Plain sale-ing

Property

42 PLAIN SALE-ING

When you sell or purchase a home through Boydens, you will be allocated a Sales Progressor who is dedicated to getting your sale completed in the most efficient way possible.

A dedicated Sales Progressor has the specialist knowledge and time to ensure your home sale or purchase stays on track. Not all agents employ them, but at Boydens we know that this enhances and improves the experience for our clients as our customer service feedback proves.

Property

Meet Our Sales Progressor Superstars!

Introducing Sophie Huckle…

Sophie has worked in estate agency for seven years and was previously a Sales Negotiator carrying out viewings, listings and also progressing sales. She became a dedicated Sales Progressor for Boydens in 2019.

My mornings usually begin with checking emails where I prioritise cases relating to exchanges which have not happened for whatever reason – investigating the case in order to get it back on track. I work partly at home and partly from our Sudbury Branch, and so this gives me the flexibility and balance in my working life as I have a young family.

I use our inhouse software to keep me on track and also to act as an audit trail, which also makes it easier for myself and my fellow Sales Progressor, Gemma, to cover each other’s workload in the event that this is required. My role involves a lot of telephone-based work and I have built up a good understanding of how our solicitor contacts work, and so I know their preferences in terms of when and how they like to be contacted. This helps a great deal – most of the local solicitors I can actually visit to talk with them face to face too if necessary, which has huge advantages.

The biggest challenge in this role is managing client expectations in terms of things we are or not able to do, but I know that the value we deliver is helping to make the whole experience better for our clients. We know what questions to ask, and when, which is invaluable when it comes to progressing a sale efficiently as we generally then avoid simple issues holding up the process.

The key skills needed in this role are the technical knowledge of the processes combined with regular communications, even when there is nothing new to report – that reassurance goes a long way for our clients.

The most enjoyable part of my role is when you get the call to say that an exchange has happened – and that is even more rewarding when you know it has been a difficult or protracted sale.

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Google Reviews

Cannot recommend Boydens enough! The girls in Sudbury have been absolutely amazing in the process of us buying our first home, we couldn’t have done it without them! They kept us up to date with the process along the way and any questions or queries we had they came back to us so quickly! The girls are all so lovely too and can’t do enough for you. Thank you so much Angela, Sophie, Suzy and Lucy! You guys are all amazing and a credit to Boydens ♥ Sophie Clark was amazing from start to finish and she wasn’t even our estate agent!! She was our seller’s agent and was by far the best person we dealt with throughout our whole moving process - better than our own agents, mortgage brokers and solicitors. She always responded to every email and was very efficient at updating us with everything. So helpful, polite and goes above and beyond. Loren xx

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Property

Introducing Gemma Williams…

Gemma has a background in estate agency having previously worked as a Sales Negotiator for various estate agencies over a 12-year period. She joined Boydens in 2019.

My role involves the coordination of sales for our Colchester and Coastal Branches (covering also for my colleague, Sophie, when she is away). My day typically starts by going through emails. In this job communication is key and so I always make it a priority to go back to clients before the close of business, even if there is no new development to report – at least the client feels they haven’t been forgotten.

Knowing the solicitors and the way they like to work is a key aspect in this job and you get to know their working practices and routines so that, for example, there will be solicitors who you might contact at certain times, or on specific days. This knowledge can only be built up over time but does help to keep the information flowing smoothly. Solicitors are busy too, so when they can see I have taken the time to allow for this, it helps the relationship hugely.

To do this job you need to be well organised and knowledgeable about the various aspects of the sales process. This understanding means you are able to work more efficiently, for example, requesting information early in order to not delay the process further down the line. Without that understanding, there is the risk of issues arising within the chain which will lead to delays. I have an especially good rapport with the local solicitors we work with, and to be successful you need to be patient and polite with solicitors whilst also maintaining the confidence to question them if you feel you need to.

It is also vital to educate buyers constantly throughout the process as there are often steps which they can take which will help save time (and stress) further down the line.

We currently spend on average four to five months progressing a sale from acceptance of offer to full completion. Some offers are quicker than that, but in my years of working in the industry, the current length of time to complete transactions is the longest I have known.

The biggest challenge of this role is juggling the workload, which is why I like to set expectations early in terms of always replying to clients promptly. Reassuring clients and having great patience are also essential skills when you are a Sales Progressor. You also need to be inquisitive as we take time to investigate, and if necessary intervene, further down the chain if I spot an issue which, even not directly related to the sale I am progressing, might still impact it if left unchecked.

Even after my years of experience, situations still emerge which surprise me, but that keeps the job varied — and there is still no greater reward than seeing the property sale complete and receiving positive feedback from the happy clients.

Google Reviews

Bought a flat in Colchester through Boydens and couldn’t be more happy. Gemma and the team were fantastic, keeping us up to date all the time and even liaising with our solicitors on our behalf. A brilliant professional and friendly service throughout.

Gemma was a fundamental part of our house buying process, and working with her was a delight. She is incredibly experienced and proactive, and we received high levels of communication throughout. Highly recommend! Overall the team at Boydens were great to work with, and it was massively appreciated.