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Estate Agency Launch Programme · Stage 8 of 10
Win Your First Instructions
Manufacture your first valuation opportunities, convert them at the appointment, and onboard each instruction the compliant way.
How long
Ongoing, days 30–90
You’ll have
First instructions won, signed, and worked up to market
Steps
4 steps
Resources
3 resources
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01 Step 01
Step 01
Build your pipeline on foot
With no stock and no reputation, nobody is searching for you yet. In month one you have to manufacture valuation opportunities, and that graft is the whole job.
Do it yourself
- Farm your core patch: leaflet drops with a "thinking of selling? free valuation" message, plus "just listed" and "just sold" cards, and door-knocking where it is appropriate.
- Get visible locally: sponsor a school fair or sports club, turn up to community events, and partner with nearby businesses.
- Work your own network and past contacts for the first instructions and the referrals that follow them.
- Chase the properties already in play: for-sale-by-owner, withdrawn and expired listings, and landlords sitting on empty flats.
Common mistake · Sitting behind the website waiting for inbound. With zero brand awareness nothing comes, and the first instructions are won on foot.
Time~Daily effort CostLow DifficultyMedium–HardResource for this step
PDFFour-week canvassing plan
A week-by-week routine of drops, knocks and follow-ups with targets, so the graft is a habit and not a guess.
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02 Step 02
Step 02
Win the valuation appointment
The valuation is your sales meeting, where the instruction is won or lost. A new agent has to convert a high share of them to survive.
Do it yourself
- Prep before you knock: research the property, pull comparable sold prices, and read the local market.
- Run the appointment: build rapport, ask about motivation and timeline, give an evidence-based valuation, and explain your marketing plan.
- Handle the fee with confidence and justify your value instead of reaching for a discount.
- Bring the paperwork so a yes converts on the spot: the agreement, and ID for the AML check.
Common mistake · Buying the instruction by over-valuing to win it. The property sits, needs reductions, and damages your reputation and your portal stats.
Time~1–2 hours per val CostFree DifficultyHardResource for this step
PDFThe valuation appointment playbook
Walk into every valuation prepared, run it to a script, and answer the fee question without flinching.
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03 Step 03
Step 03
Get the agency agreement right
The agreement defines when you get paid and stops a seller using your work to sell through someone else. The wording is prescribed by law, so this is a signpost, not legal advice.
Do it yourself
- Learn the three types: Sole Agency (fee if you introduce the buyer, seller can still sell privately fee-free), Sole Selling Rights (fee on any sale during the term, weighted to you, so use it fairly), and Multi-Agency (compete with other agents, the winner takes a higher fee).
- Use compliant wording: the Estate Agents Act 1979 and the Provision of Information Regulations 1991 require the prescribed definitions and a clear statement of when your fee becomes payable.
- Set a fair tie-in and notice period. Sole-agency tie-ins commonly run four to twelve weeks, so be transparent about both.
- Have a solicitor check your template, and always give the client the terms before they are committed.
Common mistake · Pushing an aggressive sole selling rights clause or a long tie-in without explaining it. It is a common source of redress complaints and unenforceable fees.
Time~One-off setup with legal input CostLegal review DifficultyMedium -
04 Step 04
Step 04
Onboard the instruction before you market
The instruction is the trigger for your legal duties. AML checks and correct paperwork have to happen before you market, so this is a signpost, not legal advice.
Do it yourself
- Do AML customer due diligence on the seller or landlord: verify identity and confirm they are entitled to sell or let.
- Capture the property’s material information, Parts A, B and C from Module 3, before it goes live.
- Order photography, floorplan and EPC (Module 9), and confirm the marketing price and strategy in writing.
- Log everything in the CRM so the property is fully worked up before it reaches a portal.
Common mistake · Rushing a property onto the portals to get it live before AML ID and material information are done, opening a compliance gap on your very first listing.
Time~1–2 hours per instruction CostMinimal (ID-check tool) DifficultyMediumResource for this step
CHECKLISTSigned-to-live onboarding checklist
The order to work a new instruction in, from AML to portal, so nothing compliant gets skipped.
What you’ll have after this stage
- A local canvassing routine that manufactures valuations
- A valuation appointment you can run and convert
- A solicitor-checked agency agreement you understand
- An onboarding sequence that clears compliance before you market
- Your first instructions signed and worked up
Next · Stage 9 of 10
Market a Property & Run Viewings
Keep going yourself — carry your momentum straight into the next stage.
Prefer we build it?
Hand this stage to us
The canvassing graft and the valuation itself are your craft, and they stay with you. What we build is the engine that keeps your valuation diary full: the website, the local visibility, and the follow-up that turns an enquiry into a booked appointment. When you would rather that ran without you chasing it, talk to us.