Opening The Gates To More Listings

In part three of Open the Gates To More Listings meets The Complete Agent, Simon Gates, James Kendall, Dave Warburton and Ian Storey unpack the journey from low-fee, high-volume estate agency to consistently commanding 2% plus fees, five-figure commissions and upfront payments.
The episode explores the mindset shift required to move away from “cheap and cheerful” agency towards a premium, value-led model. The discussion highlights that higher fees are not just about confidence, but about building a brand, service, and client experience that justifies them.
Key themes include the importance of learning from better operators, surrounding yourself with higher-performing agents, improving marketing quality, and creating a consistent, high-end client journey from the very first phone call through to completion. They also break down how to present value properly, how to position upfront fees as a commitment rather than a cost, and why better service naturally leads to better instructions.
The overall message is clear. You do not jump to premium fees overnight, but with the right belief, structure, and delivery, any agent can move upmarket and charge what they are truly worth.

Today's returning guest for a now unprecedented 11th appearance 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 three of the Voice of The Agent 2026, covering topics such as tech and AI adoption, hype cycles, implementation gaps, the future of tech in the industry, and what growth agents do differently.
If you've not already read part three of the report, please do contact me for a copy of it and I will happily share it with you.

In part two of Opening the Gates to More Listings meets The Complete Agent, Simon Gates, James Kendall, Dave Warburton and Ian Storey break down how estate agents can use direct mail properly to win better instructions, higher fees and more trust with homeowners.The episode explores why direct mail still works, especially at the mid to higher end of the market, and why the quality of the envelope, handwriting, paper, content and consistency all shape how an agent is perceived before the homeowner ever picks up the phone.The conversation covers quarterly market updates, on-market letters, withdrawn property campaigns, VIP buyer letters, and why direct mail should educate rather than simply advertise. The key message is that prospecting works best when it feels like a service, not a sales pitch.They also discuss how direct mail links with social media, why older high-end homeowners often respond better to print, and how agents can use handwritten, highly targeted communication to separate themselves from generic leaflet drops and AI-generated content.

Today's guest is a life coach who specialises in peak personal performance.
He has studied and been fascinated by human behavioural psychology for over 30 years and has trained and qualified with the London College of Clinical Hypnosis and the Northern College of Therapeutic Hypnosis, earning a Distinction in both Clinical Hypnotherapy and Therapeutic Hypnosis from the Medical Hypnotherapy Examination Board.
Having developed a successful 22-year career climbing the corporate ladder to hold senior management and leadership positions in £500 million- and £1.3 billion-pound organisations,  he now works with clients navigating chronic stress, psychological trauma, post traumatic stress, anxiety, panic attacks, exhaustion, burnout, depression, and the relationship strain that so often travels alongside all of it.
But he also works with people who simply want to understand themselves better, unlock the resources they already have inside them, and live on their own terms, happy, content, and properly engaged with their lives.
Which, when you think about it, is the brief most of us are quietly working to.
He has completed the Marathon des Sables (often called the "toughest footrace on earth") and also ran 66 ultra marathons in 66 consecutive days across 66 cities all over the UK.
He is the honoured recipient of the True Englishman of the Year Award, and was also honoured by the Yorkshire Society with the Richard Whiteley Award for Inspiration.
In this episode we discuss building trust, demonstrating value, confidence in pricing, the psychology of influence, overcoming limitations, mindset, discipline, managing stress, purpose, visibility and personal growth.
You definitely want to check out this episode with an incredibly inspiring person and it will certainly get you thinking differently moving forward.

In this episode, I'm joined by James Kendall, Dave Warburton and Ian Storey to break down exactly how estate agents can transition from low fee, high volume business into the mid to higher end of the market.
The conversation centres around a core principle most agents struggle to commit to: selectivity. Rather than taking on everything, the panel explains how deliberately turning away lower quality stock early on helps shape brand perception and attract higher value homes.
They explore the reality of starting out, including the pressure of cash flow, the role of confidence, and why many agents fail because they try to “ease into” the higher end rather than fully committing to it.
A major theme throughout is how you look as a business. From branding and websites through to brochures, boards and even business cards, the discussion highlights how perception drives instruction at the top end of the market. Poor alignment between marketing quality and target client will immediately undermine credibility.

The group also dives into:

* Why branding often needs a full reset, not a tweak
* The importance of consistency across every listing and touchpoint
* How better quality marketing directly influences the type of client you attract
* Why most agents’ marketing strategies last weeks, not months, despite properties sitting on the market for far longer
* How to generate higher-end listings through direct mail, social media, and on-market prospecting
* The opportunity sitting in unsold, overpriced stock
* Why price, not marketing, is often the real issue when properties don’t sell
* And ultimately, why you are the USP, not just your marketing

The episode finishes with a clear message: breaking into the mid to higher end isn’t about one tactic. It’s about clarity of brand, consistency of execution, and the discipline to do the basics better than everyone else.