# Ideal customer profile: estate and letting agents

A starting ICP for an independent estate or letting agent who wants to win more business from landlords, developers and employers. Replace anything in [square brackets] with your own details, delete what doesn't fit, then paste the whole file into Claude, Copilot or ChatGPT.

## How to use this file

Paste this file into a new chat, then try one of these:

- "Using this ICP, give me 20 Apollo and Companies House searches I can run to find these companies in [your area]."
- "Here's a company I found: [name and website]. Score it against this ICP out of 10 and tell me why."
- "Write a first email to [company] using this ICP. Plain text, under 90 words, one question at the end."

## About us

- Business: [Your agency name]
- What we do: [Sales, lettings, block management, new homes]
- Where we work: [Town or postcode areas]
- What one good client is worth to us in a year: [£ figure]
- What makes us different: [e.g. local for 20 years, fixed fee management, 24 hour maintenance line]

## Who we want to reach

We focus on three groups. Each is a business, not a private individual.

1. **Portfolio landlords who hold property through a limited company.** Usually 3 to 30 properties, often run by one or two directors.
2. **Small developers and housebuilders.** Building from a handful of units up to around 50 a year, who need someone to sell or let them.
3. **Employers bringing staff into the area.** Firms with 50 or more staff who relocate people and need homes for them.

- Location: [Your area], plus [radius or neighbouring towns]
- Legal form: limited companies and LLPs only (see the rules section)

## Who makes the decision

- Landlord companies: a director, often the only director
- Developers: managing director, sales director or land director
- Employers: HR manager, people partner or office manager

## What they care about

- Landlords: void periods, good tenants, rent reviews, keeping up with rules on safety and deposits, not being chased at weekends
- Developers: selling or letting units quickly off plan, pricing advice, local buyer demand
- Employers: new starters settling in quickly, somewhere decent to live, one contact who sorts it

## Signals that it's a good time to get in touch

- A new property company has just been incorporated at an address in our area
- A company has bought property locally (Land Registry price paid data)
- Planning permission has been granted for new homes locally
- An employer is advertising several roles in our area or opening a new site
- A landlord's properties have been on the market with another agent for a long time

## Where to find them

- Companies House advanced search with these SIC codes and a registered office or trading address near us:
  - 68100 Buying and selling of own real estate
  - 68209 Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
  - 41100 Development of building projects
  - 41202 Construction of domestic buildings
- Apollo or a similar tool, filtered by the same industries, location and titles above
- The local planning portal, for approved residential schemes
- Job boards, for employers hiring several people locally

## Who to leave out

- Private landlords who own property in their own name (they are individuals, not businesses)
- Large corporate landlords and build to rent funds with in-house teams
- Developers already tied to a national agent on a long contract
- Anyone who has asked us not to contact them

## The offer we lead with

[Pick one and make it specific. For example: "A free rental review of your portfolio, with a written note on where rents and costs sit against the local market." Or for developers: "A 20 minute call on local buyer demand and pricing for your next scheme."]

## How we write

- Plain text. No images, no tracking, no HTML templates.
- Under 90 words. One clear question at the end.
- Say what we noticed about their company, not about them personally.
- No fake familiarity, no "hope you're well", no "just checking in".
- Sound like a local agent who knows the area, because we are.

## Rules we follow (UK)

- We only cold email corporate subscribers: limited companies, LLPs, public bodies and other incorporated organisations. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships need to have opted in first, so they stay off the list.
- Every email says who we are and gives a simple way to opt out. Anyone who opts out goes on a suppression list for good.
- A named contact at a company is still personal data under UK GDPR. We rely on legitimate interests, keep only what we need, and link to our privacy notice.
- This is not legal advice. The ICO is updating its guidance after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, so check the latest before you send.