3 Reasons Why Every Brokerage Should Schedule In-Office Trainings with Homesnap

This blog post was written by Homesnap MLS Account Manager Jordan Weiers, who attended this Homesnap event in Ohio in April 2019.

There's something in the water at USA-1 Real Estate in Pataskala, Ohio.

When Homesnap Trainer Jack Hanlon and I were greeted at the door with an ear-to-ear grin by broker Robert Teague, I had no idea we'd walk out an hour and a half later having trained the most enthusiastic crowd of agents I've ever encountered.

That enthusiasm didn't end when we walked out of the office (laden with sandwiches and Girl Scout cookies, I might add). In the days that followed, the Homesnap success stories and testimonials began pouring in.

This is one of several agent reactions from the brokerage:

The Homesnap training provided by Jordan and Jack was incredible! … I am 100% certain that the app will prove to be invaluable to my business!

I did already purchase an ad for a listing that has sat too long and it has yielded great response so far. I will definitely use the app to help boost my listings and advertise my successes in the future!

It is absolutely a wonderful asset to my growing business and for sure makes my efforts much easier!

- Homesnap Pro Agent Lori Thurman

Why were the USA-1 agents so excited about Homesnap Pro? What makes in-office trainings so effective? Why should your brokerage get activated on Homesnap Pro, too? Let's dive right in!

There are three big reasons brokerages should schedule an office training with Homesnap:

1. You'd be training agents to use tech built on industry-generated principles that put the agent first.

As Jack and I discussed in our training with USA-1, Homesnap Pro is the real estate industry's response to the disruption of third-party search portals.

These third-party portals' solutions make the real estate agent less and less relevant. They remove the much-needed personal service and relationships from the home buying and selling process. Homesnap Pro is the exact opposite.

Homesnap Pro is the technology partner of the Broker Public Portal (BPP) – the national consumer home search platform built from within the industry and governed by Fair Display Guidelines.

What exactly does that mean? For one, Homesnap will never sell space on your hard-earned listings to the highest bidder. We're proud of our business model and our focus on putting agents first.

It's why we got a round of applause when we launched in Columbus. And it's why in only the first two months after our launch, 3,200 agents – approaching half the agents in this market – have already signed up for Homesnap Pro.

Because we don't sell ad space on agents' listings, we have a powerful motto: "Your listing, your lead." Lori (who was sitting front row) and her colleagues nodded in agreement when we mentioned that. It seemed like a no-brainer to them.

It was like they'd been waiting for tech to arrive that worked this way.

When we chatted with the USA-1 agents about our business model and the BPP, they saw why we're the industry's number-one choice. My hunch is your agents would, too.

2. You'll get office branding, promotion, and education.

Brokerage offices that do in-office Homesnap Pro trainings get free office logo branding in the Homesnap app.

That means whenever clients or other agents look at your brokerage's agents on Homesnap, they'll see your brokerage office's logo below the agent's photo. That logo will also appear on the weekly automated market reports sent to agents' clients and any advertising campaigns they run.

It's a great way to keep your office and brand top-of-mind for agents and consumers in your area.

I was impressed to see USA-1 was already using Homesnap to enhance their brand in the community. I saw customized, professional brochures inviting clients to connect with USA-1 agents on Homesnap, including links for consumers. They even included an HGTV quote about Homesnap!

Our training reinforced something: A successful brokerage office is an office where agents learn about the newest technologies.

3. Homesnap's marketing tools can help agents (and their offices) build a strong presence in their community.

Homesnap abides by Fair Display Guidelines, provides a platform for agents to collaborate with clients, and has tons of innovative features agents can use for free as an MLS membership benefit.

We also provide a suite of expert digital marketing tools that are easy to use and help agents grow their business on the biggest online networks.

USA-1 agents learned about purchasing Homesnap Pro Ads on Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Waze in order to promote their brand and reach consumers where they spend most of their time.

They also learned about upgrading to Homesnap's Pro+, a premium membership that helps agents verify, optimize, and manage a high-performing Google Business Profile so they appear at the very top of more Google searches.

As Google's featured real estate partner, we provide insights like no other real estate platform on the world's biggest search engine.

USA-1 agents were interested in both. A number of them purchased a Pro+ subscription on the spot.

They agreed it was worth it to pay for Homesnap Pro+ to automatically build and maintain a Google business profile. That way, they could keep ranking higher on Google without having to worry about updating their profile constantly.

It's clear this office training provided USA-1's agents with new tools and opportunities for their digital marketing.

Walking out of USA-1's office, Jack and I knew two things. The first was that we had some new friends in Pataskala, Ohio. The second was that this brokerage office was well on their way to becoming more productive, tech-savvy, and successful by using Homesnap Pro to support their business. I wish every brokerage office manager out there could have joined us.

Interested in drumming up this kind of enthusiasm at your office? We offer free brokerage trainings, so click here to sign up!

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.