If one thing is certain in the digital age, it's that taking control of your data gives you power. And at AVESDO, that couldn't be more true.
The software company has made harnessing the power of data a priority in their quest to help real estate professionals make better, faster, and more informed decisions.
As those in the industry know all too well, when it comes to pre-construction sales, the sheer amount of interest can be overwhelming. AVESDO's Transaction Management Software aims to simplify the entire process by tracking, analyzing, and updating in real-time hundreds of data points along every step of the way, from the moment a lead is generated, to when a worksheet is submitted, all the way to the final closing on a unit. With over 300 data points collected, each deal executed produces valuable data that can be used to build insights for future projects to ensure sales, and maximize profits.
Although some in the industry have held on to their paper-and-pen ways, the move to selling homes entirely online is coming, and is being led by AVESDO. Not only does its lead-to-close platform make the process extremely efficient, but it offers unparalleled insights into customer preferences, habits, and demand that can be parlayed into future projects.
"Having it all captured digitally, you can do a whole bunch of analysis around who has submitted interest in a home, what they're looking for, what's highest priority, what has the most demand, what has the least demand, where did budgets sit," AVESDO President Ben Smith says. "There's an enormous amount of data you can play with, which is really exciting."
End-to-End Data Collection
AVESDO's data collection comes alive at the very early stages of the digital sales process with worksheet submissions. The software tracks and categorizes everything on the worksheets, from a purchaser’s budget to the number of bedrooms desired to who is (and isn't) a first-time buyer. This gives developers a clear, concrete picture of demand before any sales process gets started, and the ability to thoroughly capitalize on it -- allowing developers the chance to leverage their expertise and intelligence earlier than ever before to maximize revenue and absorptions.
"Once all those submissions come in, now you have the ability to start to sort them and that's really where the power of the digital process comes in," Smith says. "Every one of those data points in that worksheet, you can sort by, so you can start to say, you know, I’m going to start with first time buyers or I want to deal with the people interested in these specific homes, or you could go to the granular level of only looking at people who want the A floor plans. So what you have at your fingertips are really powerful ways to sort interest so that you can quickly make decisions and work through the demand."
What sets AVESDO apart from a typical spreadsheet used to collect worksheet information, Smith says, is the fact that their software allows its clients to tie in inventory management, giving a seamless, 360-degree view of all aspects of the sale process. Not only does it track interest from all sources, but a developer can also see the status of all inventory in real-time; from what has been allocated, to what’s been contracted, to what is sold firm. And since it’s all in the cloud, everyone on the team from every location are all working off the same information in real-time.
"From a worksheet, a developer can send out pieces of inventory for a buyer to go to contract on within a few clicks," Smith says. "Since the selection request, the inventory management, and the contracting are all in the same system, clients can be really precise with decision making, which really cleans up a bunch of clumsiness that happens when you're trying to reference one spreadsheet over here with inventory and contracts over there."
Perhaps the biggest efficiency, however, is seen when it comes time to send out the digital contracts. The software tracks what contracts have been sent out, who they're waiting on signatures from, and what has been fulfilled, all of which, again, is updating in real-time. And thanks to all of the data points collected prior to drafting the contract, it allows developers to avoid manually reentering necessary information, saving them time and avoiding human error.
It should come as no surprise that contracts sent by AVESDO go beyond simply obtaining an e-signature. They're also tracking and storing data from tagged fields that can be pulled at a later date. Everything -- from a buyer's sale price, to upgrades, to deposit due dates, to closing dates -- is all tracked. And at the click of a button, data points from every category can be easily pulled into a downloadable report.
"When your construction team comes and says 'I need to know which homes got upgrades or who chose the brown scheme,' you just pull out a report, send it off and there you go," Smith said.
And with the cost of construction still going through the roof, automating processes to avoid errors is more important than ever.
"For a developer to be able to make really good decisions is becoming more and more important because the cost of making an error is getting more expensive," Smith said.
Smith also notes that AVESDO does not sell its client's private data; it's kept in their system solely to be used by the client.
Benefits Go Beyond a Single Project
Data from one development isn't siloed, Smith notes. It provides meaningful insights for future projects, allowing developers to accurately adjust to meet demand.
"We try to give you the data to make better decisions so that you can sell more of your building and ensure the project is successful," Smith said.
This is especially true for developers who use the platform for multiple projects. Pooling across both time and different developments allows them to more easily observe trends on everything from what colour schemes are most sought after, to the demand for a certain number of bedrooms. This data can also save developers money down the line.
"In development, when you go and do a new project, you do a feasibility study and you can spend lots and lots of money to figure out what to build and what to do," Smith said. "The more you're tracking that data internally, you can go into your own sources and pull your own information."
And despite their already noteworthy advances in digitizing real estate sales, AVESDO isn't done quite yet.
"We're continuing to invest in digitizing as much of the sales process as we can, with a goal to make things easier and more efficient for developers, new home purchasers, and the realtors involved in the process,” Smith said. "It's just a huge value add from the management of it all -- streamlining it."
This article was produced in partnership with STOREYS Custom Studio.
