It’s become one of the most repeated pieces of advice in the industry, often delivered with the implication that the opportunity is obvious, and the only barrier is effort.

But that framing misses a more uncomfortable truth.

Most agents aren’t failing to work their database because they don’t want to. They’re failing because, in practical terms, it’s impossible.

The scale problem

The average UK estate agency sits on a database of thousands.

For many, it’s somewhere between 3,000 and 10,000 contacts. For larger or multi-branch businesses, it can stretch far beyond that.

Within those databases sits a familiar mix:

● Past valuations
● Portal enquiries
● Applicants and tenants
● Landlords who have drifted out of contact

And within that mix, there is opportunity – bound to be.

The issue is not whether value exists.

It’s whether it can realistically be accessed.

Because when you break it down, the operational challenge becomes obvious.

The reality of ‘working the database’

Let’s take a mid-sized agency with 5,000 contacts.

Even allowing for a modest three minutes per interaction: dialling, attempting contact, leaving a message, scribbling notes – that equates to 250 hours of work.

That’s over six full working weeks for one person attempting a single pass.

And that’s before you consider the reality of how conversations actually convert:

● Not everyone answers
● Follow-up is often required
● Engagement happens over time, not in one call

In practice, properly working a database is not a one-off task. It’s an ongoing process that requires consistency over weeks and months.

Which is where the model begins to break down.

A structural limitation, not a behavioural one

This is the point often overlooked.

The industry hasn’t been ignoring its database. It has been structurally unable to work it at scale.

Agents are busy. Teams are stretched. Priorities are immediate.

When faced with the choice between:

● progressing live deals
● booking new valuations
● or systematically working through thousands of historic contacts

…the database inevitably falls down the list. It is the mountain in the office that is never climbed.

Not because it isn’t valuable, but because it isn’t urgent.

And over time, that creates what might be called a database illusion.

The belief that the data is being ‘used’, when in reality large portions remain untouched for months or even years.

Why this matters more now

In a stronger market, this inefficiency is often masked.

Instructions come more easily. Buyers are more decisive. Deals move faster.

But in a more uncertain environment, where affordability is tighter, confidence is lower and competition for instructions is higher, data becomes a more valuable commodity, and the cost of not engaging becomes more visible.

The shift that’s underway

For a long time, the advice has remained the same:

“Work your database.”

What’s changed is the ability to actually do it.

Because the traditional model was never scalable.

It was always constrained by time, headcount and competing priorities.

That constraint is now being removed.

Not through more effort but through automation.

Where automation comes in

This is where the conversation around AI becomes more practical.

Not as a replacement for agents. Not as a shortcut to winning instructions.

But as a way of solving a long-standing operational problem.

When database engagement is automated through a combination of voice, email and SMS, it becomes possible to:

● respond instantly
● follow up consistently
● maintain contact over longer decision cycles

In other words, to do what agents have always intended to do, but rarely had the capacity to execute fully.

And when that happens, the results begin to speak for themselves.

We are already seeing cases where around 5% of previously unworked database contacts convert into active, ‘hot’ opportunities once consistent engagement is introduced.

Not because those opportunities didn’t exist before, but because they were never being reached.

From advantage to expectation

What makes this shift particularly significant is not just what it enables now, but what it suggests for the future. There was a time when having a CRM was a differentiator; today it is a baseline.

That same pattern is beginning to emerge here.

Consistent, automated engagement of a database will not remain a competitive advantage indefinitely. It will become a part of how agencies operate routinely.

So, the question is not whether this approach will be adopted, but when.

Closing the gap between data and action

Estate agents have never lacked data. What they have lacked is the ability to act on it consistently, at scale.

That gap, between data held and data actively worked, has always existed, until now.

And in a market where every instruction matters more, the agents who close that gap first will be the ones who benefit most.

Craig Vile is Director at The ValPal Network, which provides instant online valuation services and a range of additional products to over 1,000 estate and letting agency brands with more than 4,300 offices across the UK.

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Given today’s digital landscape, it’s become imperative for Orange to strengthen its position in mobile and convergence markets with a customer-centric focus. With the expertise of Salesforce and Vlocity, Orange can further improve the quality of its customer experience by introducing a robust omnichannel experience for its customers. In addition, Orange sales teams and channel partners will be able to sell new innovative products and services smarter, helping them go the extra mile for Orange customers.

Orange Polska takes a significant step in its digital transformation

“Orange Polska is moving a step further in its digital transformation. Having reached a significant level of consolidation of its digital and sales channels, Orange Polska now targets to offer a differentiating customer experience,” said Jean-François Fallacher, CEO of Orange Polska. “We choose Vlocity and Salesforce for their deployment speed but also for their advanced products and journey management capabilities. This partnership will enable us to meet our customers’ expectations for simple, transparent, easy-to-use and easy-to-manage offers. Innovation and customer experience are significant cornerstones of the Orange strategy.”

Orange Belgium continues to digitalize the Orange customer journey

“Orange Belgium continues its digital transformation. Next to renewing certain levels of our order management, we will now start strengthening our CRM capabilities and unifying our digital channels. In this perspective, we partnered up with Vlocity and Salesforce,” said Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Belgium. “We chose Salesforce and Vlocity because they demonstrate advantages on multiple fronts, including speed to deployment, accelerated time-to-market and streamlined service delivery. This collaboration will indeed enable us to further digitize our customer journey and to be even more relevant for our customers, who remain at the heart of the Orange Belgium strategy.”

Salesforce and Vlocity empower Orange to fully engage in digital transformation

“By embracing the cloud, Orange has taken an important step in its core mission to achieve outstanding customer connectivity and make its services easier to access and sell,” said Jo Buvens, Country Manager Salesforce Belgium and Luxembourg. “We’re thrilled to be working with Vlocity on this important project. By leveraging Vlocity’s industry specific cloud solutions and omnichannel applications, Orange can now fully engage in its digital transformation.”

“We’re incredibly excited about this opportunity to join forces with Salesforce to provide Orange with the industry-focused digital software that they need to transform the way they do business,” said Dominic Dinardo, EVP and Managing Director EMEA, Vlocity. “We’re thrilled to be selected as Orange’s digital transformation technology and look forward to helping Orange capture more value from the cloud, reach more customers, sell smarter and sell more efficiently.”

Vlocity Communications takes advantage of the omnichannel capabilities of Salesforce Service Cloud and includes comprehensive Enterprise Product Catalog, CPQ (Configure-Price-Quote), Contract Management, Retail Clienteling and Order Management functionality, and a comprehensive library of pre-built sales, service and billing inquiry management processes. Engineered specifically for communications service providers, Vlocity Communications conforms to TM Forum industry standards, and integrates flexibly with third-party systems through pre-built APIs and web services.

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