Gillian Lavery

I am currently based on a development in Tenterden and am selling a scheme of 18 homes consisting of 3, 4 & 5 bed detached properties, ranging from £499,950 to £914,950. I am set quarterly sales targets for reservations & exchanges which I am currently achieving. This development is ongoing with our final completions targeted to take place by December 2023. The majority of interest in coming from prospective buyers who need to sell their existing property and I am working very closely with local agents, and using my experience to bring the related sales to the market & thereafter monitoring viewings.

During my role I have taken pride in working with a 5 star developer and have endeavored to ensure this rating has been maintained through fostering positive relationships with customers to enhance loyalty and retention.

As part of my role I undertake weekly site sales meetings with my site team to ensure I am kept aware of changing build programmes, changes to design & specification, development management, and I update my site team on new sales, up and coming completions, home demonstrations. On a weekly basis I carry out a full plot access report with my site team to direct the sales team in relation to weekend appointments and to comply with our Health & Safety policy.

We liaise regularly on customer choices & extras to ensure the correct delivery of the end product. This requires a good level of effective communication as it can involve liaising with different areas of specification and the business.

I send weekly reports to my Sales Manager advising of current business, and monitor visitation levels and upcoming appointments. I carry out weekly market research with my competitors, and more recently the second hand market. I understand the importance of meeting managerial deadlines in order to ensure my manager can meet their deadlines.

I am responsible for the whole sales cycle from initial meeting to buyer qualification by our independent IFA and thereafter. I carry out weekly sales progression and everything from initial reservation to legal completion, all of which requires a strong competency in CRM systems, DocuSign & other technological systems, as well as the new build contractual process. This also necessitates a high degree of organisational skill & the ability to multitask, particularly, as I also need to balance customer relations & new business working in a live sales environment.

After completion & full handover I carry out a three day call and four week visit where I collect a customer satisfaction survey & client feedback.

I play a big role in site set up and am also fully responsible for the site shut down process. At site set up I liaise and work closely with my marketing team to ensure signage and sales office literature is all in place and I work closely with my IT team to ensure the office is set up with adequate CRM & technology systems.

While setting up my development I was responsible for the initial market research and pricing as well as qualifying the database by using the company CRM system. Pre-qualification also played a large role in the initial off plan reservations that we were able to achieve.

Prior to this site, I was based on a development in Halstead, Kent and was responsible for the sale of twenty seven 2 to 5 bedroom homes priced at £485,000 and £1.1 million.

As an example of the customer retention mentioned above, all 27 customers from Halstead who completed a four week customer survey responded to and viewed Croudace positively. Some even added a special mention to say thank you to me for the exceptional customer service they had received. Both of my developments with Croudace have been targeted and I strived to to ensure I played my part in Croudace achieving their overall profit target.

Upon leaving Halstead I went to work temporarily in Maidstone, where I had to fit in with a team of 5. I worked on the setting up of Tenterden as well as assisting Maidstone with year end completions & handovers. This was a challenge as Maidstone was a large multi-phase development and I did not know the team or the customers as thoroughly, I had to work to strengthen my relationships with all as well as looking after my own development and also overseeing a tail end Croudace development in Caterham.

Whilst at Croudace I have been invited take part in various meetings within the business where my manager has recognized my experience and put me forward to attend Project Review Meetings with my Managing Director. This was to give my input into why and how we achieved 100% customer satisfaction on our Halstead development. I was also invited to comment on our annual specification review where some changes that I suggested were implemented.

Following two successful Director's visits in Halstead, I was complemented by my Managing Director on my development and marketing suite presentation and my customer satisfaction scores. By following policy and process, I believe this leaves no room for error.

I am motivated by targets and am able to use my initiative to build strong relationships and achieve reservations that result in happy customers. I often use my welcoming nature and expert sales and closing skills to create an environment where my customers feel special and valued.

I am frequently putting my intra business skills into action by negotiating and communication with other departments in the business to ensure all departments have the necessary tools to carry out our respective roles.

Throughout my employment, I have ensured to comply with current legislation such as Anti Money Laundering procedures, Consumer Code, GDPR and more recently the New Homes Quality Code, all other e learning has been kept up to date.

