Keller Williams Further Expands Command Capabilities
Keller Williams (KW) announces feature enhancements to Command, a smart CRM-plus solution, and its associated mobile app. "As the market continues to shift, top agents and teams are realizing their businesses have become increasingly complicated," said Chris Cox, chief technology and digital officer, KW. "In response, our latest updates to Command bring radical simplicity to lead generation activities and more." During 2022, KW partnered with real estate agents and teams to release software integrations and CRM features aimed at increasing productivity and eliminating pain points with lead generation, marketing and real estate team workflow capabilities. "Command gives agents more time to deliver increased client satisfaction while maximizing higher profitability," said Cox. "Agents today want immense value from their CRM; they want efficiency and speed in their business operations and they want it all seamlessly delivered. Command does that." The latest updates to Command include: End-to-end integration of CRM tools was enhanced via further embedding the rich, intuitive capabilities of the Campaigns, Contacts and Designs apps within the Opportunities app, which tracks deals across phases of a sales pipeline. The Marketing Tab features curated lists of top performing marketing assets, such as print flyers and trifolds, Facebook and Instagram ad templates, and prescriptive marketing campaign templates. Recommendations change based on deal phase in the Opportunities app. Contact Quick-Create feature within the Opportunities app, which allows agents to rapidly create and edit contact details. The Contacts Imports Wizard enables the thousands of agents onboarding monthly with KW to have an easy and efficient means to import their contacts into Command. Instagram social posting for business accounts was added to the Campaigns app to increase the lead generation and brand-building and engagement opportunities for agents via social media. Contacts information validation functionality was added to the SmartPlans app to give agents visibility on the gaps among the data a SmartPlan requires and the data available for a contact. Cap accuracy dashboard enhancements allow agents to view in real time their progression toward a production cap. As production cap is reached, an agent no longer pays a commission split, meaning the agent is at a 100 percent commission until their anniversary year starts again. Expanded native software integration with DocuSign, which allows for further embedded signature processing, simplifying workflows and document processes between agents and market centers. An Earnnest integration allows for quick and secure handling of earnest money within the Opportunities app, simplifying the workflow for agents, buyers and escrow holders. A Sisu integration enables real estate coaches to view agent production data on Sisu-powered coaching dashboards, leaderboards and coaching reports. "When our agents connect with clients through Command, it is the beginning of a meaningful relationship, and that's the reason we're a part of one of every five transactions that happens in the U.S.," said Cox. Command app latest updates include: Comprehensive integration of the Opportunities app functionality, which enables agents to view, edit, manage and archive real estate deals on the go. Home screen of the app includes a dashboard of open opportunities, offering a quick glance at the number of deals within each phase of the sales pipeline. Agents can sort and view opportunities based on a specific client. Expanded native software integrations with Twilio and WhatsApp allow for increased embedded communication capabilities with clients. Timeline enhancements to the Command app include the ability to view details about a property inquiry or a property tour, view listing feedback, view co-buyer and seller additions and removals, add email and mail activities, and view feedback on Collections or saved home searches within the KW Consumer app. Navigation enhancements include easier account switching between individual agent and real estate agent team views of Command app, a counter of new notifications that is always visible on the bottom of the home screen, and the ability to send the KW Consumer App through any smartphone app using a native share phone component from the home screen. User experience enhancements include translation for 28 different languages in response to KW's robust international growth. Contact and property address auto population and the addition of the "Quick Contacts Bar" to bring contacts closer to the fingertips, were also added. Task app updates on the mobile app include the ability to bulk edit tasks, delete and undo tasks, assign a task (if on a team account), unarchive a task and mark a complete task as incomplete. "The iterative updates we rolled out for Command in 2022 were highly influenced by consistent engagement with agents," said Cox. "Our solutions will always be anchored in our agents' success with a laser focus on what drives growth in their business." In February 2019, KW originally released Command, which is hosted on the Keller Cloud platform, for general availability for its agents. In December 2021, KW released the first version of the Command app. Command has more than 110,800 monthly active users as of Nov. 30. "Our continued foundational advancements to the code base and data structure of the Keller Cloud have put us in a position to dramatically increase the speed to market for Command updates and innovation," said Matt Green, head of agent experience and innovation, KW. "We have some exciting releases in store, along with additional feature extensibility with our open API library model that will be released in 2023."

4 Ways to Dominate Your Market
You're ready to own your market, stay ahead of your competitors, and become a top-producing real estate team dominating the local market share. If the goal is clear, the road to achieving that goal can be hard to imagine... until these essential tips come into the picture. Let's look at fresh and timely strategies that your real estate team can leverage to help you climb to the top of your market. 1. Leverage technology in the right ways Not all technology adoption may be the right choice for your business. Nowadays, there is so much PropTech out there — but what your team needs is the right tech tools. As a best practice, you should strive to leverage technology in the right ways that create tangible and trackable value. Think automated nurture marketing, eAlerts, and the generation of meaningful insights. On the other hand, you might want to rethink the deployment of technology in areas that could negatively impact the experience that your clients have when engaging with your business. For example, speed-to-lead is crucial, but no one wants to talk to bots. Instead, it's ideal to have real humans who are seasoned marketing experts communicating with your precious customers. Being specific about what, how, and when you are using your technology can help you retain a people-centric, value-driven real estate brand culture. 2. Build an accountability process Pop quiz! Are you and your team actually achieving what you set out to do? Are there areas of your workflow that fall through the cracks? Are you measuring your progress towards concrete production goals? If you answered these questions and realized that you're not capitalizing on a clear, goal-oriented strategy, it's a sign that you need an accountability process. All of the top entrepreneurs have accountability practices. Accountability is all about blending the big picture and the immediate moment to create consistent progress toward a goal. Accountability begins with setting realistic and achievable goals. Then, that larger goal is broken down into all of the smaller phases and steps that need to be taken in order to achieve that larger goal. Let's say it's your goal to close on 20 transactions in a year. That means your team should be closing five deals per quarter. To close those five deals, you will need to be working a certain number of leads to ensure that five of them will convert in the future. Become more accountable and efficient by mapping out the actions your real estate business needs to take, helping guide your day-in-day-out workflow strategy. Pro Tip: Leveraging the right tech can actually help your team become more accountable. If you have a back-end team portal that is customized to your unique transaction workflow, it can be much easier to keep tabs on what tasks have gotten done, who's responsible, and what has been overlooked. For example: if your team sends out a closing gift to clients at the end of every transaction, you need to ensure that the gift is being planned and ordered ahead of time. If this is programmed into your project management portal, the reminder is automatically there. You can tag the team member in charge, they can fulfill the task, and voila! Never miss another gifting opportunity again. #3. Set consistent life and work routines Maintaining a strong work-life balance can help you stay motivated, boost creativity, and increase productivity. You're much more likely to succeed if you're feeling uplifted, secure, and are prioritizing your wellness. When you're unorganized and not taking care of yourself, you're likely to spend more time working but ultimately getting less done. An effective way to improve your workflow is to create a consistent daily routine. Make time to take care of yourself and your work tasks, helping you fall into the rhythms of a strong daily groove. Pro Tip: Everyone is unique, so the optimum work and life schedule will naturally vary from person to person. Take time to look in and find the process that works best for you. Encourage your team to do the same. #4. Prospect, prospect, prospect If you want to beat the competition, one of the most important things that you need to be doing is getting serious about your prospecting. To boost your market share and access new opportunities, you need to be consistent about reaching out to leads. Investing in your lead generation capacity can help you build up your lead and client database, fueling your sales funnel and allowing you to dominate your market. To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.

