After setting up shop in 1985, Galloways is an agency that built its reputation the traditional way: local knowledge, strong relationships and a consistently professional approach to sales and lettings.
But while old-fashioned values are at the heart of Galloways, so were old-fashioned systems.
After 35 years in business, the agency had become bogged down by manual processes and disjointed tools.
Property management was run through Jupix, but the front-end of the business, including sales, lettings and client communications, had no unified CRM.
It meant tasks were constantly duplicated, reporting was manual and hours were wasted looking for paperwork.
“I knew we had to evolve.
If you want to compete with the big players, like Foxtons and KFH, you’ve got to digitalise and be able to move with the times. But it was a daunting task. My property managers were kicking and screaming, telling me not to do it because the upheaval was going to be massive.” says Steve Carpenter, Director at Galloways.
Time to move on
Despite his team’s resistance to change, Steve took the opportunity of the Covid lockdown to make the switch. He weighed up a range of CRMs for estate agents but ultimately opted for Alto.
“Other solutions were focused on property management, but Alto brought everything together. It was clear to me that it’s a CRM that can evolve with us, while the other options were legacy systems that weren’t moving forwards.”
That decision quickly paid off. Once the system was in place, the benefits became clear. With Alto fully embedded across both branches, Galloways gained instant visibility over sales, lettings and property management – all from one central platform that’s trusted by more than 6,000 multi-branch and independent agents.
Most agencies are fully onboarded on Alto within four weeks, which is around three times quicker than the average CRM setup. After that, users often save upwards of 10 hours a week, with tenancy processing taking more than 65% less time.
At Galloways, the unified approach introduced by Alto allows instant client matching, automated emails, and full visibility across both branches. It has allowed the business to grow without increasing headcount.
In fact, Steve credits Alto with leading to a 15% uplift in both sales and lettings transactions, driven by better automation, faster response times and higher-quality marketing outputs.
“The impact has been huge. We’re seeing around 15% more business since switching to Alto. I’m a real advocate. I don’t know where we’d be without it now.
Using Alto’s property matching tool, I can send an email with matched listings to 1,000 people in less than a minute. As a small agency, that puts us on the same level as the big boys.
The marketing that goes out when we match a property looks high-end and professional. That helps us win listings.”
Less admin, more instructions
That initial scepticism about moving to a CRM has long gone. Alto has now won over the entire team at Galloways.
Staff particularly value Alto’s digital diaries and shared workflows, which have made truly hybrid working possible. Everyone can see appointments, follow-ups, and key milestones in real time from any device, anywhere.
For senior members of the team, Alto provides immediate insight into performance, exchange pipelines, and branch comparison data. Reporting that once required spreadsheets and phone calls is now a click away.
“I can see exactly what’s in the pipeline and plan ahead. I don’t have to rely on sales managers telling me ‘it’s all coming in by end of month’. I can see how our sales are progressing for myself via Alto’s progression dashboard.
Productivity has gone up because our admin is less labour-intensive.
The digital diary changed everything. Everyone can see what’s happening. So if someone’s out doing appointments when an enquiry comes in, others can jump in and help.
It helps that the platform is so easy to use. Every new hire has got the hang of it straight away. Even people who previously used other CRMs say Alto is easier and more intuitive.”
With lettings making up around 50% of Galloways’ business, staying on top of compliance and property maintenance was a key priority. With dedicated lettings tools, Alto has automated work orders and reminders, and it creates timeline histories which mean maintenance and tenancy issues are tracked and resolved more quickly.
“The timeline feature is worth its weight in gold. If someone calls about an issue from two years ago, I can find it instantly.”
Keeping ahead of the curve
With rental reform looming, rising costs and mounting compliance pressures, many agents are bracing for tougher times. But Galloways is quietly confident about what’s coming next.
The agency has plans to expand across South London and Kent and is exploring more Alto integrations, including Alto Prospecting by Sprift, SmartSearch and Just Move In, to further enhance marketing, compliance and operational efficiency.
“What Alto has become now is phenomenal. The product team have smashed it. It keeps evolving and making our lives easier. The industry is changing. But with Alto we feel ready for it.”
Wondering if Alto should be your next move? Book your free, no-obligation demo now.
