Daily Ideas

Set Yourself Free 

Finishing off this week’s ideas from top agents is another one from Michelle Gallagher of JDG Estate Agents. 

Michelle said, “When it comes to marketing, you must be ultra-disciplined and consistent. We have run our market updates religiously since May 2018. We also openly display our e-guides on our website. It’s all about freely giving information and establishing your agency as a generous authority.” 

What I love about Michelle’s approach is that she’s always open-minded and curious about new ideas. 

Next week, we’ll feature more ideas from top agents on how they build, improve, and even sell their agencies. 

This week’s ideas have been brought to you in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

Google It

Michelle Gallagher of JDG Estate Agents in Lancaster is one of THE top agents in the country.

The JDG team have been crowned UK’s agency of the year TWICE, so they know their stuff.

Here’s the idea that changed everything for Michelle and her team.

Michelle said, “My biggest single idea came from an event Stephen Brown hosted with Troy Malcom many years ago.

Troy asked everyone which brand they wanted to align with and why. Most picked Mercedes—German, reliable, expensive (as in selling posh houses). I chose Google because I want to be seen as the Google of Lancaster when it comes to all things property. I want people to know that we have the local knowledge. Because with knowledge comes trust.

And our marketing has been based around that idea ever since.”

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/

What’s Your Plan B? 

Here’s another interesting idea from Perry Power, one of the top agents featured in the group this week. 

Perry said: “Plan B Pricing – We’re upfront with our clients about the potential of a price reduction and discuss it at the Advice Meeting. We give them a Plan A, best case scenario price AND a Plan B price which would come into play after an agreed period of time/number of viewings, etc. The best time to discuss a price reduction with a client is before you actually need to do it.” 

Thanks very much to Perry for generously sharing these with us – definitely one of the industry’s good guys. 

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

Onwards and Upwards 

This week’s theme is ideas that some of the top agents in the UK have implemented to great effect. Here’s another interesting one from Perry Power. 

Perry said, “Introducing our Onward Selling Service has worked well. We charge our selling clients a percentage based on what we can save them by negotiating on their behalf to purchase their next home.” 

Watch out for a final gem from Perry tomorrow.  

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

A Power Points Presentation 

The next fortnight’s ideas will come from some of the UK’s best-known agents and some hidden gems you may never have heard of, yet. 

First up is someone many of you know – Perry Power.  

Over the next three days, Perry shares some of the ideas that are working for his agency. 

Perry said: “We never call it a valuation – it’s an Advice Meeting where the property’s value is discussed, but more importantly, we cover how we’d get the client the best possible price.” 

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

The Retreat Round-Up 

This week, we explored how taking time out can help you think with greater clarity and move forward in the direction you want.  

Here’s a quick recap: 

🏡 Place Matters – A quiet, natural setting, free from distractions, can help you gain clarity. I found the perfect spot just 40 minutes away from my home thanks to Airbnb. 

📋 Preparation is Key – Bringing the right tools (notebooks, pens, post-its) and eliminating distractions (no laptop, no headphones) helped me focus. Identifying two big questions to reflect on made the retreat productive. 

🚶 Walking = Thinking – A long, uninterrupted walk helped me process thoughts. Lessons included planning, taking advice wisely, and pushing through challenges. 

📵 Arresting the Focus Thief – Locking my phone away for 11 hours at a time boosted my focus dramatically. It’s a habit I’ve now brought into my daily routine. 

I learned that taking time out from the daily grind of running a business and family life isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.  

I’d highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who can do it. 

This week’s ideas have been brought to you in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

Arresting the Focus Thief 

The best thing I did during my retreat was to lock my phone away for large chunks of the 48 hours I was in thinking mode. 

I checked it at 7 a.m., then locked it in a safe (see the image), set the timer for 11 hours, and forgot about it. 

My focus then shifted to thinking rather than mindless scrolling opportunities. 

I then took the phone out from 6-7 p.m. to call family and check emails/messages, and it went back in the box until 7 a.m.  

I’ve now got the ‘safe’ on my desk, where my phone has been locked away for the morning while I focus on these ideas. 

Here’s a link to my safe, but there are many other options. 

https://tinyurl.com/bdf6jyu5 

This week’s ideas have been brought to you in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

Walk on the Wise Side 

Here’s the midway point of this week’s ideas on the benefits of taking time out of your business to work on it/yourself. 

