RALPHHAGEDORN, LLC
Digitization and Automation

Digitization and Automation at RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH

The Challenge of Digitalization and Automation

With a track record of over 1.5 billion euros, RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH has established itself as a successful investment brokerage firm. With great dedication, a discreet approach, and an outstanding network, the team led by owner Ralph Hagedorn brokers real estate in the residential, office, hotel, and retail asset classes. With the implementation of Salesforce Sales Cloud, RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH is leveraging a 360° view of clients and real estate properties and utilizing convenient automation to streamline processes in line with modern standards.

Although RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH’s previous custom solution allowed for the mapping of contacts and properties, all communications—such as phone calls, emails, and written correspondence—had to be drafted and filed separately. In addition, capacity and performance limitations made a modern, up-to-date solution necessary in order to respond quickly to the demands of the real estate market and customers.

Historical information and data on buyers and properties are a key asset for real estate brokerage. Therefore, in addition to implementing the new system, it was also necessary to migrate the historical data. The goal was to implement seamless workflows without media breaks as the foundation for a digital, mobile, and automated future. In addition to mapping the relevant information and integrating the various communication channels, automating these processes with a digital solution is also crucial.

Digitalization and Automation Solutions

RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH relies on Salesforce Sales Cloud for this forward-looking support of its sales processes. The project was supported by Salesforce experts from CAS AG, who used customization to enhance the standard functionality and create a tailor-made solution. Salesforce Sales Cloud offers the necessary flexibility to translate the concepts of digitalization and automation into tangible added value for the investment brokerage firm through an industry-specific solution. To this end, a system was implemented to match buyers’ requirements with the characteristics of the properties currently on the market. The highly detailed and widely divergent requirements of the various buyers make the so-called “matching” process with the different real estate properties the central linchpin for the team at RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH.

The fast matching results, along with all information and data, are further enhanced by the powerful integration of Google Search into Salesforce and the mobile accessibility of all data in the Salesforce apps for iPhone and iPad. It is no longer necessary to switch systems to search for keywords, addresses, etc. Everything is centralized to enable the targeted fulfillment of customer requests with suitable properties or to source properties on behalf of clients.

With Salesforce Sales Cloud, the RALPHHAEDORN team has all relevant data at a glance—ensuring that a quick 360° view of buyers and properties is always available, anytime and anywhere, for detailed research, brainstorming, or preparing for in-depth discussions with buyers. Thanks to the intelligent support provided by the CRM features—which are based on detailed and up-to-date information about properties, their relationships to one another, and buyer search profiles—matches can now be found with the simple push of a button.

Approach to Digitalization and Automation

Through close collaboration between the consultants at CAS AG and the RALPHHAGEDORN team, the requirements were gathered, structured, and gradually implemented using an agile approach in joint workshops. Following the initial template setup and data migration, early practical insights and experiences were incorporated into subsequent project phases to closely examine established work practices and evaluate new opportunities for process optimization.

The iterative cycles helped break down the project—which was challenging due to the replacement of the central IT solution for the brokerage team while the day-to-day brokerage business continued—into smaller, more manageable units. As a result, the functionalities were already available after the first iteration phase and thus contributed to the further refinement of the requirements and their implementation. To ensure the best possible basis for matching buyers with properties, CAS AG migrated the data from the legacy system with quality assurance and performed the corresponding mappings from the complex database.

Even in its standard configuration, the Salesforce mobile app has already led to a significant increase in efficiency. Agents can easily access and use all objects, prospects, customers, and transactions from anywhere, even while on the go. This allows them to make calls directly from the app and research spontaneous ideas. As a result, the number of inquiries to the back office has decreased significantly.

“You can tell right away that CAS AG operates as a team of forward-thinking, reliable, and dedicated experts. Even as a smaller company, we felt we were supported with complete competence and care. This is especially true because the collegial interaction on an equal footing, the atmosphere within the project, and the regional proximity made things easy for us—even though IT projects of this kind, which focus so explicitly on our business processes, are uncharted territory for us,”says John Groteloh, investment broker at RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH, describing the successful collaboration.

“Even in the first phase of the project, the CAS AG team achieved more than we had initially anticipated. The project’s success was largely due to the ability of the CAS AG consultants to listen carefully and implement the requirements with a deep understanding of RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH’s business.”

John Groteloh, RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH

Result

The customized solution based on Salesforce Sales Cloud has significantly streamlined workflows and accelerated processes for the RALPHHAGEDORN team. Its stable performance and fast display of results also make it possible to conduct research while on the phone, which helps support conversations. The ability to view the complete history of activities, appointments, tasks, emails, etc., supports the work of the RALPHHAGEDORN team, allowing each team member to track the current status of a real estate property, see who is maintaining contact, and identify which steps have already been taken.

In the current second phase of the project, the so-called matching process is being expanded to include the archived objects, and the list of results is being refined. In addition, by mapping the processes in the system, the mediators’ workflows will be supported through automation.

The integration of all communication channels is planned for the next project phases, along with optimizing the integration with Microsoft Outlook and the phone system, and customizing the Salesforce Mobile app, in order to further refine the solution for RALPHHAGEDORN GmbH.