Author page: Daina Milner

Here are some of the time and money factors that must be considered when taking on an additional employee:

1. Calculating the true cost to company

Employing a new staff member costs way more than just their salary. According to the British Business Bank*, the true cost-to-company of a new member of staff’s employment over the first year is approximately £62,890. Their calculation is based on the average annual UK salary of £27,600. Estate agents need to factor in recruitment costs and various additional, ongoing expenses such as national insurance, pension contributions and benefits to calculate the true cost of taking on a new employee in the UK. Plus, if an employee is working in the office part- or full-time there is the cost of setting up a workstation and office equipment. Other factors like sick pay, various types of leave must also be factored in.

2. National Living Wage and London Living Wage increases in 2024

To make the decision to take on additional employees even more financially challenging, the National Living Wage is set to increase by approximately 9.8% in April 2024 – up from £10,42 to £11.44. When calculated as a compounded increase over two years, this constitutes a 20.4% increase from the National Living Wage in 2022. And the discretionary London Living Wage (covering all the boroughs in Greater London) will rise from £11.95 to £13.15 in 2024. This is £1.71 more per hour than the National Living Wage and is designed to reflect the higher costs employees face if they work in London.

3. Evaluating the time cost of recruitment

The hiring process, when recruitment is done thoroughly and well, generally takes four to six weeks from sourcing candidates to identifying the best person for the job. Quality candidates are

likely to be currently employed. So the successful candidate will probably have to give four weeks or a calendar months’ notice before taking up their new position. From start to finish, this means a company will have spent about 3 months from the time at which they identified a need to onboarding a new employee. The worst possible outcome is when the new employee does not work out and the process must start all over again.

Taking on a Virtual Assistant cuts your lead time and cost to company.

The good news is that taking on a Virtual Assistant provides all the benefits that having exceptional employees brings – without having to bear added costs beyond their monthly salary. For around the same hourly rate as the 2024 National Living Wage, a Virtual Assistant with several years of appropriate experience (and a positive, can-do attitude) will take on very important, yet time-consuming tasks. They improve efficiency and free up estate agents’ time so they can focus on critical tasks. And because they work remotely, there is no need to purchase furniture and equipment. Or to worry about higher utility bills or renting a larger office space.

Virtual Assistants are far more than administrators.

Virtual Assistants should not be pigeon-holed as outsourced administrators. They have evolved to become strategic strategic assets, offering specialised skills that address diverse business needs. In other words, they are highly experienced, technologically advanced professionals with a variety of skills to suit any estate agents’ needs – from operations and property management to social media management, digital marketing and bookkeeping. They are also great at administration.

* https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/finance-hub/tips-on-hiring-new-employees/ (Sourced from the office of national statistics ons.gov.uk, www.marketing-bersin.com, www.msci.com)

The problem of mould

Kylie Wilford, one of VA Central’s Virtual Assistants, who works as a UK-based Property Manager says, I’m finding that with the price of heating increasing dramatically, tenants are not ventilating the property properly. They don’t want to open curtains and windows. They want to keep in the heat. This causes condensation that leads to mould.”

The internal condensation that develops from a of ventilation is the most common cause of recurring mould. Landlords can educate their tenants on the steps they should take to prevent mould from forming. These are:

• open windows regularly
• cover pans when cooking
• dry clothes outdoors or in a dryer
• close internal doors when you cook or shower
• leave a gap between furniture and external walls
• wipe condensation from windowsills each morning

VA Central’s Virtual Property Manager, Michelle Erasmus recommends this to her UK landlords, “Installing an extractor fan in the kitchen and bathroom can help enormously – so can a simple internal louvre window in the bathroom to let out steam. Prevention is better than having to pay a contractor repeatedly to get rid of mould.”

ISSUES RELATED TO WATER

1. Clogged gutters

The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1985 states that in regard to the repair obligations in short leases, it is the landlord’s responsibility to keep in good repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling (including drains, gutters and external pipes). Before winter weather sets in, clear the

gutters so that water runs off efficiently. If the gutters are clogged with dead leaves, water will flow down the sides of the exterior walls, causing penetrating damp.

