Checklist
Marketing checklist for property and estate agents
9 tasks to win more instructions and close faster, ranked by return.
- 9 tasks
- First win in week 1
- Free to read
Marketing checklist for property and estate agents: what goes on the list?
A property agent marketing checklist has 9 tasks: get your listings live on portals within 24 hours, follow up every viewing within 2 hours, and build a database of past clients for repeat and referral business. Agents who follow up viewings same-day typically convert offers at a meaningfully higher rate than those who wait until the next business day.
Last updated 3 August 2026
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Best first channel | Fast viewing follow-up + Google reviews |
| Typical monthly cost | £100-£300 in tools |
| Time to first result | 1-2 weeks |
| Biggest leak | Viewings with no follow-up for 24+ hours |
Estate and letting agents win business two ways: getting instructed by sellers and landlords, and converting viewings into offers. Most agency marketing focuses on the first and neglects the second, even though slow viewing follow-up is one of the most common reasons a good lead goes cold.
This checklist is for independent estate and letting agencies with one or two branches using a CRM like Reapit, Alto, or Street. Every task can be run by branch staff without a dedicated marketing hire.
The checklist
Work down the list, top to bottom.
Ordered by return. Each task names the first step and how you know it's done.
- 01
Follow up every viewing within 2 hours
Buyers viewing multiple properties the same day forget details fast; a same-day call while the property is still fresh in their mind captures more genuine interest and objections than a next-day follow-up.
First step: Set a house rule that every agent calls or texts each viewer within 2 hours of their appointment ending.
- Done when
- The last 10 viewings all have a logged follow-up within 2 hours in your CRM.
- Effort
- 30 minutes/day
- Cost
- £0
- 02
Get listings live on portals within 24 hours of instruction
The first 7-10 days of a listing get the most portal views and enquiries; a delayed listing loses that initial wave of interest permanently.
First step: Set a target of professional photos booked within 48 hours of instruction and the listing live within 24 hours of photos being ready.
- Done when
- Your last 5 instructions all went live on Rightmove/Zoopla within 24 hours of photos being delivered.
- Effort
- Ongoing process change
- Cost
- £0
- 03
Build and maintain a past-client database for repeat business
Sellers move again in 5-7 years on average and landlords regularly acquire more properties; a maintained database lets you catch that repeat business before a competitor does.
First step: Export past clients from your CRM into a simple tagged list by transaction type and date.
- Done when
- You have a searchable list of at least 50 past clients tagged by likely next-move date.
- Effort
- 3 hours
- Cost
- £0
- 04
Send a quarterly local market update to past clients and landlords
A short, genuinely useful update on local price trends keeps you top of mind for the moment a past client decides to sell, buy, or expand a portfolio, without feeling like a sales pitch.
First step: Write a one-page update on local sold prices and rental trends and email it to your past-client list.
- Done when
- First update sent and at least one reply asking about a valuation.
- Effort
- 2 hours/quarter
- Cost
- £0-£20/mo (email tool)
- 05
Get Google reviews from both sellers and buyers after completion
Prospective sellers researching agents to instruct read reviews closely, and reviews from both sides of a transaction (not just sellers) show you handle the whole process well.
First step: Send a review request text with a direct Google link within a week of every completion.
- Done when
- Profile shows at least 20 reviews from the last 12 months, from both buyers and sellers.
- Effort
- 30 minutes/week
- Cost
- £0
- 06
Create a simple 'thinking of selling' valuation landing page
Homeowners researching whether to sell often start with a search for a free valuation; a clear, fast-loading page with an obvious booking form converts better than a generic contact page buried in navigation.
First step: Build a one-page valuation offer with a short form and a promise to respond within 24 hours.
- Done when
- Page is live and has generated at least 3 valuation requests in a month.
- Effort
- 3 hours
- Cost
- £0-£20/mo (landing page tool)
- 07
Run local Meta ads for new instructions with 'just listed' creative
A well-targeted ad showing a genuinely new listing to people in the local area generates enquiries from people who weren't actively browsing portals but live nearby and might know a buyer.
First step: Create a simple ad for your best current listing targeted to a 3-mile radius with a £5-10/day budget.
- Done when
- Campaign has run 10 days with at least one tracked enquiry.
- Effort
- 2 hours
- Cost
- £5-£10/day
- 08
Send a personal note or small gift on completion day
A genuine, personal touch on the most emotional day of the transaction builds the kind of goodwill that drives referrals far more than a standard thank-you email.
First step: Budget a small gift or handwritten card for every completion and hand it over at key handover.
- Done when
- The last 3 completions all received a personal note or gift.
- Effort
- 1 hour/week
- Cost
- £10-£25 per completion
- 09
Track instruction-to-completion conversion rate by lead source
Without tracking which source (portal enquiry, referral, past client) actually converts to a completed instruction, you can't tell where to spend more time or ad budget.
First step: Add a lead-source field to your CRM and review completion rate by source monthly.
- Done when
- You have 2 consecutive months of tracked conversion data by source.
- Effort
- 1 hour/month
- Cost
- £0
Mistakes
What goes wrong most often.
Letting viewings sit unfollowed for a day or more
Buyers who viewed 3-4 properties that day forget which is which within 24 hours. Calling or texting within 2 hours while the property is still top of mind converts noticeably better.
Losing touch with past clients after completion
Sellers and landlords come back to market again eventually, and if you've gone quiet since completion, a competitor's mailer or ad reaches them first. A quarterly update keeps you the obvious call.
Delaying a listing going live to wait for 'perfect' photos
The first 7-10 days on portals drive the most views. A good-enough listing live today beats a perfect one live next week, since most of the initial interest window will already be gone.
Questions
The things people ask about this list.
What's the first marketing task for an estate agent?
Follow up every viewing within 2 hours. It costs nothing beyond staff time and typically improves offer conversion because buyers still remember the property clearly and haven't moved on to a competing agent's listing.
How do agents get repeat business from past clients?
A maintained, tagged database of past sellers, buyers, and landlords combined with a quarterly market update email keeps you top of mind for their next move, which typically happens within 5-7 years for homeowners and sooner for landlords expanding a portfolio.
Do local Facebook or Meta ads work for estate agents?
Yes, for 'just listed' promotion to a tight local radius. They generate enquiries from people who live nearby but weren't actively browsing Rightmove, and a small daily budget of £5-10 is usually enough to test one listing.
How important are Google reviews for winning new instructions?
Very important. Sellers comparing agents to instruct read reviews closely, and reviews from both buyers and sellers on a transaction show you handle both sides of a sale well, not just the listing side.
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