The Estate Agent Consultancy Podcast

Burnout is becoming the norm in estate agency—but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, I sit down with Sarka Wilde to talk about the reality of building a business, managing pressure, and what it actually takes to succeed in 2026. From feeling stretched and overwhelmed… to taking on one of her biggest personal challenges—climbing the highest point in America—this is a conversation about resilie...

In this episode, we break down the real mental game behind running a letting agency, the pressure, the unpredictability, and why mindset is often the difference between burnout and sustainable growth.  You’ll learn why strategy and skillset alone aren’t enough, how your thinking shapes your decisions, your team, and your results, and practical ways to stay resilient when the business tests you.  I...

What do you do when the results just aren’t coming—and it starts to affect your confidence? In this episode, we respond to a powerful question from someone who’s had a tough year in business, facing rejection, low deal flow, and growing pressure from all sides. We dive into: What it really feels like when confidence takes a hit The gap between social media perception and reality Why focusing on ou...

Lettings doesn’t switch off, and neither do most agents.  In this episode, we unpack what commitment really looks like in a modern letting agency, why so many business owners end up overwhelmed, and how to shift from constant firefighting to building a business that actually fits your life.  We explore the difference between sustainable commitment and burnout, how to set boundaries without sacrifi...

Most sellers don’t know what questions to ask when choosing an estate agent—and that’s exactly where the opportunity lies. In this episode, we break down why homeowners default to asking about price and fees (and what they should be asking instead). More importantly, we explore how you can guide those questions in a way that positions you as the obvious choice. You’ll learn: * Why sellers struggle...

On Black Friday 2011, the outdoor brand Patagonia took out a full-page advert in The New York Times telling its customers, in giant black capitals, not to buy their bestselling jacket. What happened next rewrote the rulebook on honesty in advertising — and ended up making the company hundreds of millions of pounds. This week Toby unpacks the counterintuitive story behind one of the most studied ma...

If you’re an estate agent trying to win more instructions, close more deals, and actually stand out… this episode is a must-watch. I sat down with Victoria Lambden, who’s spent over 20 years in the industry, to break down what really separates average agents from the ones clients remember (and recommend). We go deep on: •Why most agents are still getting the basics wrong •The simple changes that c...

In this episode, I’m talking about why being a cheerleader in your lettings business isn’t fluffy, soft, or optional, it’s leadership. As letting agents and business owners, we can get so focused on fixing mistakes, chasing standards and solving problems that we forget one of the most powerful things we can do is help people believe in themselves. I’ll be sharing why encouragement matters, how to...

If your social media is growing but your business isn’t, this episode tackles why. We explore the difference between vanity metrics and meaningful results, and why having more followers doesn’t necessarily lead to more clients. The focus is on building an audience that actually converts—people who are in a position to buy or sell—rather than chasing numbers that don’t impact your bottom line. This...

Every letting agency owner feels fear. Fear of going self-employed. Fear of starting the business. Fear of hiring a team. Fear of rising costs, changing legislation, the Renters’ Rights Act, landlords leaving the market, or simply wondering, “What if this all goes wrong?” In this episode, we look at fear differently. Not as something to avoid, but as something that can push you forward, sharpen yo...

If you’re constantly creating content but not seeing enough return from it, this episode is about working smarter with what you already have. We break down how a single video can be used across multiple parts of your business—from pre-market appraisals and re-engaging old valuations, to YouTube, short-form content, and email campaigns. The focus is on getting more value from every piece of content...

In 2012, a 33-year-old improv comic with a polo shirt, a leaf blower and four and a half thousand dollars walked into an LA warehouse and made a 90-second video. Within 48 hours it had 12,000 paying customers, a crashed website, and the founders of a 110-year-old, multi-billion-dollar razor empire wondering what the hell had just happened. This week, Toby tells the full story of Dollar Shave Club...

