BUSINESS
single service, multiPle benefits The simplest ideas are often the best. We all know that the way a telephone call is answered creates an instant impression, good or bad, on the caller. If that impression is bad, or even just vaguely unhelpful, it can lose the client forever. When Moneypenny was launched in 2000 it was the first UK call answering service that offered staff who didn’t just take a message but actually got the message. The founders, brother and sister team Ed Reeves and Sarah Clacher were very frustrated with the services on offer at that time and wanted to offer ‘real people’ with a real understanding of their client’s needs as well as those of the client’s customers. The difference with this service is that
each client has a dedicated assistant, rather than the ‘next available operator’. And that is one heck of a difference. An agency answers their own calls in their branch whenever they can. When they’re particularly busy, or when staffing levels are low, their calls are routed seamlessly to their own Moneypenny PA. Joanna Swash, Director, Moneypenny,
says, “Fully briefed by the agency, she (or he) looks after overflow calls in their company name and sends detailed messages back to the office”. This simple initiative gives the agent peace of mind that no calls are being missed and customer service is improved. Even when the agency is closed, Moneypenny can answer your phones, offering longer ‘opening’ hours. Far from the message, ‘your call is held in
a queue…’ or ‘I’ll pass the message on’ the dedicated assistant can fulfil as detailed a brief as you care to give her. Some agents share their diary so the assistant knows when you or your colleagues will be available, enabling an intelligent response and a clear service message. The intelligence part of the service is
going down particularly well with agents; Simon Bradbury, Director of Fine &
Country’s Cambridge office, uses the Moneypenny service: “Fine & Country is
Most EPM staff were lettings or property managers and are
ARLA members. anouska foss director, ePm
breaking new ground with its creative marketing, coupled with a very professional approach to the sale of individual and country property. In our minds, ensuring the telephone is answered quickly and effectively at all times is business-critical. “No one could have predicted how
perfectly Moneypenny would fit with the way we run our agency. Jess, our Moneypenny Receptionist, is on hand to answer any engaged or unanswered calls. Jess takes detailed messages which she then sends back to us via email to be dealt with immediately. Together with evening and weekend cover, such attentive service doesn’t go unnoticed by our clients.”
Packaged services In contrast to the simple premise of the call answering service, is the property management ‘back room’ service offered by a small number of intrepid (some might say crazy) companies. It has long been acknowledged that with
the raft of legislation relating to letting homes that has built up over the last twenty years, the letting agent’s job is not a simple one. Finding tenants is relatively easy, capturing landlord instructions is less easy but an interesting challenge; but for many people wishing to start a letting agency or needing to provide a lettings service in addition to their sales operation, the administration of let property, whether let- only or full management, can be a hideous nightmare. Enter the angels.
The Moneypenny assistant answers calls
in your company name.’ joanna sWash, director, moneyPenny
Before launching their company, EPM
(or Expert Property Management) Iain Mckenzie and Anouska Foss had both been involved with a national franchise of estate agents whose lettings portfolio management was outsourced. Anouska says “Having come from a
lettings background, and managing lettings agencies, I knew we could bring the portfolio management back into the Franchise fold and do a better job, for a lower cost to the agents. That was two years ago now, and we still have that franchise as a client”. Simply put, EPM take responsibility for
the entire back end management of a lettings portfolio. “Our experienced team handles everything from collecting rent, chasing arrears, dealing with tenant queries, arranging periodic visits, 24 hour property maintenance, managing accounts, deposit disputes etc.” It doesn’t sound simple, and it isn’t, but it
is definitely easier when you know how. “Almost all EPM staff members were lettings managers/negotiators/property managers themselves before coming to EPM, so they know exactly where the agents are coming from. They are fully trained, some are individual members of ARLA, and of course EPM is accredited with ARLA”. Another big attraction is that EPM runs
a client account for the tenancies, which is audited yearly at no cost to the agents, so if they wish to be members of ARLA, this offers a significant cost saving.
Wisdom, suPPort and exPertise ARPM, offering a similar service, was launched by Simon Duce in 2006. Simon had spent a couple of years running a letting office and seeing some of the ‘services’ being offered by competitors; “I thought that some of these guys were not giving their clients good service at best and at worst they were operating on the wrong side of the law. I saw an opportunity to take these experiences, as well as my own
PROPERTYdrum OCTOBER 2011 35
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