How to use content to connect

Providing your clients with relevant content is now more important than ever!

In this webinar we discussed how agents can be communicating with their clients to build relationships that will set them up for success both during and post COVID-19.

Hosting the webinar is Ash Farrugia, CEO of ActivePipe who highlighted why content is going to be so important in the next 90 days. Our guest speaker and content expert, Fiona Okeson from Partica, gave some practical tips on how to approach communications with your community. Whilst Henry Osborne, ActivePipe’s Head of Customer Success presented how to implement those strategies using ActivePipe.

The questions asked by our audience during the webinar have been answered below!

A Message from Fiona

We are happy to offer all ActivePipe users a 20% discount, should you wish to purchase any articles for use on your own website. To activate your Partica.com discount, login or create your free Partica account and add an article of your choice to your shopping cart. Don’t check out straight away, but email fiona.okeson@partica.com so your 20% discount can be applied before finalising your purchase. Your 20% discount will be in place until June 30, 2020 – that’s almost 3 months of discounted articles ready to use.

Q&A

• Is the Real Estate Voice content relevant to NZ audiences or just Australia?
  • Yes it is. There will be new and current NZ content added in coming days, and there are also articles relating to buying, selling etc that will be useful across both the NZ and Australian markets in the Buying, Selling, Management and Renting sections.

• Can we edit the content from the Real Estate Voice?
  • The quick answer is no as the content on The Real Estate Voice is free. 
  • We ask that any shares via email and social media link to the original article on The Real Estate Voice.
  • For content that can be edited and posted on your own website blogs, simply visit www.partica.com and purchase/download the original article. The average price for an article is $50 and in some cases the article is already free so have a look and see what you can find to suit your needs.

• Is the content specific to local states?
  • At this stage, the content on The Real Estate Voice mostly relates to the national agenda, however we are developing content to suit each AU state. Happy for you to get in touch with Fiona (fiona.okeson@partica.com) to discuss what you require to suit your needs.

• What was the website that showed the volume of google searches?
  • https://trends.google.com/

• What are the qualifications of the people who do write this content?
  • All real estate content is professionally produced by either current or past property journalists. We also source content from other media sources to make sure content is of high quality. 

• Can we upload the articles to the blog section of our own sites and link to them there?
  • As the content from TREV is free, we’re asking to link to the original article on TREV. For content on your blog, where you can download, edit etc, you can purchase it through Partica.com and edit it to be your unique article.

• How do you set up a new template if you don’t want to use any of the ones already there?
  • Get in touch with success@activepipe.com and we can help set you up with a new template.

• I create email content for a team of 4 salespeople – can I duplicate the ‘email’ from one active pipe account to another? or do I have to create it in each account?
  • If you have Admin access you can simply create the email once and send it on behalf of all 4 agents. If you don’t have Admin access it needs to be done separately in each account. Please reach out to success@activepipe.com if you would like to enquire about Admin access.

• What if I want to write my own article. Do I just create by dragging a panel and then write my own?
  • Yes that’s correct, I would suggest using the Text & Image panels:

• Will this be sent to “Unsubscribed” contacts in our CRM?
  • No emails will be sent to contacts that are unsubscribed in your CRM. The subscription status from your CRM will be mirrored in ActivePipe.

• I don’t seem to have a ‘quick send’, is that a Ray White thing that has been disabled or is it because I’m an admin?
  • It’s likely because you’re an Admin. Since Admins can send emails for a large number of users the process is slightly different which you can view here https://support.activepipe.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001353195-Send-an-email-through-a-campaign

3 Things Agents Should Do Now (COVID-19)

Gregory Smith is the Broker Owner of RE/MAX Alliance and Team lead for BoulderHomeSource.com.

Aaron recently caught up with Greg to discuss what he believes are the three keys to success during the current crisis.

Lead, listen & be fabulous in every interaction you have. This is a time to be putting in the extra mile with everything that you do.

For even more helpful tips, check out our COVID-19: Real Estate Response Plan and our white paper Digital Marketing in Real Estate: A guide to better ROI.

Jodie Burley

Buxton Ballarat ranked 1st out of REB’s Top 50 Sales Offices for 2021, Jodie is their Office Manager and is also in charge of their marketing.

Here’s some of what she had to say about how ActivePipe has impacted their business so far!

“I was working at Buxton when we brought in ActivePipe. One of the things we that wanted ActivePipe to do was to take over the weekly email blast. We wanted to make sure that it would integrate with our CRM, Box & Dice. Because of the great engagement we have with our clients in Ballarat, we wanted to make sure we were capturing that information from the email – who was opening it and looking at properties.”

