Graeme Dimsey

Overview:

Graeme has been part of the LJ Hooker family in Cranbourne since 1992, beginning his real estate career in 1988. With a wealth of experience behind him Graeme is confident both he and his long established team can offer investors, buyers and sellers the best possible advice when it comes to any Real Estate matter, which has been invaluable to many clients over the years.

What are the stand out features & benefits of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

Time savings compared to the old software we used where everything is manually done, also appraisals that will turn into listings directly from ActivePipe communication.

Do you think that ActivePipe is giving you a professional edge ?

It is – I mean we are already getting appraisal requests and we are kicking off some new campaigns, something that is a little more diverse and offers more for the readers to get their teeth into and no other offices are offering this. Plus we can see what they click and what they like in our emails. One thing I know is that more people are reading our emails, we had a few unsubscribes and now that is all smoothed out – it’s great…. plus it’s all automated.

How does ActivePipe enhance your efficiency and practices in the office?

This will in the future give us a greater advantage in time management and automation, I do not have to get in there and add any hard work to this, ActivePipe is all happening automatically. Compared to E2 I don’t have to manually create any emails or spend hours working on it plus we can see what is happening with our email recipients – like when they are clicking, or what they are clicking on – nothing else offered us that insight.

Do you think that ActivePipe is giving you a professional edge ?

Yes, it will give us an edge. I guess when you think that we are sending all these emails to people in our database ( a database that goes back years and years ) we’re top of mind to them. Even though they are not necessarily thinking about selling or buying, they are thinking about us when the time comes.

Do you think your agents will change their behaviours to suit the new information on your clients available from ActivePipe?

Well yes, for one – all the agents have to do is log in and they can see who is looking at what, secondly, they can see who they need to call and thirdly, all they need to do is actually call them haha.

It’s all laid out for them. We can tell who is clicking on what and then call them, that’s pretty easy for any agent. The intuitive guys will even get to know who is selling in the future.

How does ActivePipe enhance your efficiency and practices in the office?

Well now I know that all our clients are hearing from us week in and week out, so yes. It is good to maintain the consistency of contact.

Ben Jusufi

Overview:

Since leaving school Ben jumped straight into sales and has never looked back. Experience, service, skills and a passion for property – If those are your expectations for a real estate agent, then Ben Jusufi is your man. All of Ben’s hard work and excellent customer service skills have paid off being appointed Director of LJ Hooker Dandenong and Endeavour Hills makes Ben one of the youngest Directors in the country, something he is very proud of.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

I was one of the early adopters of ActivePipe and I have seen the product grow to become an essential part of my week to week busines. The information is integral in identifying who is active and which properties are hot.

How long did it take to see results from ActivePipe?

Straight away, I could see the reporting coming through – I could see who was clicking on what, I knew what was going out and what was coming back – all this happened basically immediately.

What are the stand out features & benefits of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

I noticed that buyers that were in my database were turning up at open homes and thanking me for the invitations and reminders, this really impressed me because I know that this good quality information was reaching all the buyers, even when I could not get a hold of them.

I feel really confident in the fact that there is constant information going out to my clients and that they all are being kept up to date with what is happening with my stock & new listings. That is a good representation of me and my company.

Do you think you have changed your workflows to work with ActivePipe?

In one way yes, because each week I look forward to the  Activepipe report arriving and calling the relevant prospects or prioritising the calls – I can see which properties are hot and thats brilliant. In another way it has created more time for me because this is all automated – so it has had a double effect – I do more work with active people in my database and I do less manual work because ActivePipe is happening in the background.

Do you think that ActivePipe is essential to your business?

Yes, I have found that this has become a regular part of my week to week practice, it allows me to see who is doing what and which properties they are all looking at. That is great for me and my company.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I love it, I am really happy and satisfied with the results.

Richie Thornton

Overview:

Richie Thornton is a Career Real Estate Agent with 31 years experience and is Co-Principal and Licensee of L.J Hooker Tamworth.Richie has been integral in the introduction and development of several technologies within LJ Hooker. His decades of experience has enabled him to sift through the snake oil and spot a good product. He saw ActivePipe early in its introduction to the Real Estate industry and knew instantly that it was right for LJ Hooker.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

Since late 2014 and we migrated to the new LJ Hooker product in late December 2015.

How long did it take to see results from ActivePipe?

