You have spoken to thousands of agents at various conferences and events over the years. I recently heard that on one of these occasions an agent heckled ‘marginal gains’ at you, which I found quite amusing! Is this true? And why do you think marginal gains are so important?

Yes, I was heckled at a conference. I have a mastermind group – and in the mastermind group there are 16 people. At one meeting, they literally counted how many times I said ‘marginal gains’; so then it became a competition. Wherever I went, they would all guess how many times I would say it – and then somebody would win some money, depending on what I said. Why do I think marginal gains are so important? Because I believe that small, incremental improvements in any process add up to a significant improvement when they are all added together.

The current pandemic has dramatically altered the way we work – and with more restrictions now seeming likely; do you have any advice for agents on effective leadership throughout what looks set to be a difficult winter?

Communication. There’s going to be a lot of people struggling with their well-being – and for me; it’s just making sure you communicate, making sure you’re asking what help you can give people – and just trying to make a difference. And also, remembering yourself. It’s important for leaders to take exercise, sleep well and talk to other people, because they’re working incredibly hard as well and they need some rest too. So effectively; rest, exercise and very good communication. At the moment of course it’s still very busy, so agents need to make the most of all the opportunities they have out there.

Also, remember yourself. It’s important for leaders to take exercise, sleep well and talk to other people.”

What achievement/s in your career are you most proud of?

At Greene and Company, it would be achieving the highest ever monthly turnover and being the first office to turn over £1,000,000. At Stephen (J) Brown Consultancy it would be winning the best small supplier award last year – and this year making it a hat-trick of consecutive awards.

You are co-presenter of The Estate Agents Podcast. What has been your favourite episode so far and why?

I am the co-host of The Estate Agents Podcast with Luke St Clair and Andrew Overman who are both fantastic. My two favourite episodes have been with John Mcgrath, who I regard as the best estate agent in the world and also Jeb Blount, the author of fanatical prospecting, which is the best prospecting book I’ve ever come across.

It was great to have two unbelievable guests on who added tremendous value which is what the podcast is all about – to help estate agents and letting agents become better versions of themselves.

You have been advising estate agents on their systems, processes and training for eight years now. What are the most common failings that you tend to see? And what would the single most valuable piece of advice that you could offer be?

The most common failing I see with estate agents is that 95 per cent of them don’t have a stay-in-touch policy. So the single best piece of advice I would give is to start speaking to people who have bought properties through your agency, keep in contact with them and you will get customer loyalty, a higher fee and more revenue – which you deserve.

This interview was kindly arranged by Assist Inventories.