Interview with Dominic Speckert

Homegate’s Sales team is responsible for acquiring and supporting business customers. At the forefront is Dominic Speckert, Account Manager for the Zurich, Zug, Schaffhausen and Aargau regions. In this interview, Dominic tells us what a typical day at Homegate looks like for an Account Manager, what has changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and also shares some valuable property marketing tips.

Tell us a bit about yourself, how long you have worked at Homegate, and how you ended up here.

My name is Dominic Speckert, and I’ve worked as an Account Manager at Homegate for a little over two years. I support our business customers in the cantons of Zurich, Zug, Schaffhausen and neighbouring Aargau. Before I started at Homegate, I worked as an Account Manager and Key Account Manager in the advertising industry for traditional print, radio, TV and OOH/DOOH (digital out of home) media. I assisted Swiss brands and agencies in the planning and implementation of their advertising campaigns in the respective media format, and supported them in marketing their products.

What does a typical day in your job look like?

As an Account Manager, my job is to support our real estate customers in the targeted marketing of their properties. Regardless of whether they are interested in renting or selling, continuous communication and proximity to our customers enables us to guide and support them on the path to their successful marketing strategy. The aim is to make digital marketing of properties on our marketplace efficient, effective and simple. Which is why I’m in daily contact with our customers either by phone, in person and now also in remote form, to guide them through their marketing activities on our Homegate property portal.

What are the greatest challenges you face in your daily work?

The current market situation and the further advancement of digitalisation mean that we need to be much more flexible and innovative than before. ‘Getting closer to the market’ is called for; we need to be even closer to the customer in order to understand their needs even better and, as a result, to develop the right products and tools efficiently and promptly in the future. This will enable us to offer the best possible support to our customers when marketing their properties.

Has your job changed as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and if so, to what extent?

Apart from having to adhere to the hygiene measures in place or accepting that in-person appointments were simply not possible during certain phases, not all that much. The pandemic also gave way to opportunities; acceptance of remote calls was pretty much born overnight in Switzerland, and it now enables us to juggle our resources, such as time, travel and availability, even more efficiently.

How do you manage to keep your customers happy even during hectic times?

I think the key to keeping customers happy, even during hectic times, lies in how you handle stress and chaos yourself. My motto is to keep a cool and clear head. In my experience, we tend to sweat more quickly when under stress. In situations like these, the brain receives too little oxygen, which means that actions are hurried, the error rate increases and we act differently than we normally would if we had a clear head.

What do you think sets Homegate apart as a company?

Homegate has an impressive story. We have been active for more than 20 years as the largest property marketplace. Homegate went from being a simple property search engine to a portal that aims to address and cover the entire life cycle. That’s a great success story in my eyes. I love the integrated approach behind the development and goals, and that’s what I think sets Homegate apart as a brand and an employer. 

Tell us something about yourself that almost no one knows.

I recently became a father... of a little dog ;-)

What has been the most impressive or incredible thing you’ve experienced in your job so far?

I’d have to say it’s all the customers and partners themselves. For me, the most impressive and incredible thing is that many of society’s prevailing clichés about the real estate industry are often way off. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of interesting, friendly, fantastic people in the Swiss property market, and I am inspired by the diversity, individuality and innovation our customers bring to the highly competitive market. 

What is your most unusual hobby?

It’s not all that unusual, but I discovered flying and drone photography as a hobby some time ago now.

Last but not least, do you have any tips for those who would like to market their property quickly and successfully?

Whether and how quickly a property can be marketed depends on various factors. The property itself is certainly the most important factor, along with criteria such as the price, fit-out standard, location and plenty of others.

In my opinion, two points are extremely important and likely to lead to success:

• segmenting the right target group
• ensuring the product is visible or, in this case, the property

Whether the product is an iced tea, an ice cream, a car or a property – you can only market something successfully if you engage with the appropriate target group and if the product is sufficiently visible. Given that nowadays there is a lot of competition on the marketplaces, the industry’s most important sales channels by far, simply placing an advert is unfortunately no longer enough. A decisive factor here is also where and in what form the property is seen. Of course, Homegate has the right tools for this and I am happy to help anyone who wants to get familiar with these and put them to use.