Property Wise

Starting any business is always a challenge; there are lots of things to think about and a million things to do. Today, communication is at the heart of most businesses, and when Tony Weston and Lorna Gallagher – co-founders of Property Wise a new estate agency on the Island – set out on their new venture they had some fundamental decisions to make.

“From the start,” said Tony, “we wanted everything about the company to be distinctive. For example, we anticipate that most of our business will be done online, and we are the first estate agency on the Island to offer clients the benefits of 3D floor plans and 3D Google Earth location finding. These days, photographs and written descriptions aren’t enough; people expect to be able to find out lots about a property, even before visiting it in person for a viewing. With our 3D floor plans we can build an impressive and realistic ‘model’ of any property and place it in its exact geographical location using Google Earth. We are convinced that this will be a major attraction to both buyers and sellers.”

Both Tony and Lorna are veterans of the estate agency business, having worked for rival estate agencies on the Island before they joined forces to form Property Wise, however, when it came to telecoms they started with a clean sheet – and a few special requirements. They approached Manx Telecom, who worked with them to scope out their plans and help them decide what sort of telecoms set up would best suit the embryo business.

Dan Walker, Account Manager in Corporate Sales at Manx Telecom, was their initial contact point.

“Tony and Lorna came in to see us at the initial stages, when they were planning the new venture.” said Dan, “We see many small business start-ups – almost on a daily basis – and are able to help with lots of things. People starting a business often have a vision and a passion, but understandably, they are not telecoms experts and we really can help them get off to the best possible start. It’s not about selling them things they neither want nor need, it’s about understanding each particular business, and coming up with the right solution.”

For most companies – even in an online world – the telephone remains the most important customer facing tool, and this is never more so than with estate agencies which rely on giving a personal service.

Telephony

“Choosing the best office telecoms system can be confusing, “ says Dan Walker, “there are lots out there, they all make big claims, and it’s easy to make an expensive mistake. We review and test lots of systems from leading manufacturers and only select systems that are affordable, reliable, and which we can back up with great service. We recommended Samsung’s OfficeServ 7030 to Property Wise; it’s ideal for small businesses, as it gives them an unrivalled level of functionality and is capable of expansion as the business grows. Apart from actual products, our involvement with new businesses means that we can help in all sorts of ways. As a basic example, people can be very focused on telephones, but forget simple things such as the need to have a dedicated line for taking card payments.”

One of Tony and Lorna’s prime requirements was to secure a distinctive telephone number for their business.

“Our logo,” said Lorna, “is an owl, and we wanted a memorable number which included – 28 20 – to mimic an owl’s cry – “Twit Twoo”. It was a ‘big ask’, but when we talked to Manx Telecom they were able to come up with numbers which ended with 28 20 for both our landlines and our mobiles and we were delighted.”

“I was very pleased to be able to provide Property Wise with the numbers they wanted”, says Dan Walker. “It was clear from the outset that the marketing of the new business was critical, and although we can’t create a number to order, being able to provide a number which was perfect for their business was a great result.”

Groups Call Free

Finding ways to reduce costs is important to any business, especially at start-up, so Property Wise also signed up for Manx Telecom’s Groups Call Free service.

With Groups Call Free you simply place your fixed line and mobile numbers onto one account, which then allows you to make free calls between these numbers when on the Manx Telecom network. Groups Call Free effectively gives any business its own “private network” over which all calls are free. It’s particularly attractive for SMEs as it offers fixed price communications and simplified admin – just one bill covers everything. A Manx Telecom E-Biz package for their email requirements completed the deal, and after a very short lead in time, Property Wise was up and running and online at their “bijou” offices in Village Walk, Onchan.

“With so much to consider when getting a new company off the ground,” said, Tony, “it was just wonderful to be able to get good advice and be sure that our telecoms were taken care of, allowing us to concentrate on the business.”

“We know,” says Dan Walker, “that setting up any new business takes a lot of dedication and effort, and that owning and operating a small business presents its own challenges. Whether a business is large, small, old, or new – we’re here to help our customers get the best from their business, manage their costs, and provide exemplary Manx based customer service.