One of the biggest challenges in estate agency is timing.
Most sellers don’t make a decision overnight — they spend months researching, hesitating, and waiting for the perfect moment. And when that moment arrives… they usually choose the agent who happens to give the right message at the right time.

Imagine if your marketing always stayed in step with their journey — automatically adjusting the message based on what a customer has just done, or not done, with your agency.

That’s exactly what this approach, allows you to do.

If someone goes on the market with a competitor, you can serve them content that demonstrates why feedback matters, how to assess performance, or what to do if things aren’t going to plan.

If a buyer registers with a home to sell, but they haven’t instructed yet, you can educate them about timing, preparation, and the importance of being proceedable.

Right message.
Right person.
Right moment.
Automatically.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the principles behind this strategy and give you a practical, step-by-step guide to set it up in your business.

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Where to Start: Audience “Buckets”

The first step is thinking in terms of audience groups — or “buckets”.

Each bucket represents a stage someone could be at in their selling journey. Examples might include:

• Homeowners currently on the market with competitors
• Buyers with a home to sell, but not yet listed
• Instant valuation leads
• Valuation follow-ups
• Withdrawn or fallen-through properties

The goal is to put people in the most relevant bucket and then show them content that helps them make the next step.

Some people will sit in more than one bucket — that’s fine. The important thing is having a system that automatically removes them from buckets when the messaging becomes irrelevant.

For example, if someone is in your “instant valuation” bucket, the goal of the content is to get them to book an appointment. Once they do, they should be removed from that bucket and added to your “valuation follow-up” bucket instead.

This keeps your messaging aligned and avoids wasting budget.

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How It Works (At a High Level)

Before we get into the weeds, here’s the simple model:

1. You define your audience buckets
2. Your CRM reports who should go into each bucket
3. Zapier pushes those contacts into Facebook Custom Audiences
4. Facebook shows them evergreen, helpful content
5. Another automation removes them the moment their status changes

Set it up once, and the buckets update themselves in real time.

Your graphics will help visualise this.

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A Step-By-Step Guide

Step 1: Create Custom Audiences in Facebook Ads Manager

Log into Ads Manager and create a new Custom Audience. You’ll be uploading a list from your CRM that Facebook will match to user profiles.

At minimum you’ll want:

• Email
• Mobile number

But you’ll improve your match rate by also including:

• First name
• Last name
• Address

The better the match, the stronger your coverage.

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Step 2: Build CRM Reports For Each Bucket

Create a report in your CRM that fetches everyone who currently belongs in that audience bucket.

For example:

• All properties listed with competitors in the last 90 days
• All instant valuations not yet booked
• All withdrawn properties where the seller still lives there

Export that list and upload it into your Custom Audience.

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Step 3: Automate New Additions With Zapier

This is where it gets clever.

Greenhouse OS monitors every new property that goes on the market with competitor agents and updates your CRM in real time. When we recognise the owner, a Property Contact is created.

Zapier then passes that contact directly into the relevant Facebook Custom Audience — without you touching anything.

I also replicate these audiences into Mailchimp using tags, so email and social messaging stay aligned.

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Step 4: Automatically Remove People When Their Status Changes

Just as important as adding people is removing them.

If someone instructs you, withdraws, or books a valuation, the messaging they were receiving may no longer be relevant.

I run a separate Zap that reverses the process and removes them from the bucket automatically.

This keeps lists clean, budgets efficient, and prevents irritation.

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Step 5: Create Evergreen Content

Now you have an audience that updates itself — the next job is content.

I focus on evergreen topics that are always relevant, such as:

• The number one question to ask an estate agent when they give you feedback
• The biggest mistake sellers make when pricing their home
• Should you change your price or change your agent?
• The most important room when presenting your home for sale
• The three most important questions to ask before choosing an agent

The key is to measure engagement over time.

To do that, I recommend running different types of ads in different ad sets, such as:

• Testimonials
• Advice & education
• Meet the team

This helps you understand not just which adverts perform best, but which types of content generate the outcome you want.

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Why This Works

Sellers and buyers are rarely ready the first time you speak to them.

But if they:

• see your face regularly,
• learn something useful,
• build trust through your content…

…you dramatically increase the chance that you’re their first choice when timing is right.

This strategy lets you stay top-of-mind without depending on email alone.

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Final Thoughts

I’m really excited to see the results of this method as we roll it out. I’m currently working with the Preston Baker leadership team half a day per week to deploy these audiences, build the automation, and create the evergreen content that brings it all to life.

My role is simple: find ways to create a permanent 1% improvement every week. Automation is often the fastest way to do that — improving customer experience while generating new business at the same time.

Next year, I’m planning to work with four other estate agency businesses in a similar way — one day per month to help build leadership discipline and deploy automations like this.

I’m already starting with two new clients this week. If you’re curious and would like to explore how this could work in your business, feel free to WhatsApp me and I’ll share the details.