Sales of retirement apartments based on a rental model. This position included selling a lifestyle and a community to customers as well as a safe secure apartment in which they could live. As an on-site Sales Manager I creatively found ways to maximize footfall to generate interest to secure reservations. I managed a team of 2 and we actively worked together to secure reservations and to manage the lettings cycle from initial visit through to reservation and then to move in, to include financial qualification, viewings and demonstrations as well as ensuring our apartments were ready for occupation. I had input in to our sales & marketing collateral and have regular meetings with our marketing team to plan mailers and new campaigns. I ensured myself and my team managed an effective database of customers & ensured all leads were followed up in a timely manner. I created interesting stories & PR opportunities to showcase the company and its work

Working on a large development in Maidstone consisting of 210 3,4,& 5 bed homes. My duties included management of a busy sales office and show home complex. Qualifying the needs of customers by interacting with a recommended Financial Advisor. Working and selling to an agreed sales target using sales aids such as Help to Buy, Assisted Move and Part Exchange. Progression of reservations through to legal completion and move in day as well as managing customer choices & extras appointments. Submission of weekly reports to my sales management team to show weekly visitor levels, sales status & current interest. Carry out regular show home/complex inspections and to report on any remedial works required to ensure the show complex always presents well. Carried out site visits with customers in order to assist in the securing of forward business and attended a weekly meeting with my Sales Director to discuss progress of the development, I regularly contributed new ideas to assist with marketing and advertising.

Based on a development in South East London selling a mix of 2,3,4 & 5 bedroom homes. I secured off plan reservations prior to the Marketing Suite being ready to view using sales aids such as London Help to Buy, Home Exchange and Assisted Move. Prices ranged from £550,000 to £950,000. I ensured my data base was kept up to date and followed up all new enquiries in a timely manner to secure buyer appointments and to drive visitors to site. I worked consistently through sales progression to secure timely exchange and completions and liaised effectively with external partners such as Financial Advisors and purchasers solicitors as well as my own legal team. On a weekly/monthly basis I ensured reports were up to date and accurate to include market research and visitor/sales levels.I managed our show complex to ensure our show homes and marketing suit were always kept in pristine condition.

Between February 2015 & January 2018 I worked between both McCarthy & Stone & Churchill Retirement Living selling a range of 1 & 2 bed apartments, both off plan and in a sales office environment. This role involved home visits to customers as well as managing the sales office. While working with McCarthy & Stone I was targeted to sell 1& 2 bedroom apartments 50% off plan prior to taking first occupations, however I secured 100% of the development from plan, making this the first time ever within McCarthy and Stone. I worked closely with my data base and went through this daily making outbound calls to prospective purchasers. My duties included evaluating the needs of customers and advising on the benefits of the product and lifestyle within retirement living. Investigating the financial status of customers to establish their ability to purchase, liaising with ‘Assisted Move providers’ to arrange valuations of customers’ existing properties and assisting with the initial marketing and monitoring of viewings. Responsible for the progressing of all reservations through to exchange and legal completion and maintaining up to date and accurate information on the companies CRM systems. I was also responsible for submitting sales figures and progress reports to my Sales Managers and when required, on a monthly or bi-monthly basis; I held a site meeting to discuss the marketing plan for my development with my marketing team. I also advised customers of the additional services available, such as optional extras and introduced the company’s preferred interior design company. I assisted with all pre marketing of new developments by carrying out in depth market research and networking with local estate agents to understand market conditions in the local area ahead of my developments launching

In Neighborhood Services my role involved all aspects of estate and tenancy management. I engaged with customers locally in the neighborhoods to design services that worked for them and agreed local service delivery standards with them. I ensured our properties looked good internally and externally and that they are inviting and safe. I was responsible also for the letting and re letting of properties and I and carried out accompanied viewings with prospective tenants at the request of my voids and lettings team. I carried out weekly estate inspections and reported any issues/ repairs via Moat’s CRM system. I worked closely with our cleaning and gardening contractors to ensure the estates I was responsible for were always looking their very best. I took ownership and responsibility for any service related complaints / queries from customers ensuring that the customer experience was positive, professional and within a set timescale at all times.

