Reviews aren't just for awards season
What the ESTAS remind us about reputation, trust, and why social proof matters more than shiny trophies.
This weekend, our social feeds have been absolutely flooded by estate agents, suppliers, marketers, everyone in our little world posting photos of trophies and ballgown smiles. And they’re all saying roughly the same thing:
“These awards matter most because they’re voted for by the public.”
They’re right, of course.
Those nominations are the result of reviews, real feedback from the actual people who’ve used their services. The public. The clients. The tenants, landlords, buyers and sellers who’ve lived through the process and come out the other side.
And there’s something wonderfully democratic about that.
Awards that come from customer reviews are as close as we get to an honest mirror of effort and service. They show what the business is truly capable of when it’s at its best.
But here’s the thing nobody says out loud: Just as dogs aren’t just for Christmas, reviews and reputation aren’t just for awards season.
They’re not there just for that moment when Phil Spencer hands you a shiny trophy and a photographer catches your good side (hopefully).They’re living proof, social proof, to future customers all year round.
The Power of “People Like Me”
We can debate whether the majority of the public even knows who Phil Spencer is, or what an ESTA stands for. Most don’t. But they do know something far more powerful: people like them. There’s a brilliant section in Exactly What to Say by Phil M Jones, Chris Smith, and Jimmy Mackin called “Most People.”
They write:
“People take great confidence from the fact that people like them have made a decision before them - and that decision worked out just fine.”
In other words, when you show people that most people trusted you, liked you, or chose you, their brains do something very simple and very human. They think: “I’m most people. Maybe that’s what I should do too.”
That’s not just marketing, it’s neuroscience. It’s the psychology of belonging and reassurance at work. And it’s why reviews are worth far more than a trophy.
The Trophy Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
The shiny award is the visible result, the part that gets photographed, posted, and celebrated. But underneath it is months (often years) of moments that mattered to real customers.
The late-night phone call answered. The viewing squeezed in before school pickup. The empathy shown when a chain collapsed. The quiet professionalism that made someone feel safe enough to recommend you. That’s what the reviews really capture.
When you post about your win, you’re not just saying “look at us.” You’re saying “look at what our clients felt.” That’s a subtle but important difference, and it’s the difference between being boastful and being believable.
Reputation Is a Daily Discipline
If you only think about your reputation when awards season rolls around, you’ve missed the point.
Reputation is built in the quiet days, in how you answer the phone, how you explain bad news, how you celebrate small wins. How you treat people and how you make them feel (because people will never ever forget that). It’s a daily practice, a muscle that strengthens with use. So keep collecting reviews. Keep thinking about new ways to communicate them. Keep finding the human moments that show who you really are, not who the industry thinks you should be.
The Tools That Make It Easier
There are some really great tools out there that help estate agents collect reviews more easily and make feedback simpler for clients. And here’s the thing: responding to those reviews is just as important as getting them. Your reply - the tone, the professionalism, the humility can speak volumes.
A thoughtful response shows future clients who you really are: professional, magnanimous, humble, eager to help. It communicates something immutable: the kind of person and business you are to deal with.
If you want help choosing the right tools or want to understand how to turn your reviews into a genuine business advantage, speak to us.
It’s one of the simplest and most powerful changes an agent can make.
Celebrate, But Stay Human
By all means, celebrate yourself, you deserve it. But be mindful of how that celebration lands with the people who pay your bills. Most customers aren’t impressed by how loudly you can shout about your achievements. They’re impressed by how their friends, neighbours, and colleagues talk about you.
At the end of the day, people don’t want the agent who looks the most confident online. They want the one that people like them trusted, and it worked out just fine.
Because reputation isn’t seasonal.
It’s not the icing on the cake.
It’s the whole recipe.
If you’re ready to turn your reputation into your most powerful instruction-winning tool, let’s chat.
We’re helping agents every day to collect more authentic reviews, build stronger trust signals, and turn social proof into signed instructions using platforms like View Agents and Verify Trusted.
Jump on a quick call with us and we’ll walk you through how these tools are transforming results for agents just like you. No fluff, no jargon, just proof that works.
👉 Book your Kerfuffle call here and start making your reputation work as hard as you do.
