Preparing herself for a future as a sales dynamo, Alex Whitall has found her niche as an appointment coordinator at Love Realty Boolaroo – for the time being.
As the first point of call for all sales-related business to the agency, Ms Whitall is able to start a relationship that can become very valuable for Love Realty.
“I answer all sales and listing enquiries that come into the office. It doesn’t matter whose listing it is, the call comes through to me,” the 22-year-old explained.
Responsible for booking all sales appointments, Ms Whitall has access to the sales teams diaries. Since she started with Love Realty the small team has boosted productivity and made 31 sales. An average day in the office sees her taking at least 10 inbound phone calls and making 8-9 appointments from those. This system provides a win-win situation all round – the owner sees more people coming through their property, agents have their appointments mapped for them and Ms Whitall can determine which properties each buyer needs to see based on her conversation with them.
“Buyers tell me their requirements, I go yep, you’re going here, there, there. Sometimes the sales people go, why are you sending me there and I say, well it suits their requirements - your job is to sell the property, sell it to them,” Ms Whitall explained. Putting a system behind her success in appointment coordination, Ms Whitall tries to schedule at least two properties for each sales person to show, and aims for the ratio of four appointments to 15 properties. “My biggest appointment I’ve made is eight viewings, so buyers get a fair idea of what’s out there, and they’re more likely to make an informed decision.” If someone calls the Love Realty office simply asking the price for a property, Ms Whitall can take the enquiry further by asking a few key questions. “I ask questions like where are you now, why have you chosen that suburb, how long have you lived where you are, what’s the reason you’re looking? They usually say they’re looking to relocate or to downsize. I get their address usually and offer a free market appraisal. We’ve listed a lot in the past because of me doing that,” she explained, adding her top focus is to find out why someone is calling the office.
Whitall enters contact information into Love Realty’s enquiry database as she talks to the person and uses RP Data to confirm their address. This allows the team to easily report how many enquiries there are each week to owners, but also adds important data to the contact system for future campaigns. One of Ms Whitall’s most successful tools is sending an SMS to relevant contacts every time a new property comes on to the market. “If it’s similar to one that I’ve just sold, withdrawn or still got on the market, I will research who’s been through the property and do a group SMS to everyone, selling the new one to them.” “We’ve had a lot of people ring into the office and say ‘No other agent has contacted me this much". They usually take our number down at the open house and never ring us ever again and you guys are calling us every week.”
These systems and techniques are adding to Ms Whitall’s experience and knowledge for the future career in sales she plans. “When I believe the time is right for me to go out there and deal face-to-face with vendors and buyers I’m going to go in there and kill it!” And with predictions she will be the industry’s next Amber Werchon, this scenario seems likely!
Alex Whitall: Hi Lee, Alex calling from Love. How are you going?
Lee Woodward: Good thank you, Alex. How are you?
AW: Very well thanks. I spoke to you yesterday; I teed up a few appointments for you to go out with young Daniel. Now he showed you three houses; what do you feel is your favourite out of those three?
LW: Look, they were all good, but the one at High Street was very good. AW: Why do you think High Street was the best?
LW: Good land size, the lounge room was renovated. Some were a little bit older and all the amenities were in good order.
AW: OK, lovely. I did think that property would suit you very well. So, as you’re aware, it’s on for $349,000, what do you think about that price?
LW: It was a bit higher than other ones I’ve seen, but yeah it’s there.
AW: OK, what do you think it would be worth?
LW: Oh look, would you pick it up for $300,000?
AW: No, I couldn’t really say that, but is that what you’re saying it’s worth?
LW: Possibly.
AW: Would you buy it for $300,000?
LW: If I got it for $300,000 I think I would be pretty interested.
AW: OK, well, would you be interested in meeting us in the office this afternoon, and we can talk about it a little further?
LW: Yeah, but do you think $300,000 will get it though, Alex?
AW: Well, I’ll tell you the truth, Lee. I’m not dealing directly with the vendors - that is the listing agent’s job. I can definitely let the listing agent know that you’re fairly interested in this property and you’re wanting to buy it for $300,000, so I guess we can take it from there. We’ll do our best on our end, but you might have to come up a little bit, because it is on for $49,000 more than what you’re prepared to pay and there are a lot of buyers out there also looking at the same home. If you wanted to miss out, I guess that’s fine, we can keep showing you properties, but if you wanted the property, I suggest you come up a little bit.
LW: OK, what time should I pop in this afternoon?
AW: We’ll be here at 4.30pm, if you’re available.
LW: OK, I can do that, and who will I be meeting with?
AW: You can meet with myself, and Bill. I’ll make sure he’s available as well. He’s the agent dealing with the vendor.
LW: Excellent, Alex, thanks for your call.
AW: No problem