ALONG THE TOWPATH

Topic

Leadership and Management

Culture, performance and decision making for estate agency owners and managers. Building teams that stay, training that pays for itself and the habits of people who lead well.

6 episodes · 19 reels · 18 quotes

EntrepreneurshipEstate AgencyMarketing and BrandPersonal DevelopmentPropertySales and NegotiationTechnology and AIAI in propertyBrand authorityBuilding culture

Reels

0:55

Enter a new market from the outside in

David Lindley

0:42

The one-degree-off-course rule on values

David Lindley

0:48

Why a premium brand shouldn't be obvious

David Lindley

0:40

The power of the pre-call

Jo Bourne

0:44

Train them and they leave? They leave if you don't

Jo Bourne

0:46

People before property, people before profits

Jo Bourne

0:52

Getting recommended by ChatGPT

Graham Lock

0:48

Waiting and watching is now the dangerous game

Graham Lock

Episodes

Building a Premium Property Brand with David Lindley — Along The Towpath

EP 1 · David Lindley

Building a Premium Property Brand

David Lindley on the prime property market, the story behind By Design, why the smartest agents move upmarket, and his counterintuitive strategy for entering a new market from the outside in.

Marketing and BrandEstate AgencyLeadership and Management
People Before Property, People Before Profit with Jo Bourne — Along The Towpath

EP 6 · Jo Bourne

People Before Property, People Before Profit

Jo Bourne on leaving 24 years of corporate agency, leading with people first, the power of the pre-call before the valuation, and why cutting training is the first mistake agents make.

Leadership and ManagementEstate AgencyPersonal Development
Why Independents Win with Graham Lock — Along The Towpath

EP 7 · Graham Lock

Why Independents Win

Graham Lock on building the Federation of Independent Agents, why collaboration beats competition, lead sharing across the network, and how agents get recommended by AI search.

Estate AgencyLeadership and ManagementTechnology and AI
Consistency, Accountability and Community with Stephen Brown — Along The Towpath

EP 8 · Stephen Brown

Consistency, Accountability and Community

Stephen Brown on consistency and accountability, mentoring through Agents Together, raising over 150,000 pounds for Computers for Schools, and the day he saved a life with a defibrillator.

Personal DevelopmentEstate AgencySales and Negotiation
Work Harder On Yourself Than Your Business with Matt Giggs — Along The Towpath

EP 9 · Matt Giggs

Work Harder On Yourself Than Your Business

Matt Giggs on mentoring business owners, why company brand attracts and personal brand converts, working harder on yourself than your business, and his controversial view that 95 percent of agents are poor at sales.

Leadership and ManagementSales and NegotiationMarketing and Brand
Target Exchanges, Not Billing with Simon Thomas — Along The Towpath

EP 14 · Simon Thomas

Target Exchanges, Not Billing

Simon Thomas of Montpellier Legal on growing a conveyancing firm to 100 staff in five years, targeting lawyers on exchanges rather than billing, patient capital, and why the public undervalues how hard agents work.

EntrepreneurshipEstate AgencyLeadership and Management

Quotes

We target our lawyers not on billing. We target them on getting exchanges through.

Simon Thomas · 20:53

Ross: Measure the outcome the client feels, and behaviour follows.

The work will come to you if you build quality. Build capacity, then fill it.

Simon Thomas · 05:14

Ross: Quality is the best sales team a firm can hire.

Imagine from day one that you're the big company, so growth is a natural pain, not a surprise.

Simon Thomas · 34:26

Ross: Decide like the business you intend to become. Growing pains beat growing surprises.

Rolex isn't called Posh Watches, and Aston Martin isn't called Fancy Cars.

David Lindley · 04:18

Ross: The best premium brands never explain themselves. Neither should yours.

You can be one degree off course now, but in a year's time you'll be miles apart.

David Lindley · 02:37

Ross: Small misalignments compound quietly. Check the compass early.

Just because the values are intrinsically less, doesn't mean the quality is any less.

David Lindley · 06:13

Ross: A lower price point never has to mean lower standards. We prove that weekly.

One extra market appraisal a day is 250 a year. Convert one in two, that's 125 instructions.

Stephen Brown · 11:33

Ross: Small daily disciplines look boring right up until they compound.

The consistency is there the whole time. People are consistently inconsistent.

Stephen Brown · 13:41

Ross: Most people do not lack ability. They lack a rhythm.

According to Zoopla, 86 percent of estate agents don't have a stay-in-touch policy.

Stephen Brown · 12:00

Ross: Your past clients are the cheapest pipeline you own. Stay in the room.

Company brand attracts, personal brand converts.

Matt Giggs · 14:33

Ross: The firm opens the door. The person gets the signature.

You've got to work harder on yourself than you do on your business.

Matt Giggs · 32:34

Ross: The ceiling on the business is usually the owner. Raise yours first.

You don't need the biggest market share. You need to do enough and do it well.

Matt Giggs · 42:13

Ross: Enough, done brilliantly, beats everything done adequately.

People before property, people before profits. Get your people right and the rest follows.

Jo Bourne · 04:59

Ross: Get the people right and the numbers stop needing rescuing.

They think if I train my team they might leave. They'll leave anyway if you don't develop them.

Jo Bourne · 33:01

Ross: The bigger risk is a team you never developed. Invest anyway.

Are we going to valuations, or are we going for instructions? It's mindset.

Jo Bourne · 36:16

Ross: Walk in for the instruction. The mindset shows before you speak.

We don't shake hands, we hug. Because we're not competing, we're happy to share.

Graham Lock · 08:13

Ross: Collaboration is a competitive advantage the lone wolves cannot copy.

The incumbents who sit and wait to see what everyone else does, that's a dangerous game now.

Graham Lock · 05:57

Ross: Waiting to see what everyone else does is now the riskiest strategy available.

At some point the FIA closes the doors. It becomes a waiting list, and you cherry-pick the best.

Graham Lock · 09:14

Ross: Scarcity works for networks too. Standards create the queue.