For more than 40 years, Stevens Estate Agents has been a trusted independent name in the West Sussex property market.
In that time, the industry around them has changed dramatically – from shifting buyer behaviour and the rise of digital processes, to the chaos of COVID and a wave of increasingly complex regulations.
But throughout the last few years, Alto has remained a constant in helping the branch run smoothly behind the scenes.
As the UK’s most popular CRM for estate agents, Alto brings everything together in one place. From marketing and client communication to accounting, compliance and day-to-day admin, all the tools Stevens needs are in a single, easy-to-use system.
It already means that information is always up to date and the team can handle both sales and lettings without switching between tools.
But when Sales Manager Simon Friend joined the team, he saw an opportunity to get even more from the system.
Building on solid foundations
Simon says: “I’d used Alto for years in my previous role and loved it, so when I arrived I could see straight away there was a lot more we could do with it.
For instance, the automatic reminders weren’t set up, so no one was getting the texts or emails for viewings or updates – everything had to be chased manually.
The diary was still running alongside a paper version, and the layout in Alto hadn’t really been touched. I went through and colour-coded it properly, and even that small change made a big difference because everything’s clearer at a glance.”
However, it’s been Alto’s full sales-progression suite that has truly transformed how the office works day to day.
The team now uses a single central pipeline to track every lead and sale – from initial offer right through to completion – giving full visibility on where each property is up to.
Built-in tools mean listings, offers and client details are stored centrally, so everything is easy to find and update.
A place for everything to call home
Alto also supports instant updates to buyers and sellers via its customer portal, ensuring vendors and applicants always know exactly where things stand. Confirmation emails, solicitor updates and chain statuses are easy to find. For the team, that means fewer calls and less chasing (plus no need to maintain separate spreadsheets or paper logs).
Add in features like automated marketing and property-matching, plus integrated document management and reporting, and the result is major time savings – working out at around three full working days a month for Stevens.
“The visibility is one of the best things about Alto for me. You can open a file and instantly see what’s been done and what still needs chasing. I can also jump between properties and check things like lease length, service charges or ground rent straight away. It’s all there, so I’m not digging through paper files while someone’s on the phone.
You don’t lose anything and you don’t repeat anything. Every call, every update, every document goes straight into the system, so we’re not rewriting notes or double-handling tasks.
Vendors get clearer updates and we look more professional. And on top of that, we’re saving about 20 hours a month.”
Cloud-based and built for busy days
As a cloud-based CRM, Alto can be accessed from anywhere, at any time. It’s made a noticeable difference to how Simon and his team manage their time. Instead of driving back and forth to the office to update files or chase solicitors, they can pick up tasks while out and about.
Simon now often uses the time between viewings to log into Alto on his phone and catch up on sales progression or add status updates on the spot. It means nothing waits until he’s back at his desk and it’s turned what used to be lost time into some of the most productive moments of the day.
“Recently I was hosting an open day and a couple of the viewings in the middle were cancelled. Instead of standing around for half an hour, I just logged into Alto on my phone and did all my sales progression while I was waiting.
“I updated five or six properties, emailed solicitors, added notes – everything. It’s so much easier than driving back to the office just to do ten minutes of work before having to leave again.”
Moving on up
With Alto now fully embedded in the team’s workflow, Simon feels confident about the months ahead, even as major challenges loom for the sector, from rental reform and rising costs to economic uncertainty and tightening compliance demands.
And with new tools and advanced AI-driven features rolling out across the platform, he expects Alto to play an even bigger role in driving efficiency and helping the branch secure more instructions.
“For me, Alto is a big part of how we move the branch forward. It keeps everything organised and saves us hours every month, and the new features coming through are only going to strengthen that. It’s a system we can build on.”
Wondering if Alto should be your next move? Book your free, no-obligation demo now.
