Scottish Enterprise Awards 2021

25 | Scottish Enterprise Awards 2021 As a franchisee of a large Estate Agents, with its main clientele in Scotland, Tony Lister is dedicated to ensuring that his reputation for fantastic customer service precedes him. We speak to Tony and find out more about the company and what it is that sets it aside from others within this fiercely competitive industry. RE/MAX Elite is an estate agency based in Inverness, covering the Highlands and Moray, and offering a bespoke sales service with one agent taking care of the whole sales journey, from start to finish. Stepping away from the traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday model, RE/MAX instead makes itself available whenever clients and their buyers are in need. RE/MAX is also renowned for its high levels of customer service and is constantly striving to enhance its reputation and improve the client experience. Tony Lister is in charge of the Inverness branch of RE/MAX. He tells us more about the firm and what differentiates it from competitors. “Aside from our ‘one agent’ approach, we offer our clients a full digital marketing package,” he explains. “We don’t just list on the major property portals and wait for the phone to ring. We actively create property advice blogs, property videos and all of our clients are given a free virtual tour of their home whilst it is on the market. This virtual tour is rich in content and comes with videos embedded within it, offering buyers lots of additional information prior to them even viewing a property in person.” RE/MAX Elite requests that all buyers view the online tour initially and this way, the firm is able to cut down on the number of visits from people who, on seeing the tour, would not proceed further. This helps save time and stress for clients, plus it helps RE/MAX Elite do its bit for the environment. Indeed, all client contracts are now also signed digitally, reducing the amount of paper used in the process. Best Highlands Residential Real Estate Professional 2021 Whilst the pandemic forced Tony and the team to adapt its marketing to meet the challenges, whilst continuing to offer a good service, he was already one step ahead when it came to digitalising the property offerings. “We were already developing virtual tours as a way to allow buyers to view properties sooner, but we spent the initial lockdown learning to make and edit videos for inclusion in the tour and other marketing,” Tony elaborates. “We have expanded our presence on social media beyond Facebook and onto numerous other online platforms, such as Google, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram. “ All RE/MAX employees are self-employed and work for themselves, but not by themselves. The firm helps them to develop a business within the industry, using all the knowledge gained from across the globe. “When you join RE/MAX and fully engage in what it has to offer, you very quickly understand what we mean when we refer to the RE/MAX family.” In any close-knit team such as the one at RE/ MAX good communication is key and client care is absolutely essential. When recruiting new employees Tony looks for people who are open to new ideas to continuous improvement. “We offer good training opportunities. Our people get a career to be proud of, alongside flexible working to fit around their lifestyle. Experience is an advantage but is no substitute for an enthusiastic attitude and the willingness to get stuck in and to recognise that together, we can really make a difference!” Recently, Tony was rewarded for his hard work and dedication to customer excellence with the title of Best Highlands Residential Real Estate Professional 2021 in the SME News’ Scottish Enterprise Awards and, it’s fair to say, that the future for RE/MAX is looking very bright indeed. “We have expanded massively throughout the UK, indeed across the globe,” he says. “We are in constant communication with our colleagues, sharing best practice, putting our clients’ needs at the heart of everything we do. The rest of this year will be spent planning for our future growth, building our business plan ready to take whatever 2022 throws at us!” Contact Details Contact: Tony Lister Company: RE/MAX Elite Web Address: www.remax-invernesselite.net Nov21126