What Are the Best Tips for Successfully Nurturing Real Estate Leads?
Whether from your website, social media, or even yard signs, not all the leads you get will be ready to move forward right away. In addition to the time you need to prepare their listing, sellers may need to make needed repairs and renovations and properly stage their home. Buyers might still need to get preapproval, identify their ideal neighborhood or, in times like these, adjust their expectations and budgets to find the right home for them. None of this can happen overnight. In fact, it can take a long time. According to some industry experts, real estate leads can incubate from anywhere to six to 24 months. It's important to think of leads like seeds: if you plant them regularly and nurture them with care, you'll have a steady stream of sales down the road. But what are the best ways to nurture real estate leads? Regular, reliable, relevant touchpoints A touchpoint is any interaction you have with your leads. Once they reach out to you by phone, email, or through your website (the first touchpoint), follow-up touchpoints are important to keep leads warm. Three factors are key: Regularity We are, by nature, a little forgetful. To be memorable, you actually need to remind your leads you're there. By following up regularly—but unobtrusively, such as by email—your name and brand will stay top of mind, so your leads won't end up working with someone else after you've put in all the work to cultivate them. Reliability Homebuyers and sellers usually have a lot of questions about the process. After all, it's one of the biggest steps and transactions most people undertake in their lives. They must trust you as a professional, and that you're providing reliable information. Brand your communications consistently, use proper spelling and grammar, and share useful facts and data. Relevance We're bombarded with information all day long. If your touchpoints don't speak to your leads' unique concerns and interests or aren't relevant to where they are in the sales cycle, they'll quickly tune out. To avoid this, provide the information your leads can really use: For Sellers: Staging tips, neighborhood reports, recent sales comps, and more. For Buyers: Preapproval and lending information, recommended properties, tips for picking a good inspector, or checklists to bring to showings. Tailored nurture campaigns Speaking of relevance, your leads should be plugged into tailored campaigns that account for much more than just whether they're a buyer or seller. Are they a first-time buyer, and therefore need more support? Are they a seasoned property investor or home flipper that needs a little less handholding? These two different profiles should not be receiving the same information, and your lead nurture strategy and tools need to provide the flexibility to speak to both. Customizable content Out-of-the-box content sometimes just won't cut it. A library of lead nurture content is important and can save you lots of time, but it won't reach its full potential if you can't customize it. No one wants to receive canned, impersonal emails, so make sure your communications have the human touch. At a minimum, you need to be able to address your leads by name and send content that is specific to their area and budget. The more customization, the better. Personalization tokens are an easy way to do this, and you need the ability to write and add your own messages to your campaigns. Smart automation You're busy! Manually tracking and completing these tasks could be a full-time job, but we understand that busy brokers and agents have a lot of other things to worry about. This is where smart automation comes in. Smart automation allows you to put lead nurturing on autopilot, so you intervene only when you can add value, like answering a specific question, hopping on the phone, or scheduling a meeting. Less tedium, more transactions! Tracking Finally, you need to be able to track your leads effectively. How many have you received? How many have been actioned? How many are in a specific campaign? How many have gone cold? With the right tracking tools, you can sort leads by where they are (or aren't) in your lead nurture workflow and act accordingly. Constellation1 CRM provides robust and granular lead nurture capabilities. Learn more here. To view the original article, visit the Constellation1 blog.

How Agent Accountability Actually Drives Profits
Amongst real estate teams, accountability is often seen as an afterthought. But, if you really want to level up your business, accountability should be explicitly woven into your process and business plan. Accountability is defined as "the acceptance of responsibility for one's own actions — implying a willingness to be transparent, allowing others to observe and evaluate one's performance." Accountability is a valuable tool that team leaders and brokers can implement within their team cultures, but it's also an essential quality that single agents should adopt to build trust and boost productivity. Rather than being viewed as a punishment — where you need to get these tasks done, "or else" — accountability should be a motivator. Why Accountability Matters Strong accountability practices drive agents to perform better, helping them maximize their efforts and ensure that everything they intend to do actually gets done. When entire teams work together with accountability as a major focus, it's easier to collaborate effectively. The group can capitalize on everyone's best efforts, leveraging their collective power to increase production, transaction results, and client satisfaction. When individual agents dedicate themselves to becoming more accountable, single agents can improve their work-life balance by organizing their task lists and prioritizing how time is spent during the workday. Whether you're a team leader looking to make accountability a cornerstone of your team operations, or you're an individual agent that wants to achieve more, here are some tips for incorporating accountability into your real estate culture. Start Setting Specific, Actionable, and Trackable Goals Breaking down bigger goals into specific, smaller tasks that can be measured and tracked is an accountability best practice. If you map out each step that needs to be taken to generate the results you want, you'll be able to take baby steps towards the larger goal. This way, you can make sure that you and your team are on track. Goal Setting in 3 Simple Steps 1. Set an Overall Team Goal As a team, what volume do you want to achieve? How many units do you want to transact? Have a deadline in mind to help you determine how much time you have to meet this goal. 2. Set Individual Goals for Each Agent Next, break up your larger team goal into smaller, agent-focused tasks. If you're a single agent, your team goal will be your individual production goal. For teams, assign each agent an individual goal to help guide their efforts and ensure that the entire team is on the same page. Go to each team member and outline the goals being set for them. Giving them a minimum acceptable, midrange goal, and maximum attainable can help clarify expectations. For example, if you're looking for three units from each agent, the minimum acceptable may be two units, the midrange goal may be three units, and the maximum attainable may be five units. Make sure that you're talking to each agent about the goals being set for them. Ask them if they feel like it's realistic, or if they think it's a low-ball and that they can achieve more. This also gives team leaders the chance to talk to their agents and see if anyone needs help, more training, or tips to improve their work. 3. Step Back and Take a Bird's Eye View Once you've assigned roles to each of your team members based on your overarching team goal, take a moment to assess whether or not all of the bases are being covered. If you don't have the bandwidth to meet your goals, you may need to hire additional team members. Pro Tip: For teams, goal setting should be a collaborative process. In order to achieve team-wide goals, be realistic when establishing expectations for each agent. Make sure that the goals being set for each individual match their qualifications, skills, and talents. Streamline Accountability When you work with BoomTown, you'll gain access to your very own accountability dashboard. Documenting everything in your BoomTown database can help teams track progress, keep a current log of all activities, and make your CRM more effective with strong data inputs. Team leaders will be able to oversee and monitor agent activities, helping leaders determine which team members are thriving and which agents might need some help. Some brokers and team leaders even require that agents submit proof of tasks being completed before they are given new leads. To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.