And today’s idea doesn’t require a 48-hour retreat—just a bit of will and sensible shoes. 

During my time away in Ashdown Forest last week I clocked up almost 30 km of walking in just under 7 hours. 

One day I walked for four hours (1 hour of that was because I got lost and walked round in a very big circle). 

Walking without distractions (phone or headphones) is a brilliant way to think things through. 

Here are four things that my one long walk taught me. 

Prepare: I had all the right clothing, boots and bought enough food and drink to keep me going…..but …… 

Plan: I didn’t bring a map, so I got lost. This highlighted to me how important a business plan is as the ‘map’ for what your enterprise is trying to achieve. 

People: When wandering around the forest like a lost sheep, I asked three different people for directions. Two were helpful but useless, and the other was like a human Sat-Nav and gave clear instructions. The lesson? Be choosy about who you take advice from. 

Perseverance: About an hour into the walk, I encountered a bog that made walking any further impossible. I was just about to turn back but stopped and thought there had to be a way around this. Bingo—I spotted a gap in some hedges, popped through there, which took me around the bog, and was rewarded a mile later with the best views of the walk. The lesson? Don’t give up at the first hurdle.  

Getting away from the office for a walk is powerful. Give it a go, you never know where it might lead you (especially if you share a limited sense of direction like me).  

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

The Great Escape 

Following on from yesterday’s idea on how to pick a place to go on a short retreat, here are some tips on preparing for a great escape. 

1. Identify the two big questions you want to mull over (anything else is a bonus). 

1. Eliminate distractions as much as possible—I brought two days’ worth of food, which allowed me to focus on thinking and allow ideas/answers to pop up. 

1. Bring stuff to help you think—I had a notebook, big sheets of paper for brain dumps, highlighters, post-it notes, a book for the evenings and plenty of pens and markers. 

1. But what I didn’t bring was just as important—no laptop, headphones, or preconceptions.  

Tomorrow, I’ll share something that helped give me clarity.  

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

You’re Not a To-Do List 

Last week, I mentioned a 48-hour retreat I had just got back from. 

I needed to escape the noise, gain clarity around a couple of key decisions, make some time for myself, and map out where our businesses were heading. 

It worked an absolute treat – so much so that I’ve already booked to go away again in June and September. 

This week’s ideas will be tips on booking a retreat and moving your business/life forward.  

We’ll cover ideal places, how to prepare, swerving the biggest thief of your focus and a little more. 

PLACE 

The place you take your time out at matters – a lot. 

Being in nature was the key for me, as it helps me think.  

I wanted to go on long walks and also sit without being distracted by noise. 

Hey presto, after a quick Air BNB search, I found a one-bedroom chalet on the edge of Ashdown Forest. It was only 40 minutes away and had fantastic reviews. It was perfect. 

Tomorrow I’ll share how I prepared for the retreat. 

This week’s ideas are in partnership with the industry’s charity – Agents Giving. Here’s how to get involved with their Easter Egg Appeal –  https://agentsgiving.org/event/easter-egg-campaign/ 

Have a Consistent NAP

Here’s this week’s final idea for improving your agency’s Google Business Profile, courtesy of a proper expert on the subject: Ben Marley of Geocale.

Ben said: “Your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) must match across all online directories. Google checks this information everywhere—social media, directories, and your website. The more consistent and widespread your details, the stronger your ranking.

“There are over 150 directories in the UK alone. Make sure your information matches your Google profile and your website across everything. If there are any discrepancies, they will discount it.

Being on Facebook, Instagram, and Yell.com isn’t going to be enough; everyone is on them. You need to do more than your competitors to rank higher than them.”

Thanks very much to Ben for this week’s ideas.

Next week we’ll look at ideas around how to retreat from your work/business but come back stronger, clearer and enthusiastic.

Reply to Reviews Fast

Here’s the penultimate idea from this week’s offerings from bona-fide Google Business Profile expert Ben Marley.

Ben said: “Respond to Google reviews within 18 hours to boost your ranking. It makes up 6% of Google’s local search algorithm. Myth-buster: Stuffing replies with keywords does nothing—focus on authentic responses that tell a story instead. “

Watch out for tomorrow’s final idea, which will drop at 7 am.