2. Leaking roofs

There are a whole host of issues that can arise due to a damaged roof, some of which can lead to severe problems. One of the most common roofing problems involves broken, damaged or missing roof tiles. Although the tenant has the responsibility to report any issues to their landlord it is not their duty to fix the problem, this is the landlord’s responsibility. Landlords should be informed as soon as possible and should be given a reasonable amount of time to make the necessary repairs.

Winter weather can cause damage. Proactively preparing your investment property for winter is vital for the wellbeing of your tenants and your property’s maintenance – and it can save you money in the long run. For busy UK Estate Agents who can have between 200 – 400 rental properties on their books, taking on a Virtual Assistant to focus on handling their Property Management portfolio makes sense in terms of being efficient on landlord’s and tenant’s behalf. They have the knowledge and contractor contacts to be able to deal quickly and efficiently with building issues. They can also advise their landlords on proactive action that will save money.

3. Technology-based advancements in marketing and CRM in 2023

In 2023, the importance of comprehending the customer journey has never been more critical. Most people today start their property search online. The rise in digital technology means property buyers expect a seamless and personalised omnichannel marketing experience when interacting with brands and products, regardless of whether they are searching for the best estate agent, checking what property is for sale, responding to a call to action to make contact, viewing a property or making an offer to purchase.

The good news for 2024

• Technology will allow you to provide an automated online buyer experience that includes nurturing clients based on who they are and exactly what they are looking for when they first visit your website.
• Getting phygital can combine physical and digital encounters to create a seamless and enhanced customer experience. Any time you use technology to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, you will join other estate agents in “going phygital” for a comprehensive customer experience.

Remote work is here to stay

One of the most profound changes that should be considered when planning for 2024 is that the work landscape has undergone a significant shift since the Covid pandemic, with remote and flexible work becoming more and more prevalent. Estate agents can embrace this already established way of working to save time and money when they grow their resource base by taking on Virtual Assistants with the necessary expertise and resources to work effectively from anywhere. In doing so they make their estate agency more efficient while cultivating a company culture that prioritises work-life balance.

*https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/real-estate/uk-market

4. Use the power of omnichannel marketing to reach more people

Omnichannel marketing is understood to be an integrated approach to marketing across various platforms, combining marketing and sales, and even other divisions of an agency that work together. In other words, omni-channel marketing incorporates all activities or touch points that occur with a buyer – online and offline.

In the property industry, buyers and sellers will typically go through several touchpoints with your brand before they visit your website or make an enquiry. One of the major benefits of omnichannel marketing is the extra brand visibility and awareness that it generates by continuously putting your brand in front of consumers, across many different channels. Another important benefit is that it can make your marketing activity much more efficient as marketing content and collateral can be easily repurposed across many different channels and mediums.

5. Be known for a consistently great work ethic

Many estate agents are trained to play a numbers game and simply get as many listings as possible in order to increase their opportunity to make as many sales as possible. However, a quantity over quality mindset negatively infects the estate agency profession on many levels. Contrary to popular belief, being an estate agent is not a sales profession, it’s a service profession that requires its practitioners to have a very strong work ethic to achieve success for both their clients and themselves. In the long term, providing a consistently high standard of service is essential for estate agents who want to create a competitive advantage. And to maintain trust with clients and gain the all-important personal referral, agents need to also hold themselves to a high ethical standard.

6. Take on a Virtual Assistant to free up valuable time

Virtual Assistants are remote-working skilled professionals with experience in a variety of roles. By delegating repetitive and routine tasks to a Virtual Assistant a VA can free up time to focus on the high-value activities that drive revenue. There is a wide range of important tasks they can take off your shoulders. Your Virtual Assistants can liaise with clients and manage your calendar, capture financial data, oversee lead generation, maintain a client database, manage your social media accounts or handle the agency’s property management. Some of the benefits of a Virtual Assistant include:

• Improved customer service
• Better focus on core business activities
• Increased productivity
• Improved work-life balance
• Enhanced health and wellbeing

It goes without saying that a good impression lasts. It is important to ensure that your dealings with a prospective are concluded on a positive note – no matter whether the client has chosen to work with your agency or not. This is vital to maintaining your agency’s good reputation. Just because a client hasn’t signed a sole mandate with you to sell their property doesn’t mean that they will not do so in the future. Building for the future is another way in which you can ensure success for your agency in 2024.

*https://www.developmentfinancetoday.co.uk/article-desc-5591

My girlfriend was clearly aware that this was an overestimated property price at which point he came down by 20%.

So, what lessons can Agents learn?  

Lesson 1: A seller wants a skilled negotiator to achieve a premium price in an acceptable timescale for the seller and taking any stress out of the deal. If you’re an Agent, demonstrate to the seller how you are a skilled negotiator.  Bear in mind, the cheapest agent is the one who achieves the highest price for your property.  Not the one that charges the cheapest fee.

Lesson 2: What can you do to add value to the seller on an initial valuation?

Lesson 3: Prepare before you see the seller. Don’t wing it.

Authored by Stephen Brown,
Agents Together

MIDDLE OF THE SALES FUNNEL

Once a prospect moves to the middle of the sales funnel, they are likely to be qualified as sales leads, i.e. people who are actively looking to buy a property. At this stage you can make them aware of your services and specific property stock. Focus on how your knowledge and experience can help provide a solution to their needs or pain points. To promote engagement, you can provide the option to fill in a form to book a call, provide more information or download a guide.

What are some of your prospects’ considerations?

Home buyers will be asking themselves:

• Is now a good time to buy?
• What type of home do I need and want?
• What can I afford?
• What areas should I consider?
• How far am I prepared to commute?

Buyers will be seeking information from friends, family, and online. They are interested in:

• Specific market conditions,
• What homes are worth in their area if they are first selling,
• What homes are worth in their location of interest,
• Tips on purchasing a home,
• Details about what amenities homes on the market are offering, neighborhood and school information.

How do you create engagement?

As the prospect moves through the funnel, engaging content can include a call to action to get their email address. For example, a free downloadable property guide could be accessible by providing their details. At the same time, an automated CRM system is the most efficient way to inform your marketing and sales teams of the prospect’s response.

Relevant content

Typical content within the middle of the sales funnel provides useful information, case studies, e-Guides, market reports, webinars on helpful “how to” topics and FAQs along with tailored communication and in-person contact. Once they request your download, you can add them into a nurturing email campaign and provide them with useful information.

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

Once the qualified lead has reached the end of the funnel a degree of familiarity and trust should be established. You’ve spoken to their needs and addressed their concerns and have forged a person-to-person relationship. If you’ve nurtured the prospect effectively, making a sale should be more straightforward.

Clients have reached the point of action

Leads are involved in an active search for a home. Buyers at this stage are:

• Aware of exactly what they want and what they can afford,
• Need recommendations based on an estate agent’s knowledge of a local area,
• Ready to view homes in-person,
• Want specific information about the buying process.

At the point successful buyers are:

• Looking for assistance in finding home inspectors and mortgage brokers,
• Concerned about timelines and logistics,
• Wondering if they are getting a good deal,
• May need help in selling their current home.

How do you stay top-of-mind?

Once a prospect has moved through the sales funnel and you have started to nurture them and feed them content (even if at that time it does not lead to a prospect immediately becoming a buyer) you can remarket to them via Google or Facebook to ensure you remain familiar to them. Then when the time comes for that prospect to choose an estate agent, they will be more likely to choose you.

POST SALE FOLLOW UP

Keeping in touch with your customers is essential to secure repeat business and referrals. Your happy clients will appreciate knowing:

• What is trending in the marketplace,
• if their property is going up in value or not.

Building an effective sales funnel is about knowing your own brand identity and tone of voice, as well as who your buyers are, so you can supply the type of information they need throughout every stage of their sales journey. Creating a sales funnel is an extensive process. It takes time and effort to determine what channels will work best for your team and your buyers. But by systematically starting from the top and working your way to the bottom of the funnel, you can develop a seamless sales process that will allow you to generate leads, convert them to clients retain more customers than you would with ad hoc marketing.

*https://www.hsbc.co.uk/mortgages/timeline-for-buying-a-home/

2. Managing digital marketing tools

In the digital era, people rely on search engines to solve their problems, including where to find property for sale. However, the customer buying journey (incorporating the three phases of awareness, consideration, and decision) has become increasingly more complex. For Estate Agents to be successful in reaching targeted prospects, based on their online browsing and buying behaviour, it is essential to employ up-to-date digital marketing tools to focus and streamline the planning, managing and measuring of multi-channel marketing campaigns.

3. Implementing a multi-channel marketing strategy

Multi-channel marketing is an integrated marketing strategy that aims to engage with customers via their preferred medium or channel. It balances efforts to connect and build a relationship with prospective clients using various platforms, both online and offline. A multi-channel marketing strategy has these benefits:

· Reaching more customers: Reach can be expanded by using multiple channels, making it possible to connect with more people in different geographic areas or with different demographics.

· Boosting engagement: A multi-channel marketing campaign will reach suitably targeted customers via their preferred channels where they are more likely to engage with your content.

· Streamlining the customer journey: A multi-channel marketing campaign allows for more touch points along the customer journey. This results in being able to better guide them through a sales funnel and toward a desired action.

4. Managing automated CRM systems

To be competitive, efficiency is vital when it comes to speed to lead. The introduction of automated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems has revolutionised the follow up of leads in the property industry, offering Estate Agents more opportunity to maintain meaningful marketing touch points with existing and potential customers. CRM automation:

· captures, tracks and nurtures leads efficiently,

· empowers businesses to deliver personalised communication at scale,

· provides comprehensive customer insights by automating data collection and analysis.

5. Keeping up to date with emerging technology

Generative AI (GenAI) is the next step in the evolution of artificial intelligence. GenAI can create new content based on data it has been trained on, giving users the capability to perform a variety of tasks very rapidly. Here are some of the most common potential uses of AI marketing tools in real estate.

· AI tools can use data gleaned from customer profiles to learn how to best communicate with each of them in a tailored fashion.

· AI can generate personalised property recommendations as per a prospect’s preferences.

· AI-powered chatbots can help enhance customer support.

· Generative AI in estate agencies can help create a wide variety of product listings and other content.

· AI enhanced software can organise data, including analysing customer behavior, to plot future market trends.

A marketing plan is one of the most important business tools for any company to utilise. It schedules all channels and costs, assigning specific actions and deadlines. It serves as a guide for team members to follow and allows business owners and leaders to check in on progress to ensure the company is on track to reach goals. It keeps a clear record of what has been done and is a means to monitor successes and activities that didn’t work well. It allows for post campaign analysis to measure activity against return on investment and plan effective forward planning.

3. Help you get your Halloween costumes together

Do you and your kids love getting dressed for the occasion – or perhaps you’ve been invited to a Halloween dress up party? Whether you want to get kitted out like your favorite TV character or fancy something more ghoulish, your Virtual Assistant can help you find all the elements of a perfectly themed costume for you and your family. Start by briefing your Virtual Assistant on your characters and what you’ll need to put your costumes together. Then, give your Virtual Assistant your budget and let them go on an Internet hunt for what you need.

4. Research fabulous events in your area

If you have a hankering for a night out on the town to see in the witching hour this Halloween, but don’t quite know what to do, a Virtual Assistant can be a huge help in finding the perfect event or club in your area. Just let your Virtual Assistant know if you want to dance the night away or keep the evening more intimate and low-key – and how far you are willing to travel. They can put together a list of all the Halloween happenings in your area so can pick your favorite club, parade, or party opportunities, and have your VA purchase tickets or make reservations for you.

5. Help you plan a Halloween event

Halloween traditions make it a very social night of the year, and your Virtual Assistant can help take the horror out of you planning and shopping for a client cocktail party or full-on bash for your friends. With a thorough brief and budget in mind, your VA can arrange all logistics and liaise with hiring companies and the caterers. They can purchase the decorations, food and drinks for you online. Your Virtual Assistant can take care of researching venues, sourcing décor around a theme, sending out invitations and monitoring RSVPs, organising catering, hiring crockery and glassware, organising the bar and drinks. They can also arrange a post party cleaning service to put your space back to rights.