Big Data Solves the Lead Quality and CRM Problems in Real Estate
Remember years ago when conferences had sessions and tracks on big data mashups? It was a headliner topic that led to a bunch of companies proclaiming that their predictive analytic algorithms could tell Realtors when a consumer had a high propensity to buy or sell. Investors backed these companies with millions. Also, agents and brokers jumped in to find better, faster, and cheaper methods for finding customers. It failed, and they are all gone now. As it turns out, those people who were in a good position to buy or sell were not actually as likely to buy or sell as the data suggested – but big data is still around, and at least one mashup is making remarkable strides. Last week, WAV Group was given an update from Darr Aley, co-founder of Aidentified, to gain an understanding about the status of big data and mashups. Aidentified refers to their mashup as an identity graph. Today, the data market is divided into consumer data (Experian, etc.) and professional data (ZoomInfo, etc.). Aidentified's identity graph combines those two and adds a relationship mapping cloud (social media connections) along with events (when their customer has an IPO, investment received, stock transaction, management changes, news mentions, etc.). Lead Quality Improvement Agents and brokers spend a lot of marketing dollars on digital lead generation. The goal is to get a consumer to raise their hand by providing their name, email, and phone number on a lead form. At best, lead generation companies use big data to validate that the phone number and email address is valid. Other than that, agents get very little information about the lead. To improve the value of a lead, Aidentified uses a process called "match and append." The integration with Zillow will add more than 150 possible attributes to the lead – household information, spouse information, wealth category, income category, etc. On top of that, Aidentified will tell the agent how they are connected to them (social media – first- or second-level connection). A Compass agent received a Zillow lead on a $15 million property. The agent was able to see that the lead was a teacher, but also that her husband was an executive at Apple and that they currently live in a $10 million home. This completely changes the picture. CRM Problem There is a numbers game to CRMs. It is a sales funnel. A new term coined by leading real estate coach Tom Ferry is "clients under management." In the CRM game, contacts matter. The more quality contacts that an agent has, the more transactions and referrals the agent will get. Five-hundred high quality contacts that are routinely worked by the agent should yield about 12 transactions a year. On the surface, the math seems straightforward, but when you dig in deeper you find that most agents' CRMs are a leaky bucket. The leaky bucket is caused by people moving (ouch – lost deal and direct mail bounces), changing phone numbers, or changing email addresses (email bounces). But there is more than that. Most agents do not have spouse information, do not know about the household's career or wealth, etc. A different Compass agent was notified about the news announcement that Charles Schwab was moving their corporate headquarters out of San Francisco to North Texas. He used Aidentified to find all 17 executives at Schwab and started marketing to them, securing two very high-end listings and referrals to a Compass agent in Texas. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Vylla Home: The Power of Technology Partnership
Leads are the lifeblood of every brokerage. So, what happens when lead management is underperforming? Learn how Vylla Home tapped into a partnership with Constellation1 to bring their vision for tailored tech solutions to life. A new way to route real estate leads Vylla Home is a tech-forward homeownership company headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California that provides mortgage, title, and homes all under one roof. It has 1,100+ agents at 40+ offices in 35+ states, with ambitious growth goals over the next five years. Vylla was having lead issues. It already generated tons of leads internally, but it needed a CRM to route them effectively. Manually assigning hundreds of leads per week simply wasn't an option. It needed a seamless way to manage and route leads from multiple sources, including its website and its Microsoft Dynamics ERP software. It also wanted to generate more leads from its customer-facing brokerage, office, and agent websites. By opting for Constellation1's industry-leading real estate technology solutions, Vylla Home got even more than it asked for. Today, Vylla's tech isn't just some necessary expense, it's a real revenue-generator. "It took the right partner with the right skills to do what we needed. Constellation1 has bright people with the tech chops to do exactly what we were looking for. No one else came close. Now, we have zero hesitations about actioning our growth goals thanks to our relationship with a reliable partner like Constellation1," says Chad Ruggles, Senior Vice-President Vylla Home. Finding a tech partner who can meet your needs Vylla had a very specific wish list when it came to upgrading its tech: It also had three non-negotiable criteria: Vylla's success hinged on finding the right partner. From day one, Constellation1 truly stood out. "Constellation1 makes us feel like they're part of our internal tech team. We never had that level of service with our previous vendor," says Ruggles. Empowering brokerages with tech that gets results Constellation1 worked closely with Vylla to assess its needs and goals and create a tailored suite of front office solutions so it could reach them. Scaled lead routing Vylla chose Constellation1 CRM and a white-label version of the integrated mobile app, which it dubbed Vyllocity. Constellation1 CRM integrates completely with Dynamics and Skyslope to capture and route leads automatically. When other tech providers said no, Constellation1 took a different approach, asking Vylla: "What do you want to be able to do?" Constellation1's expertise and versatility allow it to collaborate in ways other providers can't to help brokerages make their visions a reality. Better website Vylla decided to completely revamp vyllahome.com with Constellation1 Websites. Vylla agents now have highly customizable branded websites and can access and manage all key tools from a single customized dashboard, saving the Vylla team hundreds of hours per year. The Vylla dashboard is the perfect example of a solution that was born by melding minds and imagining what the tech could do to serve Vylla's goals. Powerful data Vylla opted to purchase additional Constellation1 Data Services to gather strategic insights for predictive analytics, intelligence, and targeted marketing. These insights are becoming yet another source of highly profitable leads. A partnership that pays for itself "Before Constellation1, our tech was just an expense with no revenue generation. Now, we've got real ROI," says Ruggles. The right technology—and the right partner—make all the difference. With even more ambitious targets now than ever before, Vylla is ready to meet its challenges head on and overcome them with Constellation1 in its corner. You can read the full Vylla Home customer story here. To view the original article, visit the Constellation1 blog.

3 Ways to Dust Off Your Sphere of Influence Now
Your sphere of influence (SOI) is much more than a catalog of all the people you've met. It's the lifeblood of your business. It doesn't matter how large or far-reaching your network is; to benefit fully, you have to keep people engaged. Does your SOI need a shot in the arm? Try these tips to ensure it's a sphere that keeps on giving. Tip #1: Up your social media game Social media can be a great tool to keep your sphere engaged. If you're aimlessly scrolling your newsfeed looking for new engagement opportunities, though, it can be a colossal time-sink. What you need is a little bit of strategy to turn social media into your friend. With a little bit of strategy, social media can benefit you. Here are a few things to spur your creative juices: Export your contacts to a CSV file and then upload it to Facebook Business Manager. Once these contacts are uploaded, you can create targeted campaigns and boost your social media posts. Try Instagram Stories or Facebook Live to engage your audience with "day-in-the-life" content via video. Consistency is key to crushing social media engagement. Spend 30 minutes each week personally reaching out to your sphere on social media by liking, commenting and engaging with their content. Stay personal, but also use easy tools to automate your social media. Combining your personal touch with more regular posts through automation will give you the most significant results. Spend 30 minutes each week personally reaching out to your sphere on social media by liking, commenting, and engaging with their content. Use a landing page. Some CRM platforms can create a custom landing page for you, which can help expand your SOI but also help nurture those already in it.‍ Tip #2: Make it personal‍ If you've tried to engage sphere members who have not responded to other touchpoints, sending a quick email (or text) may do the trick – just remember to personalize. Why? Data backs it up: 74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement rates. Personalized emails deliver 6x higher transactional, and emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. What agent has time to send personal emails to everyone in their sphere, though? That's where tech comes in. A tech ecosystem makes it easy to keep your responses personal. Emails and texts can be put on autopilot, driving up to 10x higher responses from leads, and you don't have to lift a finger.‍ Tip #3: Use Automation to Stay Top of Mind ‍You can't expect your sphere to remember you – or engage with you – if you're only communicating with them sporadically. That's where an automated marketing drip campaign comes in. It can keep a steady flow of touchpoints rolling to keep you top of mind. What's more, it works behind the scenes to keep communications flowing. Being able to engage your sphere (and not spend hours each day doing it) rests on what type of tools you have in your lead nurturing arsenal. Even the best agents can get quickly overwhelmed with the volume of touchpoints needed to keep leads warm and referrals coming in, but with the right tools and technology in place, engagement with your SOI can thrive. To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.

