Opening The Gates To More Listings

Simon Gates
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Opening The Gates To More Listings with Simon Gates is a podcast designed to help estate agents find more listings and increase the profitability of their business. There will be a variety of different guests across the industry being interviewed to share their knowledge on how to achieve this.

  1. 2d ago

    Episode 328: Alice Bullard

    Today's returning guest is back three years after her first appearance on episode 72, and a lot has changed since then. She’s gone from MD to CEO of Nested, become a mum to baby Archer, and watched the self-employed model take off across the UK. We get into Nested’s journey from bridging loans to a fully self-employed model, why February 2023 (post mini-budget, rates spiking) was actually a good time to launch outside London, and why there’s never a perfect time to start. She is refreshingly honest about who self-employment isn’t for, why Nested turns agents away every single week, and the red flag she hears when someone’s first question is “how are you going to get me leads?” We also cover: Burning the boats, and why “I’ll give it six months” doesn’t workHow Nested’s territory system stops agents piggybacking off each other’s successFaces on boards: why she changed her mind, and why around 80-85% of Nested agents now use themCollaboration between self-employed agents, even across different brandsWhy traditional high street agencies need to buckle up as top talent leavesAI: friend or foe? Lazy AI-written emails, losing your own tone of voice, and how I use Wispr Flow to keep mineGoing back to work as a CEO after maternity leave, letting go, and surrounding yourself with cheerleaders Plus some impossible decisions to finish, including whether she would rather be well paid in a job she hates or badly paid in a job she loves. Make sure to check this episode out and hear from one of the most senior people steering the ship at one of the biggest self-employed brands in the UK.

  2. 5d ago

    Episode 327: Unreasonable Hospitality for Estate Agents - An Evening with Rory Sutherland and Will Guidara

    I booked two tickets to see Will Guidara and Rory Sutherland in conversation in London as a thank you to Toby Martin. No agenda, nothing expected back. Before we'd even sat down, Toby handed me a book I didn't know existed, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide. That set the tone for the whole night. Will Guidara took Eleven Madison Park from a two star brasserie to the number one restaurant in the world. Rory Sutherland is one of the sharpest minds in advertising and behavioural science. In this solo special, I take you inside their conversation and show you how almost everything they said applies to your estate agency. In this episode: Why the opposite of a good idea should also be a good idea, and why "reasonable" agents get forgottenThe famous two dollar hot dog, and what it teaches us about listening to sellers and buyersReverse benchmarking: how to find what other agents in your town are getting wrong and become famous for itThe Popsicle Hotline, Buc-ee's toilets and what your agency should be known forWhy valuations are won and lost before you arrive and after you leaveCharging what you're worth, and why the second cheapest agent is in the most dangerous placeTechnology as a choice: automate the predictable, humanise the exceptionalHiring slowly, looking after your team and finding their superpowersWhy 99% of your competitors will never copy you And stay to the end for the moment that summed up the whole evening: a gentleman in the audience who never got his champagne, and what Will did about it.

  3. Oct 5

    Episode 326: A Day in Manchester with Professor Damian Hughes

    On Wednesday 23rd September I spent a full day in Manchester at a coaching day with Professor Damian Hughes, co host of the High Performance podcast. There was no PowerPoint and no agenda. Just a flip chart and around twenty five leaders from schools, charities, the NHS, insurance, fintech, hospitality and more. Every one of them had turned up with the same problem as you: their people. In this solo special I break down everything I learned and what it means for estate agency, including: Why "high performance" and "culture" mean something different to everyone in your office, and how to fix thatThe research on choice, and why giving your team a little control changes how they feel about the whole jobThe job application exercise that gets your team to set their own standards, and why English cricket could do with itSingle loop and double loop thinking, and why cutting your fee is not the answer to losing a listingThe five culture blueprints from Stanford's research on start ups, what football teaches us about each one, and which one your agency is running"Success leaves clues": the simplest way to build a winning culture in your agency next weekPsychological safety, and why the best teams report more mistakesRadiators, drains and why it is better to have a hole in the business than the wrong person in itWhy doctors interrupt patients after 18 seconds, and how long you let a vendor talkBottom line up front, and the story spine you can use for every sale agreedWhat Damian did after the day that epitomises high performance, and why it should change how you follow up every valuation Plus, with AI on everyone's mind, why the most important question is not what will change in estate agency but what will stay the same. Transactions do not compound. Relationships do. If you have not heard my conversation with Damian on episode 100, go back and listen to that too.

  4. Oct 2

    Episode 325: Toby Martin

    Today's returning guest specialises in training, consultancy and keynote speaking for independent estate and letting agents across the UK. A failed rock star, retired stand-up. and former English teacher, now a marketer, trainer, speaker and troublemaker, who helps agencies win more instructions by standing out rather than blending in - through smarter marketing, video and content that sounds like a human (not every other estate agent), practical AI training for busy teams, and a bit of personality along the way. Alongside the above, he also:▸ Works under the banner of The Estate Agent Consultancy▸ Speaks at industry conferences and agency away days on AI, video and marketing▸ Co-founded PropX - an industry event that raised £40k for charity ▸ Am an ambassador of the Propertymark Trust In this special episode we review his key takeaways and learnings from his recent 24 hour webinar, which was part conference, part telethon, and part fever dream. He ran 24 hours straight for charity and the recordings are yours in exchange for a donation that will go a long way for Breast Cancer Now and Andy's Man Club. You can expect us to discuss men's mental health, taking action, motivation, lessons on purpose, marketing insights and so much more in this value packed episode.

