Utterly Indispensable Podcast for Estate Agents

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.