Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents

Most successful estate agency stories get rewritten after the event.

Not this one.

In this episode, Andrew and Kenny Goad from The Stow Brothers share the real story behind building one of East London's best-known estate agencies. They openly admit they started without a business plan, expanded faster than they could comfortably afford, and made plenty of mistakes along the way.

We talk about why being a great estate agent isn't enough to build a great business, how marketing became their biggest competitive advantage, why culture and values matter more than flashy branding, and the lessons they've learned from opening multiple branches, acquiring businesses and leading a growing team.

If you're an estate agent, broker or business owner who wants an honest conversation about growth, leadership and what really happens behind the scenes, you'll get plenty from this one.

In this episode we discuss:

Why they launched without a business plan

The difference between being a great estate agent and a great business owner

Opening new branches and the risks nobody talks about

Marketing as the modern estate agent's biggest advantage

Raising fees by raising standards

Hiring mistakes, leadership lessons and building the right culture

Why growth alone doesn't guarantee profit

Their ambitious plans to double the business over the next five years

🎙 Sponsored by Alto CRM

The CRM built specifically for estate and letting agents. Find out more at https://www.altosoftware.co.uk

Want to build a more profitable estate agency?

📅 Book a free 1:1 Strategy Call
https://calendly.com/robgraves/strategy-call

Most people think luxury estate agency is about selling expensive homes.

Melanie Attwater believes it's about something completely different.

As founder of eXp Luxury UK, Melanie has built her reputation by delivering a premium experience from the very first conversation through to completion. Better marketing. Better communication. Better negotiation. The result? Clients who are happy to pay premium fees because they genuinely see the value.

In this episode we discuss why so many estate agents still compete on price, why property marketing has become far too beige, how video and storytelling can completely transform a listing, and why AI should be used to create better customer experiences rather than simply making agents more efficient.

We also explore the growth of the self-employed brokerage model, the launch of eXp Luxury UK, and why the future of estate agency belongs to those who are prepared to stand out rather than blend in.

Whether you sell £250,000 homes or £5 million country estates, this episode is packed with practical ideas that will help you raise your fees, improve your marketing and create an estate agency people genuinely want to recommend.

This episode is sponsored by Alto.

Alto is the CRM built specifically for estate agents, helping you streamline your business while creating more time to focus on your clients. As a listener of the podcast you can also claim an exclusive discount using code ROB10.

👉 https://www.altosoftware.co.uk/who-we-help/referral/?utm_source=Rob%20Graves&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Alto%20Affiliate&utm_content=ROB10%20discount%20code

If this episode has got you thinking about building a stronger estate agency business rather than simply becoming a busier estate agent, here are a few ways I can help:

Join the Business Gym
https://www.keycoaching.co.uk/key-coaching-s-business-gym-1

Book a free 1:1 Strategy Call
https://calendly.com/robgraves/strategy-call

Thinking about joining eXp?
If you'd like an honest conversation about whether the self-employed brokerage model is right for you, book a chat here:
https://calendly.com/robgraves/30min

Most estate agents think property photography is about taking pictures of houses.

Balazs Kovacs thinks differently.

In this episode, founder of Prime Perspectives, Balazs shares why great property marketing isn't about showing every room. It's about creating a trailer for the film. The film being what it's actually like to live in the property.

We explore how professional photography, floorplans, video and lifestyle content influence buyer behaviour, why some properties stop people scrolling while others get ignored, and the small details that can make a huge difference to enquiry levels and sale prices.

Balazs also shares his remarkable personal journey. Arriving in the UK from Hungary with very limited English, working in restaurants, teaching himself photography and eventually building one of the most respected property marketing businesses in the industry.