Secondment to:

In October 2013 I took a secondment to Moats Shared Ownership team to gain some experience in this field. In this role I marketed and sold Moat’s Shared Ownership homes. I ensured targets were delivered and recorded and I assisted purchasers to buy a home with Help to Buy/Shared Ownership option. I attended regular sales/ site meetings, including snagging and handovers and I had an input into influencing the quality of design and specification. I worked closely with my marketing team to develop high quality, marketing material including brochures, site signage, website promotion, pristine show homes and e-marketing. I worked with solicitors, IFA's, estate agents, mortgage lenders and other third parties to lead on all contact with potential purchasers and arranged viewings and setting up of open days. I took the lead on colour choices for each plot to include: kitchens, tiles, flooring, and all other choices in accordance with each schemes agreed specification. On completion I was responsible for managing the home demonstration with a member of our development team to carry out a thorough demonstration to customers, paying particular attention to appliances, care and cleaning as well as giving advice on sustainability and how best to use the development to their advantage. Following purchaser completion I worked closely with a defects team to manage the after sales care given to our customers in relation to defects and enquiries.

Initial letting & re letting of properties & the handling of security deposits. In this role I was responsible for approximately six hundred properties between Maidstone and Canterbury. I carried out property inspections, prepared inventories and prepared tenancy agreements as well as managing the release of tenant’s deposits at the end of their tenancy. I worked closely with our repairs and clearing contractors and acted as the connection between landlords and contractors to ensure all remedial works to rented properties were completed in a timely manner and any safety certificated were concluded on time

Sales and marketing of 2 bed apartments and 3/4 bed houses as part of a joint venture with a strong competitor. On this development I also managed a junior sales advisor. On completion of this development I brokered a deal on 48, previously underselling 2 bed apartments when I introduced an investor to Westbury Homes. In addition to the 3/4 bedroom properties I was managing and selling I also handled all 48 apartments from reservation to completion within a four week period.

I was responsible for all choices made with the purchaser and I was targeted to include extras and upgrades as part of this service

I was also responsible for carrying out home demonstrations and handover on the day of completion.

Located at Laing Homes flagship development at Langley Waterside in Beckenham I was part of a team of 5 responsible for the effective sales and marketing of large high specification 2 bed apartments from £500,000 to 4 bed detached properties selling at £850,000. I later moved on to another Laing Homes site in Bexley where I sold a selection of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom properties. I gained a considerable amount of experience at Laing Homes offering a more personalized and bespoke approach to the build in relation to customer extras and requests to change small items such as locations of electrics and requests to upgrade to non - standard items. In this role I gained much more experience in the build process as I was responsible for ensuring any requests were requested and met prior to build cut off dates so as not to delay completion.

Sales and marketing of 2 flagship developments, in Thamesmead and Grays Essex, each comprising of 200+ units to include 2,3 & 4 bedroom homes and 1 & 2 bedroom apartments. This role was very driven in line with Barratt Homes sales targets and year end business. I was responsible for all sales progression and the entire sales cycle from initial buyer meeting to legal completion. As a Barratt Homes Sales Advisor I was also responsible for any viewings on our home exchange properties, and I was also targeted with the task of the re sale on these properties. While employed by Barratt Homes I was awarded for a proven and consistent sales record, winning Sales Negotiator of the Quarter for 3 consecutive quarters in 2001 and Development Team of the Year 2000 – 2001. Sales Negotiator of the quarter and Development Team of the year was awarded for sales and site excellence in exceeding targets and development presentation.

Air Cabin Crew

In this role I was responsible for the safety & comfort of my passengers and crew and I took part in regular Safety & Evacuation Training and Customer Service Training. My duties and responsibilities included

• Following company regulations and rules to promote a safe environment for travelers and employees.
• Administered first aid on passengers experiencing medical emergencies or illness
• Facilitated open on-board communication, delivering regular announcements on behalf of the captain to update passengers on schedule changes.
• Served food and beverages to passengers per flight, consistently complying with airline health and safety standards.
• Ensured smooth running of the cabin, serving as a facilitator between cabin crew and cockpit.
• Conducted pre-flight aircraft checks, verifying placement and proper working order to maintain the highest levels of on-board security.
• Addressed questions and resolved issues and complaints.
• Prepared and submitted flight reports regarding issues or concerns to management.
• Offered personalised assistance to pregnant, elderly and passengers with disabilities.
• Maintained tidy area to support cleanliness and quality standards.
• Regularly monitored cabin throughout flight to verify security.
• Promoted and sold duty-free goods to passengers.
• Participated in pre-flight meetings to comprehend duty and position of flight attendants during flight.
• Maintained calmness and composure during emergency situations.
• Demonstrated in-flight safety regulations presentation to passengers.