What Is a Healthy Adoption Rate for Real Estate Technology?
When it comes to "technology adoption rates," I have seen a plethora of articles from technology vendors as to what should be expected from brokers/owners. Some vendors in the marketplace boast an eye-popping 90%+ agent adoption rate for using technology tools. Other vendors settle for adoption rates as low as the 30% mark. After years of analyzing trends and data from brokerages utilizing the DeltaNET tools, I believe that I can share what should be the honest, realistic answer. First and foremost, we must address what the definition of "adoption" is. In the context of technology adoption, the definition provided by Merriam-Webster is "the act or process of beginning to use something new or different." The reason I bring up this definition is because you will find an abundance of varying opinions when it comes to technology vendors advertising their adoption rates. I am choosing to follow the worldwide accepted definition of adoption for this article. I have found throughout my tenure educating real estate professionals that the word "training" has quite a strong negative connotation. Nobody wants to sit through another two-plus hour training course detailing the latest technology being deployed by their brokerage. The fact of the matter is that real estate agents endured a bevy of technology rollouts over the last 20 years, all of them driven by dozens of factors. Asking your agents to sit through another new technology class to learn something new is an uphill battle. Our philosophy at Delta Media Group is that technology needs to be intuitive, and it needs to work for you. The question isn't "How do I use this technology?" but "What does this technology do?" Inside the DeltaNET® 6 CRM, which is the underlying technology I will share adoption numbers for, we've focused on innovating how agents think about technology tools. Most CRM trainings focus on the step-by-step process of conducting various aspects of the platform: Click CRM, select customers, select add new customer. Within the DeltaNET 6 CRM, that three-step process is accomplished simply through our patent-pending "Quick Actions." Rather than the agent needing to know HOW to add a customer to the system, they can simply type into the quick actions bar "Add Customer," which will bring that feature directly onto the page they are working from. It transforms our training from a "Here's how you do " type of training into an "As long as you know what the system can do for you, it just works" type of training. The other differentiator I wanted to share before I dig into our true adoption numbers is that our CRM is not a simple "what you see is what you get" solution. We designed our entire intranet platform to be customizable for each unique brand and brokerage partnering with us. That means if you want to "white-label" the DeltaNET to look and feel more like an internal tool developed by your organization rather than an out-of-the-box third-party CRM, that is possible. As just one example, one of our partners, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group, based near the Chicago region, launched the DeltaNET as the "Galaxy" platform. Their agents don't just have the DeltaNET CRM; they have a version called the "Star CRM." This type of customization encourages agents to utilize the unique tools provided by their brokerage as they won't find that same experience elsewhere. So what is a realistic and accurate adoption rate for new technology being implemented throughout a brokerage? In my experience, the vast majority of brokerages follow what I call the "30-30-30 rule." Thirty percent of agents are begging for new tech and tools to use. They are usually a part of the younger crowd and are the people who should become your champions of tech, pushing how amazing it is through the rest of your organization. This is the group that should be primarily involved in the decision-making of any new tools you are looking to bring into your suite of services. The second 30% of users are what I call the inbetweeners. They could really go either way. Any adoption/training strategy should focus on getting as many of this group on board as possible. They are the career real estate professionals who fall right in line with NAR's standards for a real estate agent. They do a healthy number of annual deals and are committed and focused on improving their careers. Your job as a leader should be focused on getting this core group of users excited about your tech tools, as they are the crowd that focused training strategies will really resonate with. The final 30% of users are the group that you are better off leaving to their own devices. Even as I write this, it sounds harsh. Still, any professional in a leadership position within a brokerage understands that the reality of running a real estate company means you will have a group of agents that just will not use the technology or marketing services offered by your firm. This group of agents is primarily made up of those holding a real estate license more as a hobby than as their career. They may have a handful of transactions each year, but they are not really focused on growing their own business. Being an agent is a post-retirement career or a second job for many in this group, so taking time out of their day to learn a new technology tool just isn't appealing. You likely won't ever get them to engage. That last observation is not in any way meant to be disparaging to those agents or to display a defeatist attitude. I believe in business there is no better way to convey an open and honest conversation than by trusting the data and having a dialogue about what it shows. Logical thinking often wins out on emotion in the realm of business. Something that I often hear in my "30-30-30 rule" conversations is a question regarding the remaining 10% I haven't already discussed. What I've found is that the remaining 10% of agents typically fit into one of those three categories I mentioned above, but where they fit changes based on the culture of the brokerage. Many smaller boutique brokerages have a stronger technology adoption rate because they have technology spread within the company's DNA. It's a part of their recruiting efforts. Many legacy independent organizations have a lower adoption rate because the top producing agents in the organization have been using a strategy that has worked in their business for 30-plus years, pre-dating the modern tech trends. So what is the healthy and realistic adoption rate for a new technology offering within a real estate brokerage? Our data shows that 60% is the magic number you want to push your team to achieve. If you can get 60% of your agents logging into your technology platform and taking advantage of the services you provide, then that's a win. Many CRMs on the market have key automations built in that can help all agents capture more business, but we believe automation should be defined as "the process of using something new." Our automated technologies, such as automated newsletters like our My Customer for Life campaign, automatically-generated social media posts, automated task lists driven by agents' clients, and more, all qualify as something new. I'll conclude with some real data from one of our brokerage partners that has been using our technology within their organization for the last three years. This firm has more than 600 agents in its company and ranked in the top 150 brokerages within the RealTrends Top 500. In the seven days before this article was written, 455 out of 653 agents logged into the platform and performed CRM-related actions (70% of total users). In the previous four weeks, 567 of their 653 active agent accounts logged in and interacted with the technology tools within DeltaNET 6. That is 86% of agents regularly engaging every month with their brokerage-provided CRM/lead generation system. Do you see those types of numbers within your toolset? If not, please consider reaching out to us for a consultation. RE Technology readers can try DeltaNET 6 free for 30 days. To view the original article, visit the Delta Media Group blog.