Oh, right away – from the first ActivePipe report my agents eyes were opened up to the opportunities that could be found in the information, they were rapt. We have recently converted listings from two leads that were a result of the new communications that we’re sending. This is fantastic and I’m sure there will be more coming soon.

What are the stand out features & benefits of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

We have had some feedback directly from clients that is just great marketing, that means to me that this is working away in the background showing people how active we are. Also ActivePipe in my office goes to everyone, no exceptions – the recipient might not be buying right now, but they might if they see the right property – and then they are motivated to sell, it’s not just a buyer tool – this is a listing tool. How good is that! I think that the best feature is that it works for the agent and the seller and the buyer, everyone is better off for being involved in this. More buyers see the emails and open them, which is good for the sellers, and of course that’s better for agents and it’s all automated.

Do you think your agents will change their behaviours to suit the new information on your clients available from ActivePipe?

Yes of course! As soon as that weekly email comes in they are on the phone calling the High Value Clients and others that have interacted with their properties, all they have to do is log on and see. If an agent did not see the value in this, they should not be in the business.

How does ActivePipe enhance your efficiency and practices in the office?

It’s happening on its own, it’s automated. We just plugged it in and off we went – now we have feedback, we have buyers, we have found sellers – we are not doing anything extra – in fact we are probably doing less – but that just means that an agent will have more time to focus on the important stuff. We send it to everyone too, not just the buyers – we don’t even get many un-subscribers – maybe one or two a fortnight and we have sent over 100,000 emails – I had to contain myself when I realised how many, so if we get one or two people drop off, we don’t even argue.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I have said to LJ Hooker recently that the whole real estate industry needs to come out of the woods and into the light, we need to adapt to the technology to move forward. Some agents hide behind the old way of doing things – but you can’t argue with genuine progress. It’s technology like this that benefits us as agents and offices and ultimately as a franchise. Like I said, we’ve had 2 recent listings that are directly from the ‘new’ActivePipe, which means it’s working – also we’ve had really great feedback from clients, one past client rang me – totally unprompted just to say “that’s great marketing, really valuable info” regarding our recent sales. That’s the image you want out there in the market, active, professional and doing the job. That’s what people want, they want to be up-to-date, and we have to give it to them, ActivePipe does that for us.

Erin Whitten

Overview:

Erin has been active in the Tamworth area and specialising in the sale of residential property. Erin has had extensive experience in the interior design industry and loves getting to see each new homes.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

We have been using the updated ActivePipe since mid January 2016.

How long did it take to see results from ActivePipe?

Wow, I think in the first few days I got an appraisal and then another within a week.

What results have you seen so far?

So far 2 appraisals, which I have converted to listings!

What do you think is the most impressive feature of ActivePipe?

The best thing is definitely seeing who has interacted with my properties, we could not see that before. The detail is extraordinary and E2 and Rex don’t do anything like this. Now I know who to call right away which means I can get straight to business with my important clients.

How have your interactions with clients changed since using ActivePipe?

Knowing what people want is such a head start. Not everyone tells you exactly what they are after, but now I can see what they are clicking and spending time looking at which tells me who is interested in what. That’s also a great listing tool – I can tell potential vendors that we have this system of identifying buyers – that’s a huge benefit.

Do you see your workflows changing as a result of using ActivePipe?

Yes – when I get the email update – I can see right then and there who needs a call, even if they have not called me or even replied to the email, I know that I can get on the phone and see what stage they are up to, which might mean buyers – or even more prospects (sellers).

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I am really impressed, this is good – I am already excited to see my next ActivePipe wrap up email so I can see who is new and who is active. I love that there are so many people looking at my emails and engaging with them, that’s making things much easier for me to see

Jen Smith

Overview:

Jen moved to Brisbane in 1988 and has lived in the “Redlands” for over 22 years where she began her property sales career in 2002, working with some of the top offices in Australia.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

We have been using ActivePipe for a few months now but in mid January 2016 our office was moved to the newest version of ActivePipe with the Appraisals landing page, the Sold Property report etc

How long did it take to see results from ActivePipe?

Straight away, appraisals were on day 2 and the benefits have been rolling in every day since.

What results have you seen so far?

So far two appraisals straight to me and more for the office, plus I can see exactly what my clients are up to, so I can spend more time working with the right ones – that’s a result right there, we never got that the old way.

