10 Aug Entrust Sales Progression to the Experts

An Interview with Jones Robinson’s Sales Director, Beth Rawcliffe

Jones Robinson is a multi-branch Estate Agency based in the Southwest which handles around 50 transactions a month. Sales Director, Beth Rawcliffe, sat down with us to talk about their decision to outsource their sales progression to ASAP.

Can you tell us a bit about Jones Robinson?

We provide sales and letting services across 5 locations; Didcot, Marlborough, Devizes, Lambourn, and our Newbury head office, and employ roughly 80 people. We have been on the go for 25 years and have more than 20% market share in the region, having built our reputation on delivering a personal and high-quality service.

What made you consider outsourcing your Sales Progression?

Jones Robinson has always been conscious of the importance of sales progression so when one of our in-house progressors left in 2021, we needed to find a quick solution to keep transactions moving. Fortunately, another Estate Agent had recently recommended ASAP to Charles Robinson, one of our founders, so we decided to find out more.

At Jones Robinson, we would only ever consider a service that met our high standards of communication and delivery. And, while we hadn’t previously outsourced our sales progression, we believed that with a service that matched our values, we could still act as local experts while allowing the progression element to be effectively handled outside of the business.

Having initially begun on a trial basis with a proportion of transactions, trust was quickly built up, subsequently leading to the number of transactions being handled by ASAP increasing month on month. Now in 2023, ASAP handle over 70% of all Jones Robinson cases.

What do you think the main benefit of outsourcing to ASAP has been?

Right from the initial trial period, there was a collective feeling from the team that the sales progression burden had been lifted. Rather than valuers or listers having to dedicate hours a week to getting sales over the line, outsourcing our sales progression gave the team the freedom to concentrate on what they do best – selling houses.

Since onboarding, we’ve had a great experience with ASAP, with clear and regular communication at all stages. Our trust in the service was built up very quickly and any questions have always been answered swiftly by their expert sales progressors.

Using ASAP has given us the gift of time to concentrate on our areas of expertise without having to worry about calling, chasing, or updating clients every week on the progress of sales. Their service has also helped us to prevent juggling sales progression responsibilities between part-time sales progressors and other in-house staff during periods of leave or unavailability – essentially eradicating the headache of case handovers.

In addition to providing excellent sales progression, ASAP has made sure at every turn that the service received reflects our specific needs, with the flexibility to tailor aspects of the service to best fit our requirements. A great example of this is how ASAP not only offers the Complete ASAP package but also stand-alone elements of their full service too, including their sales progression-only service, Progress ASAP.

We’ve developed a strong relationship with ASAP since 2021, greatly increasing our trust in outsourced service providers.

How well do the ASAP sales progressors work with your team?

Further to offering a service that feels tailored to requirements, the team has been delighted with the receptive manner in which feedback has been taken on board to maximise service quality. ASAP’s dedicated sales progressors have strived to constantly improve service outcomes and as such have felt like a natural extension of the Jones Robinson team.

An excellent Net Promoter Score coupled with the sheer proportion of our cases that are entrusted to ASAP are a testament to our brilliant relationship and the successful implementation of ASAP’s outsourced sales progression services.

Working with ASAP has changed our perspective on outsourcing for the better. This has resulted in a working relationship where nothing feels like too much trouble, with progressors that truly care about excellent service delivery. The Jones Robinson team has also found that while sales progression software is certainly an important part of the process, it’s nothing without the people behind it with the expertise and understanding to drive cases forward.

Can you share some stats with us?

• Excellent rated Net Promotor Score (NPS) – 64

• Average transaction time – 91 days

• 340+ cases progressed to exchange

How would you summarise your experience of working with ASAP?

ASAP allows our people to focus on doing what they do best. We have, and would in the future, recommend them to other Estate Agents looking for a sales progression solution. Rather than spending hours chasing the progress of sales, entrust it to the sales progression experts.