Simon Leadbetter is a marketing geek, there is no other way to put it. He’s held envious positions from CMO to Knight Frank to CEO at Fine and Country. In this episode Simon cover 4 things that you HAVE to master in your marketing to drive responses to your business.

Simon quips that’s the end of the show as all his years and data has pointed to the fact that if you nail these four, then you will succeed in driving leads to your business. Chris jumps in and asks how does and agent without a huge budget or brand do this. Simon fires back with  simply by focusing on locality or demography. He highlights that if you’ve been given their email, then you have been given the right to email them. News in the market, Halifax, nationwide and Land Reg House Price index and piece together and update for your local market. 

If someone is thinking of selling in the next 12 months, email is the number one in terms of driving an action (by far). Chris teases out a title that an agent could use such as “What impact will the General Election have on Solihull Property prices”. Be specific and remember, there is no better time to sell than now and you must always promote that. 

Simon also highlights that you can turn a send and forget, to an open conversation where you ask he audience “What have you always wanted to know to know from an Estate Agent”. You can answer these, slip in the answers you want to give. Do this every quarter and I will answer them. 

Social Media - Simon starts by highlighting that Facebook is a non negotiable. But you have to be on at least three. Data backs Simon’s comment of people selling in the next 12 months are Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, X, LinkedIn (in that order). Pick four of them and work out a marketing strategy. If you haven’t got started in 2024, then you need to . The average person scrolls 3 times the height of the the Eiffel Tower on social media a day.

Direct Mail - Chris highlights that he has had mixed success, but immediately mentions he is inconsistent. Legitimate Interest means that you can send 

95% of direct mail is engaged with. The average receives 1.4 pieces of direct mail a day. Be 1 of the 1.4. But don’t got with the mass franked stuff. Be consistent, budget for it, use coloured envelopes that are handwritten. You don’t have to get it all right, but if you can set and forget then do it, but be aware you won’t get the best success. 

Personal Brand and PR - reach out to all your local media companies and mention you’re happy to give comment and property and the local market. Make sure you’re always accessable. Chris mentions he did this in his early estate agency career and ended up on BBC Breakfast. Papers, parish magazine, radio, TV, etc. Put the time in your diary to do it. 

Chris curve balls Simon for an extra golden nugget, and Simon responds with a hard data backed response. Your brand matters. The correlation between your brand and long term instructions is key. Whether a self-employed agent, or multibranch agency, you have to focus on the brand and make it strong.