What do you think is the most impressive feature of ActivePipe?

Ok, the best thing is that I don’t have to go sifting through loads of cold prospects, ActivePipe tells me who is a High Value contact and I can tap into their needs straight away. Obviously getting appraisals is the best, because if you get the listings the real estate world is yours. We are selling some in a day, so the more listing leads we get the better right now.

How have your interactions with clients changed since using ActivePipe?

Well I can see what they are looking at, I can call them and get right to the point. I can say right away that I can help you with this property type in this area etc etc – there is so much time saved in knowing what they want before the call.

Do you see your workflows changing as a result of using ActivePipe?

Yes, time saved! I always make a point of calling everyone back from the open houses but you can’t always connect, so it was great to see that the people added got the emails straight away and now they are in the database and actively clicking on my properties! This means that I don’t have to worry about missing a valuable contact and can stay focused on listing and selling.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I love it, I really really do. It’s great.

Shane Broekman

Overview:

Over the last few years Shane has not only kept up with the rapid growth of the Internet and Social Media, Shane is actually at the forefront of his peers with leading edge marketing and technology across all advertising platforms.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

We have been using ActivePipe since mid January 2016.

How long did it take to see results from ActivePipe?

Our first Weekly Listings update only went out on the 21st January, so everything we have seen has been almost an instant response.

What results have you seen so far?

So far three appraisals, and tons and tons of highly active clients identified.

What do you think is the most impressive feature of ActivePipe?

I am amazed by the insights that ActivePipe provides, it’s like nothing I have seen in the industry before.

The automation is really good, it is allowing me the capacity to do more dollar productive activities, and in turn those activities are more productive because I have the time to focus on them. I feel like I can forget about worrying about email programs and campaigns – this is doing it all for me in the background.

How have your interactions with clients changed since using ActivePipe?

I can qualify the prospects better with the data ActivePipe provides and spend more time with good prospects and, of course less time with contacts who aren’t going to result in sales or listings.

Do you see your workflows changing as a result of using ActivePipe?

Definitely. Activepipe frees up all this time . For me it’s important to work with the people in my database and stay focused , ActivePipe is a tool that allows me to get more done.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

This is something that the whole LJ Hooker group should be on – it’s fantastic.

Roy Freeth

How long have you been in real estate for?

Roy has been selling in Bribie Island since 2002 and has become a known specialist in the area with great connections in the community.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

We have been using ActivePipe since mid November 2015

ActivePipe features and benefits: 

So far we have had booked 2 appraisals however we have identified so many highly engaged clients that we didn’t know we had, ActivePipe is really delivering on the detail of who is looking and where – it’s invaluable to us.

What has been the most impressive feature of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

Being able to see exactly who is looking at what. It really helps me to tailor my prospecting to each individual client and learn more about their needs.

Do you expect to get any listings from the appraisal requests you’ve received?

I have already converted one directly from ActivePipe, that’s a great result in such a short time.

Louisa Lanyon

How long have you been in real estate for?

I have been an agent for over 8 years. I previously owned my own real estate business, so I am committed to providing a high standard of service.

How long have you been using ActivePipe?

We have been using ActivePipe since mid December 2015.

How long did it take for you to see results from ActivePipe in your office?

Pretty much straight away! We saw our first lead in the first day or so and others came in soon after. We’ve converted many of them to appraisals, which are now on their way to being listed.

Are the interactions with your clients better as a result of using ActivePipe?

Well now that we can see what our clients are interacting with it makes it easier to identify their needs. We’ve also noticed that far more people are engaging with the emails, meaning we can spot more potential buyers and sellers. On top of that we’ve noticed that loads more people are actually opening and engaging with the emails, we were amazed.

What has been the most impressive feature of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

We have been able to generate new listings from doing absolutely nothing!

What value in efficiency and capacity are you experiencing with ActivePipe?

The automation of emails is one of the features that we love, as previously we have had to manually do this. We also love being able to ‘group’ clients so that they only receive emails specific to their requirements (ie buyers receive new listings, home owners receive monthly newsletter, etc…)

Steve Morgan

How long have you been in real estate for?

Co-founder of Ray White Lincoln, Steve Morgan started his career as an agent in 1993. Steve took the reigns of RW Lincoln in  November 2007 along with business partner and wife Leanne Morgan, Steve always strives to do the very best he can for both clients and employees.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

We have been using ActivePipe for about 2 weeks.