How One Chattanooga Brokerage Tripled Their Business in 2 Years
In real estate, two things are true. (1) The industry can change at lightning speed and (2) delivering incredible customer service is absolutely critical. A modern real estate business needs to evolve and adapt fluidly without ever losing sight of that premium customer experience. Doug Edrington, CEO at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices J Douglas Properties, does those two things incredibly well. He stays ahead of the curve, anticipating and embracing change while staying laser-focused on the client. Evolving with Technology "If you continue to evolve with the technology that is handed to you, seeing it as an opportunity instead of a headache, you're going to stay ahead of the curve," says Doug. Doug partnered with BoomTown to function as the central technology hub of his business. In addition to lead generation, the predictive CRM and lead follow-up capabilities allowed Doug's team to stay consistent with their lead communication and sales flow. The hidden value in a database comes from the wealth of leads that convert over time. They're entered in the system, and over time through smart, automated touches, leads that you generated six months or five years ago will start to pop back up and convert. "Implementing BoomTown opened our eyes to really see all the possibilities," says Doug. "BoomTown has all the tools you need to nurture your leads to get them where they need to be: ready to talk to you." A good leader knows that it's critical to get their team trained properly on a system. Adoption is necessary to use a tool to its fullest potential. And Doug Edrington works hard to provide value to his agents. BoomTown was a natural fit, being easy-to-use, intuitive, and designed to make agents successful. "Every single team member embraced the BoomTown system very quickly. We soon realized how much we wished we had it a long time ago. It just made a lot of sense. I think we would go crazy if we ever lost it." Good Leadership Means Focusing on Relationships We know the classic adage in real estate: Clients work with people they know, like, and trust. And Doug has built his business around living up to those expectations. Real estate home buyers and sellers want someone to solve their problems and rise to the occasion. For Doug, that means setting up his agents for success with the right training, processes, culture, and technology systems. "We can't forget the basics, we still continue to do all the foundational things. But we also understand that one person cannot do this business by themselves anymore. It has to be a team. BoomTown gives us the tools to gain the advantage of all the people surrounding us that make us successful." When you are scaling a real estate business, you need to deliver excellent service at a high volume. That's a lot of touchpoints and a lot of opportunities to drop the ball if you're not careful. With BoomTown's predictive CRM and lead insights, he can assure that leads in the system are being engaged with the right information at the right time. Quality and quantity. Accountability Wins the Race A high-functioning team can only thrive with strong accountability measures in place. Even for the most diligent of self-motivators, some type of accountability will not only make sure they're accomplishing their goals, but it will push them even further and make your business more profitable. Even with powerful technology, a tool is only as good as the one who wields it. Doug relies on BoomTown's To-Dos, follow-up and nurture plans, and accountability dashboard to keep his team productive. "BoomTown has been a really great platform for us all around. From a team leader perspective, the Dashboards have given us a whole new level of accountability." With insights from the Accountability Dashboard, Doug can make sure his team is engaging with the right leads at the right time. He also knows when there's room for improvement and how to work with the agent to help them succeed. Triple Your Business BoomTown clients have a tendency to triple their business in the first five years working on the platform. Once again, Doug is ahead of the curve, tripling his business in just two years. The best part is that the system is designed to grow with you. So as Doug's team expands and his agents take on higher and higher volume, Boomtown grows alongside him to fit his evolving needs. "We've evolved quite a bit from when we first started our business in 2004," says Doug. "The market has changed a lot as Chattanooga exploded from a small town into a bustling city hub. As the city continues to grow, customer needs will also change. It's important to adapt and evolve with the market in order to efficiently meet your client's shifting needs." Innovation is no longer a technology buzzword but a critical component of a thriving real estate team. Consistently rising to the demands of modern real estate consumers and adapting to better serve his unique team structure is why Doug trusts BoomTown to power his business. To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.

Getting to the Top with Smart Leadership and Powerful Tech
Sonny Downey is many things: motivated, successful, kind. But what really stands out in a sea of successful top producers in real estate is his combination of intelligence and humility. He's sharp as a tack and uses that industry knowledge to empower his agents. That's why his business has skyrocketed to consistently ranking as the #1 franchise for EXIT Realty International in the United States. After 15 years in the industry, the number one obstacle has always been, and still remains, staying ahead of the curve with technology. Being partnered with BoomTown means having the comfort of knowing that your technology partner will handle that for you. As a leader of nearly 500 agents, Sonny understands that the success of his business ultimately comes down to the individual success of those agents. And empowering them with the tools they need to reach their goals has been his priority from the beginning. "I'm in the system now just as much as I was back then. Any broker that doesn't have a robust CRM is just missing out, they really are. They're going to miss the boat." Aside from putting trust in a technology partner, Sonny recommends attending annual user conferences (such as BoomTown Unite) and real estate events like Inman Connect and T3 Sixty. Making Your Systems Work FOR You Sonny's company has been with BoomTown for over 10 years. And if you're wondering why he's never left, it's because he does all of the right things to be successful with the platform. He's taking every important step to get the most ROI possible and use BoomTown as a tool to move his business forward. BoomTown works for Sonny Downey, and not the other way around. Here's how. Strategic Agent Training Most successful real estate businesses have a training program baked in to cover both the tech systems as well as basic agent skills. Sonny does this particularly well, and here's why. Not only do his agents go through basic systems training, but he also educates his agents on the modern lead flow and real estate marketing funnel. Yep, you read that right! Being a successful real estate agent in 2020 means going beyond cold call scripts and LPMAMA. It means understanding the wealth and diversity of lead sources available, and how to work them successfully. "During training we really focus on lead intake. How do we want to handle these leads that are coming in? Because if you're handling them the same way you're handling an open house lead or a referral, you're going to go right into selling, when really you need to coddle that relationship and build trust during that 6-9 month period." This type of real estate lead funnel education may seem trivial, but it is a powerful difference that sets Sonny apart. We believe it plays a huge role in the wild success of his real estate business. Not having a deep understanding of this funnel of real estate leads and how to treat them is why brokers so often hear the complaint, "These online leads suck." Sonny's agents are trained to work the right leads the right way. (And it saves him a lot of pain in the long run.) Focus on Lead Flow Sonny leads nearly 500 agents. So it's critical that the right process is in place to quickly move those agents to a point of productivity. He solves for that problem by educating about lead flow early on and by structuring his business so that agents have "skin in the game" when it comes to leads. First, Sonny's agents buy-in to have their own lead pool. Once they've completed the necessary BoomTown training, they're allowed to start buying in. "You don't buy the leads, you buy the opportunity. If you're not going to take advantage of the opportunity, we'll reassign it to someone else." With skin in the game, agents are more likely to stay on top of their follow-up and really work the system properly in order to build their pipeline of opportunities. And new agents have social proof when they see the more tenured, successful agents that have moved up by following the process. "The only thing worse than a bad lead is no lead. We're a brokerage built off of the word 'no.' I think any agent success is based on their ability to get through the word 'no' at a fast rate. "That's what BoomTown allows us to do. To have the lead flow that we need to get the conversions that we want. A lot of people think they have a lead 'flow' problem, but really that have a lead conversion problem." Building a Strong Recruitment Program If you're trying to grow your business and hire a team – Sonny Downey's EXIT Realty Gallery is a fantastic model to follow. Recruitment and training is a big piece of that growth, and through the years, Sonny has relied on BoomTown as a key player in that recruitment process. The agents that his business tends to attract are younger and tech-savvy. They're comfortable with using a technology system as the "home base" of their business and they understand the value of a diverse base of lead sources. "In our market, it makes us stand out as one of the industry leaders. Our website is one-third of our recruiting presentation. The technology in our industry has changed at lightning speed. Having BoomTown was always so impressive, especially during our recruiting appointments." Why do agents join a team or a franchise rather than work alone? They see the value in what that environment can offer. Brokers who use BoomTown leverage it as a recruitment tool because it empowers agents with a consumer website, predictive CRM, and a healthy pipeline of leads. Choices, Choices, Choices… There's a wealth of technology in the real estate space and it can be overwhelming for anyone trying to choose the right system. So why did Sonny choose BoomTown? And better yet, why has he chosen to stick with BoomTown for a decade? Here are three reasons why Sonny Downey chooses BoomTown to power his business: 1. "The don't try to be the all-in-one printer" A lot of tech systems will promise you the world. But do they really do it that well? "The reality is with the other products, nine times out of 10 they're just trying to catch up with BoomTown. They're trying to be the all-in-one printer. It does everything just okay but it doesn't do anything really well. I like that BoomTown stays in their lane with what they're amazing at, and they integrate with other platforms on an API for the rest." Sonny's agents love using the Google Calendar as well as the Spacio integrations. Check out some of our other integration partners here. 2. It's a system built to scale. There are a lot of leads in Sonny's BoomTown database… a lot. His agents have about 350,000 leads in their pipelines and many of them have been marinating since 2009. "People love the system so much that we have their customers coming back and their agents aren't even here anymore." BoomTown clients tend to triple their business within four years. And the reason for that is there is a direct correlation between database growth and an increase in Annual Production Volume. 3. No matter how much they grow, you still get white-glove service Many clients have BoomTown CEO and Co-founder, Grier Allen's personal cell phone number. That's how BoomTown operates. It was established with one goal in mind: make real estate agents successful. That mission has remained the core focus of BoomTown for over a decade. "I've always liked the transparency, being able to reach out to them and find out if there are other strategies that we need to employ. Just the personal touch of working with us and helping us work our advertising budget better." For Sonny, the hands-on approach from the BoomTown Digital Advertising team exemplifies why he trusts them as his technology partner. It's why BoomTown clients dominate the REAL Trends Top 250 list. "As big as BoomTown has grown, I still have always felt like I can reach out to someone, and I don't get caught up in this hierarchy. I can talk to a real person. You've been able to maintain that personal touch." To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.

