Generating extra revenue from EPC certificates

We all know about downward pressure on fees and how its affecting our ability to survive and thrive in the curent downturn.  Whilst I agree with many commments on the blog that we should try and maintain our standards and keep our fees up its important to remember that we are all operating in a commoditised market.  By this I mean all our clients often want is the 'tick in the box' which makes their sale / rental legal.  In that context its not surprising that they will look for the cheapest, quickest, least hassle solution.

So with that in mind I have been working to add extra services alongside the basic EPC certificate which not only generate extra revenue but build loyalty with my clients, typically local estate agents, letting agents and solicitors.  I'd be keen to hear if anyone else has tried something similar or indeed different.

  1. I offer floor plans as a bolt-on and this generates between £30-£45 per instruction to my revenue stream.  Unfortunately its not as simple as rattling a quick plan off on the DEA versions of Metropix or Mobile Agent.  Often individual agents have individual requirements ranging from look and feel to more technical things like preferred file formats.  Whilst it can be a bit of a pain I have generated lots of new business and retained existing clients by offering this service.
  2. I also offer photography.  Lets be honest, we all have cameras which are way too good to be simply taking pictures of boilers!  Its not that hard and with a little practice and planning its possible to take really good shots.  Whilst I dont do this on the majority of instructions it can earn upto £150 extra on a high end property.
  3. Something I am experimenting with at the moment is preparing draft details on behalf of agents.  The crunch has taken its toll and a lot of agents are woefully understaffed at the moment.  Anything you can do to help them reduce their workload is much appreciated. This generates between £20-£50 per instruction for me.
  4. Last but not least I also accompany viewings on behalf of agents.  Whilst this doesnt pay particularly well it does get me lots of face time with staff and the chance to build relationships which defend against predation by cheaper 'one-trick' ponies.

I would welcome any ideas that anyone else has as well as their thoughts on my strategy to date.  For what its worth  I have managed to raise my revenues by around 50% by providing these services and have seen off competition from DEAs and panels offering to provide vanilla EPC certificates for half the price of my basic service.


Comments

Floor Plans

Submitted by phorite on Mon, 14/09/2009 - 21:22.

Do you have to pay to use metropix.  Is it easy to transfer to powerpoint? Do you have to forward drawing via metropix.

Anybody know of any floor planning courses in London

Floor Plans

Submitted by chrisiread on Tue, 15/09/2009 - 12:01.

Metropix offer a free version for DEAs but that relies on you sending a partially completed floor plan to an estate agent who then finishes it off with their own version of the software (which they have to pay for).  Essentially this means it isnt going to work for most estate agents!  What you have to do is pay a subscription to use the tool and then you can complete the plans yourself and email the completed product.  It costs around £1.50 per plan to produce and they will even do the plan for you if you supply them with a sketch (for another £5.00).

As to powerpoint you can import the completed jpeg, wmf or gif into the editor by inserting it as a picture.  Its pretty straighforward as long as you are prety familiar with the tool. 

Floor planning

Submitted by phorite on Mon, 14/09/2009 - 21:15.

Can anyone please advise me if we have to pay for Metropix. How does it work?  Is it easily compatible with powerpoint. Are the plans produced by Metropix acceptable to local agents, solicitors etc......

I take it by offering floor plans as a service would need to invest in an A3 printer.....

Is anyone aware of any floor plan training courses in London, as i am being asked for floor plans almost daily. 

Floor Planning

Submitted by chrisiread on Tue, 15/09/2009 - 12:17.
You don't need anything beyond a pc and a broadband connection!  All of the plans can be sent / reviewed by email or over the Internet.  Metropix provide free online training courses and I think they run about once a fortnight.

Floor planning

Submitted by phorite on Mon, 14/09/2009 - 21:08.

Do you pay to use metropix?  How does it work?

Is there any London based training which anybody knows of as i do not too much about drawing floor plans apart from creating basic floor plans for my DEA role.  I need to be able to produce floor plans at an acceptable level for agents etc......

 

Great post, very helpful

Submitted by manuel on Tue, 04/08/2009 - 09:09.
Chris thanks for sharing this information, I found it very useful and I'm sure many more will do (specially people who just joined the business). Which software do you use to finalize the floor plans?

Always Get you EPC Certificates from a local DEA


I use Metropix to create the

Submitted by chrisiread on Wed, 05/08/2009 - 11:14.
I use Metropix to create the basic 2d-floorplan and then use Powerpoint to put in room labels, dimensions, compass points, etc.  This gives me much more flexiblity around use of fonts, etc.  I can then save the finished article as pdf, jpeg, wmf or any other format that anyone might need.