A signed agreement with a vendor or landlord for your agency to market or manage their property. Winning an instruction means the owner has chosen your agency over other agents.
Instructions are the primary metric of prospecting success. ProspectOS helps you identify, target and track the properties most likely to generate new instructions in your patch.
A formal or informal assessment of a property's market value. Agents use valuations as a step toward discussing an instruction with a vendor or landlord.
A letter reply leads to a booked appraisal on Thursday. The record stays a valuation until the owner signs.
A booked valuation sits between prospecting engagement and a possible instruction. Track valuation requests separately from QR scans and from signed instructions.
An informal property valuation, often the first step before a vendor commits to going to market. Agents use market appraisals to build relationships and position for future instructions.
Market appraisals are a key output of prospecting campaigns. Many ProspectOS campaigns are designed to generate appraisal bookings from targeted postcodes.
A homeowner or property seller. Vendors are the primary target for sales prospecting campaigns.
Understanding where vendors in your patch are switching agents or bringing properties back to market helps you target the right addresses at the right time.
An agreement in which only one agent is appointed to market a property for a defined period. The owner agrees not to instruct another agent during that period. Commission terms vary by agency and contract.
A vendor has a 12 week sole agency with another firm. Before taking a second instruction, the branch explains possible dual fee liability and records the conversation.
Sole agency is a common instruction type. If an owner already has an agent, explain the risk of more than one fee before they instruct you.
An arrangement in which more than one agent is appointed to market the same property at the same time. Which agent is paid depends on the terms of each agreement, often the agent who introduces the buyer who completes.
Two agents are marketing the same flat. A third branch reviews time on market and price history before deciding whether a conversation is appropriate.
A multi agency listing is visible competitor stock. It can be a reason to review the property. It is not proof that the owner wants to switch.
A property not publicly listed for sale or let. Off-market opportunities often come through direct relationships and targeted prospecting.
Building relationships with off-market owners through direct mail and local presence is a longer-term prospecting strategy that ProspectOS can support with campaign automation.
A booked meeting to assess a property and discuss agency services with a prospective vendor or landlord.
Valuation appointments are a practical midpoint between prospecting engagement and a potential instruction.
The risk that a vendor or landlord becomes liable for more than one agency fee, usually after instructing a second agent while an earlier agreement is still in force.
After a touting letter, an owner wants to switch. The branch explains possible dual fees and asks for written confirmation that they understand before taking instruction.
TPO Sales Code guidance for members requires this risk to be explained before the consumer is committed to another contract following an unsolicited approach.
Finding and building relationships with potential vendors and landlords so the branch can win instructions. It covers research, outreach, follow up and measurement across sales and lettings.
A multi branch agency sets a weekly prospecting rhythm: review patch signals on Monday, run approved campaigns midweek, and work Pipeline responses before the weekend.
Estate agent prospecting is the umbrella topic for this glossary and for ProspectOS: connecting property opportunity with controlled activity and recorded outcomes.
Identifying and engaging homeowners who may sell, using listing, competitor and local market context to decide when contact is relevant.
A sales negotiator shortlists withdrawn and price reduced homes in their patch, excludes current clients, and plans a valuation invitation letter.
Sales focused visitors need a clear definition that separates vendor work from landlord lettings prospecting.
Generating potential customer enquiries for an agency. Lead types differ: vendor and landlord leads relate to instructions, while buyer and tenant leads relate to applicants and viewings.
A branch reports 12 vendor valuation requests from a campaign separately from buyer applicant enquiries created the same week.
Clear lead type language stops teams mixing instruction acquisition metrics with applicant enquiry volume.
The process from identifying an opportunity, through follow up and valuation, to winning an instruction to market or manage a property.
A branch tracks a withdrawn listing from review to letter, reply, valuation appointment and sole agency instruction over six weeks.
Instruction acquisition is central to ProspectOS positioning: connecting prospecting activity with valuations and recorded instructions.
A potential seller or landlord who has shown interest in an appraisal but has not necessarily booked a valuation appointment yet.
A QR scan creates a Pipeline opportunity marked as a valuation lead; the negotiator then books the formal appraisal.
Separating valuation leads from booked valuations helps teams measure conversion through the instruction journey accurately.