“Prior to ActivePipe I was managing the marketing for agents when we were doing more letter box drops, doing sponsorships and engagements with local sports clubs. We still do that stuff but now with digital marketing taking off that’s been a big focus for us.”

“With the systems that we use, Box & Dice connected into ActivePipe, it’s amazing when it comes to prospect matching. So if you’ve got someone on the phone, they tell you how much they want to spend and what area they’re looking in, you can put that information in straight away and a property will pop up with what we’ve got for sale matching their criteria.
They then get an email every week with our properties that are in their area of interest and that are similar to the types of properties that they’re interested in – so it prompts them to contact us, as well as us contacting them. So that side of ActivePipe has been critical for our business when it comes to prospecting.”

Tim Heavyside

“ActivePipe’s been really good for us, we’re able to identify buyers and sellers, we love the way the email communication works and it’s really easy.”

Whilst celebrating 100 years of Fletchers Harley Toyle (Property Consultant), Tim Heavyside (Director & Auctioneer) and Beth Oleyar (Communications Manager) were kind enough to share some of their thoughts on how ActivePipe has become a key instrument in their businesses success.

Stavros Ambatzidis

Stavros owns and operates three offices whilst also being a Corporate Director at O’brien Real Estate. ActivePipe has become an essential component of each of his offices day-to-day operations and has even been widely adopted by much of the brand. 

How has ActivePipe changed your business?

ActivePipe has allowed our Sales team to engage with relevant targeted clients that are actively browsing, or interacting with content delivered via ActivePipe.

It has enabled the team to identify clients that we may not have had direct contact with for over 5 years, who are actively back in the marketplace, looking to downsize/upsize & more importantly sell their existing property to take on their next move.

What feedback are you receiving from your team?

Great feedback from the team so far. We have been selective in setting up a structured roll out of email campaigns to ensure that we are not just mass marketing for the sake of it.

What would you say to other business owners looking to invest in ActivePipe?

GO FOR IT! Take control of your client database and make it work for you, instead of putting your clients in “witness protection”.

ActivePipe provides automated & relevant client contact points.

In terms of ROI, where are you seeing the most value for money in the product?

At the moment, we are seeing value for money in increased buyer interaction & increased OFI attendance.

In particular, having a Feature Property at the top of the Weekly Listings email, creates an immediate increase in enquiry & OFI attendance.

We have just added in “Auctions this Weekend” as features at the top of our OFI list as well.

Real time OFI feedback from buyers is gaining traction & is valuable whenproviding vendors feedback.

Significantly, ActivePipe has resulted in a database cleanse program, allowing us to focus on clients that want to hear from us, instead of those that don’t.

In addition, the team are using “Up & Coming” contacts for targeted call sessions.

Are O’Brien agents using ActivePipe in their sales pitches to prospective vendors? If not, have you thought about introducing this as best practice across the network?

Agents are using case studies of some of our properties to demonstrate the reach, and interaction rates, to both prospective & current vendors for their own campaigns.

Ideally yes, this could easily be incorporated as best practice and a very handy listing tool.

How important is our intent data in giving agents a competitive edge?

Intent data is intuitive – it provides an advantage by prompting client contact before the client calls in a competitor.

From an efficiency point of view we know that AP saves time and improves team capacity. How much of an impact will AP have in reducing costs for your business?

ActivePipe allows the business to generate additional revenue by automatically extending our reach to past purchasers, prospective vendors & current buyers that we may not be in close contact with.

Instead of time being allocated to build email campaigns/manual property alerts, the task is automated for them. This then frees them up to concentrate on their core tasks of List, Sell, Negotiate which of course are income producing activities.

Margie Knaap

A Word from… The CRM Manager

Margie Knaap knows how to run a winning database. As the CRM Manager at Ray White Lower North Shore she’s at the forefront of keeping agents efficient and effective through the everyday “busy” of their business and for ensuring that they’re making the most of their ActivePipe account.

We caught up with Margie to get an insider perspective on what differentiates a “good” ActivePipe user from a “great” one.

Here’s what she had to say…

How would you describe ActivePipe to agents who haven’t used it before?

ActivePipe is a fantastic platform that compliments a CRM to help with the marketing of a property. It allows you to track and identify what listings your contacts are engaging and interacting with and gives you insight into a contact’s movements in and around the area they reside in. It also allows you to discover what types of properties they are looking for (number of bedrooms/cars/bathrooms) and whether they are investors, downsizers, upsizers or first home buyers!

