Watch and Learn: 5 Broker Webinars from 2016

The question we are asked most during webinars we host is, "Is this being recorded?" It's not uncommon for busy brokers to have to leave during an event. Some want a video that they can share with colleagues. Others simply want a recording so that they can revisit the knowledge shared and digest it at their own pace.

Whatever the reason for wanting a recording, brokers attend webinars to view live demonstrations of real estate apps and to learn about business best practices from successful brokers and other industry leaders.

We record every webinar we host so that our subscribers can catch up on what they missed, or simply indulge in a fun, visual way to learn about technology. We hosted several webinars this year. Here are five of our best broker-focused webinars (and their recordings!).

1. It's Your Business, It's Your Data!

Date aired: Wednesday, January 19, 2016

Most real estate software today is cloud-based. While the convenience is undeniable--there's no software to update or files to back up--it means that a third party has control of your data.

Do you know what your vendors do with all of that sensitive information? Do you know how and where they store your data? How about what security measures they employ?

If you're unsure, check out this webinar. Expert panelists from DocuSign, a pacesetter in secure data handling, share how to evaluate the way vendors handle your data. Below are just some of the questions they recommend that brokers ask their technology partners; watch the video below to learn more:

• Do you resell customer data in any format?
• Does anyone in your company have access to data in the system?
• Does your company do background checks on employees that have access to the data?
• How long does your company store the data?
• How often does your company purge old data?
• How will data be protected if integrated with other third party vendors?

2. Marketing Excellence through Automation

Date aired: Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Marketing automation was pegged as a hot trend, according to Imprev's Thought Leader Survey. Over 56 percent of brokers who used automation planned to increase their use of it this year, and 29 percent of brokers who didn't already automate their marketing planned to do so in 2016.

The benefits of marketing automation are myriad--it saves time, expense, and labor--and so are the ways that brokerages can use it. In this webinar, we heard from four different brokerages who shared the different ways that they use automation to better their business.

• Empower your marketing department to serve more agents - Prior to implementing automation, the marketing department at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty was so overwhelmed that they could only help 10 percent of the firm's agents. When the company started using Imprev's automation platform, the department was better able to serve everyone.
• Cover your fees with co-op advertising - Coldwell Banker West was concerned about the cost of marketing automation. So they came with a creative solution--they'd cover the cost by printing ads from their lenders and other partners on the back of marketing collateral that their automation system generated.
• Upsell to your agents - Here's another creative way to finance your marketing automation solution. HUNT Real Estate provides their agents with six marketing pieces for every listing. For agents that want more, HUNT offers an upsell option that gives agents full access to Imprev's marketing platform. HUNT earns a small fee off of every agent purchase, thanks to a revenue share agreement with Imprev.
• Increase adoption of existing tools - Do you already have marketing tools and worry that an automation platform would drive down agent use? RE/MAX of Michigan worried about that, but it turns out their fear was unfounded. Instead, it's increased adoption of their existing Marketing Center, thanks to email alerts from their automation platform that let agents know when automatically generated marketing pieces have been added to their Marketing Center account.

Dive deeper into how the brokerages above leverage marketing automation by watching the video below:

3. How to Build a Winning Brokerage

Date aired: Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Did you know that nearly half of agents say they would like to see their brokerages expand their technology offerings--and that half of brokers say keeping up with technology is a challenge? But confronting that challenge head-on can have a lot of benefits for brokers, including retaining current top performers and recruiting.

One firm that has successfully taken on this challenge is Fred Real Estate Group from Bend, Oregon. They joined us for the first webinar of our series to share their tips and best practices for leveraging technology to build their brand, their team of agents, and their bottom. Watch the recorded webinar below to learn the tech-based secrets to their success.

4. Digital Transformation: Learn how leading brokers are going fully digital from lead to close.

Date aired: Tuesday, October 25, 2016

How can you improve the transaction experience for both customer and your agents? One way is to make that experience fully digital from lead to close. Two brokers joined us to share how and why they went 100 percent digital.

Jump to the 7:00 minute mark in the video below to find out how Berkshire Hathaway - Fox & Roach are using DocuSign Transaction Rooms as the hub for their core brokerage business, as well as their mortgage, title, and insurance services. Then advance to 18:30 to hear the feedback they're getting from their customers and agents.

Next, go to 22:15 to hear RE/MAX Integra is implementing the fully digital transaction experience across 2400 offices in both the US and Canada.

5. Online Leads Don't Suck. Your Conversion Rates Do.

Date aired: Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Internet leads get a bad rap. You may even get complaints that most online leads are a waste time. However, this isn't true if you treat your leads right--first, by identifying the most lucrative leads and then nurturing them with content that they'll actually care about.

In this webinar, learn how take your conversion rate from the average industry rate of 1 percent to 1.5 or even 2 percent! How? It starts with removing listings from the center of your marketing and putting the customer there instead. For more on doubling your conversion rate, watch the video below: