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Book a demoLet a friendly Gnomen expert answer all of your questions and take you through the system online in 15 minutes. Just choose a time that suits you. |
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Book a demoLet a friendly Gnomen expert answer all of your questions and take you through the system online in 15 minutes. Just choose a time that suits you. |
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Montana HBusiness Development Director
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The new year is here and while many people will be spending January trying out a new diet or working hard at the gym, it's also a good time to review your business and make plans for the year ahead.
Last year we saw an upsurge in the buzz surrounding 'PropTech' and so 2017 could be the year for your agency to take advantage of some of the great digital innovations taking the property sector by storm.
With this in mind, we've come up with three New Year's resolutions which could help agents to make the most of technology and be even more successful over the next 12 months and beyond.
With all the fresh start vibes around in January, now really is the perfect time to have a look at the effectiveness of your website. What's more, the next couple of months are usually a very busy time for agents and so it's important that you're getting the best out of your website.
One of the first things to think about is the design and whether you're happy with how your website looks - is it time for a refresh? Your 'virtual shop window' is now so important that it needs to look the part - design trends move quickly so you don't want to be left behind. Have a look at a few competitors' websites as well as those belonging to some of the best agencies in the country and see what approach they're taking towards web design and aesthetics.
Next you need to think about how your website is structured and the features it offers to prospective clients. Your website needs to be targeted towards vendors and landlords and so if the focal point of your website is still a property search box you may need to have a rethink. Many agents are now also offering live chat and online valuation services in order to generate leads and make sure they can capture the details of web traffic 24/7 - think about some of these add-ons and whether they'll have a positive impact on your website.
It comes as no surprise but the rising popularity of PropTech has encouraged more and more suppliers to enter the sector, offering a steadily increasing number of products. It can be easy to be bombarded with tech information and snazzy presentations. So, when you're being pitched to from all angles, it's best to ask the simple question 'how does this work for me?'. If a supplier of a product or service can't explicitly tell you how they can improve your business, then they're probably not worth talking to.
No matter how impressive a piece of technology is, if it's got little to no relevance to your everyday operations and isn't going to improve your firm's profitability then it has to be thank, but no thanks.
During 2015 and 2016 a number of high profile PropTech events started to emerge - two of the best-known are the FUTURE:PropTech conference and PropTeq Europe.
These events give agents the opportunity to listen to keynote speakers on all things tech, as well as debate with colleagues and interact with suppliers to the industry and PropTech innovators.
Both the aforementioned events will be taking place at various times this year and they provide a great opportunity to see what's out there and what could benefit your agency.
Events like these are also the perfect time to speak to other like-minded agents about what tech, software and website solutions work for them. As outlined above you need to carefully consider each product on the market and speaking to other agents in a similar position could prove invaluable.
So, there we have it - incorporating some of these ideas and practices into your business could open your eyes to some great new opportunities, as well as allowing you to tweak your current offering. Here's to a prosperous 2017 and another great year for the UK property industry.
Here at Gnomen, we provide software and website solutions for estate and letting agents. Our cloud-based software allows you to control your business from anywhere, while our attractive and effective websites could give you the edge over your competition.
You can request a free demo of our property software here and browse our website designs here.
Get in touch with a member of our team here or give us a call today on: 0208 123 9019.
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