How your agency can use data to instruct more landlords

Originally published on Goodlord's?Newsagent

Data can help make your estate and letting agency more efficient, demonstrate the concrete value that you bring to customers, and help you make more informed decisions for your businesses. Pairing your internal data with external insights, you can start to understand how your agency compares to the market - and where to improve to more easily convince landlords why they should choose your agency.

Where can you find the data?

You can often gain insights through your cloud-based suppliers, based on your use of their platforms. Using data from your suppliers can also put the?GDPR?onus on their shoulders, as the controller of the data, leaving you free to simply learn from the information available.

Reapit, for example, offers reporting tools and management dashboards to analyse agency performance. Goodlord can show your agency's?referencing stats, tenant demographics, business performance, and much more, so you can keep track of the productivity of your teams and see how your agency compares to the local competition.

Many organisations in the property industry also release their research on market trends too, such as in Goodlord's monthly?Rental Index. You can use this as a point of comparison against your own activities - are you above or below the market averages in your local area?

Having this knowledge will make conversations with your landlords easier, giving you an air of authority when you show that you've thoroughly researched the market.

What insights should you highlight to show the value you bring to landlords?

1. Rent

Do you know what the average rent is in your local area - and whether it's trending up or down? You don't want to price your landlords' properties out of the market.

Alongside offering advice on the best rates for your landlord's property, if you know the average prices you achieve you may be able to set this up as a point of differentiation. Do you regularly outsell your competitors on the market on rent prices? Get that front and centre in your conversations.

2. Void periods and contract length

What's the average void period in your area, or nationwide? How does that compare to your own void periods? Are you keeping them below average? It's easy to present the stats as they are now. Take things to the next level by explaining what you've done to improve your landlords' bottom lines by decreasing those voids.

Do you know your tenants' average contract lengths? Longer contracts mean less void time for your landlords. Combined with your stats for average void periods, you can build yourself a strong case around the occupancy rates you can offer potential customers.

3. Renewal rates

What are your agency's average renewal rates? If they're high, this can demonstrate the strength of your?property management services. Do you let your tenants' contracts roll to periodic on renewal, or set another fixed term?

Fixed terms will obviously leave less to chance, giving you a time frame to work to and, again, help reduce void periods. Share with your landlords your success at converting to fixed-term contracts to keep tenants in their properties for longer.

4. Tenancy completion time

How long does it take for you to get your tenants through the process, from offer letter to move in? If you can quantify it, highlight it. Spotlight it against the standard void period, to show how you use this process to limit the length of time your landlord's property lies empty.

5. Average tenant demographics

If you want to show your landlords that you're the right agent for them, show that you have a deep understanding of the average tenant that you work with and what they like - especially if your main tenant demographic is a good fit for what your landlord's looking for.

How can you use your data to constantly improve?

Once you've shown that you know your stuff, demonstrate that you're always looking to take things a step further to improve your performance, so your landlords know that you're always looking for new ways to offer a better service. If you rest on your laurels thinking your stats show your level of competence, think again - it's how you use these to improve that will make you stand out.

Knowing how your agency is performing at each step of the way will help you make small adjustments to your processes so you can get more out of your team and branches. Where does your team lose interested parties? Do you need to?work on your talk track?to help make tenants feel comfortable, to help them buy into you - the agent - as well as the property itself?

However you keep track of your activities, all data should be closely monitored to see if any trends emerge, either at the market level or for your performance. Are you performing as expected year on year? Month on month? Should you be trying new tactics to boost your performance?

You never know what your competitor down the road is working on in the background, ready to disrupt your plans. Make sure you're always aware of where you can improve, make the necessary adjustments - and keep your landlords in the loop so they know how you're keeping their needs front of mind by improving your service and results.

Subscribe to?Newsagent?for all the latest news, views, and data in the lettings industry.