By Ben Greenwood, Executive Director, Arabian Estates
I didn’t land in Dubai with a book of business and a brand. I came from a small East Midlands town in the UK. I also spent nine years in the military as an RAF aircraft engineer. My first introduction to Dubai was when I was visiting my younger brother here. I took a late walk along Dubai Marina, and had that “I could live here” moment. A few months later I was doing a Zoom interview on my lunch break, still in oily overalls from aircraft maintenance work.
My start in real estate taught me two things that still anchor my work today: show up on time, and stick to the fundamentals that will actually move the needle. In this Property Finder article, I’m sharing some of those fundamentals with you.
For me, one of the biggest basics is niche. You want to be really successful? Pick a neighbourhood. Own it. Be the name people in that community think of first—whether they’re selling now or six months from now.
Why a niche beats being “everywhere”
When I started, I was dropped into an up-and-coming villa community that wasn’t built. You could say it was still finding its feet—gardens were sand, owners hadn’t moved in yet. It was hard work, and a great opportunity. Because, if you serve 500 villas in one place, it’s possible to know 400 of those owners by name. If you try to be everywhere, you end up chasing shiny things—the “golden snitch” of real estate—and missing what’s right under your nose.
In a niche, what you need to do is straightforward: talk to the people in that community and talk to them often. Walk the neighbourhood, knock on doors, share what’s actually relevant to them, and be available when they need you. You won’t have every buyer. But if you don’t have the buyer, you’ll probably have the seller—or at least the relationship that brings the seller to your door.
How to embed yourself as an asset
My start wasn’t glamorous. I pounded the pavements—literally. Door knocks. Introductions. “I’m new to the area, and I’m planning to work here for the next five to ten years. Here’s what just listed. Here’s what that means for your home.” It might be awkward for five minutes. Then it’s normal. You’ll get plenty of polite “no, thanks.” Don’t fear it. You’re building recognition, not closing on the threshold.
A few habits that keep you welcomed:
- Send hyper-local market notes. People in Dubai are busy. They don’t want a newsletter about areas they don’t live in. One page, their community only, new instructions, recent sales, new restaurant or coffee shop openings, what it means for their price—done.
- Live there, at least part-time. I don’t mean move in. I mean be present. Work a few hours from the area’s coffee shop. If a new café opens, use that as a reason to check in. “I’ll be there Tuesday at 9 if you fancy a quick catch-up.”
- Be useful beyond the sale. Keep a short list of landscapers, pool guys, decent maintenance crews, the right person at the developer’s office. When someone’s pump dies the day before guests arrive, and you sort it, that’s worth ten “just listed” emails. The sale isn’t the relationship – it’s what you do afterwards to create and maintain value.
You won’t click with everyone—and that’s fine. Be yourself, be respectful, and keep serving. Even if someone prefers another broker, I’ll still try to bring buyers through when it helps their outcome. That attitude compounds.
Standards and platforms matter
We’re a high-performance brokerage at Arabian Estates, but we don’t try to look corporate for its own sake. The standard we enforce is simple: be good, be reliable, be transparent and authentic. That’s why we insist on 100% verified listings. If a property can’t be verified, we won’t publish it. It protects the client, the brand, and the community we serve.
And yes, Property Finder is part of that standard. Early on, Property Finder was my only door to the wider world. They still are the first stop for new buyers landing in Dubai—my wife and I use them ourselves. Today the verification is stronger, the search more transparent, and—importantly for niche agents—the tools make it easier to present your listings properly: clean media, video, 360 tours, the lot. Your personal brand can be strong and your portal presence still has to be stronger.
Keeping top performers happy (so they actually perform)
The work that agents do doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Top brokers need trust and tools, more than they need a time clock. So, if you want people to stay, bring their best, and prospect hard, set the environment first.
We hire for proof of high-performance, and then manage by output—not chair time. We give our team flexibility (especially parents) and we’re clear on standards: response times, viewing etiquette, weekly pipeline reviews, and so on. Autonomy works when everyone knows what “good” looks like.
I recommend swapping pressure for practical support. The fastest way to lift results isn’t a louder pep talk. It’s removing whatever is causing friction. If you’re a leader, share clean market intel, jump on tricky pricing calls, and help structure a listing properly the first time. When brokers know leadership will pick up the phone and solve, they move faster for clients.
Keep the team small enough to self-manage. A tight unit of well-organised brokers will run like a machine if you get out of the way. Let them own their timelines, listings, and deals end-to-end. Leadership can then use their time to look ahead—systems, training, partnerships—so they can run.
Invest in energy and recognition. People prospect more when they feel good and feel seen. Wellness support, focused training, and meaningful incentives beat generic “rah-rah.” Celebrate wins, course-correct quietly, and make it obvious that consistency gets rewarded here.
That’s the culture I believe in: trust first, help fast, celebrate progress. Happy, organised people do better work—and clients feel it.
When competition arrives
Here’s another reality – if you’re doing a good job in a neighborhood, others will show up. That’s good. It keeps you sharp.
My answer to competition isn’t magic – it’s math. If you and I both support the same community, and you speak to ten people a day while I speak to a hundred, probability is on my side. The trick, as life gets busier (I’ve got three children now, including twins), is to work with intention. I might not be in the office 9–6 anymore, but when I’m in, I try to do nine hours of focused work in six. That means calls scheduled, reports ready, keys collected, viewings on time. The boring stuff makes the big stuff happen. Being reliable, staying committed to doing what you say may seem boring – but that’s what builds trust. And this business is about trust more than anything.
Respect every dirham
Every transaction is someone investing their hard-earned money. Respect it. Treat all your clients like they’re important and valuable. Our average transaction these days might be north of AED 10m, but if someone’s buying a AED 1.5m investment apartment, that’s still a huge commitment for them. I’ve been the single guy in a small apartment and now I’m the dad buying a family home. I know how big it feels. Respect shows up in the little things—turning up on time, having the key, knowing the service charges, following through after handover.
If you’re just starting out
If you’re new, welcome. It’s tough sometimes. You’ll wonder if the calls matter, if the door knocks are worth it, if you’re cut out for this. Keep going. Pick your own neighbourhood of 500 (or 50). Get to know the people in the community. Be the household name on those streets. Do market notes. Help with the odd non-property problem. Show up. Four years from now, if I told you where you could be, you’d probably shake my hand and say, “I’ll take it.” I left a stable military job for this and had no plan B. The values that carried me—punctuality, organisation, team before ego—map perfectly to real estate. Do the work, do it honestly, and do it consistently. You’ll be surprised how quickly a neighbourhood starts to feel like your neighbourhood.
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