Most estate agency websites get traffic… but very few turn that traffic into actual conversations. In this episode, I sit down with Sam Sykes from Deploy IQ to break down why that happens — and how AI is starting to fix one of the biggest leaks in an agent’s business. We talk about what’s really going on when someone lands on your website, why response time matters more than ever, and how agents c...

Running a letting agency can make you feel like you have 47 jobs before lunch. But as the business owner, your real CEO role is much simpler than we often make it: build the team, protect the money, and set the direction. In this episode, we unpack why so many letting agency owners get stuck as operators, why everything still runs through them, and how to start stepping into the role your business...

If you’ve got a £500 monthly marketing budget, this episode helps you think about how to use it wisely. We break down the importance of maximising all the free marketing opportunities available in your business before spending a single pound. From there, we explore how to approach paid marketing in a more intentional way, ensuring your investment actually supports lead generation. This episode is...

Does your business feel like it’s taking over your life a bit? You’re busy all day… but it never really feels like you’ve “won” the day. In this episode, I'm talking about how to build small, productive dopamine hits into your day so you can feel more in control, more energised, and actually enjoy running your agency again. No unrealistic routines.  Just simple, practical ways to make your da...

If you feel like you’re constantly working but barely making a profit, this episode breaks down why. We dive into the real impact of portal fees, marketing spend, and everyday costs like petrol—and how they quietly eat into your margins. We also explore how “business creep” happens, where expenses grow without you noticing, and why many one-person operators end up stuck in this cycle. This episode...

On a Saturday afternoon in 2000, a psychologist set up a jam tasting in a posh Californian supermarket — and accidentally ran one of the most famous experiments in the history of consumer psychology. What she discovered turned everything we thought we knew about choice on its head. This week, Toby tells the story of the twenty-four jars that stopped a supermarket in its tracks, and explores what t...

In this episode, I’m joined by James White (Belong by James White) to unpack the realities of building a profitable estate agency without sacrificing your health, standards, or sanity. We go deep on what most agents don’t talk about: why agency work is unfinishable, how “full brain” overload leads to bad decisions, and how founders often hire help… only to fill the freed time with even more work....

Landlords Don’t Want Big Brands Anymore (They Want You). The big corporate agents might have the marketing budgets, the shiny offices, and the national brand recognition… …but, they’re losing where it really matters. Trust. In this episode, we break down why becoming a “Local Lettings Legend” is no longer optional, it’s the fastest way to win more instructions and stand out in a crowded market. Be...

There’s a gold rush happening in the estate agency world right now—whether you realise it or not. In this episode, we break down what it really means to secure digital real estate in your local area and why it’s becoming essential for winning listings and standing out as the go-to agent. If you want to be seen as the local market expert before you even walk through the front door, this is a must-l...

The Renters’ Rights Act isn’t just a compliance challenge. It’s a wake-up call. In this episode, we explore why the biggest opportunity most letting agents are missing right now isn’t in their processes… it’s in their pricing. As the role of a letting agent becomes more complex, more responsibility, more risk, more expectation, many are still charging fees based on what the job used to be, not wha...

Feedback might just be the most powerful (and underused) tool in your business. In this episode, we dive into why feedback is the “golden bullet” for improving your estate agency—and how faster feedback cycles can help you spot problems early and fix them quickly. We walk through practical methods and techniques to help you gather better feedback, more consistently, so you can make smarter decisio...

In the summer of 2012, a small boy left his stuffed giraffe at a luxury hotel in Florida. What happened next became one of the most retold customer service stories in business history, and it cost almost nothing. This week, Toby unpacks the Joshie the Giraffe incident, the radical trust policy that made it possible, and what a three-year-old's letter about bread can teach estate agents about...

What does it take to build one of the UK’s largest estate agency networks — and then do it all again? In this episode, Simon King shares the journey from accidental beginnings in estate agency to founding and scaling a national network of over 1,000 independent agents. We explore the mindset behind growth, risk-taking, fail-fast innovation, and building real enterprise value — not just turnover. W...