Andrew Craig is a 12 branch company involved in both Sales and Lettings.  Located in the North East, they had been scanning the market for over 7 years to find a software application that met their needs.  Having undertaken an extensive review of software vendors, in 2003, they made the decision to implement Aspasia, using the full Sales module and the front end of the Lettings module across all branches.

Two key motivations to use a system such as Aspasia were the ability to integrate the activities of all 12 branches and to use live data to support cross-selling of services. Aspasia has proven ability in the area of both sales and lettings and Andrew Craig, Proprietor of the chain, spoke to current clients using the system to gain their perspective of its functionality.  Aspasia, however, is a system that is continually developing, and the latest module – one for Financial Services – was of interest to Andrew in furthering his objective of improving revenue through cross-sales.  The provision of financial services can create a substantial revenue stream and is particularly important to Estate Agents in areas of the country where lower house prices can reduce commission income.

Andrew took the opportunity to partner with SPA Microsystems to contribute to the design of the module.  SPA have involved leading agents in the development of both the Sales and Lettings Modules and see user input as critical to the product's success.  In terms of being the first to trial such a system, Andrew's confidence stemmed from the fact that he knew what he wanted from the system and trusted SPA's ability to translate that into the program.  "Aspasia has proven to be robust for Sales, so trialling the new module is less of a risk" said Andrew.

The software requirement is essentially one of providing a central repository for the storage of core information about policies sold and the tracking of policies that are currently being processed. The ease of collation of such information allows the agent to be proactive in the sale of financial services and facilitate cross-selling activities to current as well as new customers.

An important requirement within the software is the security element. The Financial Services industry is strictly regulated and only those staff suitably qualified may embark on the process of selling such services to agency customers. This fact demands that a specific department of "Financial Services" exists within the software to which only the appropriate users can gain access, allowing just the non sensitive information such as appointments to be viewed by other agency staff.

Whilst the nuances of the Financial Services business have been accommodated within this module, much of the functionality that was inherent within the Sales and Lettings modules are equally applicable.  For example, the reporting facility, a strength of Aspasia, was adapted to support areas such as commission – an area of great importance to Financial Advisors!  The communications elements such as the diary and task management functionality will improve the co-ordination between negotiators and Financial Advisors. 

Whilst the Financial Services module is still undergoing testing, Andrew Craig is noting some of the benefits being accrued through the other two modules which have been rolled out across the chain.  Initially, motivation and productivity were affected by staff's natural fear of change.  However, through a focus on the benefits of Aspasia, staff are now appreciating how the system makes life easier.  For example, where they would have had to make 10 phone calls in the past to inform customers of a new listing, they can click one button and send text messages to all those customers.  That simplicity has made it much easier to get people to buy-in to the system and from an applicant perspective, customers are informed of new listings immediately.  The previous method meant that due to pure manpower restrictions, it took time to call round the applicant list.  Similarly with vendors, any houses not getting viewings are easily identified allowing it to have a change of focus in a timely manner.

Financially, Andrew Craig have not been using the system long enough to see measurable benefits, however there is a perception that an accrued benefit is being seen as a "switched on agent" and with over 26,000 consumers signing up for Broadband weekly, having up-to-date internet technology meets their expectations.

When asked about his views on Aspasia, Andrew Craig provided the following summary: "It is the most practically usable piece of software I have ever come across.  It may not be sexy, but the power of having data accessible to all is enormous.  Anyone with a multi-branch company should not underestimate the power of having access to all their live data on one system all the time.  The value is enormous".

May 2004