Inspiration

How to win an estate agency award

RAT 37 (Rawlings Agency Tip)

Today's RAT follows hot on the heels of the amazing Estate Agency of the Year Awards held at Chelsea Football Club last Friday. With over 600 people attending the morning seminars and/or the afternoon awards it was the highlight of the estate agency calendar.

I had the privilege of hosting the "Lettings Live" seminar, and whilst waiting for people to take their seats, I looked out in awe over the hallowed turf of Stamford Bridge, and counted 27 blocks of seating on the other side of the verdant pitch.

The number 27 turned out to be my lucky number for the day, and you'll see why in a moment. The number 27 is actually quite cool. For instance, did you know that:
27 is the atomic number of cobalt?
Uranus has 27 moons?
There are 27 books in the New Testament?
Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain all died at the age of 27?
27 is the largest number that is the sum of the digits of its cube?
27 is the international direct dialling code for South Africa?
There are 27 letters in the Hebrew alphabet?
Mozart wrote 27 concertos for piano and orchestra?
Captain Jean-Luc Picard made contact with 27 species in the Star Trek series?
27 is regarded as the ideal number of participants for an orgy? (according to Wikipedia, not my own experience, which is much less than this)
The colored balls in Snooker have a total value of 27?
There are 27 straight lines on a cube? And finally…
27 of the estate agencies who took home an award on Friday have at one time or another used my training and/or marketing services?
As I was actually on the judging panel, it would be natural to shout "fix!" However, the process was executed under the strictest regime of fairness and professionalism, overseen by the Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer himself, and the CEO of the NAEA, Peter Bolton-King, and I naturally had to declare any conflict of interests.

I was pretty chuffed that so many of my clients won awards (plus a further eight shortlisted), including best overall agency, best small agency (in all regions except Scotland), best marketing, best training, etc, and I am especially proud for them for what they have achieved.

If you have ever won such an award, you'll know the tremendous power it can have in driving your business to new heights, with the "rubber stamp of approval" long outlasting any immediate positive publicity.

As you are a valued RAT subscriber, we have probably done business together in the past. If not, perhaps now might be a good time to consider your strategies for 2010. Simply drop me a line here and I'd be happy to provide you with a relevant training, local marketing or consultancy proposal on request, or just have a chat about some of the current opportunities for your business that we might be able to harness.

Finally - as the above is shamelessly self-promotional, and the RAT always aims to please without expecting anything in return - here's today's tip:

When submitting an entry for an award, ensure that your submission is extremely clear, concise and directly answers any questions posed. Most important of all is to have a well-defined bulleted list of tangible initiatives that your company does that set you apart from your competitors. Remember, a judge will be looking out for tick-able items in addition to an overview of your business style and general good practice. So if you are planning an entry in any of the estate agency awards next year, now is a good time to define the specific areas in which you can deliver that measurable wow factor that will not only impress any judge, but also, of course, your clients!

Quote of the Day "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Seneca, Roman philosopher, 1st century AD.

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© Richard Rawlings 2010
Richard Rawlings is the founding director of Estate Agency Insight, which specialises in helping estate agencies harness opportunity through innovative method, marketing, publicity, and training. He can be contacted at or on 0845 838 1354.

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