The almost unanimous view from outside the profession is probably that Irish estate agents never had it so good, they only have to throw an advert at the papers to have queues competing to buy property while the only administrative problems they have are counting the money! The reality, of course, is that although this country may well be still surfing on the crest of a property investment wave, the property business is more competitive than ever. The other major factor is that it is entirely a people and service business – the most expensive kind of all to set up and manage. An income trough for a couple of months may be normal, but the staff bill is inexorable.
Enthusiastic acceptance
This is the context in which the Irish property sector has enthusiastically embraced information and communications technology, with the benefits for competitiveness just a few clicks ahead of those for cost and labour saving. In all fairness, better customer service is an objective that is well up there with the competitive elements and in fact generally the priority of the property people we spoke to.
The teeming pages of what has to be called property pornography in our print media these days testify to our national obsession. So a first glance might suggest that estate agents would be leading edge users of digital photography and advanced web sites. But in fact it transpires that estate agents are matter-of-fact users of digital cameras, universally it seems and since they first became generally available at the end of the 90s. But although property sales were one of the first commercial professional to adopt digital photography, it is not a technically leading exponent. There is no particular demand to do much more than provide acceptable images for window displays and brochures as well as the uploading of images to web sites.
Accepted conventions
This would seem to be largely because there accepted conventions to which both buyers and sellers are happily accustomed, with a consistency of property window displays and online. The leading property web sites such as www.myhome.ie, www.baile.ie, www.daft.ie, www.propertypartners.ie or www.dng.ie are all technically similar. They aim to allow prospective buyers to search through specific locations and property types and select a short list for bookmarking or, more likely, printing.
So the design objectives are practical and require consistency in the information format for all properties, so that they are more like an electronic catalogue or directory. This means that there is actually comparatively little requirement for novelty, which would in any event possibly not fit with the major information channels. Most of us will have played with, for example, 360 degree views of buildings (or holiday destinations!) on the Web but in reality they are impractical for the general run of property sales.
Prosper through shared resources
Another factor is that most smaller estate agencies around the country will participate in a shared national web site, perhaps as members of a property partnership, as well as maintaining their own web sites. Property lists change almost daily, so again the business need is for consistent, easy to replenish information formats rather than anything more creative.
“We knew that what we wanted was to manage databases of clients and properties, with the financial side of the business incorporated, but really we were not sure beyond that,” explains Tom Ford, principal of DNG Flanagan Ford in Sligo town. With a full-service practice that spans all aspects of property and a range of financial services, the firm’s concern is with its expanding range of clients. “There’s nothing worse than ‘I left my name with the estate agents but they never came back to me…’ and anyway we feel that a major part of the business is in providing a good service to our existing clients.”
Smart software
DNG Flanagan Ford is using two separate Irish-developed specialist systems: BrokerCRM and PropertySelector. “We looked at a range of packages but it was immediately obvious that BrokerCRM had most of the features we needed out of the box, particularly because it takes in the financial services side of the business as well as the property. That was over three years ago and it continues to serve us very well. That is partly because of the efforts we have put in ourselves in utilizing its features and also because of the regular upgrades. These have been remotely managed and maintained – and painlessly for us!”
Tom Ford is at pains to emphasise that with any such system “You get out of it what you put in. In fact the new discipline of entering everything was a bit of a culture shock for us and drove a total change in work practices. But now, no one would go back because the value of the instant information and the time saved is just invaluable.”
BrokerCRM (www.brokercrm.com) is essentially the brain child of Philip O’Reilly, an Ennis-based businessman who runs exactly the same property and financial services type of firm as the customers for the software. “It was a project that spun out of the Ennis Information Age Town initiative. I wrote the business logic, because I understand what people in this business need, and my colleague Sean O’Sullivan used his experience in CRM systems to develop the software.”
More recently PropertyCRM has added a set of modules to fill the specific needs of the estate agent, such as a facility to upload property descriptions to multiple web sites or to download diary and other key information to PDAs. “You can send letters, e-mails, faxes and even text messages directly form the system. In fact one of the most popular single features is the ability to share diaries and viewing schedules and even send SMS messages to clients to confirm appointment details.”
Property Selector 2003 comes from a different direction, aiming to be an easy to use software application to manage a new instruction from the moment a client calls to enquire about selling their property. “It will take the agent from there right through to close of sale,” explains Peter Scott, managing director of Belgrave Ireland (www.belgraveireland.com). “It is possible to have the property on the system, a full colour brochure printed, a list of prospective buyers and a mail shot completed within just a few hours. Web links mean that you can upload your property details straight to a Web page whether it is your own or a major portal such as www.iavi.ie.”
There are currently over 250 estate agents throughout Ireland using PropertySelector, according to Peter Scott, ranging from ‘one man bands’ up to some major firms and the Douglas Newman Good branches and franchises. Recent developments to the product include CRM, smarter diary and viewing schedule management, multi-branch capability, etc.
Case in point: Coonan Estate Agents
Maynooth-based Coonan Estate Agents is one of Ireland’s oldest such firms, now over 100 years in business and in the fourth generation of the founding family. “We were for most of that time involved primarily in the agricultural area, as might be expected from our location,” explains Will Coonan. “But of course the Dublin suburbs came out to meet us, as it were, and as our business changed we opened an additional office in Celbridge. Now we have 25 staff, all using our IT system, and the business emphasis is on new residential developments, financial services and commercial properties.”
Coonan has been happily using another Irish product SitePro for about 18 months and has recently upgraded. “It is particularly good for working with our developer clients with multiple and bigger new home developments. We have had many aspects adapted to our specific requirements and now our workflow is automated to a high degree. From enquiries to deposits, correspondence with buyers and solicitors etc., even snagging lists – the system is geared to handle all of the routine tasks with just a few clicks. We also get high quality reports very quickly and easily, which can be important in keeping our developer clients happy.”
Developed by Pyramid Consulting in Dublin (www.pyramidconsult.ie), SitePro is directly targeted at the marketing of new residential developments. “SitePro allows the entry, maintenance and tracking of information supplied by purchasers, developers, solicitors and vending Agents,” says managing director Barry Murphy. “Comprehensive event tracking and management reports enable complete control over any development through its entire lifecycle, from initial green-field bookings, through individual unit requirements and snag lists to final closure of sales.”
Case in point: O’Shea, O’Toole & Partners
Down in Waterford, O’Shea O’Toole & Partners (www.osheaotoole.com) is one of the larger independent property firms, with three partners and a staff of 10 in its new offices on the quay. “People keep trying to sell us fancy IT packages, interactive web sites and all of that. But in fact the real business needs – in this firm and in any like us – is for smart management of all of the huge range of administrative details that is involved every working day,” says Gail O’Toole who is responsible for the firm’s network and IT systems. “That especially includes the viewing diary, which is shared between all our negotiators so everyone can see at a glance who is where and when.”
“We have been using PropertySelector from the very beginning, including its early teething phases, and it has long since settled down and been upgraded regularly. It serves our requirements excellently. Belgrave has been very helpful also in tailoring things to our specific needs. What you do once you do not have to do again. That’s probably the most important attribute of any business software. For example, it is set up so that when a property description is prepared it can be uploaded to three web sites – www.daft.ie, www.iavi.ie and our own—with just a click.”
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