What is it that makes an ActivePipe user successful?

Logging in for a daily perusal of ActivePipe is key.

It might sound simple but make sure you are using the information that you learn about the contact from the platform when giving them a call. There is so much to discover on the dashboard, don’t let it go to waste!

Also, make sure that whatever notes you make get put back into your CRM so that there is a good track record of intel for other salespeople to see.

Finally, always keep contact information updated.

What feedback do you hear from your team about ActivePipe?

Those who use it well, speak very highly of the system. They love all the info that they can see and gain from ActivePipe!

We need to keep reminding some of them that if they use it to its full capacity, they wouldn’t believe how much value they would gain.

Key Takeaways

Log in, log in, log in…

Use the data ActivePipe gives you when making a call so you can have conversations that sell

Keep your database as clean as possible

Thanks Margie!

James Taylor

I have only been using ActivePipe a short time and can already appreciate the huge potential of the software. The ability to automate the process of sending tailored content to my database on a consistent basis, not only saves me time but helps unlock new opportunities that may have otherwise been missed.

It is easy to see the software works as I am generating a higher response rate to the emails that I am sending. This allows me to engage directly with both purchasers and potential vendors. My only regret is not signing up to ActivePipe earlier.

Matthew Herbert

Matthew Herbert is one of the most awarded principals in LJ Hooker history. His esteem within the group is legendary and led to a 2018 induction into the LJ Hooker Hall of Fame.

As part of his many speaking engagements, Matthew put time aside to speak with Ben, our Head of Sales ANZ/UK about why ActivePipe is, in his opinion, the best thing that’s ever happened for databases.

He told a room packed with LJ Hooker principals, “ActivePipe, without question, is the best tool for databases I have ever seen. It’s a little bit like a drug. I’m addicted. I’m absolutely addicted to this thing and if you’re not going back and making sure your office is using ActivePipe, you are missing out on a huge opportunity”.

Check it out:

Why does he love it so much?

“It’s a lead generator. They’re real, solid leads. Nothing airy-fairy, just high quality leads coming out of your existing database.”

To get the full rundown, watch the whole video below!

Edward Smyth

How does ActivePipe help you personalise the emails you’re sending to keep that human touch alive?

If you liaise with marketing specialists, they will tell you that it’s normally six touchpoints before you call to action. In my opinion, it’s probably closer to 20, based on the evolution of social media and the internet and associated ways to get to market quicker.

Having something like ActivePipe, where it creates a lot of the touchpoints, is crucial because it provides a real estate agent with a shortcut to those touchpoints.

How do you leverage your ActivePipe Dashboard to have those better conversations?

We have to digitally stalk everybody before we engage in conversation with them.

You digitally stalk them by doing a name search in RP Data to see what homes are associated with them. Then you go to LinkedIn, then you go to Facebook and you learn a little about them.

What I try to do is not make a phone call until I know everything that I can. What ActivePipe does is, it alerts me to somebody who’s active in the area, then the rest of the job is on me.

ActivePipe is an alert system.

It doesn’t do the job for you, but it alerts you to a possibility.

The way we kind of look at it is we give the agents the ammunition and the insights to be able to have  superior conversations, but it’s up to the agent to make the phone call and be proactive.

That’s right. If someone tells us, through ActivePipe, I’m a downsizer, looking for a townhouse that’s around 500, 600 grand, you don’t call them up and say, “Hey, you’re a Downsizer looking for a place that’s 500, 600 grand.”

What you do is you think about it. You look around and you consider somebody who might sell within that rationale.

You call the seller, the potential seller and say, “Look, would you sell at the right price?”

Then the seller says, “Yes.”

You call the ActivePipe buyer and say, “Look, I might have something for you, would you like to come and have a look on Wednesday?”

Then they say, “Yes.”

You match your buyer and your seller because that’s what real estate is.

Craig Leo

Craig Leo is the renowned Director of Barry Plant Rosebud. So far his office has generated 24 appraisal requests with ActivePipe.

How you incorporate ActivePipe into your daily routine?

One really good example is a couple that we missed out on a listing for. They didn’t sell with the current agent they were with and they ended up heading off for a holiday. Whilst they were away they were still searching for properties, so we knew they were a genuine buyer. Through ActivePipe we could see that as we alerted properties to them they were clicking on them multiple times. We always contact a buyer if we know that they’re clicking multiple times, so I was on the phone to them everywhere they stopped at as they travelled up the coast of Queensland!

