How should an estate agent follow up after a valuation?
Send your written valuation, the evidence behind the figure and your terms the same day, then check in two or three days later with something useful, such as a recent comparable sale. Vendors often see several agents and decide over a week or two, so the agent who follows up clearly and politely stays in the running.
By Sammy Morgan, who runs M1 Studio in Chichester. Updated .
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- Industry
- Estate and letting agents
- Problem
- Quotes that go quiet
- The fix
- Missed-Call Rescue, £800
- Do it yourself?
- Yes, the first steps below
Why it happens to estate and letting agents.
- They’re seeing other agents
- Many vendors invite a few agents to value. Your follow-up is competing with the others’, and a vague “any thoughts?” email loses to a clear one.
- They don’t know whose figure to trust
- Vendors know some agents quote high to win the instruction. They go quiet while they work out which valuation is honest, and evidence helps them decide.
- Terms have to be in writing first
- Under the Estate Agents Act 1979, your fees and the circumstances in which they’re payable must be given in writing before the vendor is committed. If your terms arrive late, the decision waits.
- Moving depends on other things
- Finding the next home, school terms and a job move all affect timing. Some vendors go quiet for months, then come back when they’re ready.
What to do, in order.
Send it all the same day
The figure, the comparable sales behind it, how you’d market the home and your written terms and fees. Check the wording with your redress scheme or trade body; M1 doesn’t give legal advice.
Show your evidence
Recent sales of similar homes nearby, with prices and how long they took. It answers “why is your figure lower?” before it’s asked.
Follow up with a reason
Two or three days later, with something new: another comparable, a question answered, or the marketing plan for their home.
Ask what’s holding them back
The fee, the figure, the timing or the contract length. A direct, polite question gets a better answer than silence.
Keep in touch with the not-yet-ready
Note when they plan to move and check in then. A CRM with reminders does it for you, and the Sales Call Kit gives you words for the fee conversation.
Where M1 can do it for you.
Fixed prices, or a fixed quote before any work starts. No VAT is charged. Any running costs are listed before you agree.
- Missed-Call Rescue £800
A simple list of every valuation with automatic reminders, so no vendor goes a week without a follow-up.
Missed calls get a text back, automatically.
- Sales Call Kit £800
A script for the valuation follow-up and answers to objections like “another agent charges less” and “we’re not ready yet”.
Know what to say on every sales call, and who to call.
- Growth Blueprint £500
It maps your route from valuation request to instruction and shows where vendors drop out.
Find out where enquiries go cold between the first call and the booked job.
Want to check the rest of your business first? Take the free Scorecard: 12 questions, about 3 minutes.
Before you decide.
Something else? Ask Sammy on WhatsApp.
How soon after a valuation should I follow up?
Send the written valuation and terms the same day, then follow up 2 or 3 days later. If they’re not ready, agree when to check back. The guide to following up a quote covers the wording.
What if they say another agent is cheaper?
Ask what the other agent’s fee includes and how long the contract ties them in. Then explain what yours covers: marketing, viewings, progression. Some vendors choose on fee alone, and that’s their call.
Can I add vendors to my marketing emails?
Messages about their valuation are part of dealing with their enquiry. Newsletters and market updates are marketing, which has consent rules under PECR. Ask for permission clearly, and check the ICO’s guidance, as M1 doesn’t give legal advice.
Keep reading.
Know what to fix. Then decide.
Sammy writes down what’s holding your business back and what to fix first. The Foundation Blueprint is yours within 5 working days of your answers.
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