Boomin has upgraded its SmartVal property valuation tool, which it says is proving increasingly popular with estate agents.
According to the property portal, more than 40,000 SmartVals have been delivered to agents since the product was launched less than three months ago.
The property portal says that the aim of the tool is to harnesses the expertise of local agents to provide a more accurate, real-time online valuation than any other valuation tool on the market.
Visitors to the Boomin platform could request a SmartVal from local agents who are online and available. But the enhancements to SmartVal have taken into consideration data analysis and user feedback from both agents and homemovers, which shows significantly high demand for the service outside of typical estate agency branch hours.
SmartVal originally allowed homeowners to request a SmartVal from available agents between the hours of 9am to 10pm, seven days a week. Agents could choose to make themselves online and available during these hours. But the latest version of the product improves the experience for agents and homemovers by offering up agents who are offline should there be less than three agents online and available.
Agents who are online are always showcased first, while the platform also operates 24/7 so homeowners can now also make an agent selection after 10pm, when all agents are categorised as offline.
Supplied with information from the property owner, and supplemented with detailed market data, the selected agents will have all they need to provide a valuation within a fixed period of 15 minutes.
Only once the SmartVal is submitted the agent will gain access to the full contact details of the customer.
For agents, added flexibility has been built into SmartVal, giving them up to 24 hours to accept a SmartVal when they are selected offline. Each branch can queue up to three offline SmartVals. When they reach the limit their branch will not appear for selection until they have less than three SmartVals waiting.
Once agents have accepted an offline SmartVal request they still need to deliver their SmartVal to customers within 15 minutes, with Boomin insisting that high conversion to new business is happening most where agents are proactive.
Michael Bruce, CEO and founder of Boomin, said: “It speaks volumes about the level of customer engagement and the size of the SmartVal opportunity, that in such a short period since the launch it has captured the imagination of thousands of sellers and agents. SmartVal brings agents and sellers back together, within their control, to build relationships and encourages them into the market.
“It is not acceptable for agents not to have access to these potential sellers like they did automatically, and for free, before property portals were invented because every homeowner contacted their local agent direct every time for an indication of value. As Boomin continues to extend its reach, with the SmartVal enhancements live today, we’re making it easier with the use of technology for both customers and agents to engage like they did in the past, encouraging more people into the market.
“Combined with the recent launch of ChainMaker and with additional significant innovations and developments in the pipeline, agents should be in no doubt that the Boomin platform will continue to lead industry change and that we’re working tirelessly to create a viable alternative to the status quo.”
Boomin to launch ‘the most accurate online valuation tool ever’ – claim
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Go away zzz
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Whatever your feelings are for the owners of Boomin , they are absolutely re-connecting Agents with Homeowners in various ways . SmartVal in particular is generating thousands of connection opportunities every week.
Many agents who are working properly with the team at Boomin to evolve methodology on how and when to deal with the leads are winning instructions they would have been unlikely to have won without Boomin.
Wether you chose to take advantage of the Boomin platform or not the customer is evolving , and agents must evolve ways to attract and serve them to avoid becoming irrelevant to them.
holding on to the good old days has historically been the graveyard of many good businesses across many sectors .
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100% Boomin employee.
1. Everyone in the industry has distain for the Bruce’s (and that’s me being nice), remember when they were trying to put us out of business? Well we do.
2. Nobody cares about Boomin. It’s reviews are awful, its functionality is poor and its not user friendly.
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Iain
Would these homeowners have contacted Agents any way ?
How do you know the agents would have been unlikely to win the instructions ?
Of the over 40,000 Smart Val leads how many have turned into instructions ?
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holding on to the good old days has historically been the graveyard of many good businesses across many sectors .
Seems to me the graveyard is filling up with the online breeds; and, save for the odd good one, PropTech in general. I wonder if PB and Boomin will be laid to rest next to each other!
Any suggestion on an appropriate epitaph?
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Epitaph
Here lie the bones of Online Joe
“Game Changer” or “Disruptor? …No,
For all his hype and all his spin
Was as wooden as the box he’s in.
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The litmus test will be: have they done enough to start charging next year and will agents be happy to pay?
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Spin doctor at work me thinks.
SmartVal originally allowed homeowners to request a SmartVal from available agents between the hours of 9am to 10pm, seven days a week. Agents could choose to make themselves online and available during these hours. But the latest version of the product improves the experience for agents and homemovers by offering up agents who are offline should there be less than three agents online and available.
Without Dr. Spin:- As there are not enough agents making themselves available online during 9am to 10pm, we are going to bother those that have chosen to be offline in an attempt to make people think all is okay.
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Anyone receiving many leads?? No, me neither.
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I wouldn’t give these two my business purely out principle. They screwed over hundreds of decent dedicated TOs and LPEs. Their egos and arrogance is off the scale. They love you when they need you but will happily spit you out when they don’t.
They’ve clearly taken their stupid little online diary that they developed for PB, that they thought would change the estate agency world, to Boomin and now trying to sell it onto this country’s EAs. Riddled with bugs!