Maintaining relevant contact with people who are not ready to instruct immediately, using timed follow up without pressuring an early decision.
A vendor who declined in spring receives a quarterly local market update until they request a fresh appraisal.
Many prospects need months of useful contact before they instruct; nurturing protects pipeline value between campaigns.
Proactive outreach to potential clients in a defined area. Canvassing often combines door knocking, touting and direct mail rather than relying on one channel alone.
Before a street walk, a branch posts an introductory letter, then door knocks the same roads the following week.
Canvassing language helps teams plan coordinated local presence instead of isolated one off sends.
A prospecting letter inviting a homeowner or landlord to consider an agency, often when a property is listed with a competitor or showing market difficulty.
A letter notes a nearby sale and invites the owner of a long listed competitor property to discuss a fresh marketing approach, without claiming their current agent has failed.
A clear definition links letter practice to the broader touting concept and to controlled campaign design.
Building recognition and relationships through sustained prospecting in a defined area. Also called geographic farming when the focus is a fixed set of streets or postcode districts.
An agency farms three streets around a completed sale for twelve months with alternating market updates and Sold Near You letters.
Farming emphasises consistency over one off campaigns and fits postcode scoped ProspectOS workflows.
Using genuine buyer requirements to identify and approach potentially suitable sellers, without inventing demand that the branch cannot support.
With three cash buyers seeking three bedroom terraces in NG2, a negotiator writes to matching owners who have not recently been contacted.
Buyer led approaches can open vendor conversations when applicant demand is real and specific.
Re engaging previous valuation leads, enquiries and other relevant contacts whose circumstances may have changed since the last conversation.
A branch filters valuation leads older than nine months with no instruction, then runs a polite market update sequence.
Reactivation recovers value from existing relationships before spending only on cold audiences.
A property that has remained on the market without securing a sale. How long counts as stale depends on the local market, property type and competing supply, so branches should avoid a single fixed day rule for every area.
In a fast moving postcode, a sales manager reviews competitor listings past the branch median time on market and selects a shortlist for careful outreach.
Stale listings can justify review for touting or vendor support, but time alone does not prove the owner wants to switch agent.
The period a property has been marketed. Also called days on market. Relisting, agency switches and data delays can affect how the figure should be interpreted.
Insights shows two similar flats: one at 18 days and one at 95 days; the longer listing also has two price reductions, so the branch investigates both context points.
Time on market helps compare listing difficulty, but it must be read with price history and local norms rather than as a standalone score.
The proportion of valuations that become instructions in a defined period. For example, if a branch completes 40 valuations in a quarter and wins 10 instructions from those valuations, the conversion rate is 25 percent for that quarter.
A lettings team records 20 rental appraisals in March and 6 new management instructions linked to those appraisals, a 30 percent conversion rate for March.
This rate shows how effectively appraisal conversations become instructions and should be reviewed alongside prospecting volume and audience quality.
Software that helps an agency find vendor and landlord opportunities, run controlled campaigns, follow up responses and review what contributed to valuations and instructions.
A manager compares tools by asking how each one handles own listings, review queues, QR scans and instruction reporting on one live postcode.
Prospecting software covers the work before a CRM enquiry exists. It is not a print shop and it is not a replacement for applicant or transaction systems.
A posted letter or flyer that introduces an agency to owners in a defined area. Unlike a touting letter, it is not written only to the owner of a named competitor listing.
A branch sends a market update to three streets after a local completion, stating who the letter is from and how to opt out.
A clear purpose stops teams using touting language on a general street drop, or vague canvassing language on a specific listed property.
Sold Subject to Contract. A sale has been agreed but the legal process is not yet complete. The deal can still fall through at this stage.
SSTC properties represent a prospecting window if the sale falls through. Tracking these in your patch helps you respond quickly when properties return to market.
A sequence of linked property transactions where each sale depends on others completing simultaneously. Chains can break down and cause fall-throughs.
Properties that fall out of a chain become immediate prospecting targets for well-positioned agents with ready buyers or landlord contacts.
The process of managing a property sale from offer accepted through to legal completion. Involves coordinating solicitors, surveyors and both parties.