By the time they were back from their holiday, they were looking to relist. They invited us in unopposed because they liked the fact that we’d kept in contact with them and that was with the help of ActivePipe. We ended up selling at auction which was great and from there they bought from us. So, by keeping in contact we were able to facilitate a buy and a listing unopposed.

You’ve received an amazing 24 appraisal requests so far. How many of those have turned into listings?

When we have a prospective vendor or an appraisal request, 9 times out of 10 we’ve listed and sold that property.

As a director, do you find that ActivePipe helps you in managing your agents?

Getting reports back from ActivePipe that we can sit down and talk to the agents about is great. More importantly though, it’s giving them direction. Rather than coming in of the morning and making a series of cold calls or prospective vendor calls off a database, they’re able to have a really relevant conversation.

So now when I talk to agents I find that the majority of the conversation is, “What has been happening on your ActivePipe. Who’s clicking on what?” It’s not just about the vendor referrals or request for appraisals or finance referrals.

Have you had any feedback from clients on your communications with them?

I make people aware when they come through our opens that we are going to provide them with a series of updates that are relevant to their needs. I also tell them that if they’re not happy with it they can unsubscribe.

What’s really cool about the system is that when we’re doing an appraisal, we can generally do what we call a ‘buyer match’. This is where I go into ActivePipe and determine how many people are looking for say a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom double-garage home. I can show the prospective seller the results and the search history of the buyer. Then I’ll say, “Let’s give them a call now” and I’ll dial them up.

So, it’s just one of those really neat systems where you can actually show the vendor that you’ve got relevant buyers who have a search criteria that’s relevant to their property and that I can call them as easily at that. It’s actually hilarious.

What would you say to other directors who are thinking of giving ActivePipe a go?

I can sum that up in one sentence. It will change your business. Off the back of a really good market in the 2017/2018 financial year we made a 61% growth in our business. There was good training and marketing and all the things that we implemented in our business but ActivePipe was certainly a catalyst for that. So yes, do it.

Check out Craig’s original video:

Sandra Bullock

AP: Hi Sandra, we’ve been looking at your numbers in the dashboard and it looks like you’re getting a lot of throughput in terms of activity and people to call. How has AP helped you and your business?

S: Yeah, it’s huge, huge! People that I didn’t even know were looking, are looking! And they’re looking at other people’s properties so I can call them and snap them up before they buy other agent’s properties, so it’s really good.

AP: Do you have anything to say, positive or negative, about how ActivePipe is helping you?

S: It’s really amazing! It’s like having a PA working for you in the background. It’s a really, really strong tool. I’m super busy at the moment, so what I’m realising is that I actually need someone else working for me because I’m not even finding the time to call the leads that are being handed to me on a plate.

AP: So ActivePipe has helped you realise the growth potential in your own business?

S: Yeah!

Reece Prewett

AP: Hi Reece, thank you for taking the time to chat today. Even though your office is pretty new to ActivePipe you’re already seeing some fantastic results. Can you tell me a little bit about how are you using the platform and how you are finding it so far?

RP: We’ve had the immediate benefits of appraisal requests and loan market requests coming through, which is fantastic! But the real juice is coming from those who mine the data in the ‘Hot Leads’ category. It’s the people who are clicking on properties multiple times, revealing their intentions about buying and selling and putting their details in through the website. We are loving that.

AP: Do you find that the information that is coming through is allowing your agents to have better conversations with these leads?

RP: It’s giving direction. You may have 1000 people in your database but when it comes to 10am Monday morning, who are you going to call? You want to start your day by making ten calls and what ActivePipe does is make those ten ‘hot calls’ as opposed to ten ‘hit-or-miss’ calls.

You’re making the right calls, at the right time, to the right people.

AP: How does AP help you train and manage the agents in your office?

We have 25 agents in our office and ActivePipe helps us to work out which of those need some support. In my experience agents can be highly effective at their jobs but not run a good database. The truth is they could make twice as much money and have twice as much leisure time if they utilise the platform to maximise their database. They might even get their weekends back for themselves.

AP: How do your agents feel about using this new platform?

Agents want leadership, support and something to help them deal with being so time-poor. A lot of agents are time poor, so if you told them you’d organised a PA for them, they’d literally grab you with five arms, give you a hug and say, ‘’where do I start”?

That’s not a particularly cost effective thing to do. With ActivePipe, I’m effectively giving them half a PA for free and it does all that work for them in the background.

AP: You’ve had some really good appraisal request numbers coming through your account. Has that helped in terms of numbers of listings?