They’re probably thinking that with enough spin, and they’re very good at that, they can list Boomin on AIM again, make their millions and then stage another exit, blaming it on the board of directors – again.
How that man got a MBE is beyond belief.
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I wouldn’t give these two my business purely out principle.
Agreed. Whilst I’m sure some would say that we can’t do business on that basis and are some of the other operators any better? Perhaps they aren’t. We know that Rightmove squeeze all they can get out of their customers, and OTM is going that way too. Why? Because they are commercial enterprises with shareholders to please who want to make a return on their investment. These businesses have a responsibility to try and make as much money as possible for their shareholders.
That doesn’t mean we have to use them, and I completely agree, whilst they are all out to make a profit, I choose not to go with the ones who built a business to try and disparage traditional agents. Don’t get me wrong – they are very clever men, they’ve managed to create a national estate agency brand that provides a really poor quality service for their clients, and sell it for millions.
Given this, I have no doubt they will do the same with Boomin’. Its not about being the best. Its about posturing and getting as many agents on board as possible, to make as much money as possible.
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456Lets
“and OTM is going that way too.”
What makes you say that? (genuine question)
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peebee – there was a comment or article, I’m sure on here a short while ago about how OTM are increasing their fees now as well and stopping all agents from being on there free of charge, and it was in relation to pressure from shareholders.
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“there was a comment or article, I’m sure on here a short while ago about how OTM are increasing their fees now as well and stopping all agents from being on there free of charge, and it was in relation to pressure from shareholders.”
For the purposes of my response, I assume, 456Lets, that you are referring to last weeks’ prima facie example of f***wittery (credit: Jonnie) by The Master of the art, Russell Quirk.
I have been all things to Agents Mutual /OTM during its’ lifespan. I was one of the original pains in its’ @$$ – well and truly documented in the archives of EYE and EAT before it. My ‘Savvy Agent’ analogy still pops up from time to time to remind me of my daily rantings…
SO – to the dire, agenda-fuelled diatribe you quote as reason for your post. Quirk threw some statistics onto the flames to see how they burned. Obviously in your case they sat and smouldered until today as you didn’t comment on the original “article” (a misdescription if ever there was one…). Which is a pity – as it would have made more sense to address your thoughts then and not now.
I wonder – did you read the comments on that piece? I don’t think it appears you did, as on the whole, they were pretty pro-OTM; anti-(original term removed by smut-filter – read ‘male bovine botty-waste’) – and debunked Quirk’s biased MDT good’n’proper. Which, in fairness, is never a difficult task…
The facts are the facts. Yes – OTM are now (well overdue in my books) calling the end to the free lunch that 0000s of Agents were invited to enjoy. Rather than go into things again, I’ll simply copy’n’paste my comment from last week’s piece – pretty much answers what you’ve written anyway (but more than happy to enter into longer discussion if you so wish…)
“The Quirkster doing what The Quirkster does best – picking convenient ‘statistics’ regardless of accuracy or relevance and milking them for all he’s worth. Unfortunately, however, for him (as is documented throughout the archives of EYE and EAT before it), his past performance for picking juicy numbers to milk has been woefully poor – having landed him and his failed agency on the naughty step at ASA on many, many occasions to the point his ickle wristie must have had a permanently purple hue with all the slappings it took.
As pointed out above, reported average monthly cost has risen due to the conversion of branches going from free to paying Contracts, and reduction in numbers of Agents on ‘freebies’. This is a fact that Quirk is most likely painfully aware of, as (what I presume to be) a paying OTM customer himself.
OTMs current ARPA is still around 35% down on what Gold Members were paying on Day#1, seven years ago. They went down the route of increasing mass by giving away advertising on the back of that guaranteed income, which did not go down well at ground zero with those paying £300+ for others to be standing side-by-side with them, paying bu99er-all.
But of course Quirk was not an OTM Agent – paying or otherwise. His agency was excluded and he made a mahoosive song and dance over it. Actually predicted that OTM wouldn’t see its’ first birthday. Not that and of his predictions have fared particularly well – the one that went “even once we’re at 50% market share they’ll still find a way to deny progress. That will happen by 2020” being my favourite spectacular fail…
OTM is of course now a very different animal. But The Quirkster isn’t. SSDD (credit: Stephen King)”
To you (credit: Barry Chuckle, 456Lets!
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PeeBee – No – I don’t read every single article and comment in detail. I also don’t usually agree with the pieces that Russell Quirk writes, but I do recall thinking that some of it made logical sense.
Such as OTM having shareholders to appease.
They may not be the same as Rightmove, and I actually like a lot of the new stuff that is coming out of OTM, and the approach they are taking, but they are still a commercial enterprise with shareholders that expect profits, and that was my point.
All of us are running businesses and the point is to make a profit is it not?
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Utter tosh. Wouldn’t touch with a barge pole
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How long before Boomin CUTS OUT the agent and starts a SMART SALE, direct seller to the buyer and cutting out agents altogether. Wake up, people !!!
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