3 Simple Ways to Find the Time to Grow Your Brokerage While Saving 8 Hours a Week

Every broker and manager that I know suffers from the same problem – there is simply not enough time in the day to effectively coach each agent to be the most successful they can be. We are too busy putting out fires all day, working our way through transaction anomalies and answering questions.

What if there was a way to free up 10 to 20 percent of your week? Would that help you and your managers be able to focus on more productive work?

We interviewed Sally Liddicoat, a broker from Arizona, and she gave us some great insights about how her transaction management system freed up numerous hours per week of her time for more profitable activities. Liddicoat runs WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Peak Performance, a brokerage in Arizona with 13 agents, including herself. Like most small business owners, she wears many hats, including owning her own real estate school. She is extremely busy.

We spoke to her about Reesio, the program she has chosen to manage her transactions—completely online.

Free Up About Half a Day Per Week

Liddicoat tells us that by bringing her transactions online with a platform that systemizes transactions and creates easy-to-follow workflows, she has freed up time to focus on revenue generating activities. By streamlining her management process with a cloud based system, Liddicoat says that she found the time to start her own real estate licensing school and join the board of her local association—a much more productive uses of her time, in her estimation.

1. Simplify Broker Oversight and Review EVERY DETAIL in Real Time

Instead of chasing agents down for missing disclosures, signatures and fixing mistakes, she can simply flag an issue in Reesio and her agents will be notified to fix it.

Liddicoat no longer needs to rely on an antiquated system to sift through paper files in her office to review whether transactions are compliant. Instead, she just logs into Reesio and the documents she needs to review are flagged on the Reesio dashboard. She simply reviews all documents in one place and then approves them with a single click. If a document or file needs revision, she can leave a comment or send a message, and her agents will automatically be notified of the requested changes. This ensures that Liddicoat is able to manage compliance as a transaction unfolds, instead of waiting to review a file once it has closed.

Liddicoat told us, "The no. 1 thing that I like about Reesio is that I can log into my dashboard and see how many things have been flagged for my review. That was a big draw for me since our business is growing quickly. Without it, I'm not sure I could keep up with all of our pending transactions. Reesio makes life as a broker SO much easier. "

Liddicoat tells us, "It's significantly easier than being inundated with paperwork, whether it's using an outdated online system or actual paper. Instead, with the technology Reesio provides, I can't imagine closing transactions the way we did before. It's so much easier for me to coordinate with my agents this way!"

More Agent Adoption with an Easy-to-Use System

Liddicoat used to work with one of the older transaction management systems. She didn't get much engagement from her agents with it because they found it too difficult to navigate. Since switching to Reesio, she has seen much more significant adoption. Her agents tell her that this system is much more intuitive and easy to use.

Also, Liddicoat was assigned a dedicated Reesio training partner that handled all of the training at no additional cost, and at a time that was convenient for her and her agents. The more her agents embrace Reesio, the less time Liddicoat has to spend asking them for their folders or chasing them down for a missing disclosure. The system does a lot of the work that she used to do herself.

2. Adopt a Simple Way to Manage Tasks All in One Place

Brokers would much rather their agents be focused on nurturing leads, contacting past clients and providing amazing customer service to their clients than chasing down paperwork. Reesio makes it easy for an agent to manage all of their tasks related to transactions in one place, saving them time. The system also allows due dates to be set on tasks and then sends reminders so that every transaction stays on target for an on-time close.

Every change made in a Reesio transaction is date and time stamped so the entire process is documented and there's never a question of who did what and when.

Integration with zipForm® and MLS

Liddicoat really likes how Reesio is integrated with the MLS system and with electronic signatures. She told us, "The big plus is that Reesio is now integrated with zipForm® and our MLS – it makes life so much easier." Now transactions can be created in Reesio with MLS data and pushed to zipForm® forms, which can be filled out right within Reesio. This eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and potential mistakes and inconsistencies across systems.

3. A Simpler Way to Train Agents

Liddicoat also uses Reesio to train her agents on all of the steps needed to complete a successful, and simplified, transaction. Within the system, brokerages can set up an unlimited number of custom workflow templates for different transaction types such as listings, buying transactions, REOs, investors, etc. Each of the steps and required documents needed to complete any type of transaction can be put into the system to give agents an easy-to-follow template of activities.

Instead of having regular training classes, WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Peak Performance defines approved processes in Reesio one time, and uses the system to prompt agents on what to do next. There's no need to re-train agents on process changes. Brokerage admins can simply modify workflow templates in Reesio at any time and agents will be presented with the most up to date requirements when they log into Reesio to complete a transaction.

If agents have questions about a document or disclosure, they can leave a comment or message other transaction members from within the system. Specific questions about how to use the Reesio system can be answered by chatting with a Reesio rep in the chat box or contacting support.

Also, by using Reesio as a training tool, agents are encouraged to use the system as soon as they join the firm.

Crossing the Chasm from Paper to Online

While many brokers would like to move to online transaction processing, they believe that their agents won't make the move, so they give up before they start. Liddicoat shares how she got her agents to embrace the move from paper to paperless.

She told us that it did take a while to move agents who were used to manual paperwork online, but she appealed to their desire to close MORE transactions quickly with less hassles. Embracing new technologies has its challenges, but once Liddicoat's agents saw an increase in productivity from the benefits of going paperless and managing transactions from anywhere, most say they wouldn't go back. They love that they have the ability to send messages inside of Reesio to keep a complete record of the transaction history with both their broker, as well as the client and any third parties. Plus they love the chat feature for providing them immediate assistance on how to use the system.

Peace of Mind

When there are so many things that go on in a real estate office every day, it can be stressful for a broker. They worry that there may be a transaction that will fall through because the processing is not being handled properly. With Reesio, Liddicoat told us that she worries a lot less about transactions falling apart or not meeting compliance standards. "Another plus of Reesio is the mobile version. When traveling, I can easily review files from my phone!"

The time and energy she used to use to get agents to come into the office to submit and review their files is now used to help coach her agents on how to be more successful.

If you would like more information about Reesio, you can click here or contact Reesio sales at 877-876-3547.

About Sally Liddicoat

Sally Liddicoat is passionate about the real estate industry and is all-in! In addition to being the Designated Broker of WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Peak Performance, she currently serves on her local association—the West Maricopa County Association of REALTORS® (WeMAR) Board of Directors, the Communication & Technology Committee (since 2011 and was 2016 Chair), the Professional Development Committee and has particiated in many workgroups. At the state level, Sally serves on the Arizona Association of REALTORS® (AAR) GRI Oversight Workgroup. She is also a REALTOR® Association Political Action Committee (RAPAC) Major Investor for 2016 and 2017.

Since getting licensed in 2010, Sally has earned many designations and certifications. Having owned businesses since she was was 17, Sally followed that trend and got her broker's license in October of 2013 and opened Peak Performance Real Estate with her husband (who is also a full-time REALTOR®) about 45 days later, where she took on the role of DB and they experienced growth faster than anticipated. In 2017, they franchised with Weichert Real Estate Affiliates and became WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Peak Performance. Sally is also a real estate instructor teaching continuing education, and offers salesperson and broker pre-licensing classes through her own school, Peak Performance School of Real Estate.

It is important to Sally that real estate education programs are strengthened and the industry and its reputation improved. Her evolving career as a REALTOR®, associate broker, designated broker/owner, team leader and real estate instructor has given her the opportunity to learn real estate from a variety of angles. This shows her commitment to education, this industry, fellow REALTORS®, the community and her clients.