Lone Wolf Acquires LionDesk and HomeSpotter
Lone Wolf Technologies today announced the acquisitions of two leading real estate technology companies, LionDesk and HomeSpotter. With these acquisitions, Lone Wolf's end-to-end technology suite now encompasses digital marketing, lead generation, customer relationship management (CRM), showings, comparative market analysis (CMA), digital forms and signatures, transaction management, back office and accounting, business insights, and recruiting. "We're thrilled to welcome LionDesk and HomeSpotter into the fold today," said Jimmy Kelly, CEO of Lone Wolf. "These acquisitions embody our mission to simplify real estate. We're bringing the best technology together to dramatically simplify the work that agents and brokers do every day. But this is more than just connecting the dots. From lead to close to commission, we're helping agents and brokers get a leading edge in a competitive marketplace and elevate the real estate experience they provide to buyers and sellers today." LionDesk is used by over 165,000 real estate professionals in the U.S. The company's intelligent CRM software makes it easier for agents to engage with clients by consolidating several communication channels, including video, email, text, calls, and AI-enabled lead follow-up, into one intelligent system. Lone Wolf will integrate LionDesk into its Agent Cloud, Broker Cloud, and MLS/Association Cloud to provide a critical CRM component. "We're incredibly excited to join Lone Wolf today," said David Anderson, CEO and founder of LionDesk. "Like Lone Wolf, LionDesk is committed to creating an ecosystem of the best technology to convert leads into lifelong clients. Combined with Lone Wolf's leading tools for CMA and transactions, our CRM will allow agents, teams, and brokers across the continent to serve their buyers and sellers with an unmatched client experience." HomeSpotter integrates with over 300 MLSs and reaches over 500,000 real estate agents across North America. The company offers three solutions, Connect, Boost and Spacio, to provide agents with automated digital marketing for listings and open houses, a modern MLS front-end mobile app, and an online client collaboration platform. HomeSpotter adds essential digital marketing, lead generation, and relationship nurturing components to Lone Wolf's technology suite, as well as the opportunity to begin applying predictive ROI analysis by connecting to Back Office and leveraging Lone Wolf's data science capabilities. Lone Wolf will connect both LionDesk and HomeSpotter, and also invest in HomeSpotter's open house and showings solution, Spacio, to expand and enhance its functionality. "This a great moment for real estate agents, brokerages, and MLSs," said Aaron Kardell, CEO and founder of HomeSpotter. "Digital technology is more important than ever, and HomeSpotter's mobile tools allow agents and consumers to collaborate in a way that feels natural and effortless. Together with Lone Wolf, our solutions will prove to be a game changer for agents and MLSs everywhere, helping agents and brokerages generate more leads and increase productivity on the go to ensure they remain the central source for real estate listings." These acquisitions follow several recent moves from Lone Wolf, as the company seeks to lead the evolution of real estate technology to incorporate consumer tools, connected experiences, and smart technologies like AI and machine learning. In February, Lone Wolf released Digital Title Orders in Lone Wolf Transactions in collaboration with several leading title insurance companies in the U.S. In April, Lone Wolf released the new broker edition of Cloud CMA, featuring visually stunning CMAs and a two-way integration with Lone Wolf Transactions (zipForm Edition and TransactionDesk Edition). In early May, the company also released real estate's first AI-powered recruiting solution, Recruit, helping brokers find the best agents—who are also the best fit for their brokerage—through its data-driven "fit score." Each of these innovations puts modern, connected, and consumer-friendly tools in the hands of real estate professionals at a time when they're needed the most. "Consumer expectations are rapidly evolving," said Matt Keenan, CRO of Lone Wolf. "With these acquisitions and innovations, we're helping real estate respond. Our goal is to provide the real estate world with the kind of intelligent and modern tech it needs to not only meet these new expectations but surpass them. So real estate professionals everywhere can amaze their buyers and sellers and stay at the center of the transaction in a digital era."

Tying It All Together: Constellation1's Partnership with Flavin Realty
Flavin Realty is a reputable, family-owned brokerage that has been a mainstay in southwest Louisiana for over 40 years. Like many companies, Flavin Realty was doing business using old-school tools, meaning manual processes and systems that didn't integrate with one another. In 2018, under new leadership, Flavin Realty embarked on modernizing its tools. In 2019 however, following a failed relationship with a vendor that got acquired, resulting in poor customer service and the project never coming to fruition, Flavin Realty was on the hunt for a new solution vendor. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a sense of urgency and an opportunity for the company to re-evaluate its priorities. "Back in 2018, we needed our agents to switch mindsets and get used to the idea of writing a purchase agreement in a parking lot from their phone. Now, we need tools to be even more mobile," said Melissa Hamilton, Sales Manager and Associate Broker at Flavin Realty. By leveraging Constellation1 Back Office, CRM with Mobile App, and Website solutions, Flavin Realty achieved its goal to improve search, lead routing and connected apps across their tech stack. With Constellation1 as their solution partner, Flavin Realty agents are more mobile than ever—with the right tools at their fingertips. With a vision to expand its business in the future, Constellation1 solutions make it easy for Flavin Realty to succeed. Read the full customer story here, and learn more about how Constellation1 is helping Flavin Realty succeed. To view the original article, visit the Constellation1 blog.