ActivePipe features and benefits: 

So far we have had booked 4 appraisals from the ActivePipe leads, so that is a benefit straight up! We are also learning so much more about our database and their interests just by logging in and seeing what is happening in the background.

There have been several Loan Market Leads, Appraisal requests and Geographic conversions from Your database, are you impressed with the number of new leads so far? 

Yes, we are thrilled!

There have been 40 geographic conversations, 27 potential seller interactions and 32 Loan Market interactions – and hundreds of clients highly active and clicking on our properties.

How are your agents responding to the new information & insights into their database?

There were some un-subs in the first few days, so we saw that ActivePipe was engaging with our database and cleaning it up. This made us a little nervous at first, but when we realised what was happening we jumped in and started making calls and felt loads better with the results we were generating.

What has been the most impressive feature of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

The most impressive feature is the ability to see what clients are up to and get information from behind the scenes than enables you to act.  There is heaps of activity that we can see that we might not have known about otherwise, and that enables our agents to take better, focused action.

Do you expect to get any listings from the appraisal requests you’ve received?

Yes! We have had 8 leads and we have appraised 4 of them already, at least one of those is serious about selling straight away.

Do you see the value in efficiency and capacity created by ActivePipe?

Of course, it’s a matter of making sure that the agents in our office be proactive around logging in and checking out the clicks – and then following up.

Any other comments that you would like to make?

I am thrilled with ActivePipe so far, we are really keen to see how this develops our pipeline and loan market leads. Its great.

Cliff Tarr

What are the results so far with ActivePipe?

It’s unbelievable actually. In just the past week, one of my salespeople has had four appraisal requests come in.

So she’s over the moon. And when I got into the office this morning I had an email request on my own ActivePipe report. Also, over the weekend, we had our weekly listings of open for inspections email go out to buyers, and we had a buyer actually send through an offer straight from that ActivePipe email. The buyer has actually sent through an offer on the property, attached as a forward-on from that email.

What do you think of those results?

They are fantastic, they are extraordinary. Mel, the salesperson that had the four appraisals come through in the last seven days, actually door knocked those people within the last three to four weeks. They obviously declined the appraisal offer at that time, but once we’ve come back and put those people in the system – because they were quite happy to receive information from us – they have obviously engaged the welcome email that goes out – and it has gone from there. As I said, four appraisals within seven days, so we are very happy.

How long did it take to start seeing results from ActivePipe?

The first couple of weeks we were learning how to use the system, but I think the most important thing was to get the customers’ email addresses into ActivePipe. Four weeks on, we are now seeing the results coming through. It’s just fantastic. Over the coming months I’m sure more results will follow.

Do you expect to get any listings from the appraisals that you have received?

Absolutely. I would say out of those four, they are probably more what you call a pipeline so they go into our pipeline. The customers obviously have some sort of interest as to where their property may sit, and then we have to go out there. I imagine that within 12 months we would expect to get one or two listings for sure.

What do you think of the ActivePipe emails?

I think if it’s by email, it’s more non-threatening, they are happy to click on it, because people are actually going to the internet to get information. And when that information is put in front of them, they are happier to take it up. Whereas if we are standing at their front door they don’t really want to engage face to face.

Ant Manton

Overview:

Ant Manton is the Principal and lead agent at Ray White Southern Tasmania.

With a strong background in sales and marketing, Ant knows the power of marketing and was eager to find an innovative system which would allow him to take customer communication to a new level.

With this in mind, Ant looked to ActivePipe – a unique Australian-developed software system which automates email communications to the customer on the agent’s behalf.

Only four weeks after implementing ActivePipe into the running of the agency, the results far exceeded anything Ant had expected.

Within days, Ray White Southern Tasmania was receiving requests for property appraisals via the system. After just one month, the agency reported receiving five new leads through ActivePipe, with at least two those expected to become listings.

How long did it take for you to start seeing results from ActivePipe? 

We received our first appraisal lead through ActivePipe within the first three or four days of signing up. We had five appraisal leads in the first three weeks, and all from old leads that haven’t been active for a couple of years.

How would you describe that result?

It’s fantastic. Ultimately, those people would have just sat on an old database getting what –clearly – isn’t particularly relevant information to them, until they just dropped off.  ActivePipe has encouraged them to become more engaged in the system and to ask for our help.