BP: Yes, absolutely. For example, since we’ve started my Top Agent has received two listings through the platform which equates to $30-40,000 NZD that’s coming in the front door. It’s probably paid for ten years worth of ActivePipe

AP: Thanks Reece, is there anything else that you’d like to add?

RP: I’d just like to say that we were a bit timid about turning it on but you’ve just got to jump in the cold water and have a swim. ActivePipe has made a real impact and it’s a really positive one. I can’t think of any downside.

Tom Russett

Congratulations on the success you’ve been having with ActivePipe! How long have you been using the platform for?

ActivePipe was first introduced to me when I came into real estate in Australia in 2015. It was already implemented in my office!

How do you incorporate ActivePipe into your everyday routine?

It’s actually now a daily KPI. On a weekly basis, we use it a lot at OFIs. We take the usual name and number at an OFI but I question whether a lot of agents are taking an email address too. You’ll find that with 25% of people that come through for an OFI, it doesn’t matter how many times you call them or send them an SMS, they may not call you back. If you have ActivePipe, you’ve always got the security of it running in the background. This means that if you can add someone’s name and email address into the system, you can rest assured that that even though you can’t reach them, they’re still getting your weekly email.

When you moved to Australia from the UK did you have any experience with a product like ActivePipe?

No, this was completely fresh!

So how did being introduced to ActivePipe change the real estate game for you?

It was really eye-opening! A really great thing about ActivePipe is that although it might not be speaking with people personally, it’s working behind the scenes for me and that’s what’s generating appraisals. I’ve actually just listed an appraisal through the platform and it’s going to auction at the end of September. Without ActivePipe I wouldn’t have got that.

In fact, I’ve still got clients to this day that contact me because they may have seen a property online, through ActivePipe and can’t make the OFI. I always tell them, “if I can’t reach you or if there’s something you might have seen that I might not have thought of feel free to email me and I’ll arrange for you to do a walk through”. So, ActivePipe is really offering that extra bit of service, which I’m really enjoying.

You are doing so well out in the field but you’re also quite young! What advice do you have for young agents starting out on how they can succeed early in their career?

From day one, if you’re going to be at the front door at OFI’s with a more senior agent, ensure that you ask for names and numbers but also grab the email addresses. Always ensure that you slow the conversation down and get an email address. That’s something that can really set you up well, so you can hit the ground running

How important do you feel embracing technology is for the future of real estate?

I think it is the future of real estate and we’re seeing that first hand with the power of social media. Instagram, Facebook and even LinkedIn are so important with consumers who are now generally online. I think the agent who has the biggest digital footprint wins.

What would you say to other agents who are thinking about giving ActivePipe a go?

Definitely give it a go. Trial it and see how it impacts your business. More than anything else, in an industry where we are always trying to be front-of-mind, there’s no better way then with a weekly email that’s not intrusive. It includes your new listings to the market and you can make it as personal as you want. It ensures that you don’t always have to pick up the phone because you know that on a weekly basis, you’re front of mind whether that’s actively or passively looking. Maybe that golden listing that someone’s been looking for might pop up on that list. You just never know where that next phone call may come from.

Shane Colquhoun

Shane Colquhoun is the principal of LJ Hooker Nerang, which was recently crowned ‘Regional Sales Office of the Year’ at the 2018 REB Awards. At publication, they have generated 122 appraisal requests through the platform.

Congratulations on your real estate success this year, what does it mean to you to see your office getting this type of recognition?

SC: It’s a reflection and an appreciation for all the hard work that you do over the years and it’s a big tick for the culture that we have here. It’s nice to be recognised with awards but it really assists with the culture.

What are the qualities that you believe got your team to the top?

SC: I’d have to say that working as a team and having team longevity helps. It’s nice to bring people in who become part of the turning cog in a machine and working well, so it’s easy for new people to start because there’s a lot of long termers here.

Tell me about the everyday routine of your agents. What are the little things they do each day that sets them up for success?

SC: Everyone is coached individually. At the end of the day, everybody has a strength and a weakness and it’s about highlighting the strengths rather than working on the weaknesses. If someone has been working in real estate for ten years and has a weakness, I think it’s always going to be there, so we support in the weakness and grow the strength.

Your office has generated 122 appraisal requests through ActivePipe, which is huge! How do you make sure that ActivePipe is incorporated into the daily routine of your agents?

SC: It’s a non negotiable. We have it in the office and you have to use it, whether you’ve been here for one day or for twenty years. It’s one of those automated tools that makes people’s jobs easier.

What would you say to agents who are thinking about giving ActivePipe a try?