Along the way we discuss:

Why the first image on Rightmove matters more than ever
• The psychology behind great property photography
• Hero shots, twilight photography and virtual staging
• Why experience beats expensive equipment
• The future of AI in property marketing
• Why human connection will become more valuable as technology advances
• How estate agents can use video to build trust and win more instructions

A quick thank you to this episode's sponsor, Alto. Trusted by thousands of estate and letting agents across the UK, Alto helps agencies streamline operations, improve efficiency and deliver a better customer experience. To find out more and claim your exclusive discount, visit:
https://www.altosoftware.co.uk/who-we-help/referral/?utm_source=Rob%20Graves&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Alto%20Affiliate&utm_content=ROB10%20discount%20code

Whether you're a self-employed broker, independent estate agent or agency owner, this episode will make you think differently about how you present property and how buyers make decisions.

Because sometimes the difference between an average listing and a great one isn't the property.

It's the story you tell.

Connect with Balazs and Prime Perspectives: Balazs Kovacs | LinkedIn

Want to build a better estate agency business? : Key Coaching

This week's episode is a little different.

It's the 100th episode of The Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents and instead of me interviewing someone else, one of my clients, Peter Kennedy, turns the tables and interviews me.

We talk about the journey from getting fired from my first estate agency job, moving to London at 18, working my way through the corporate world, building a business from my kitchen table, growing it to 30 staff and £3 million turnover, and eventually selling it.

Along the way we discuss:

Why I wish I'd started my own business sooner
• The mistakes that nearly broke me
• What I learned from building and selling a company
• Why most estate agents don't need to become better agents, they need to become better business owners
• The future of estate agency, AI and brokerage models
• The lessons I've taken from 100 podcast conversations

It's a more personal episode than usual, and probably the most honest conversation I've had on the podcast so far.

And if you've ever wondered who the bloke asking all the questions actually is, this one's for you.

Book A Call - https://calendly.com/robgraves/strategy-call



This episode is proudly sponsored by Alto.

Alto is one of the UK's leading estate agency CRM platforms and is helping agents save time, improve efficiency and deliver a better customer experience through Alto Intelligence, its growing suite of AI-powered tools.

To find out more, visit:

Alto Software

Use discount code ROB10 for 10% off.

Most people think Adam Day spotted eXp, jumped straight in and never looked back.

The truth is very different.

In this episode, Adam reveals how he nearly walked away from eXp before it ever launched in the UK. The Americans wanted one thing. Adam wanted another. At one point the whole deal was on the verge of collapsing.

It's a fascinating insight into one of the biggest success stories in modern estate agency and a reminder that even the opportunities that look obvious in hindsight rarely feel obvious at the time.

We also dive into Adam's journey from leaving school with four GCSEs, through building one of the UK's first online estate agencies, selling Hatched to Connells, and helping turn eXp UK into the largest estate agency brand in the country.

Along the way we discuss:

Why school results don't define your future
• The lessons learned from building and selling businesses
• Why community has been central to eXp's growth
• The truth about revenue share and agent attraction
• AI, automation and whether estate agency is really safe from disruption
• The future of self-employed agency in the UK

And somewhere along the way Adam developed a cough so fierce that the podcast came to an abrupt end. By the final few minutes I was genuinely concerned I'd become known as the man who killed Adam Day during a podcast recording.

Thankfully he survived.

This is a brilliant conversation about entrepreneurship, innovation, risk, opportunity and why some people seem able to spot the future before everyone else.

This episode is sponsored by Alto, the CRM trusted by thousands of estate agents across the UK. If you're looking to improve efficiency, streamline your processes and make better use of AI within your agency, visit the link below and use discount code ROB10 for an exclusive 10% discount.

Alto: https://www.altosoftware.co.uk/who-we-help/referral/?utm_source=Rob%20Graves&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Alto%20Affiliate&utm_content=ROB10%20discount%20code

Thinking about building something bigger than just another job?

The Business Gym is my coaching and mentoring community for ambitious estate agents and brokers who want to build a more profitable, more valuable business without working every hour God sends.

Find out more here:
https://www.keycoaching.co.uk/key-coaching-s-business-gym-1