60 Second Interview : Debra Frampton, Managing Director, UK Sales Progressors

Q: Who are UK Sales Progressors?

We are a professional sales progression service that enables estate agents to outsource the post-sales administration through to exchange of contracts thereby freeing them up to concentrate on their key strengths – selling houses and taking on new listings.

Q:How long has UK Sales Progressors been trading? 

We have currently been trading for 18 months; I started the company from home and due to the growth of the business moved into the office where we work now in April 2011

Q: How did it all start?

After being made redundant in September 2008, I decided to take a career break but a friend who owned an estate agency suggested I worked for him. My role was Sales Progressor, and as a result of speaking to buyers and sellers and other agents I identified that this was not always considered the most important task in the office, and was certainly not approached in a proactive, customer focused manner so I identified a gap in the market for the service I was providingand things just took off from there.

Q: Why choose UK Sales Progressors?

We are currently the only company offering this outsourced service for estate agents. However, potential clients need to have absolute confidence in my ability to deliver a sterling service and my background in lending, property law, financial services, operational and client relationship management should provide that comfort.

Client testimonial:

“Your efficient and disciplined approach to updating our purchasers, vendors and myself on a weekly basis has proved to be a huge impact on my businesses success. By taking the time consuming task of sales progression away from me and my team, it allows my office to concentrate more of our time on increasing sales and new instructions which ultimately helps generate higher income.”

Regards, Michael Dyble
Managing Director

Q:What are your three unique selling points?

1. Over 30 years experience in the housing and financial services industries with a significant amount of experience in managing an outsourced service and running a company.

2. We have a proven track record of success in a totally unique business proven by not only very satisfied estate agency clients but numerous testimonials from the buyers and sellers themselves.

3. We encompass the actual benefits of outsourcing a service to the benefit of the agents and their buyers and sellers; the agents are able to focus on selling houses and take on new listings whilst we provide a very personal, efficient post-sale service - we are proactive, always available and we provide a minimum of weekly updates.

Q:Who do you currently work with?

We are currently working with several estate agencies throughout the country such as Winchester, Outer London, Coventry and Kent. Due to the ease of implementation of new agents via telephone and email, sadly it means we have not yet met some of our clients face to face.

Q:How do you create value for your clients?

A few examples include:  we have reduced the number of incoming calls into their offices, there are no complaints about poor communication, they do not have to worry about staff sickness and holiday cover and they have received more recommendations as their buyers and sellers have identified that they provide a more complete service than their competitors.

Client testimonial:

"The best feeling is one of confidence knowing that UK Sales Progressors will be following up the action points each week and feeding back progress. Any difficulties are flagged up immediately for the agent to act accordingly. Peace of mind is what you get as well as a great, friendly, professional service! Thank you, we would have no hesitation to recommend you to other agents (a healthy distance from us!)"

Richard Wetherall
Director

Q:How do you overcome your competitors?

As there are currently no other outsourced sales progression providers, bizarrely our competition are also our potential clients. We hope to persuade more agents as to the benefits of outsourcing such as cost management and the ability to concentrate their efforts on the skills that drive their business forward.

Q:What is your greatest achievement and what made it so special?

Sometime after being made redundant in September 2008, gradually the realisation set in that I was unlikely to find another job anywhere near comparable to what I had been doing; so the only way forward was to start up my own business. Thankfully, not only did an idea for a business materialise, I am thrilled and surprised at how successful it has become in such a short period of time, especially when starting up in a particularly challenging housing market.

Q:What do you feel it takes to be successful in the industry?

Knowledge and experience, determination to get your message across, a good business model that works, and a passion for providing excellent customer service.

Q:Have you been surprised by the rapid growth of the business?

Yes, absolutely. At the beginning I was expecting to only cover the costs of marketing and getting the name out there in readiness for the eventual upturn in the housing market, but I very quickly took on several new clients due to the demand for the service, which was extremely pleasing!

For more information about UK Sales Progressors, please visit the website: