Technology, Agent Adoption, and ROI

I have been involved in real estate technology for a long time. For several years now, I have been meaning to write about the overwhelming number of options that exist for both brokerages and agents alike. There are hundreds of vendors who not only have competing products, but overlapping products that duplicate one or more functions of something you might already have.

Throw in the fact that agents need a simple platform to use since their adoption of technology is pretty low, and you can see brokerages pulling out their hair in frustration. What's the point of spending money on technology platforms when they are not getting adoption and expected ROI on what they already have?

It with this in mind that I have written this series of two blogs on this topic. The purpose is to analyze the many different platform types that are out there, which ones actually lead to sales, and which ones might be left off your shopping list next year.

One of my large clients told me recently that he could not justify adding any additional technology expense on new platforms until he could really understand the adoption and ROI on what he already has. I think that logic makes a lot of sense and why I present you the following information.

First, let's take a look at the multiple categories (in no particular order):

• MLS (often multiple) - An MLS is essential to doing business, but extending out of your market adds real value.
• Corporate Intranet - Most brokerages have some sort of company intranet and this is probably an important item to have in your technology program.
• Corporate Website - Again, this is hard to do without, but you could add new developments and new homes to your mix to extend your income.
• Agent Website - Hard to imagine your agents not having their own websites, but some turnkey solutions can get new agents up and running with their own website on day one.

• E-Mail with Cloud Storage/Remote Access - For record keeping, this is an essential to today's paperless office.
• Contact Management/CRM - Having all of your information in one place is important, along with cloud backup systems.
• Enhancements to Listing Syndication - Our view is that listing syndication sounds good on paper, but often has big limitations.
• Listing Syndication Management - This can be a pricey investment, especially if you don't know how effective your syndication efforts are.
• Lead Management - Look for a platform that has built-in lead management and shows you where every lead is coming from.
• eMarketing - Make no mistake – emarketing is expensive. Automated tools can create a complete digital marketing package for each listing, all branded to the agent and the brokerage.
• Market Reports and Statistics - Being the local market expert is important, but so many agents are doing this. What can you do to differentiate yourself?
• CMA - Yes, everyone wants to know what their home is worth. But how can you add compelling value to your story above and beyond what the other agents will say?
• Financial - Hard to imagine not have financial systems in place, but determining the R.O.I. should be part of your financial reporting.
• Franchisor Reporting - If you own a franchise, you know that you need this to be in compliance with most franchise agreements.
• Showing Appointments - You should challenge yourself to how you can create the best showing appointments available.
• Social Media Management - Can you easily share your listings on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest in a few clicks, with all leads coming back to you?

Wow! That's a lot of stuff isn't it?

My goal is to get you to think about your investments as follows:

• Which platforms are absolutely necessary to running your business?
• Which platforms are "nice to have" versus "have to have"?
• Which platforms lead directly to sales?
• Which platforms could be combined by choosing a vendor that offers more of a "one-stop" shop?
• Which platforms are better left to agents to purchase on their own?

It's important to think about how to get the most out of your technology investment dollars so you can get the most impact, generate the highest adoption, and give you the highest ROI.

Next time I will look at what platforms might be "have to have" and how you can take these and potentially combine them with vendors who offer a "one stop shop." The idea here is to look at ways of increasing efficiency and decreasing expenses.

To view the original article, visit the Proxio blog.