YES! But, remember that you can’t rely just on the technology. If a contact is in real estate mode, they’ll open your emails but if they’re not they’ll probably click out of them, so for those times you have to have other things in place to stay front-of-mind.

Roberto Bonomi

Roberto Bonomi was named the real estate industry’s “Rising Star” at the prestigious REB Awards in July 2018. He attributes his success to hours of hard work, dedication and going that extra mile for his contacts. Through ActivePipe he’s generated 5 appraisal requests, resulting in 3 listings.

What are the qualities that you believe got you to the top of the game?

I firmly believe my success comes down to genuine human connectedness and always having my clients best interest at heart.

You’ve received five appraisal requests through ActivePipe! This is great news. How do you incorporate ActivePipe into your daily routine?

The best part is that three of those five appraisals turned into listings! ActivePipe works like your PA, it’s always running in the background, working hard behind the scenes. It really helps me with my buyers and I’m using it everyday as an integral part of my business. With the power of online these days, client’s read testimonials & look at your track record. Clients are more likely to request an appraisal based on your past success.

What advice do you have for agents who are just starting out in the business of buying and selling homes?

Don’t be disheartened if it takes time to get going and be prepared to work incredibly hard. It is also important to be hyper aware of legislation and invest in training.
Most importantly align yourself with a company who will support & encourage you. At LJ Hooker St Peters, Glynde, Adelaide City I have a personal business plan with KPI’s, this gives me clarity & focus to stay on track. I am also kept accountable with regular one on ones with my mentor team, helping me with any challenges I may have. This has been instrumental to my success.

What would you say to agents who are thinking about giving ActivePipe a go?

RB: I would say that you need to give this technology a go! ActivePipe has been very powerful and accurate in tracking future opportunities, giving me the edge over other agents.

Daniel Oliver

How long have you been on ActivePipe for?

We were one of the first offices to get on board when Ray White took on ActivePipe. Our training was back in April 2016.

How do you incorporate ActivePipe into your everyday routine?

My assistant or myself will log into it everyday. We’ll look through and see which properties have open for inspections coming up and we’ll call anyone that’s clicked on that property and say, “we have this amazing property on offer that is similar to what you are looking for, have you seen the property? Would you like to come to the next open home?”

That drags traffic to the property and it’s all through ActivePipe. It saves us a whole lot of time because we know exactly who’s clicking on what properties. They have no idea that we’re calling them because of that click, we just say “I keep in touch with all my current buyers, would you like to come by?”

This really helps us with our attendance numbers and sells the property.

What are your favourite features of the product?

Getting people to the OFIs is the first big help but we also love ‘Potential Sellers’ and ‘New Geo- Conversions’.

Our favourite is ‘Profile Updates’. We know for instance, that if someone is an ‘Investor’ we can hand it straight over to our BDM, who’s our investment specialist. He can take care of them straight away and hopefully turn it into a property management referral, which means more business coming in.

In terms of efficiency and time management, how has AP changed how you operate in your daily business?

It saves us hours. Literally, a lot of hours of calling everyone back. My aim at OFIs is to collect a minimum of 90% of emails from attendees but before ActivePipe, I didn’t really care to be honest. Now that I’m aiming for that 90%, it’s probably why I’ve received 17 appraisals. It’s because I’m building my ActivePipe database.

How Important Do You Think Embracing Technology Like ActivePipe is for the Future of Real Estate?

100%. We are at the forefront of doing that and I think it’s been one of the biggest changes to my business. I can’t imagine life without it.

How would you describe ActivePipe to other agents who aren’t with the system but who are considering giving it a go?

I wouldn’t tell them about it. It’s a secret.

Glen Coutinho

Glen Coutinho was named REB’s number 5 agent in Australia for 2018, after making a whopping $340, 529, 700 in sales. He says ActivePipe is a vital component of his business.

Hi Glen, thank you so much for speaking to us today and a huge congratulations for being named the number five agent in Australia. You’ve had an incredible year, what’s been the highlight for you?

The highlight for me is that I’ve been able to achieve all this whilst still having three and a half to four months off for the year. I was able to travel to America with my family and manage my customers whilst I was away, which means that the system works well for me.

So you managed to achieve that elusive work/life balance?

Exactly.

What are the qualities that got you to the top of the real estate game?

I believe my greatest quality is loving people. My biggest strength is spoiling my customers. From birthdays to wedding anniversaries, I just always make the effort to acknowledge the success of all my clients. I spend most of my time with people and I just want to spoil them.

Tell us about your everyday routine. What are the little things you do that sets you up for success?

