The below steps cover how to effectively use Alto for the marketing of your available property/properties.
You can match applicants to properties from either a property record or from an applicant record using Output Wizard. You can choose to send out either a property web style list or send a property brochure to the matching applicant(s) using email, post, and SMS for property marketing.
You can then manage the follow up of property marketing by using E-Mail Marketing on the Home screen side menu (and the Click Stats widget available on your Main Dashboard).
For more information on E-Mail Marketing, click here
This article includes:
Matching from a property
Note
For matching to be effective, please ensure that you've completed as much property information as possible on the property record, you've entered as much of the applicants Requirements as is known, and, completed the applicants GDPR preferences to allow property matches
See Knowing who you can and cannot match to below
To match a property to applicants:
- Click Properties on the main toolbar
-
Select the relevant property from Recent & Favourite Properties
- Alternatively, find the property using the Search Properties bar in the top right
- Click Matches on the side menu
-
Alto automatically displays a list of applicants whose requirements match the features on the property in the Matching Contacts section. From here, you are able to match out the property to all of the applicants that meet the requirements
For more information on Creating a Match List, click here -
Using the icons to the right of each applicant, you can choose whether to:
- Reject them (thumbs down) which will therefore remove that specific applicant from the match
- Contact the applicant about the property (Send Email or Send SMS). You can then click Add Phone Note or Add File Note to keep a record of the conversation you had with the applicant
- Alternatively, using the Search Profile section, you can add extra filters, e.g. applicants position, price range etc, to reduce the amount of applicants
- To view more of the matches, click the arrow(s) to the bottom right of the list
- Click the tickbox alongside each applicant to select them. You can then send out property brochures or matching properties information in a web style list to them using the Output Wizard
- Click Docs
- In the dropdown menu, click Send Brochure
- The Output Wizard window displays
- The property selected appears in the Properties section, but you can add additional properties using the Add a Property search bar, if you know of others that may be suitable
- The applicants you ticked and selected appear in the Applicant(s) section. You can view their Name and their consent to property matching and the methods of communication they have granted.
Again, you also have the option to add additional applicants using the Add a Recipient search bar, if you know of others that may be suitable.
Alternatively, if the applicant doesn't yet exist in Alto, click Add New. Then, complete the Quick-Add Contact form by adding their details and selecting their Marketing Preference consents
See Knowing who you can and cannot match to below - Output Wizard defaults to send out Web Style List property information. If you want to send out the full brochure, click below the @ E-Mail? header and Web Style List will change to Brochure
- The applicants consent granted and communication preferences affects what is displayed and greyed out below, i.e. E-Mail?, Text Message? and Print/Post Covering Letter?. Each section populates with a template and relevant merge codes, which you can amend if required
- If your applicants don't have an email address within E-Mail, this will default to Text Message or Print/Post Covering Letter
- If you want to just do email marketing, click on the @ E-Mail? header to have the option to remove all those applicants who don't have an email from this property marketing email.
(Click on @ E-Mail? to change the property information from Brochure back to Web Style List) - You're able to edit the message on the email template then click Apply to All or change on an individual contacts message (anything between # is the merge code which brings relevant information from Alto on to this email message)
- If Print/Post Covering Letter is selected, Output Wizard will create a covering letter (This method is ideal for sending pre-printed property brochures to applicants). To include a list of the properties to send to the applicant(s), include the #property_list_basic# merge field in the covering letter
- Click OK
You're able to manage the follow up of property marketing by using E-Mail Marketing on the Home screen side menu (and the Click Stats widget available on your Main Dashboard).
For more information on E-Mail Marketing, click here
Matching a property on features
When a property is matched, any selected features are not normally taken into account. To force the property match to include selected features, tick the Features box, which can be found within Matches on the side menu, in the Match On section.
Knowing who you can and cannot match to
- Click Properties on the main toolbar
-
Select the relevant property from Recent & Favourite Properties
- Alternatively, find the property using the Search Properties bar in the top right
- Click Matches on the side menu
-
You may notice that no contacts show up in the list. If this happens, within the Essentials section, tick Include Consent Unknown
-
Your matching contacts will be presented. Hover over the i (information marker) alongside Matching Contacts to view information on the contacts showing in the Match
- Click the tickbox alongside each applicant to select them. You can then send out brochures or matching properties information to them using the Output Wizard
- Click Docs
- In the dropdown menu, click Send Brochure
- The Output Wizard window displays. In the Applicant(s) section, you can view their Name and their consent to property matching and the methods of communication they have granted
- This setting (thumbs up) shows the applicant has consent granted for Property Matching
- This setting (thumbs down) shows the applicant has consent denied for Property Matching
- This setting (question mark) shows the applicant has no record of consent for Property Matching
- This setting (thumbs up) shows the applicant has consent granted for Property Matching
- If you wish to send the property match, click OK
If you tried to add an applicant and clicked Add New, you'll have seen their Marketing Preference consents. In the example below, Mr Oliver has denied property matching. Therefore, you'll be unable to send out the Match email until this applicant is removed, and the OK button will have been made inactive
- To remove the applicant, click x at the end of the row. Once they've been removed, you'll be able to send out the Match
- Click on the @ E-Mail? header to remove all those who don't have an email address
- Edit the message then click Apply to All or change an individual contacts message
Note
For matching to be effective, please ensure that you've entered as much of the applicants Requirements as is known, you've entered as much information about the property as possible on the property record, and, completed the applicants GDPR preferences to allow property matches
To match an applicant to a property:
- Click Contacts on the main toolbar
-
Select the relevant contact (applicant) from Recent & Favourite Contacts
- Alternatively, find the contact (applicant) using the Search contacts bar in the top right
- Click Requirements on the side menu
-
Alto automatically displays a list of properties in the Matching Properties section, that match the requirements of the applicant, as set out in the Search Profile section
-
To view more of the matches, click the arrow(s) to the bottom right of the list
-
- Click the tickbox alongside each property to select it. You can then send out brochures or a web style list to them using the Output Wizard
- Click Matches
- In the dropdown menu, click Output Wizard
(if the Output Wizard option is not available, this is because the GDPR preferences haven't been completed on the applicant record) - The Output Wizard window displays
- The property/properties you ticked appear in the Properties section, but you can add additional properties using the Add a Property search bar, if you know of other properties that may be suitable
- The applicant whose record you chose appears in the Applicant(s) section. You can view their Name and their consent to property matching and the methods of communication they have granted.
Again, you also have the option to add additional applicants using the Add a Recipient search bar, if you know of others that may be suitable.
Alternatively, if the applicant doesn't yet exist in Alto, click Add New. Then, complete the Quick-Add Contact form by adding their details and selecting their Marketing Preference consents
- The consent granted and communication preferences affects what is displayed and greyed out below, i.e. E-Mail, Text Message and Print/Post Covering Letter. Each section populates with a template and relevant merge codes, which you can amend if required
- If your applicant doesn't have an email address within E-Mail, this will default to Text Message or Print/Post Covering Letter
- If Print/Post Covering Letter is selected, Output Wizard will create a covering letter that can be edited if required (This method is ideal for sending pre-printed property brochures to applicants). To include a list of the properties to send to the applicant(s), include the #property_list_basic# merge field in the covering letter
- Click OK
Related articles:
Creating a match group for Properties
Preference Centre - GDPR consent