Katy Billany, Executive Director of TwentyEA

What is your career background?

I started my career in insurance, working for Zurich and then Northern Rock – although I can’t exactly say that being on the front line talking to customers during the ‘run on the bank’ in 2007 was a particular highlight! Following that, I moved in to the property sector which turned out to be a great decision and I’m still here 15 years later.

How did you come to work for TwentyEA?

I was working for a business that supported estate agents with local marketing activity and then three and a half years later, an Account Manager position came up with TwentyCi.  I have been with the group for 11 years and over the last five years, I have been part of the TwentyEA senior management team.

What's your proudest achievement?

I’m particularly proud of what I have achieved during my time with TwentyCi, both personally and for the business. I spent the first few years building our new house builder and removals sales teams before taking responsibility for the TwentyEA brand and driving its growth. We now work with 75% of the top 20 agents in the UK and over 3,500 branches across the country.

What are the top 3 challenges you believe your business solves for agents?

TwentyEA helps agents to:

Win market appraisals (ahead of competitors)

Deliver more effective marketing

Understand their true performance and market share

TwentyEA are experts in the UK home mover market, providing smart, specific and intelligent home mover data and insight to help agents better understand the challenges of the industry – and crucially, how to apply this knowledge to leverage their brand power. TwentyEA has market-leading data coverage across the UK and is the definitive source of targeting property insight, providing turnkey solutions for agents to help win new instructions.

Which industry suppliers do you admire most?

I think that the support and guidance that the Property Academy offer to members is invaluable.  Whether you are an estate agent or supplier to the industry, the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded business leaders whilst benefiting from the coaching offered by Peter and his team, is something that I couldn’t recommend more.

Vouch is another supplier I admire for their incredible success. What Simon and Jaime have achieved in such a short space of time is nothing short of amazing!

Which estate agencies do you admire most?

Whilst across the business we work with many fantastic agents of all sizes, I often feel that some of the most inspiring ones are those smaller independent agents who are at the forefront of change within the sector. Their appetite to adopt new technologies and do things differently is impressive and they are forcing others to realise that they have to adapt or be left behind.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt from working with estate agents so far?

I’ve learnt to always pack Alka Seltzer for the morning after an estate agency event – agents know how to party!