Henry Henson: Young Property Professional Blog: Teaching the old dogs new tricks13th June 2012

We live in a changing world with new methods, techniques and technology shaping how we work on an almost daily basis.

Being brought up on the most up to date pieces of software and using the latest gadgets often means that us graduates are the ones teaching our older more experience colleagues a thing or two in the tech department.

It’s crucial to use the most up to date resources available, to stay ahead of competition and to survive in this tough market.

In the past decade there has been a radical change into the way in which we promote our services. Online marketing and advertising is the face of tomorrow. Gone are the days when local papers and even the national magazines were lined up on every surveyor’s desk come the start of the week. Now it’s a case of potential clients/ business coming from the internet after searching for something specific - Google usually being their first point of call.

I’ve lost count of the number of viewings or meetings I’ve attended to see clients or prospective tenants tapping away on their iPads to browse through property particulars and notes. I think that within the next two years every firm will be using portable tablets as their main source of interaction.

It’s safe to say property inspections cover a wide scope of surveying and gone are the days where you’re likely to find 30-50m tape measures in the boot of a surveyor’s car. Advancements in technology has seen these replaced by Disto laser measures and 3D recording Distos particularly common in carrying out EPC inspections.

A look into the residential sector has shown me one of the most interactive marketing tools we have seen for a long time - a virtual tour posted on YouTube so it is accessible 24/7. It has to be said that this isn’t going to work in the shed market as it’s pretty hard to get a visual feel of what a 100,000 sq ft industrial unit looks like without seeing it in the flesh, but it is definitely something to consider for the future.

An obvious but sometimes overlooked piece of equipment is a digital camera, as they truly let you get the best image available (that’s if you know how to work them). NG Chartered Surveyors (the company I work for) are in the process of undertaking digital camera workshops to enable the team to get the best out of the properties we are marketing.

So what does this advancement in technology mean, well it allows us to broadcast better quality media to our clients in the form of marketing properties, which in turn widens consumer awareness. It also helps us become more efficient and time effective with our daily duties.

Lastly and most importantly, as representatives of the RICS it allows us to use a greater level of skill in the work we carry out.