www.castles-estate.co.uk
Castles is a two office setup base in Farnham and Aldershot. The agency has a great reputation in the local area and is a member of the Home sale Network. The agency is successful and prides itself on the customer service they provide. Run by Duncan Pate, the business began using Dezrez over 3 years ago. Their aim was to better serve the applicants and vendors, match properties to applicants more efficiently and provide vendors with up to the minute reports on the agencies actions.
Two and a half years down the line Dezrez offered their conveyancing service to castles with the hope of achieving 2 things. Earn some extra revenue for the branches and more importantly provide a quality supplementary conveyancing service that will speed up transactions and further portray the feel of quality provided by the estate agency arm.
Dezrez went about setting the conveyancing service up for castles, this involved modifying their Dezrez system to allow them to produce quotes and send referrals through automatically. Before the service was activated, John Collins and Partners our conveyancing arm arranged a visit to castles and had a discussion about how the conveyancing service works and how the system could best work for castles. Castles were advised on the best way to sell the service, whilst explaining the benefits to their customers. Marketing material was produced and branded as ‘Castles legals’ – this was produced prior to the meeting and handed to castles, as an aid to help them sell their legal service.
Although cynical at first Castles sent a couple of test cases through the system and were very pleased with the service. They were kept up to date on all areas of the matter through all mediums. The team started selling the service to all their clients. Duncan decided that the commission he received (£100) would be split 50/50 with the agency and the negotiator, this incentives the staff and allows the agency to earn a little extra. Castles (between the two offices) are sending through approximately 17 leads per month, this generate a sum of money that far exceeds the cost of the software, and gives the staff a boost in their pay that Duncan doesn’t have to fund. Whilst all of the above is achieved, Castles customers are receiving a service that they are more than happy with which reflects positively on the castles brand.
"The Dezrez / JCP conveyancing service allows us to create quotes and refer any of our applicants and vendors. We have labeled the service ‘Castles Legals’. So far our agency has received exceptional service from JCP and we have developed a good relationship with them, our applicants and vendors are happy to use ‘Castles Legals’ due to the high level of integration and excellent service. The service provides a source of income for my Negs and provides me with an income that more than covers the price of the Dezrez software. More importantly for me the time that my completions take has been greatly reduced, this means I get paid soon. This of course helps my cash flow."
So how do castles customers benefit over other agents conveyancing service? Castles have the edge. Castles Dezrez system is linked directly to the solicitors. Any action the solicitors perform is available within Dezrez. The castles offices have instant access to the solicitor’s milestones and case notes. Vendors are impressed with how much information castles have. Vendors are even able to look at the castles website and login and see their conveyancing milestones and notes. This means that the vendors are as up to date as they possibly can be. The staff at castles have developed a good relationship with the team at JCP and have even called on them for some literature for their website and monthly newsletter. Castles provide John Collins with constant feedback to ensure that the service remains at its best.
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