Working together to increase conversion rates and reduce transaction times
About Hammond & Stratford
Founded by Glen Hammond in 2004, Hammond & Stratford has three branches across the county of Norfolk, with residential sales forming the core part of the business. The company also manages commercial land and sales, as well as having a lettings arm.
The team prides itself on ‘knowing their local areas and being able to provide relevant knowledge’.
Working with Complete ASAP: taking sales progression to the next level – one step at a time…
In mid-2022, it became clear to the Hammond & Stratford management team that the internal sales progression division needed support, due to the high volume of sales going through at the time.
Stephanie Whittam, operations and marketing manager, commented: “We knew we needed to expand this team, and we explored different routes, including internal recruitment and outsourcing as possible options.
“Having researched ASAP, we could see immediately that working with them would be a cost-effective way of managing sales progression within our business, especially when utilising their excellent solicitor referral network.
“You never know how good a solicitor will be until you have seen how they work, but clearly the team at ASAP have taken the time to ensure they employ effective ones. We found – from the outset – that the solicitors provided frequent and effective updates.
“We also found that being able to use the ASAP portal really helped both us as an agent, and our clients. The system really wasn’t difficult to transition to, and ASAP offered support and training to our team on how to use it effectively.”
Today, ASAP manages all aspects of sales progression for the agency. Stephanie Whittam said:
“In the beginning, we needed ASAP to demonstrate that they could deliver. The sales team needed convincing that their transactions were safe. ASAP did (and still continue to do), an excellent job. This has been a natural progression and transition, but one that has worked extremely well.”
Working together
Hammond & Stratford negotiators have the day-to-day contact with the ASAP sales progression specialists. The agency also relies on ASAP’s AML support for fact checking and customer due diligence.
A fortnightly online meeting with the managers of each office brings everyone together for updates and to discuss best practice.
Regular competitions are run to encourage teams to pass strong leads between each other – to help develop a sense of camaraderie.
The results
ASAP provides the agency with a monthly report on conversion levels. Stephanie Whittam added:
“Since onboarding ASAP, we have noticed that conversion rates have increased as well as transaction times reduced. We put this down to the excellent training provided; working together we run workshops with the teams across the branches to address how conversion levels can be improved, and the importance of maintaining a strong rapport with the ASAP outsourced sales progressors. We can really see the value in what they provide.”
Jamie Taylor, operations director at ASAP, commented: “We have gone on an exciting journey with Hammond & Stratford, and it has been excellent to see this relationship develop, and the benefits it has brought to the agency and its clients.
“Our focus is centred around allowing negotiators to concentrate on their day job, and to try and meet their targets – taking away the often stressful and time-consuming aspect of chasing sales progression. It’s great to see this working so successfully here.”