  5. Sep 28

    Episode 324: Ali Durrant

    Today's guest is an Estate & Letting Agency Sales Conversion Coach, helping agents turn leads into clients, backed by almost 20 years of front-line and leadership experience. He is also a funnel & conversion expert, speaker & trainer. He started in estate agency in 2007, just before the housing market crash, which meant he learned how to hustle, spot opportunities, and make deals happen in the toughest possible conditions. At 21, he co-founded his first agency in Bedfordshire and, from a standing start, grew it into a Top 3 market share branch in just 12 months. At 24, he acquired a struggling agency in a neighbouring town, implemented his systems, and turned it profitable within months. After 8 years of running multi-branch sales operations, he moved to the Midlands to join Concentric Sales & Lettings, where he shifted his focus to lettings and became an ARLA Propertymark-qualified member. Today, alongside his role as Director at Concentric, he coaches agents across the UK with Agent Rainmaker and Agency Titans. In this episode we discuss having the right foundations, time blocking, discipline and focus, learning from a crisis, trust and communication, data, acquisitions, market positioning, funnels, nurture systems, content, delegation, leadership, AI and so much more. As you can tell, we packed a lot into this fantastic conversation and it is definitely not one you want to miss!

  6. Sep 23

    Episode 323: Simon Leadbetter

    Today's returning guest is the founder of We Are Unchained, a strategic marketing consultancy that helps businesses grow faster by enhancing their market insight, strategy, activity, and talent. Over his 8 years experience in the estate agency industry, he has worked with Countrywide, Fine & Country, Keller Williams, and Knight Frank. He's also a mentor at Agents Together, Propertymark Trust Ambassador and Fractional CMO for Lemon and Lime Interiors. With over 30 years of marketing experience across multiple sectors, from startups to FTSE100, he has turned failing marketing teams around, and educated hundreds of people on the science and art of marketing. His mission is to make quality strategic marketing and practical advice accessible to every business, whether they need a virtual CMO, a one-to-one mentor, or a marketing trainer. In this episode, we discuss the results of part eight of the Voice of The Agent 2026 (The Property Transaction: One Journey, Many Professions), covering topics such as escalating transaction timelines and economic costs, upfront legal readiness, fee structures, speed to market vs speed to sell, agent toolkits, coordination over pure tech addition, parasocial rapport, consumer experience, and inter-professional alignment. If you've not already read part seven of the report, please do contact me for a copy of it and I will happily share it with you.

  7. Sep 16

    Episode 322: Graeme Wadhams

    Today's guest is Director of Marketing at Lomond and before joining Lomond, he has also worked for Curchods and Seymours. He heads up the central marketing and creative team for Lomond, the group behind brands including KFH, Charters, Miles & Barr, John Shepherd, Julian Wadden, DJ Alexander, Chase Evans, Clyde, HomeShore and Prospect. That means close to 3,000 people, around 200 branches and 75,000 properties under management. He is a seasoned marketing professional with a passion for brand development and storytelling, with an ever evolving career in marketing, covering strategy, comms, digital, graphic design, specialising in the property industry. Career highlights include:🏅 Award Winner Estate Agency Marketing South East Region, UK at 2021/2022 International Property Awards. 🏅 Award Winner of Best Estate Agency Marketing in the whole of the UK at the 2020/21 International Property Awards. 🏅 Award Winner Best Estate Agency Website, UK at the 2020/21 International Property Awards. 🏅 Award Winner Estate Agency Marketing, UK South East 2021/22 International Property Awards.🏅 Award Winner of 'Best Marketing & Presentation' award at Surrey Property Awards 2015. In this episode we discuss marketing attribution, direct mail, AI, PR, social media platforms and plenty more really useful content for estate agents looking to improve their marketing. Make sure to check out this conversation with the man charged with looking after the central marketing of one of the largest and fastest-growing companies within the estate agency sector.

  8. Sep 9

    Episode 321: Tony Robbins 'Unleash The Power Within 2026' Review

    4 days at Tony Robbins' Unleash the Power Within in Cologne, and what it all means for estate agents. I flew to Cologne to sit in a room with thousands of people and be a beginner again for 4 days. No stage. No notes to deliver. Nobody asking me what the market is doing. Just a seat, a pen and Tony Robbins' Unleash the Power Within at the LANXESS arena, running from early morning until late into the night. I came home with a notebook I can barely read and a head full of ideas. This episode is what actually stuck, in roughly the order it landed, along with what I think every line means for agency owners, valuers, negotiators and lettings teams. I cover why state comes before strategy, and what that means on your fifth viewing of a Saturday. The Harvard coffee study, and the question of what you are holding before a valuation and what you are handing a vendor before they judge you. Why almost nothing in an estate agency is a skills problem, and how turning your shoulds into musts rearranges the diary on its own. Then the numbers. The Steph Curry practice ratio that should make all of us uncomfortable. The podcast statistics that hurt, because I host one. And the finding that only 7% of communication is the words you say, 38% is your voice and 55% is your physiology, which means the script you have been polishing is a fraction of the job. There is the snake phobia story that I think is the single most useful thing an agent can take into a listing appointment, especially alongside the Rightmove figure that 29% of properties currently selling are selling with the second agent. The six human needs, and the three completely different vendors they create on the same street. Why trust is not won with one brilliant appointment, but by ringing on Friday, like you said you would, 6 weeks running. And loss, less and never, which you will hear word for word in your own office the next time you have a slow month. Almost none of it is about property. All of it applies to property. I hope you enjoy this special episode. If you have any questions at all or would like my summary and presentation of "Unleash the Power Within," send me a message, and I'll happily share it with you.

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Opening The Gates To More Listings with Simon Gates is a podcast designed to help estate agents find more listings and increase the profitability of their business. There will be a variety of different guests across the industry being interviewed to share their knowledge on how to achieve this.

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