What is this in dollar value to you?

I think it’s fantastic, if we only converted two or three of them, that’s potentially 30 or 40 grand into the business that we wouldn’t have otherwise received.

Do you anticipate any of these appraisals becoming listings?

I would certainly anticipate that three of those five are very strong leads. I would suggest that two to three will certainly be listed in the next one to three months.

What was it like training your staff to use ActivePipe?

Simple! If you can watch a two minute video, you can be trained in it. I mean it is a very, very simple system. It takes very little skill, thank goodness, to actually use it. It is 90% all done for you. A few videos, a few emails, the activation process was very simple. The videos are very clear and easy to watch.

Mel Christie

Overview:

She is only two months into her real estate career, but agent Mel Christie from Ray White Real Estate Coorparoo catches on fast.  With the help of ActivePipe, Mel received four appraisals in the space of seven days.  She credits ActivePipe with giving her an edge when it comes to understanding the needs of her customers, allowing her to respond in a timely manner with the appropriate follow up needed.

How long have you been in real estate for?

2 months, I’m very fresh in the industry.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

About two or three weeks.

What do you think of the results you’ve had so far?

I think without ActivePipe I wouldn’t have received the four appraisals that came through last week. I might have received those another time when I touched base with them, but that automated email straight to the client, it so easy for them click on that – and – appraisal organised.

In your opinion, what are the best features of ActivePipe that you’ve noticed so far?

Just seeing client interaction with the property they’re looking at, finding out who is a hot buyer. There were people who I was surprised about. They had led me to believe that they weren’t ready to go but with their interaction with the amount of properties – I’ll definitely be contacting them quicker than I thought I might have been.

Do you expect to get any listings from the appraisal requests you’ve received?

At this point out of four, none of them have indicated they’re ready to sell right now, it’s more gathering of information of what their properties are valued at, at this point. But I am meeting with two of them today and one tomorrow so I will know the finer details when I am sitting down with them.

What was the difference between your first contact with the potential client through door knocking them, and the contact you have had with them via ActivePipe?

My first appointment today – she was a lovely lady we had a really good rapport, she only provided me with her email though, not her mobile number. So the advantage of having her email has outweighed having her mobile. Because I can’t send an email appraisal through her phone. I think just having that email sent to her, should make it a lot easier to get the appraisal.

Scott Burgess

How long have you been in real estate for?

I have an extensive sales and development background, my brother and I took over Ray White Robina in 2008 and have since grown the business to around 40 real estate professionals.

How long have you been using ActivePipe for?

We have been using ActivePipe for around 2 months, recently we have had some more training on this and taken advantage of some features to enhance the way ActivePipe interacts with our data base, in the last 2 weeks or so we have really started seeing the benefits.

ActivePipe features and benefits: 

I think that ActivePipe is a really good safety net to make sure data that was not being connected with as frequently gets the benefit of what our business has to offer. There is more to the software than meets the eye.

There have been several Loan Market Leads, Appraisal requests and Geographic conversions from your database. Are you impressed with the number of new leads so far?

I am amazed by what has been shown to me and our data manager (Carol Birrell) the numbers are impressive.

So far there have been over 25 potential sellers identified, appraisals booked and one of our staff Josh Willatt has added to his pipeline.

How are your agents responding to the new information & insights into their database?

I think that they were equally surprised by the number of people who have interacted with the emails, there were calls to say that people had bought, updated details – some initial chaos as our data base was awakened by the communications. This has all bubbled down now and we are working through the new leads etc. We are interested to see what has come of this in the next few months as we learn to engage with the new found information. We are on the right track now.

What has been the most impressive feature of ActivePipe in your opinion? 

The open rate has tripled, which means that we have less dormant data.

Do you expect to get any listings from the appraisal requests you’ve received?

Yes! We have a really tight follow up process in our office and we are committed to following up all leads. The leads that are generated in ActivePipe will go into that follow up program.

Do you see the value in efficiency and capacity created by ActivePipe?

Obviously having the “High Value Contacts” and “Up and Coming Contacts”  listed is brilliant. It identifies who we should be calling first, this is an addition to the processes we have in place, but sure helps.

Any other comments that you would like to make? 

In Jan and Feb we will be looking to see what has become of the leads so far and how the systems works within our business over time.