How Home Bay Helps Buyers & Sellers Fast-Track Property Transactions

Months of stress, piles of paperwork, and waves of regret about whether you could have got a better deal. Traditionally, these have been the unavoidable side effects of buying or selling a home.

Now, one San Diego startup is set to disrupt that pattern with a smart twist on a familiar formula.

Not only does its proprietary technology remove hours of tedious back-and-forth, it also gives clients the kind of transparency that results in thousands of pounds in savings.

We put consumers in complete control of the transaction by providing on-demand support from expert agents who aren’t paid on commission and have only our clients’ best interests at heart,” said Ken Potashner, Chairman and CEO of Home Bay. “We believe this realignment of the property industry is long overdue.

Laying the Foundations

It didn’t take long for Home Bay to gain traction in California and set its sights on new markets. But as operations expanded into more states, internal processes weren’t exactly reflecting the brand’s passion for efficiency.

That’s where Ross comes in.

As a fast-growing startup rapidly expanding sales teams in multiple states, hiring a seasoned Operations and Automation expert like Ross Bixler gave us confidence that we could build strong systems and processes that scaled quickly, explained John Todd, COO of Home Bay.

Ross was immediately tasked with implementing Salesforce across all teams and selecting complementary tools to unlock the full value of the platform. That meant the sales team’s phone system would have to be replaced by a solution with a stronger CRM integration.

Fortunately, Ross’s new colleagues sped up that search with a timely recommendation.

One of our support teams was already using Aircall when I joined and they loved the overall simplicity of the system,” noted Ross, now VP of Operations at Home Bay. “And most importantly for me, the Salesforce integration allowed us to give agents access to key communication channels from one central hub without compromising on enterprise call centre functionality.

Building a Better Experience

Although Home Bay’s goal is to automate as much of the homebuying process as possible, executives still believe most clients will want to hear the voice of a trusted adviser at some point along the way. Timing is a critical part of every transaction, though, so these conversations have to happen quickly.

Aircall has helped Home Bay speed things up in a few key ways. First, our detailed analytics gave Ross a revealing perspective on exactly how many inbound calls the team had been missing. And to quickly reduce that number, he built a series of backup teams who can spring into action before opportunities slip through the cracks.

The Teams feature single-handedly helped us decrease missed call rates by 24% in just a few short weeks. It led to a complete restructuring of how we handle the phone channel with our customers.

This focus on speed also stands out when handling enquiries submitted through Home Bay’s website. Ross has set Salesforce rules to alert the team whenever a new lead has waited three minutes without a follow-up response.

Once employees connect with clients, Aircall is also there to help maintain the momentum of the relationship. The strong Salesforce integration ensures a complete conversation history is always visible while on a call. And considering all the moving parts that come into play on the path from listing to completion, that information is vital for keeping deals on track.

Ultimately our revamped setup gives me stronger oversight, gives my team better context, and gives our clients greater confidence in Home Bay’s ability to help them navigate an otherwise daunting process.