Good sales progression reduces fall-throughs and improves your agency's reputation, generating more referrals and repeat instructions.
A document produced by the agent once a sale is agreed, outlining the key terms and parties involved. Triggers the legal conveyancing process.
Issuing a memorandum of sale marks a successful conversion from prospecting to completion. Tracking this helps measure campaign effectiveness.
The point at which contracts are signed and the transaction becomes legally binding. After exchange, neither party can withdraw without financial penalty.
Tracking exchange rates relative to instructions gives you a clearer picture of your agency's actual prospecting efficiency.
The final stage of a property sale when legal ownership transfers and funds are paid. The agent receives their commission at completion.
Completed transactions confirm your prospecting ROI. ProspectOS helps you track which campaigns generated the instructions that led to completions.
When an agreed property sale fails to reach completion. Fall-throughs return properties to the market and create fresh prospecting opportunities.
Monitoring fall-throughs in your target postcodes allows you to react quickly with targeted outreach to disappointed vendors.
When a seller accepts a higher offer from a new buyer after already agreeing a sale with another buyer.
Understanding when gazumping activity is high in your patch helps you advise vendors and build trust that can lead to future instructions.
When a buyer reduces their offer at a late stage, often just before exchange, leaving the seller in a difficult position.
Awareness of market-wide gazundering trends helps agents advise clients more accurately and reinforces the value of your prospecting expertise.
Physical letters or postcards sent to targeted addresses or postcodes. Useful when the audience, message and timing are chosen for a reason the recipient can recognise.
A branch posts an A5 postcard to homes near a completed sale, then logs replies against that campaign in Pipeline.
Direct mail is a core ProspectOS channel. Studio holds branded letters and postcards; Automations can send them under branch controls.
Visiting properties in person to introduce the agency and open a conversation with potential vendors or landlords.
After posting an introductory letter, a negotiator walks the same streets the following week and skips homes already listed with another agent.
Door knocking is often paired with a prior letter. TPO canvassing guidance for members treats door knocking or cold calling at properties for sale with other agents as inappropriate.
Approaching owners of properties listed with another agent to invite a conversation about switching. Whether a specific approach is acceptable depends on the wording, the channel, the data used and the person's wishes.
A branch writes to the owner of a long listed competitor property, states who the letter is from, and invites a conversation without claiming the current agent has failed.
Touting is a recognised estate agency practice, not a guaranteed result. Comparative claims need evidence, and an owner who already has an agent may face more than one fee.
A prospecting contact who has shown some level of interest or engagement, for example by responding to a mailer or requesting a valuation.
Tracking warm leads in your pipeline means you can follow up at the right time and avoid letting opportunities go cold between contact points.
A property removed from the market without selling. Often indicates vendor dissatisfaction with their current agent or the market.
Withdrawn properties are high-intent prospecting targets. ProspectOS can flag these in your patch and trigger direct mail campaigns automatically.
A property that previously failed to sell or let and has been relisted. These properties often need a change of agent and represent strong opportunities.
Back-to-market properties are among the most conversion-ready targets in any patch. ProspectOS tracks these and can automate timely outreach.
When a listed property has its asking price reduced, often signalling a vendor willing to negotiate or a property that has been on the market too long.
Price reductions signal dissatisfied vendors and can create touting or agency switching opportunities for well-timed campaigns.
A common prospecting letter style that highlights a nearby recent sale to prompt a vendor to consider selling. The same approach is often called a just sold campaign when the letter reports a completed local sale.
After completing a sale in SW11 2, a Battersea branch sends a Sold Near You letter to nearby homes that may be considering a move.
ProspectOS Studio includes templates and automation rules built around local sale events so you can send Sold Near You or just sold campaigns at a relevant moment.
A QR code printed on a campaign piece that records a scan and can create or update a Pipeline record for the linked property and campaign.
Someone scans the code on a letter. Pipeline shows the property and campaign so a negotiator can decide whether to call.
A scan is engagement. It is not automatically an enquiry, a booked valuation or an instruction.
A ProspectOS automation that uses supported property signals, review controls and branch safeguards before campaign activity is released.
A withdrawn listing rule places matches in a review queue. The manager approves the letter, or pauses the automation, without rebuilding the rule.
