Fostering Sustainable Conveyancing Growth
1st March 2015
The fourth guest blog in our series investigating how firms could grow their conveyancing business in 2015 comes from Leadership Consultant, Victor Olowe, Managing Director of Winzest Consulting. Understanding there is no “quick fix” or “one size fits all” approach to business development is key for firms to enable them to seek out and spot opportunities and develop a plan for sustainable future growth.
It is interesting to note the growth aspirations of some conveyancing firms in 2015. Although not always explicit, it appears that those plans for growth tend to be primarily about growth in market share and/ or revenue which is a legitimate and appropriate strategic objective.
However, there are other dimensions of growth which conveyancing firms should consider which may not always accompany a market share /revenue growth strategy. In particular, an explicit focus on growth in profit margins, customer experience and organisational capability are relevant considerations.
I am not suggesting that growth in market share, revenue, profit margins and customer experience are mutually exclusive but the performance of firms in a number of other sectors that have simultaneously pursued growth strategies across a number of dimensions indicates that it is very challenging and requires an exceptionally talented team to achieve integrated outcomes.
Three possible areas of focus to underpin sustainable growth are as follows;
- Deepening relationships with the primary sources of lead generation. For some firms this may be institutional partners such as panels whilst for others this could be existing customer relationships. This approach should enable a firm to obtain a deeper understanding of the key drivers affecting those relationships that may impact adversely on the current conveyancing pipeline or present new opportunities to exploit.Some of those drivers may include new regulatory obligations or changes in the business model of those institutional partners which provide an opportunity to reposition a firm as a more preferred supplier of conveyancing services particularly if new bundle of services can be offered. Alternatively changing consumer behaviours of the existing customer base (e.g. stronger preference for digital interactions) may present new opportunities to secure better quality of referrals.
- Identify opportunities to improve the efficiency in the conveyancing process particularly through leveraging technology. The increasing reliance on collaborative technologies in conveyancing indicates that a conveyancing firm is unlikely to achieve sustainable growth unless such technologies are exploited by firms of all sizes.
- Implement effective training and development for staff particularly for front line staff to enable the delivery of a consistent and distinctive customer experience. Embedding an effective approach to learning and development in conveyancing is also going to be crucial to attract and retain the right staff to underpin the desired growth in 2015.
Growth in 2015 may not be as spectacular relative to 2014 for a number of firms but a focus on developing deeper roots for sustainable growth in the future is still an ambitious strategic goal for 2015.
ETSOS provide a FREE business development tool to help firms collaborate more closely with referrers (estate agents, IFA’s), capture more new business opportunities, and convert more opportunities into new instructions. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE
Latest news
System Maintenance
Please be aware that we are performing some system maintenance this weekend. We don’t anticipate that this will result in any downtime of our services, but we apologise if it does cause any inconvenience
Government Confirms New Regulations and Qualifications for Estate Agents Will Happen
The government has accepted the proposals of the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) with wide-spread consequences for estate and letting agents.
The proposals reach right into the heart of the industry to affect regulation, training and licensing.
(more…)
Fears of Tougher Regulations and Unjust Costs Mount Ahead of Government Announcement
Estate Agents are waiting for the big reveal on Monday after Lord Best has admitted some firms could close when the regulation of property agents (ROPA) makes its recommendations to the Government early next week.
Lord Best, the chair of ROPA, has already outlined the working group’s desire for more regulation.
[NEWSFLASH] Agent Charged DOUBLE Over AML Registration Mistake
Property Industry Eye (PIE) has highlighted the case of an estate agent who has fallen foul of HMRC and been charged double.
On 4th April, with plenty of time to spare, Hayman-Joyce renewed their annual HMRC registration. They paid the fee and thought they’d ticked all the boxes.
Compliance in a Box: The Natural Remedy for Your AML Headache
Estate agents around the country are realising that the new 5th AML Directive goes deep. There’s a lot of work involved in becoming compliant. And the penalties for non-compliance, either deliberately or through confusion, are severe. (more…)


Click the Apply button opposite to use our software on a trial basis...

- What now for the agency industry as Boris Johnson takes over? https://t.co/KUJc0V2EEn
- Fears of Tougher Regulations and Unjust Costs Mount Ahead of Government Announcement https://t.co/N8VDGWNuC2 https://t.co/giZNcR88pH
- We're always talking to agents about reducing RISK with KYC (Know Your Customer) Due Diligence...but what about con… https://t.co/ePdHELsgKp
- Want to make sure you're ticking all the right boxes for your AML compliance? Click the link below and for our *FRE… https://t.co/3bjcIPFf2y
- Estate Agents, Compliance and the Beautiful Game https://t.co/1QwL5YQMit https://t.co/xawZnlv38L
- What now for the agency industry as Boris Johnson takes over? https://t.co/OUBAikhCTw
- More change on the horizon for agents! Seems to be a real split of opinions on this one. #estateagents… https://t.co/RhWLtkEbJQ
- We're always talking to agents about reducing RISK with KYC (Know Your Customer) Due Diligence...but what about con… https://t.co/CdzfWVEpXy
- Want to make sure you're ticking all the right boxes for your AML compliance? Click the link below for our *FREE* 1… https://t.co/j5SnrJMFcS
- MI5 spies 'at breaking point' as they face threats https://t.co/SBGS2Wsi2k via @MailOnline. Security Minister Ben W… https://t.co/WwEKnKIpN5