At Rex Software, we’ve been working with the property industry providing a world class CRM, digital advertising tool, website management and soon property management solutions. We’ve followed the journey of our clients for years and what’s always at the front of mind is providing the products that help our customers navigate the market for growth, no matter how good or bad the conditions are.
Being very much embedded in the industry and working closely with customers in the property industry, we hear and see all the current challenges and there are a couple in particular when it comes to growth, where many find themselves struggling. These 2 points are related to growth opportunities using the right tech to drive an increase in lead generation and better sales outcomes. Let’s dive in.
The market is showing persistent challenges and when considering that despite signs of market stabilisation, price drops are expected, leaving vendors less enticed to sell. Couple that with the fact that the competition is higher than in a long time, with the number of UK estate agencies growing by 10.6% last year alone.In short, there’s more competition, less properties coming onto the market and lower sales prices leading to lower commissions. This is simply the new reality in which agencies quickly have to change their approach to not only survive but also find the growth opportunities that comes with it.
In short, there's more competition, fewer properties coming onto the market, and lower sales prices leading to lower commissions. This is simply the new reality in which agencies must quickly step up to not only survive but also find growth opportunities that come with it.
What To Focus On
When things get a little tougher, we tend to resort to what we know, meaning we go back to proven methods. More often than not, though, the market has shifted, and sellers and buyers behave differently, meaning that what you used to do three years ago is quickly turning out to be obsolete. This is where we see most of the mistakes happen and, in some cases, leads to the detriment of an agency. You can have a major impact on the bottom line by improving your pipeline and putting an effort into achieving better sales results. Both which are what we’ve noticed as low hanging fruit for a lot of agencies. Making it easy for you to determine whether you have gaps in your lead acquisition and/or sales efforts, here are a couple of questions you can ask yourself to evaluate whether you are using the right set up.
01 Are Your Business Generating Tools Outdated?
Are you relying on letterbox drops, listing portals, sponsorships, or heavy branding to get in front of a potential vendor? If you are, chances are you're using inefficient and unscalable methods to engage new vendors. The most common mistake agencies make is to invest in marketing that only focuses on vendors ready to sell now when, in fact, we know that lead generation is a relationship-building game. Your ability to win a vendor is most likely a long game, and it's rarely as easy as reaching out to them at the point they want to put their property on the market.
This is why it's crucial that you efficiently invest in making sure you have engagement points across the funnel, from when they first buy, through to preparing for sale and ultimately selling. To do this, you have to reach where people are and engage where they don't get distracted. This rarely happens when they go to grab their mail, or when they are bombarded with other messaging on a bus stop.
People live online, and it is by far the most efficient way to engage vendors. It's, therefore, worth thinking about whether you have content or engagement points that build awareness, educate, and finally convert the vendor. Accessing tools like Rex Reach and Rex Websites gives you a full funnel solution, allowing you to seamlessly advertise yourself and your agency through hyper-targeted adverts in any area you choose and reach thousands, while also giving you a website optimised for engagement that leads to conversions without having to invest in marketing teams or agencies.
02 Are You Using Tech to Generate Better Buyers for Your Vendors?
Getting the right buyer can be the difference between a good and a bad sale. This is a key factor in improving your performance and reputation, not to mention the commission itself. Advertising listings like everyone else, say through listing portals, means you're not capitalising on technology that could be helping you find more and better buyers. Not all potential buyers visit property sites, and often they miss out.
We’re a sales agency, not a marketing agency, how do we do it?
If you find that you are missing out on one or both points, it’s worth investing and implementing in new systems and processes that supports you in navigating growth in this market and changes that come in the future. There are tools out there for you that takes care of it, allowing you to build a lead generator so that you can focus on what your best at - selling and managing relationships. Rex Software offers the Rex Grow Suite, specifically built to give you access to advertising and marketing through social media, to then bring them into websites built specifically for estate agencies, optimised to engage and convert new business. Learn more and get free consultation to see how Rex Software could help you with the right tools and support to deliver new growth opportunities.