Controlled automation keeps prospecting moving when the diary is full without removing human review of audience and message choice.
An observed property or market change that may justify review, such as a withdrawal, price reduction, competitor listing or ownership context.
Property signals help teams prioritise what to investigate next without treating every change as proof that an owner wants contact.
A UK GDPR lawful basis that may apply to some direct marketing, including post, after an organisation assesses purpose, necessity and impact on the person. It is not automatic permission to send mail.
A branch documents why a local letter campaign is necessary, how recipients can object, and stops further mail as soon as someone asks.
The ICO says PECR does not cover postal marketing, but UK GDPR still applies. People have an absolute right to object to direct marketing.
A maintained record of people and addresses that must be excluded from further marketing, including those who have objected or asked the agency to stop canvassing.
A homeowner replies “please remove us”. The branch adds the address to suppression before the next letter campaign is approved.
Honouring objections is a data protection and TPO canvassing expectation. Sending again after a stop request undermines both.
A property owner who lets their property to tenants. Landlords are the primary target for lettings prospecting and managed stock growth.
The Landlords module in ProspectOS is built specifically to help you identify, track and engage landlords across your patch through personalised campaigns.
A landlord who owns four or more buy-to-let properties. Portfolio landlords represent higher-value long-term relationships for lettings agencies.
Identifying and nurturing portfolio landlords is a key growth strategy. ProspectOS helps you track Land Registry data to find and target likely portfolio owners.
The number of properties a lettings agency has under full management. Growing managed stock is a core objective for lettings-focused agencies.
ProspectOS tracks your managed stock growth and helps you identify where competitor landlords are based so you can target them with relevant campaigns.
A rental property where a tenant has been agreed but has not yet moved in. Similar to SSTC on the sales side.
Monitoring let-agreed patterns in your patch helps you understand competitor activity and identify landlords who may be open to switching managing agent.
The period approaching the end of a tenancy agreement when a landlord must decide to renew, relet or sell the property.
The renewal window is a key prospecting trigger. ProspectOS can track and automate outreach to landlords approaching this window in your target postcodes.
The government body that records property ownership in England and Wales. Land Registry data shows who owns which properties and recent transactions.
ProspectOS uses Land Registry data to help you identify landlords, track portfolio ownership and find correspondence addresses for targeted outreach.
The address where a landlord or property owner receives mail. Often different from the rental property address itself.
Sending direct mail to a landlord's correspondence address rather than the rental property is essential for effective landlord prospecting. ProspectOS sources these from Land Registry data.
Identifying and developing relationships with landlords who may need letting or management services, using rental, ownership and relationship context to decide whether follow up is appropriate.
A lettings manager reviews newly let competitor stock in RH10, checks Land Registry correspondence addresses, and decides which landlords warrant a service conversation.
Landlord prospecting helps lettings teams grow managed stock without treating every ownership match as a confirmed instruction opportunity.
Customer Relationship Management. A system used to track contacts, communications and progress across all prospecting and sales activity.
The Pipeline module in ProspectOS acts as a lightweight CRM focused on prospecting activity, helping you track every lead from first contact to instruction won.
A structured view of all active prospecting opportunities and where they are in the journey from lead to instruction.
ProspectOS Pipeline gives you a clear visual view of every opportunity in your patch so nothing falls through the cracks between outreach and instruction.
A property or owner the branch has identified and intends to work, even if that person has not yet asked for help.
A withdrawn listing is added as a Prospect after review. No one has called yet, so it is not an Enquiry.
A Prospect is identified work, not an inbound request. Keep Prospects separate from Enquiries so reporting does not mix research with replies.
A genuine inbound request from a potential vendor, landlord or other contact, such as a completed form, a phone request or a walk in. A QR scan alone is engagement, not an enquiry.
A homeowner phones after a letter and asks for an appraisal. That call is logged as an Enquiry against the campaign.
Tracking which campaigns generated each enquiry helps you review contribution. Do not count scans as enquiries unless the person asked for something.
A prospecting contact that has moved beyond an enquiry and represents a realistic chance of winning an instruction.
Opportunities in your pipeline need consistent follow up and nurturing. ProspectOS helps you track them and trigger timely follow up campaigns automatically.