When it comes to holding a work event on Halloween your Virtual Assistant can create a budget spreadsheet to research vendors and services within your price range, and keep an eye on expenses, tracking costs so that you don’t overspend and can accurately allocate the expenditure as coming from your annual marketing budget.

The information gathering and analysis required to craft a worthwhile strategic business plan can appear daunting, but it is well worth it. Virtual Assistants with administrative, financial and marketing expertise can all be very helpful in gathering and tracking the necessary sales, financial, client, lead and market information. And when it comes to putting your strategic business plan into action, a Virtual Assistant or two can make all the difference to reaching your goals and cost-effectively growing your business.

Here are five steps to take in crafting your strategic business action plan for 2024.

1. First take stock

This involves gathering and reviewing information on your current and target clients as well as competitors, industry size and market trends.

• Market analysis: involves examining the size of your market both in volume and in value, along with the economic environment in terms of barriers to entry and regulation.
• Customer analysis: will allow you to understand more about ideal customer groups and their buying patterns with a view to tailoring your marketing communications accordingly. With this information you can shape your marketing to address customers’ needs and speak their ‘language’, define what marketing channels will best reach them and focus communication through target market segmentation.
• Competitive analysis: involves gathering information on who your competitors are, researching their strategies, and analysing what they do well and where they fail. This process can shed light on your company’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as revealing how to remain a meaningful competitor in your industry. The process will benefit from drawing up a SWOT analysis to identify internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats for your company.

2. Qualify your competitive advantage

It is essential to determine how your business is uniquely qualified because this value proposition will go a long way towards determining the success of your company including navigating setbacks. For example, is it your service excellence that sets you apart? Or are you a knowledge leader in a particular area? Whatever your value proposition is, make sure that it is made crystal-clear across all your marketing channels.

3. Plot financial projections

Financial projections show that you have discipline in financial management, and they are a helpful tool to predict future financial performance. This includes how the company earns revenue, where it spends money and whether the company is making a profit. In addition, it is a great tool when making business decisions, such as when to take on more people or make a capital investment. It can also help you monitor month-to-month cash flow.

4. Set goals for the 12 months ahead

Goals are an important part of running a successful business as they provide a clear focus and set targets for your business to work towards. A quarterly action plan can provide a way to break down your annual goals into four manageable timeframes, allowing flexibility and the regular assessment of progress. Having a 90-day plan will keep you on track and motivated as you progress towards your overarching goals.

5. Turn your goals into an action plan

Linked to point four, an action plan is a definitive checklist of tasks and resources needed to complete a project or achieve a goal to required standards. Developing an action includes listing the teams and service providers to be involved. It breaks down tasks and resources needed to complete the project – including timelines and deadlines. Action plans help maintain operational efficiency and are great for reaching upfront agreement on how the work should be done.

The key to crafting and implementing a successful strategic business plan that works, is firstly to engage the whole team with the plan as early as possible in the planning process. This way everyone will be familiar with the aspirations and challenges of the company’s overall plan for the year and understand their contribution to a successful outcome. Secondly it is to build in measures and implementation steps that allow you to monitor the outcome at regular intervals. When you do this, goals become steppingstones to even greater goals.

MAKE LEAD GENERATION WORK FOR YOU

Generating leads and then following them up through various communication channels is the lifeblood of an estate agency. Here are 3 great ways to generate sales leads and optimise converting them into clients.

1. Use traditional and digital channels to generate new leads and follow up

There is no getting away from it. Even with the world opening after Covid lockdowns and estate agents resuming pre-Covid lead generation practices, building an online sales funnel is what makes all the difference to an estate agent’s success. There are multiple channels at an estate agent’s disposal to create a sales funnel that will generate warm leads. For example monitoring and posting on community websites and forums, maintaining a social media presence, purchasing a list of property leads then cold calling or emailing them, posting search engine-optimised blogs to drive traffic to a website or investing in paid online advertising.

