Miller

    You’re selling houses. The team is busy. Money is coming into the bank. So why does it feel as though there’s nothing left? I put that question to Paul Miller, an accountant who has spent over 30 years running his own business. We talk about the gap between turnover, profit and cash in the bank, and why owners can work harder and grow their revenue without becoming any better off. Paul also challenges us to look at the work we spend our days doing. Are we making time for the decisions that improve the business, or filling every hour with tasks someone else could handle? And with agency fees often arriving months after a sale is agreed, what could we change to get paid sooner? Paul is preparing to hand his own firm over to his son, so this isn’t just theory. It’s a conversation about knowing your numbers, protecting your profit and building a business that works beyond you. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

  5. 24 Sept

    From Chasing Instructions to Becoming the Agent Sellers Want

    What does it take to build an estate agency that sellers actively seek out? In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa Curran, owner of Currans Unique, a family estate agency that has served Chester and the North West for more than 36 years. Lisa explains how Currans evolved from a traditional lettings business into an aspirational three-branch brand, known for distinctive homes, exceptional marketing and a very different approach to selling property. We discuss: How Currans moved from pushing for business to having sellers come to them Why they can invest up to £3,000 marketing a single home before earning a penny The difference between having company values and actually living by them Why premium fees allow an agent to deliver a genuinely premium service Creating bespoke campaigns rather than simply taking photographs and uploading them to Rightmove Building a team that stays, grows and enjoys working together The realities of running a family business Growing through new branches and lettings acquisitions Why authenticity, creativity and human connection will matter even more as AI develops This is an honest conversation about playing the long game, protecting your standards and building an estate agency people genuinely want to instruct.

  6. 17 Sept

    What If You Could Just Talk to Your CRM?

    When Ric Dawson, CEO of Alto, last joined me on the podcast, Alto Intelligence had only just launched. Five months later, AI has moved forward at a staggering pace, and so has Alto. But perhaps the most significant change isn’t simply what AI can do. It’s how we will interact with our CRM in the future. CRM providers have spent years building powerful tools that many estate agents barely use. Not because the tools aren’t valuable, but because the systems are complicated, people work in different ways and, let’s be honest, most agents would rather get on with selling houses than learn another workflow. AI could change that completely. In this episode, Ric explains how Alto Intelligence 2.0 could replace endless screens, menus and clicks with a simple natural-language interface. Instead of learning how the CRM works, agents will be able to tell it what outcome they want, by typing or speaking, and let the system work out the most effective process. We explore Alto’s new AI “skills”, intelligent property matching, automated sales progression and property management, and the ability for agents to build their own workflows simply by describing what they want to achieve. We also discuss what this means for customer experience, data security, the broker model and the future role of people within estate agency. The CRM has always had the tools. AI might finally enable agents to use them properly.

  7. 10 Sept

    Why AI Could Make Local Estate Agents More Valuable, Not Less

    Robert May has spent much of his career spotting problems in the property industry before everyone else catches up. He has influenced material information requirements, challenged unreliable property data, helped shape the technology that became Alto and built rummage4, which was later acquired by CoreLogic. Today, his attention is firmly on the next major shift: how AI will change property search and what estate agents must do to remain visible, relevant and valuable. In this episode, Robert and I discuss why portal valuations can be dangerously misleading, how good agents distinguish between overvaluing and genuinely understanding a changing market, and why winning instructions means very little if those properties never complete. We also explore contract-ready listings, material information, the absurdity of sales taking 19 weeks in an age of instant communication and how better preparation helped one agency increase its share of local completions from 19% to 37%. Most importantly, Robert explains why he is no longer writing solely for humans. He is building the structured information that allows ChatGPT and other AI platforms to understand individual estate agents, their properties and the local expertise that makes them different. Robert has also been incredibly generous with his time outside the podcast. When I need an honest view on property technology or data, he is my go-to person. He occasionally makes my brain hurt, but it is usually worth it.

  8. 3 Sept

    Why Sourced Is Spending £10 Million Buying Estate Agencies

    Stephen Moss believes independent estate agencies are undervalued. So much so that Sourced Group expects to invest close to £10 million acquiring them by the end of the year. But this isn’t simply about buying lettings books and bolting them onto a larger operation. Through Sourced Living, Stephen is combining acquisitions with a franchise model that can fund 100% of the purchase for its franchisees. It’s an ambitious approach that has helped the network grow to more than 50 estate agency and lettings franchisees in just 18 months. In this episode, Stephen shares his journey from taking a £10,000 pay cut to become a junior negotiator, to building a six-office agency with his dad, experiencing the consequences of the 2008 crash and ultimately creating Sourced Group, which now has more than 250 franchisees across property investment, finance, lettings and estate agency. We discuss: Why Stephen believes estate agencies are currently undervalued Why buying an existing agency can make more sense than opening another branch How Sourced funds acquisitions for its franchisees Why people without agency experience must learn the business before taking one over What is motivating owners to sell, including retirement, compliance and the pace of technological change How AI is influencing some owners’ decisions about their future Why estate agency is entering a period of rapid consolidation Stephen’s ambition to grow Sourced to between 500 and 750 franchisees This is a conversation about building, buying and eventually selling businesses, and what the next wave of estate agency ownership could look like. Connect with Stephen Moss on LinkedIn.

See All (118)

About

Welcome to The Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents , your go-to podcast for insights, tips, and inspiration in the world of estate agency. Join us as we interview industry experts, successful estate agents, and thought leaders who share their experiences, strategies, and innovative ideas. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, our episodes are packed with valuable content designed to help you elevate your skills and enhance your services. Tune in to discover practical advice and fresh perspectives that will empower you to become a top-performing estate agent and take your agency to the next level. Subscribe now and start your journey towards excellence in estate agency! #EstateAgency #RealEstate #Podcast #IndustryInsights #ProfessionalGrowth

Information

You Might Also Like