I start my morning between 7:30am and 8am on social media. I wish all my clients happy birthday, acknowledge special dates and all those types of things. I do this by 8am and then send out some gifts to my clients and get on the phone. I make 30-40 calls a day to past clients and I’ve done that consistently for 33 years.

How do you incorporate ActivePipe into your everyday routine?

It’s an important part of my routine because ActivePipe is the touchpoint for all my customers that are on email. I’ve got almost 30,000 customers and a lot of them get sent an ActivePipe email every week. It’s especially important for the local and overseas contacts that I can’t keep in touch with. It means they can get an email with my face on it and an update on the market.

Do you think this has helped you in your pursuit to be one of the top agents in the country?

It certainly has helped! I meet so many people that the sheer volume can be hard to keep up with. If I forget to ring someone, ActivePipe is like my backup. Say I’ve been chasing someone for twenty years and I forget to ring them for six months, they’re still getting my face in front of them every week. Each Thursday, ActivePipe puts my face in front of 5000 people and most them think that I’ve written the emails individually, so it really works in my favour.

How important is embracing technology like ActivePipe for the future of real estate?

Look I think it’s critical, especially if you’ve been in real estate for a long time. The younger guys are doing it but people in their 40s to 60s think they don’t need to. Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that you do. It’s a critical part of business in the 2000s and will continue to be moving into the future.

What advice would you give to agents who are just starting out in the business?

If you’re just starting out, you need to be in the office and at your desk by 8am. You need to consistently make 40 to 50 calls a day and you need to make ActivePipe a critical part of your business. If you want to make the best of ActivePipe, you need to get it in front of 1000 people very fast. If you’ve got 1000 people getting one of these emails every week, you’re in the game. By the time you get to 10,000 contacts, it comes down to sheer numbers. You can’t lose.

Holly Jones

How long have you been using ActivePipe?

It’s been about a year, year-and-a-half now and it’s been really good, so far!

How do you incorporate ActivePipe into your everyday routine?

We use it to identify hot buyers. So we usually identify them through ActivePipe, then ring them up and try and book them in for an inspection.

How does ActivePipe shape the conversations you have with your contacts?

It’s amazing because you can get more of an insight into what they’re looking for. Rather than looking at a database of 2000 people and wondering who to call, you can really fine-tune it.

How would you describe ActivePipe to agents considering giving it a go?

I think you’re crazy if you’re not using it!

Lleyton Gow

What has your experience with ActivePipe been so far?

This is the second time that we’re using ActivePipe. We had some troubles in the early days and switched to another email system but now that we’ve come back to ActivePipe we’re getting traction off it already! We sent out our first weekly listings email yesterday and we’ve had three calls off just that one email.

How have the conversations with your customers changed?

We’ve noticed it with the auction properties in particular. We can make call backs based on our send out because we can see who’s interacting with the properties and use that to our advantage. It’s a great touchpoint and gets the conversation flowing much better.

What would you say to other agents thinking of giving ActivePipe a go?

I’d say definitely give it a go! It’s expanded our business and helped us keep in contact with a lot of our clients, which weren’t able to do before!

Wendy Scott

Matt Giblin

How did you communicate with your contacts prior to ActivePipe?

We have approximately 7000 contacts in our database. Prior to ActivePipe we used mass-communication through our CRM provider and it took a lot of effort. It was labour intensive and really difficult to keep coming up with ideas ourselves. It’s not like that with ActivePipe.

Before ActivePipe, each agent was doing their own thing which was eating up a lot of time and lacking consistency. Our emails used to get a lot of unsubscribes. We don’t see many of them these days.

Can you summarise your experience with ActivePipe so far?

It’s amazing to see people who are actively looking at properties appear on our dashboard. It’s so easy to forget about these contacts when we are busy, but with ActivePipe, we don’t just know they exist, they are obvious leads for us to chase up.

We’ve received 13 direct appraisal requests since we started using the technology last year and that’s really helped us save time prospecting.

How has ActivePipe’s Data changed the conversations you are having with your contacts?

Intent data is very new to us in the office and we are only just starting to jump on those opportunities. We’ve had 238 people update their profile and let us know if they are looking to upsize, downsize or invest. As there are only two people in our office, these insights are incredibly powerful. They save us time and give us a conversation starter.

What would you say to agents considering giving ActivePipe a go?

I would tell them that ActivePipe is a very powerful tool. As agents, we have so much to do throughout the day. If you know you’ve got communications coming out from ActivePipe every week, that’s one less thing you have to worry about. It’s like we have an extra set of hands in the office.

