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To become a hero to clients, this expert believes that agents must look towards automation.
Speaking on a recent episode of REB’s Proptech Pulse, Luke Paverd, the recently named chief operating officer of the PropTech Group said that making the property transaction experience seamless for the customers (as well as the agent) is “really where the future is”.
He said that while it’s a straightforward solution to focus on improving an agent tool or simplifying a process, he believes that clients are also entitled to a hassle-free experience.
“Remember that a lot of the buyers, they’re not buying properties very often. It’s something they do very rarely. So it’s on the agent to be able to help them through that journey,” Mr Paverd explained.
“In the consumer’s world, it’s one process of buying a house. But, there’s obviously different stages through that journey.”
With the buying transaction an aggregation of several processes, including finding a home loan, conveyancer, or insurance, he stated that “all these different parts are disjointed for consumers at the moment.”
“But if we can give that information, make that agent look like a hero, I think we can also streamline things for consumers as well,” Mr Paverd said.
He pointed out that the industry had made headway in streamlining the process for agents, stating that integrating customer relationship management (CRM) system and ancillary services in a business’ digital ecosystem can effectively automate processes for agents.
“Instead of just giving agents tools, it’s about actually doing it for them,” he explained.
Additionally, he underlined that automation is key for a more humanised interaction with clients.
“Automation allows agents to work in volume on an automated level, and then spend their time at their key points like talking to customers that need that high level of touch. Agents can focus on that while the CRM just automates the rest,” he stated.
But it’s not just about having an automated CRM in your digital artillery. Mr Paverd stressed that getting a tailor-fit system for a business is also vital.
The right digital offering, according to Mr Paverd, will boil down to what gaps in the client-business interaction need to be addressed.
“I guess it’s about identifying what their customers are after, what their needs are, and then offering the right solution for their needs,” Mr Paverd stated.
Looking forward, Mr Paverd said that the next challenge will be to improve the customer experience, stating that “focus on the consumer is going to become a massive part”.
“Taking that to the next level of how we can kind of streamline that process between agents and their consumers as well,” he stated.
When asked about what can set up agents for future success, Mr Paverd said that it all boils down to meeting the rising expectations in the real estate industry, where the technological landscape is always evolving.
“I think it comes down to acknowledging that consumers are and will become even more so demanding of what they expect from agents. And I think it comes down to looking at the interactions that an agent is having with the consumer, and making sure consistently that those are really, really good experiences that the consumer is having,” he concluded.
“And so, if I was an agent right now, I’d be mapping out the process whereby we’re communicating with consumers and just making sure that it’s a seamless and really nice experience with consumers.”
Listen to the full conversation with Luke Paverd here.
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