2. After sales follow up: Regularly conduct customer care calls

Follow up equals fortune. Keeping in touch with your happy customers will ensure that you stay their go-to estate agent for life. This way you may be the agent who found them their ideal home, or who also sells it on for them down the line when they wish to downscale or upscale. This will also give you the opportunity to ask them for referrals. Personal referrals are the best lead generation strategy. Nothing will boost your credibility more than a satisfied customer telling their family, friends and colleagues about you and singing your praises.

3. Lead nurturing: Keep in contact with existing referrals

Not every lead you follow up will be ready to buy or sell property at that time. But you do want to be top of mind when the time is right. This makes nurturing existing leads vital in the lead generation process. Your lead nurturing efforts can be helped by being a trusted source of information. There is no better way to do so than online. Posting relevant and valuable content will result in you being seen as an expert in the property field – an advisor that they can trust.

When considering the relentless and time-intensive nature of generating, following up and nurturing leads: Industry specific digital lead generation tools (such as CRM’s provided by Lifecycle and Angel Media’s Valpal and Movepal) are a game-changing tool in the hands of the support person who takes care of lead generation and conversion in an estate agency. They fulfil the role of an automated assistant who is on duty 24/7 – focused on the repetitive daily task of maintaining consistent lead generation activity. In the process of qualifying leads, the software not only saves time, but it also acts as a less in-your-face client interface – a win-win for estate agents and their prospective clients.

Paula Russel, Angel Media’s, MovePal Support Manager.

Paula Russel described the use of Angel Media’s Lead generation software this way:

“Lead generation and lead nurturing are the cornerstones of success for estate agents. Like seeds in a garden, leads are the potential for a fruitful harvest, and nurturing them with care and attention is the key to reaping a bountiful future. Facebook/Google Ads and ValPal are the source of your seeds. Social Media Management ensures quality, high volume, low cost per lead ‘speeds’. MovePal is the tools used to harvest your potential growth, not only streamlining the process but it also provides a better way to cultivate and convert leads into lasting client relationships. Virtual Assistants are the ‘farmers’ that use the software as tools to turn those nurtured leads into new instructions. In the end you get a bouquet of business with ease.”

3 Ways Your Virtual Assistant Help You Generate And Convert More Leads

Virtual Assistants with lead generation experience have the knowledge and expertise to align your business and marketing strategies and oversee the design and implementation of a sales funnel that incorporates the lead generation, follow up and nurturing process. This includes overseeing the use of the right digital tools and software.

Here are 3 ways your Virtual Assistant can help to champion your lead generation and conversion:

1. Overseeing Digital Marketing and Social Media

A VA who understands lead generation will help you figure out how to turn casual interest into brand engagement. To do this they will help to create an effective lead generation strategy for your agency. They can maintain your website, create and curate engaging content for your social media platforms, schedule posts, and monitor engagement. From website content to blog posts, newsletter articles and email newsletters, a Virtual Assistant can assist in creating compelling and relevant content that speaks in your brand voice and resonates with your target audience.

2. Engaging in first response and follow up

Studies have proven that the faster you respond to a potential lead’s question or inquiry, the more likely you are to make a sale. First contact may come in the form of answering a phone call, responding to an email or receiving a completed online form. A Virtual Assistant can quickly respond to customer inquiries and provide helpful information, which can help you build stronger relationships with your leads.

3. Managing CRM and list building

It is vital to generate leads, but following up and managing these leads using the right tools is as important. Virtual Assistants who are skilled at data entry and organising can help you maintain your client database as well as organising and managing your lead data more effectively. With the help of CRM software, your Virtual Assistants can organise all customer and lead information, keep track of sales calls and follow ups, and automate any repetitive tasks that do not necessarily require human interaction. The VA will also use a variety of strategies to build your list and nurture it so that it grows over time.

Overall, a skilled Virtual Assistant will have the traits of being knowledgeable, accurate and consistent. This means that you can rely on them to oversee ongoing lead generation, follow up timeously and track lead generation and conversion with a high degree of accuracy. This will avoid mistakes and missed opportunities to ensure that your lead generation efforts are as effective as possible.