Nick Ploubidis

During their annual Spring Campaign, LJ Hooker launched BOOST, a digital initiative that combined complementary Aussie start-ups, Tiger Pistol and ActivePipe.

TigerPisol is an automated Facebook and Instagram advertising platform that amplifies an agent’s profile in their local area.

ActivePipe nurtures those contacts with automated email communications and reports back to the agent with intent data.

Over the three-month campaign, these platforms reached a combined 10.4 million online users. We caught up with the principal at LJ Hooker Kensington to see how this program translated at the office level.

Are you still using ActivePipe and Tiger Pistol?

Yes, we’re still using both ActivePipe and Tiger Pistol.

What were the benefits of using both ActivePipe and Tiger Pistol during the spring campaign?

From an ActivePipe perspective, it was fantastic to see our contacts updating their status and letting us know if they were investors, first home buyers, upsizers or downsizers. It gave us a point of conversation and that’s really powerful when you’re competing with another three or four offices in the area.

Once Tiger Pistol came on later in the year, we had out best quarter ever and December was one of our best months in history. We had issues with stock across the board and suddenly December numbers were huge and other offices in the area were still complaining about low stock numbers.

We didn’t change much in terms of the way we operated. The only thing we did change was Tiger Pistol and ActivePipe working together so I have to attribute some of our success to that.

Overall do you think ActivePipe and TigerPistol helped you generate and convert more qualified leads?

I do. It certainly helped from an awareness perspective.

The ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ part of the combination was excellent. We found that when we spoke to clients they had already been touched by ActivePipe and TigerPistol, which told us that we were reaching the right people.

The increase in overall activity had to be attributed to that also.

From a business perspective how did ActivePipe help you?

Ultimately, the settlements spoke for themselves. Two of my sales people had their best months ever! The office had it’s second best quarter ever, and that’s in settled sales, all leading from the implementation of ActivePipe and Tiger Pistol together.

Mark Imbesi

Daniel Vanin

How does Ignite compare to AUTO?

As a Business Development Manager, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to improve our customer’s experience with Ray White North East. With the addition of quarterly data hygiene surveys we have been able to engage our database at regular intervals. The interactivity of these surveys has lead to a spike in lead generation with 25 appraisals requested in the past three months. We converted some of these leads into listings. We also had 157 contacts update their property interests which has helped us provide a noticeably better customer experience.

What has been the impact of ActivePipe on your sales team?

Prior to Ignite, not all of our agents regularly updated their CRM but once they started seeing the leads and enquiry coming from the platform they began to understand the potential each contact had. People who weren’t into databasing saw the ROI and became more engaged with our system.

In your opinion, what has been the most significant advantage of ActivePipe?

I think the most significant advantage of ActivePipe is being able to uncover potential buyers and sellers; people we had no idea were in the market. We now know exactly who we should be talking to which helps us re-engage our old contacts at the right time!

What challenges have you faced so far?

I think the biggest challenge we have faced so far is getting our sales team’s heads around what is sent and at what time. We also have to train them so that they can use the platform to its full potential. ActivePipe’s support staff have really helped us with this.

Lisa Kerr

How does Ignite compare to AUTO?

We have noticed a major influx in lead generation since upgrading to Ignite. We were told to expect this but we had our doubts. We typically spend a substantial amount of time prospecting for potential sellers and didn’t expect so many people from our old database to put their hand up and let us know that they were in the market. In the past six months, we have received three loan market and eight appraisal requests from ActivePipe’s communication without doing a single thing.

What are the advantages of ActivePipe?

A major advantage of ActivePipe is the transparency it delivers. We don’t have to worry about where leads are coming from we just have to action them which takes a massive load off our sales team.

It’s also a great recruitment tool. I recently hired a sales agent with a large database who was attracted to our office because of the innovation provided by an automated system that helped him re-engage his old contacts. Talent are always looking for new ways to get ahead and ActivePipe is a great way to do it.

What aspects of ActivePipe are most useful?

The biggest advantage of ActivePipe is the certainty we have. We are dealing with numbers and concrete facts rather than words that are victim to misinterpretation. Staff are bringing statistics into meetings and sharing their results with the team. It’s great for getting them motivated and encouraging them to enter data into our CRM.

What are the challenges of ActivePipe?

At the start we struggled to get the sales team engaged. We had to find a new way to incorporate it into their routine and decided adding discussion to our weekly meeting was a great place to start. We’ve noticed much more activity and follow up as a result and it’s nice to see the team working together to find opportunities in the data. With 66 profile updates in the past six months, it’s easy to see the benefit of using ActivePipe in our office.