This article was originally published on 26 March 2020. Although we endeavour to keep our coronavirus (COVID-19) content as up to date as possible, the situation is rapidly changing, so please ensure you refer to gov.uk for the latest advice and information.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is forcing businesses to adapt quickly to the world of remote working. It’s all about being prepared - and well equipped. Providing the right hardware, such as a computer, mobile phone, or tablet, is vital, but the software and the online tools are just as important, to help keep your staff productive and your agency running smoothly. 

Acquisitions will be key to many agencies’ growth strategy in the coming years, as an increasingly competitive operating environment sees more agencies leave the market altogether, with 39% of agents saying they would consider selling their agency if the opportunity presented itself in Goodlord's State of the Industry Report. But it’s an opportunity for those that continue operating to grow their books and expand the reach of their brand.

A diverse service offering has been key to a property management company’s nationwide growth, says its Head of Lettings. Sheffield-based Omnia Property Group works across all areas of the property market, with student accommodation, serviced offices, commercial property, residential lettings and facilities management all strings in its bow. Its clients range from landlords with a single property to commercial landlords who have several hundred in their portfolio. Becky Hague, Head of Lettings, says that their diverse offering has been central to Omnia’s growth.

Nine out of ten referrals is a "guaranteed instruction", says Alex Chapman of Anthony Lettings. “Sixty percent of our new instructions come from a referral from one of our current landlords.  “We've always done really, really well with referrals,” he says of the Hertford agency, which was established a decade ago when its founder saw a gap in the market for a lettings specialist. The agency has been on an upward trajectory ever since.  

How does an agency stand out in an ever-more-competitive market? Producing great content. Sowerbys - a nine-branch-strong estate and lettings agency business in Norfolk - has been investing in video to strengthen their brand. What’s the secret? “We go out of our way to not only present beautiful homes, but we also profile businesses in our local community that we know and respect,” says Ed Tyman, Group Operations Manager.

Think starting a lettings agency in the current environment is crazy? Think again. Jack Stephens started JBS Bristol just three years ago and his business is thriving, with a five-star rating on Google, which he’s achieved almost entirely on his own. What’s the key to his success? “Be prepared to work bloody hard,” he says. 

“Do the ordinary things extraordinarily well,” is the advice that Peter Knight - founder of the Property Academy and EA Masters, which anoints the best estate and letting agencies in the UK every year -has for agencies who want to be the best in the country. “The best agencies haven’t got some secret recipe - that doesn’t exist. They just do the basic things brilliantly.”

“Lettings is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our business - it now makes up 50%,” says the director of an agency in Luton that’s grown its managed portfolio from nothing to almost two hundred properties in just two years. 

“In the current climate, and with the Tenant Fee Ban now in effect, agents have got to be doing whatever they can do to get more managed properties and to charge higher fees, not lower fees,” says lettings and estate agent trainer Boyd Mayover. The Sales Doctors’ founder has several tips for letting agents who are looking to increase their management fees. 

"You live and die by your reputation,” says Matt Dilkes of Christopher Shaw in Bournemouth. “We rely almost purely on organic growth by word of mouth, which we feel is the best and most solid way to grow your business. There's nothing better than a referral from a friend.”