AJ Mastermind

AJ Mastermind THE PLACE for independent estate agents committed to doubling their business simply and effectively

Your first multi-million pound valuation hits hard. You’re worried you’ll mess it up. Make a fool of yourself. Be wayyyy...
09/08/2026

Your first multi-million pound valuation hits hard. You’re worried you’ll mess it up. Make a fool of yourself. Be wayyyy out on the number. Quote too high/too low.
I get it. We’ve all been there.
Your very first valuation was scary.
Your first valuation over £500k was scary.
You’re just adapting. Learning. Growing.
And that’s scary.
I’m here for you.
I want to hear all about your fears and concerns.
Tell me about the gaps you think you have in your skills.
Talk me through your strategy or plan - if you have one.
Just comment VAL or dm me direct.
We’ll tackle it together.
And before you know it, you’ll have listed your first multi-million pound home.
And won’t that feel unbelievably amazingly good?
❤️🥰🤗

If you lose the differentiation war, the fee war is already lost. The trouble with ‘better’ is it’s often just a claim, ...
03/08/2026

If you lose the differentiation war, the fee war is already lost.

The trouble with ‘better’ is it’s often just a claim, and a promise.
What are you better at, anyway?
⁃ Your team know the area better?
⁃ You’re better at caring?
⁃ Your database is better?

Even if you have evidence that you sell homes better - quicker/for more - most vendors will simply ignore your statistics and make their decision based on logic. They’ll choose the agent they like the most.

But because brains are funny things, the differentiator that agent demonstrated (not promised) is the reason they’ll think they chose them.

Simple version: People choose agents based on emotion (liking) and justify with logic (differentiation).

So if you don’t have a demonstrable visual differentiator, no amount of claims and promises will get you that instruction.

This is even more the case when you’re pursuing high fees (1.75% and more) on high-value homes. And whilst you’re reading this thinking your biggest competitor is your biggest, er, competition… … it’s not.

The status quo is.

We all have a status quo bias.

When you’re in front of a homeowner trying to decide between 3 agents, all they really want to do is nothing. ‘Nothing’ is safe comfortable and convenient. So here’s the challenge you may not know you’re facing: you must differentiate yourself not just from your competitors but from the status quo. How do you do that?

Give me a call or drop me an email and I’ll tell all…

Sam

Unfair, I know. But true. Familiarity will always trump better. But I’m here to help. Whether you’re struggling to get a...
31/07/2026

Unfair, I know. But true. Familiarity will always trump better. But I’m here to help. Whether you’re struggling to get a new agency off the ground, build your business beyond £300k or scale so you can finally reap the rewards of decades of hard work, a call with me will help you figure out your next steps. Reach out via a dm or call me direct on 015394 40892.

30/07/2026

Brochures.

They’re expensive. And time-consuming. And need someone skilled to create them.

So why do we use them for every home we sell?

And why are they all unique? (No templates used).

In this video, Phil explains why our brochures have become part of our brand identity for AshdownJones.

If you’re an agent who is thinking about creating brochures for your clients, I can help you to define a budget, and plan a workflow. Just drop me a dm.

Because when you start creating brochures like these, your business can capture a market that before now, you’ve only dreamed of.

~ Sam

26/07/2026

If you’ve visited to the Lakes, you’ve probably seen our boards. They’re pretty different from the norm.
I say different, because when I first suggested to our Mastermind members back in 2014 that they use photo boards, they thought I was mad.
“Too expensive to make individual boards.”
“Too complicated to have one for each house.”
Then we launched AshdownJones in 2017 with photo boards.
Slowly, we saw more and more high-end agents start to use them. And now they’re used by hundreds of agents across the country.

Here, Phil shares his perspective on why they work so well.
I’d add a few more reasons:
⁃ Our competitors rarely use them, but when they do, it looks to locals like they’re trying to copy us.
⁃ Homeowners who wouldn’t normally agree to a board, agree to a photo board
⁃ They’re more attractive to buyers

Do you use photo boards? What are yours like? I’d love to see a photo!

And if you don’t use them, but would like a hand getting started, I’m here to help. I can share with you our process and costs. Just ask.

Sam

22/07/2026

If we were starting AshdownJones from absolute scratch again, here’s EXACTLY what we would do.

1. Start a Direct Mail strategy straight away. Target on the market, withdrawn and not on market homes. Make a plan to send 300 letters a week and stick to it.
2. Be selective - target and list only the homes you really want to sell, be it uniques, waterside, listed or something else. Say no to all the rest.
3. Charge 1.5% from the start, and be worth it. Make sure your photography, copy, boards, styling and brochures all reflect the fee.
4. Invest in a team member asap. You cannot be in two places at once. Find someone amazing who will answer the phone, send the letters and raise invoices.

If you’re struggling to build your business, do this ⬆️⬆️⬆️
And if you’d like a chat, I’d love to hear from you. I wish I’d had someone to talk to in those early, scary days of AJ, so let me be that person for you. Pop me an email at [email protected] and tell me all about your plans.

Sam

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Windermere
LA233ND

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