Increase Agent Adoption Rates by Following These 3 Steps

Agent adoption of brokerage tech is one of the major obstacles facing virtually every brokerage out there; it's just part of the industry we're in. You work hard to carefully choose and curate the perfect tech stack for your brokerage, so I personally would understand if a lack of adoption stings a little – or a whole freaking lot. Don't let your confidence take a hit from it, as it likely has nothing to do with you, or your quality of choice.

Every agent has their own system and methods for completing their tasks, making it completely understandable for them to be hesitant about starting from scratch with new tools. In today's world, it's one of the biggest ways that you can leverage your data, so it's important not to give up on it. The more your agents utilize your tech, the better it is for everyone.

Here are three steps to consider taking in order to increase agent adoption rates and get your agents hooked on your tech:

1. Choose easy-to-use tech.

If your technology is extremely confusing, hard to use, and doesn't offer onboarding and training support—run. Once agents get comfortable with the tech they use, it can take a whole lot to convince them that it's worth it to make a switch. Once they do decide to make the move, you want it to be easy-as-pie for them to adopt your tech.

That means it's important that you choose technology that is connected. And yes, we're talking about an open platform! The more your tech tools talk to each other and share data, the more value there will be for you and your agents, and the less work it will require in order to get it. That will be a major plus in the minds of your agents, as efficiency and productivity are the keys to being successful at what they do. Also, make sure that your tech provider has an amazing support team – you want your agents to have access to the assistance they need, when they need it the most. If agents are finding understanding your tech to be a road block preventing them from reaching the productivity levels they are used to, they will have no problem dropping it, and understandably so.

2. Host educational training events.

Agents are busy, which is why you need to make sure it's ridiculously easy for them to get training. Hosting events is a great opportunity for you to get your agents in a room together and give them the info they need to succeed with your tech. Bribery will likely be necessary, but it will be worth it in the long run. Whether it takes buying them cookies or offering up a raffle for tickets to the ball game, we suggest that you provide some kind of incentive to at least get them in the door.

Once they arrive, make it interesting. The last thing you want is for them to be trapped in a room for an hour, bored out of their minds, wishing they had never showed up in the first place – we've all been there. Create an exciting and interactive experience that gets them involved and allows them to interact with the product. We've seen trivia and jeopardy games among the many creative activities our awesome clients have whipped up to make the training process more enjoyable and, dare I say, fun.

Use these events as an opportunity to explain why your tech is so valuable to their sphere of influence, their data, and to the health of their work-life balance. Don't just focus on the "how," focus on the "why" too! Building value in the minds of your agents is essential in order for them to see the benefits that it will bring to them, therefore increasing the likelihood that they actually invest the time into adopting it.

3. Provide incentives.

In addition to the bribery previously mentioned to encourage agent attendance to your training events, you will also need some more of it to make sure that they consistently use your tech. As you know, adopting the tech in the first place is the first hurdle to tackle, but making sure that agents are continuing to keep up with the training and taking advantage of any shiny new features is another goal that can be tough to accomplish.

Reward agents who are using not only one feature of your tech stack, but all of the tools that it has to offer. Interview those agents about how it has impacted their professional lives and send it out to the other agents in your office. It's one thing for you to tell your agents that your tech will better their lives, but it will be so much more impactful when they hear it directly from one of their own!

To view the original article, visit the Moxi Works blog.