Follow us on Twitter @TheNeg
Feature
HTML detail match and distribution via email and SMS, social media and portal feeds.” And social media does seem to be the way ahead for many aspects of property marketing; GMG’s Mark goes on to say, “The industry has a close eye in the use of Social Media to see if it will revolutionise the way the home moving process works as the property portals have done over the last decade.” Evolvin Agency Software system allows
agents to automate feeds to social media, as well as allowing all the agency business processes such as viewings, marketing, and matching applicants to properties. Chris Haines of Evolvin says, “There’s a big transformation going on in terms of how information price reductions, ‘property of the week,’ that can all be fed into social media as news items. Average prices in each area, average time on the market, price rises for year to date and other statistics.” Steve Barker, Sales & Marketing Director at C.A.R.L. says that they take note of what their clients really need, “Software houses are sometimes criticised for developing features that have no benefit to their customers. With this in mind, we consulted with our customers and subsequently developed a feature in C.A.R.L. designed to further enhance the ‘user experience’, through the automatic capture and storage of all documents sent to the printer. Documents are automatically stored as PDFs in the correct place within the system, ie Landlord, Property or Tenant screens, and they are instantly retrievable to the screen, without having to find the file or the folder and hope the copy of the letter is in it. “The facility has been extended to the
emailing of statements, meaning a landlord who calls the office to query a statement is dealt with in an efficient and professional manner, as the agent can instantly retrieve a copy of the statement and display it on screen, without leaving their desk or having to call the landlord back.” In addition, copies of signed documents,
such as Terms of Business, Tenancy Agreements, EPCs etc, can all be scanned and stored in chronological order within C.A.R.L., thus improving efficiency and productivity. And, says Steve, “We have also introduced
the ability to send SMS messages to clients and record the content of the message in the system, ensuring that accurate records are securely stored for future reference.” Technology will continue to evolve and to
play a greater part in the selling process so the ones to benefit will be those who choose wisely and let their software do the work whilst they get on with selling houses. As Reapit’s Simon Whale says, “It is not so
much spotting these innovations, as there’s too many of them to action all, the key thing is focusing on the ones that actually will deliver, that you can measure ROI with and don’t mean extra work for your staff.” Here are some of the latest key products
to arrive on the market and how they can help you drive property sales:
www.thenegotiator.co.uk
“EPC legislation is an example where outdated software would make compliance virtually
impossible.” Mark Goddard, GMG Property Services
VEBRALIVE T: 0844 662 6454
info@vebra.com www.vebra.info What is it? VebraLive is the latest product from GMG Property Services giving agents the ability to access their software in and out of the office. The software assists the agent in promoting their business, improving communication and measuring the agents’ success with a comprehensive reporting suite. How does it work? VebraLive is accessible on a desktop, web or hand held mobile device. This system effectively allows the agents to access the office software anytime and anywhere, allowing greater flexibility. What else? GMG has an on-going development plan in place for each product (both current and legacy) to ensure integration with all the latest technology whilst ensuring legislative compliance. Pending release later this year, GMG is developing a Cloud offering will allow agents to be more flexible – both in and out of the workplace. Employees can access files using web- enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. The ability to simultaneously share information over the internet will support both internal and external collaboration bringing users closer to their team and clients.
JUST EPC T: 0844 3104707
info@justepc.co.uk www.justepc.co.uk What is it? Just EPC has designed a real-time scheduling system for booking EPCs. It is driven by the assessors who control their own diary, indicate what services they provide, set their own territory and their own pricing. This ensures fairness and future sustainability in the Energy Assessor industry and avoids driving down the pricing of EPC work. How does it work? Customers pay for their appointments online before the assessment is carried out and Just EPC then pay the assessors on a weekly basis following the uploading of the report reference number. Just EPC has more than 1,000 Energy Assessors and access to a further 3,000. Individual clients can obtain an EPC within 48 hours of booking. Both the clients and the assessors are
communicated to throughout the whole process via SMS and emails and there is a telephone based customer service facility.
What else? Just EPC has adapted its system to cater for direct customers, estate and letting agents, landlords, housing associations and property management companies. Just EPC keeps up to date with market changes and has regularly liaised with Government officials to obtain clarification on issues such as the pending Green Deal project. An administration charge can be added to
the Assessor’s fee enabling the agent to produce a new income stream.
ETSOS
T: 01524 220000
info@etsos.co.uk www.etsos.co.uk What is it? ETSOS launched its web-enabled search ordering portal in February 2010 which simplifies and streamlines the process of requesting conveyancing searches and related products. How does it work? Through a single interface users can order: Official Local Authority Searches, Personal Local Authority Searches, Land Registry Documents, Anti money laundering products, Planning searches, Utility Searches, Drainage and Water Searches, EPCs, fire risk assessments, air conditioning surveys, asbestos surveys, lease plans, floor plans, virtual tours and company searches. The intuitive one-click search ‘supermarket’
is provided at no cost; this eliminates the hub fees associated with other search providers. ETSOS makes a margin on the searches
and products taken. This supports a dedicated customer service function, with each client given a named account manager for greater efficiency. Users must order searches through the online portal. What else? ETSOS has around 1500 professional entities as clients with an attrition rate of 1.2 per cent. The latest innovation is the development of a free quotation and referral system that enables conveyancers to capture work from their local estate agents and IFAs, without the need for third party panel managers. This was extended to estate agents and IFAs as well to enable them to better connect with conveyancers while delivering an enhanced service to customers. Agents can get instant quotes on a conveyance from their panel firms, from their desk or smart phone. ETSOS actively encourages its law firm user base to offer the system to its estate agent clients, helping ring-fence their business as well as speeding up the whole conveyancing quote and search process.
TheNegotiator l September 2012 l 31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53