Converged networks: See how a converged Cisco IP Communications solution enhances employee productivity, reduces management costs, and improves customer satisfaction. Learn more about IP communications such as unified voice messaging communications and more.

---

from Cisco Systems Inc.

Executive Summary Customer Coldwell Banker Advantage and Mortgage Virginia Industry Real Estate Business Challenge Control communications costs Improve agent responsiveness and customer satisfaction Improve network administration Network Solution Converged IP Communications solution from Cisco Systems for voice and data networking Cisco Unity Unified Communications and Cisco IP Contact Center Express Edition Robust Cisco security solutions Business Value Reduced management costs associated with managing and scaling the phone system Enhanced employee productivity Improved customer service and responsiveness.

Abstract
Coldwell Banker Advantage and Mortgage Virginia has migrated its separate voice and data networks to a single converged Cisco IP Communications solution that enhances employee productivity, reduces management costs, and improves customer satisfaction.

Business Challenge
Coldwell Banker Advantage and Mortgage Virginia is a regional real estate company with three offices in the Richmond and Colonial Heights areas of Virginia. Both are members of a group of commonly owned companies with over 225 employees and agents, providing a variety of services including real estate brokerage, mortgage, property management, lumber sales, commercial development, residential development, and construction.

Effective communication is critical to maximizing sales and customer satisfaction in the fast-paced real estate industry. To stay ahead of its competitors and spur continued growth, Coldwell Banker Advantage is constantly seeking ways to make its agents and employees more accessible to customers and potential leads. Even with a traditional phone system, PCs, and pagers, agents aren't always able to meet high customer expectations. When President and CEO Mike Largent began developing a new strategic plan for the company, he made reinventing its communications systems a top priority.

"People would call our direct office number and would have to be transferred or page the person they were trying to reach," explains Largent. "In today's real estate market, customers want instant answers to their questions. They're not going to get that if they have to go through three or four people on the phone, or if agents aren't checking their e-mails frequently enough."

Coldwell Banker Advantage needed a solution that would enable its agents to be more responsive and easier to reach. It needed to deliver faster, more convenient access to voice and e-mail messages to agents both in and out of the office. And the company needed a way to connect its individual office networks together to enhance collaboration and access to vital customer information.