Any subsequent contact made with a prospecting lead after the initial outreach. Consistent follow up is one of the biggest drivers of instruction conversion.
ProspectOS Automations can trigger follow-up direct mail or reminders based on prospect behaviour so no opportunity is missed.
A specific action assigned to a team member related to a prospect or opportunity, for example calling a valuation lead or sending a follow-up letter.
Managing tasks within your pipeline ensures consistent follow up across the team and keeps prospecting activity on track.
A log of all interactions with a prospect or contact, including calls, letters sent, emails and meeting notes.
Having a full activity history for each prospect means any team member can pick up where another left off and maintain a consistent prospecting relationship.
Return on investment. In prospecting, this means the value of instructions won relative to the cost of campaigns and tools used to generate them.
A branch compares recorded letter cost with attributed fee value for one campaign, then reviews the same period next quarter.
ProspectOS Insights tracks your prospecting spend against instructions won so you can calculate a clear return and review budget allocation.
Connecting a prospecting campaign to later enquiries, valuations or instructions using a chosen model. Attribution indicates contribution. It does not prove the campaign acted alone.
A valuation is linked to the letter campaign that produced the first recorded response, while later phone calls are still logged on the same record.
Without attribution, teams cannot compare campaigns. With overstated attribution, they treat contribution as proof.
The total prospecting spend divided by the number of instructions won. A key efficiency metric for any agency running prospecting campaigns.
Understanding your cost per instruction helps you compare campaign performance, justify spend and set realistic prospecting budgets.
How well your prospecting activity is performing in a given postcode district, measured by engagement, valuation requests and instructions won.
ProspectOS Insights gives you postcode-level reporting so you can see exactly where your campaigns are getting traction and where to invest more.
The overall effectiveness of a specific prospecting campaign, measured by response rates, enquiries, valuations and instructions generated.
Reviewing campaign performance after each send helps you improve design, targeting and timing to generate more instructions from the same budget.
Formatted summaries of prospecting activity and results that can be shared with branch managers, agency owners or boards.
ProspectOS generates clear reports on prospecting performance that you can export and share without needing a separate analytics tool.
The difference between local listing or opportunity volume in a patch and the instructions your branch currently records or attributes.
Reviewing an instruction gap helps a branch decide where further investigation or campaign activity may be useful, without treating the figure as a guaranteed win.
A recorded fee value linked to prospecting activity using the selected attribution model. Attribution indicates contribution and does not prove sole causation.
Attributed fees help agencies compare campaign cost with commercial outcomes while staying clear about model limits.
Recording letter and campaign replies against the property and campaign, including QR scans, phone calls, forms and walk ins, without treating every interaction as the same outcome.
A campaign log shows 14 scans, 4 phone calls and 1 booked valuation. Only the valuation is reported as a booked appraisal.
If only scans are counted, phone replies disappear from the report. If scans are counted as instructions, the campaign looks stronger than it is.
A geographic area identified by the first half of a UK postcode (e.g. SW1A, NG2). The primary unit of territory for most agency prospecting.
ProspectOS is built around postcode districts. Activity stays limited to the districts available to the branch, and every feature is organised for postcode-level targeting.
The postcode areas a specific branch considers its primary geographic market. Branches often compete with each other across territory boundaries.
Defining and defending branch territory is a core use case for ProspectOS. Map and Insights help you track your share of instructions across your defined territory.
An informal term for an agent's or agency's primary geographic focus area. Your patch is the postcode territory you prioritise for prospecting and market share growth.
Understanding your patch deeply is the foundation of effective prospecting. ProspectOS is designed to help you know your patch better than any competitor.
The practice of monitoring your own listed properties to ensure vendors are not being approached by competitors while the property is on the market.
ProspectOS helps you track competitor campaign activity in your postcode to identify when your own clients may be at risk of switching agents.
Running prospecting across more than one branch workspace, reviewing what each branch learns, and planning the next campaigns with shared commercial context.
Multi branch prospecting helps agency groups reuse lessons between branches without assuming every area will produce the same return.
Book a patch walkthrough and we will show you how ProspectOS turns market signals, campaigns and follow up into a clearer prospecting workflow.