Inspired by Sherry Chris: Being More Inviting and CRM of the Future
I have always admired the Better Homes and Gardens brand developed at Realogy under the leadership of Sherry Chris. She is a delightful person who always brightens your day when you spend time with her. In many ways, BHGRE feels welcoming and sincere despite the long brand name. On Facebook recently, Sherry posted a recipe on pairing quesadillas and wine published by Food & Wine Magazine, another Meredith Corporation publication. Being Friday afternoon, there was half a chance that I'd find a glass of wine in front of me at some time later that day or the next. I clicked right over. The article is crafted with clever prose and a passionate reverence for the subject matter—a satisfying read. Skillful writers always draw you in and inspire you to read their content a little more carefully. Then I hit the pop-up:

Success Story: Brokerage Leader Forgoes Franchise Tech in Favor of "Most Effective Tool I've Ever Used"
Here's a conundrum that many brokerages face: What do you do when your firm uses a technology solution that works great for your needs… but then your franchise rolls out a similar product? Do you stick with your tried-and-true platform or switch to the franchise solution? That's the situation that recently confronted Jimmy Burgess, an executive at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida. As his firm's Chief Growth Officer, his number one priority is to empower 170+ agents. When his franchise debuted their new products, his brokerage had been using BoomTown to manage their client relationships and lead generation needs. But rather than seeing the two tech options as competing products, Burgess looked at the situation as one that could only benefit his agents. "I don't see it as taking the place of BoomTown at all. I think it actually gives our agents options," he says. "Our job is to put our agents in the best position possible. As a company, we're adding as much value as we can with the best technology that's out there outside of the brand. Our job is really just to provide them with the tools to be able to do their jobs more effectively. So in reality, I dont think it's an 'either/or'… I think it's an 'and.'" Lead Strategies that Get Results Though the franchise technology diversified the options available to the agents of BHHS Beach Properties of Florida, BoomTown was the option that netted results for the firm. This, in part, is because of Burgess' hands-on approach. On a daily basis, he carves out time to help his agents hone their marketing campaigns and maximize the tools to discover opportunities. "Any way that we can speed up our processes, then that's a tool that I want to have in my arsenal." For Burgess, success boils down to two main concepts. Number one? Acting quickly on hot opportunities. BoomTown helps them do just that. "It tells us if somebody calculated the mortgage. It tells us if someone has emailed that certain place to their spouse. I mean, it tells us if they've gone and seen a place seven times from four different devices. It literally gives us the ability to know who's hot when they're hot." Burgess' second strategy is to nurture and engage leads who are further out in the process. The results speak for themselves. Last year, for example, one of his agents closed 12 deals through BoomTown. Nine out of 12 of those leads had come through the system over a year and a half earlier. BoomTown's automated marketing and drip campaigns kept them engaged and nurtured them until they were ready to act. Playing the long game is important not just for nurturing prospects, but for getting the most out of their investment in BoomTown. "We're just starting to see almost like a snowball effect. The longer we use the product, the more we use the product, the better the product gets for us. There's no doubt it's made a huge difference. And to me, it's the most effective tool that I've ever used in real estate." Watch this product tour to learn how BoomTown can become your partner in success. Can't decide which BoomTown product is right for you? Compare packages.

What Is CRM?
The following is an excerpt from RE Technology's latest Success Guide: Unless you have been a salesperson in a prior career, CRM or Customer Relationship Management may be a new concept to you. The idea behind having CRM software as a sales professional is that it organizes your contacts, tasks, and calendar for all customer activities in a single place. This allows you to plan your work and work your plan so that no customer opportunity is ever missed.

The 6 Trends We're Seeing in Top Real Estate CRMs
The following is an excerpt from RE Technology's latest Success Guide: CRM is a constantly evolving category of technology for real estate. Vendors in this category regularly introduce new functionality to improve the breadth of services that agents or brokers can accomplish. Here are a number of new functions and trends that we see emerging across the real estate CRM landscape.

HER Realtors Launches kvCORE from Inside Real Estate to Fuel Growth in 2020
HER Realtors, ranked by the RISMedia Power Broker Report as one of the top 100 largest brokerages in the country, has partnered with Inside Real Estate to provide kvCORE to their over 1,250 associates. The platform will serve as a comprehensive tech ecosystem, allowing associates and teams to manage their entire business in one location, driving increased efficiencies and higher productivity for HER Realtors' growing footprint of associates throughout Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

Success Story: San Diego Team Triples Their Transactions with Software Switch
We're back with the second entry in our "Success Story" series. This week: Scaling your business with the help of the right technology. The "right technology" is what made the difference for Kyle Whissel and his team. One year after changing software, the team nearly tripled their number of closed transactions. What caused the need for the tech change, and which platform did the Whissel Realty Group switch to? Read on to find out!

What to Consider When Sharing Real Estate Leads with Team Members
All brokers or team leaders who are sharing real estate leads have some things that need to be thought out and addressed before providing those leads to agents. Of course, you'll want to put some rules and training in place regarding how each lead should be followed up with. But it is also very important to think about how leads will be handled and tracked when agents leave your office.

An Inside Look at Keller Williams' Command CRM
Keller Williams places tremendous emphasis in developing technology solutions for the agents and brokers who operate independently under their brand. The focus of KW Labs is to research, experiment with, and develop world class technology solutions for KW agents. Command, the Keller Williams' smart CRM-plus solution, recently launched to limited availability (100K Agent Lab) in mid-February 2019, and WAV Group looked under the hood.

How Kyle Whissel became the #1 Team in San Diego
Kyle Whissel, with The Whissel Realty Group, is doing something right. Actually, he's doing a lot of things right. His business, The Whissel Realty Group, has been ranked the #1 team in San Diego and #76 team in the country! So what is the secret sauce behind this success? Step 1: invest in real estate technology that functions as a partner in your success. For Kyle Whissel, BoomTown is the only choice. "We initially got BoomTown in 2012. That first year that we implemented BoomTown, we went from 82 to 242 transactions... so that was a huge quantum leap for us!" A System that's Scalable The most successful businesses are built from a model that is (A) repeatable and (B) scalable. When Kyle's team began to see more and more listings, they knew that they had to take advantage of those listings to generate leads. But without a technology system in place that could support the level of transactions they were hoping to reach, they were leaving money on the table. "We needed to leverage those listings to get more leads. And then when we had more leads, we needed more people. The system we were on previously was not built to scale that up… so we went to BoomTown." With BoomTown, Whissel Realty Group was able to: Manage a large database of leads Generate a healthy pipeline of new leads Manage follow-up and long-term lead nurture Hold agents accountable and track performance "When you take a business that's on the right track, but when you actually implement systems in place that help you manage all of that, that's what takes you to the next level." The Best of the Best in Technology Think about your favorite car. Or the toothpaste brand you use. Those names (Mercedes, Ford, Crest, Colgate), they evoke a sense of familiarity and trust because they've been around for decades. BoomTown has been powering real estate professionals for over 10 years. With its beginnings in the Great Recession in 2008, BoomTown's technology and people have proven that they can adapt, grow, and continue to drive success for real estate teams. (And we're not slowing down!) For Kyle, it's all about working with a leader in technology. He doesn't have time for a platform that is playing "catch up" and working out the kinks. He trusts the company that powers 40% of the REAL Trends top 250 teams. "You can't catch up to what BoomTown has done in 10+ years. They are innovating at a really fast pace at BoomTown and you don't want to get left in the dust with something that's behind the times, because it's probably never going to catch up." Let's Talk Dollars and Sense Kyle Whissel is great at selling real estate. And he's even better at running a business. He knows that if you want to run a business that is scalable, efficient, and built for long-term success, you need to invest in the right infrastructure and processes. Sometimes that means not cutting corners and using the best possible technology available. "The saying holds true… you get what you pay for. You can get produce from a 99¢ store, but do you?" He compares it to when his team works with a FSBO. They let the seller know that the reason they should work with the Whissel Realty Group is that they're going to put the most money possible in your pocket. It takes more of an investment up front, but at the end of the day what matters is the "money in the pocket" AKA the ROI. Choosing the Right CRM So what should you consider when investing in a real estate technology partner? Your CRM should do the following: Hold Agents Accountable: For brokers, the accountability tools in a CRM can be invaluable. Track agent performance by making sure they're staying on top of lead follow-up and prospecting. Capture More Opportunities: With an organized database of leads (tags and segments), it is easier to keep track of where your leads are in the pipeline. Agents are alerted when follow-ups are needed, so no lead gets left behind. Generate More Leads: With a team of expert digital marketers, your brand is highlighted in the best quality advertisements on Google and Facebook, generating high-quality leads. Reduce Busy Work: One of the most important benefits of a CRM is that it can automate busy work, like emailing and texting new prospects. This frees up time for agents to expand their sphere, spend more quality time with clients, or even just take a vacation. Be Smarter with Prospecting: At BoomTown, we like to encourage "Smart Prospecting." This means organizing your lead database into workable lists. You're not just blindly scrolling through a Rolodex of numbers; you're working with targeted leads and you know what they want. Sync with Other Tools: There is no "one size fits all" tool in real estate. The best CRM will offer different packages that can better fit your needs, but even then, there are other tools outside of the CRM that you'll likely still want to use. This is why it's important to have a CRM that integrates with other technology. BoomTown seamlessly integrates with companies like dotloop (transaction management software). Improve Agent Experience: At the end of the day, real estate is all about providing an excellent customer experience. A good CRM will assist agents in providing this experience, but will go even further and improve the agent experience as well. A CRM should be intuitive, easy and enjoyable to use. And the provider should include excellent training as well as customer support. To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.

Magic Happens When Broker Culture Fits with Technology Offerings
As consultants, we are constantly asked about the "best technology," and my answer is commonly "the one that you use." It is a short conversation that's loaded with reality. No two brokerages are the same, nor are technology solutions. On countless occasions, we have watched multiple brokerage firms purchase the same technology and have very different results. There is so much that goes into success. Obviously, choosing the right solution for your company is very important. But the truth is that most of the leading technology vendors serving brokers in America are pretty good. RE Technology has a list of 117 technology vendors for the category of Broker Website. That is a crowded field.

Stop Focusing on GCI and Start Focusing on Success-Driven Activities
There is a lot of noise in real estate right now. Brokerages are worrying about a host of external factors beyond their controls--Compass and its latest set of acquisitions, whispers of a recession, bad weather keeping buyers away from open houses, etc. While we always have to keep our eye on the industry and economy, it's more important to keep your eye on something much closer to home that you CAN control that WILL have a REAL impact on your business.

Contactually's Take on WAV Group's 2019 CRM Effectiveness Study
Technology Drives Agent Success Agents know websites and online leads are necessary to increase the sales funnel, yet it's the CRM that accelerates productivity. Sixty percent of brokers now provide a CRM to their agents for just this reason — and 90 percent of brokers who offer a CRM say their agents understand that CRMs strengthen relationships. Brokers view CRMs as one of the tools that generate the most ROI (along with social media, transaction management, and open house management).

Better Habits, Better Relationships
Take Inventory of Your Current Tech Stack Before you identify which habits to build, take an honest assessment of everything you and your agents are doing, including the technology and how many different tools are being used. Paul Fincher--General Manager at Coldwell Banker Kennon, Parker, Duncan & Davis--describes this as "unhooking" your technology. As a broker/manager, you may struggle with how to prioritize which tools need more promotion or training if you are dealing with tens or hundreds of systems. "If a tool doesn't bring value to your business, don't use it."

Your Website Is No Longer Your Single Biggest Tech Asset
Over the last decade, real estate technology has come a long way. We have seen a surge of products, tools, and platforms claiming to be the "silver bullet" piece of technology that will instantly resolve all of your lead, adoption, and recruiting woes. This pattern of an overwhelmingly large surge of technology offerings becoming available in the space is just as strong as ever. The foundational core of many technology platforms and ancillary tech is a broker's/team's/agent's website. There seems to be an unspoken agreement that the single most important piece of technology a real estate professional can have is their website. Looking further into this belief, many think that the website alone will produce an infinite amount of leads and business as long as it is a unique, one-of-a-kind custom site that has video and parallax elements throughout. While a website is an extremely critical component to your overall technology structure, it is by no means the undisputed single piece that can alleviate the challenges your business has. Having consulted with the top brokerages across the country for over six years, I have seen many trends come and go. From dedicated mobile apps to QR codes, there seems to always be another shiny penny to be chased. One school of thought that is proving itself over and over to be false is the belief that a brokerage should be dedicating most (if not all) of its technology resources into a custom website. Going into 2019, there are many top designed websites that can be obtained in a semi-customized template format or fully customized WordPress format that provides just as great of a UI and UX as customized HTML websites that are five times the cost while, in many cases, delivering more leads than those that cost so much more. So if a single tech asset, namely your website, is not your best tech asset, what is? The best tech asset is actually a strong tech foundation containing multiple components running on a single platform. This allows leads that come in through your website to accurately be captured and nurtured through the same connected platform. It also allows for guaranteed nurturing via native marketing campaigns in the system as well as messages to ensure you stay top of mind to the potential buyer/seller lead you have captured. Components of your foundational technology platform should include the following: A visually pleasing and functional website that provides a great search experience and information A CRM that can capture, qualify and nurture leads and your sphere of influence with relevant and timely data. Preferably via phone, text, and email. Native marketing components and capabilities (landing page builder, squeeze page builder, mass text/email, mobile dialer) Transactional capabilities Ability to connect and deploy other technology platforms from within the system to ensure a true integration To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.

10 Steps to Successfully Switching Brokerage CRMs
Time to stop being afraid of change and start bringing in buckets of cash. More than ever before, a brokerage's choice in their technology can significantly impact their profits. Technology can be the one thing standing between a brokerage's success and survival, and severe failure. There are obviously many steps to successfully switching brokerage CRMs, but we've boiled it down to ten. These are the most important steps in making the decision to switch:

The WHY for CRM
Pacific Sotheby's International Realty is planning to roll out a blended solution of a CRM system, Contactually and Market Snapshot, across their offices in San Diego. We interviewed Diana Rubottom, Branch Manager, who was an important driver for this integration. Her view is that the two solutions have a cumulative effect, and is proving that this can be used to drive listings for the agents and the firm.

Do Your Agents Have Enough Contacts in Their CRM Sphere?
Agents rely on their brokerage for coaching and guidance. Your brokerage tools and resources directly contribute to their success and are what make them feel like their career is supported. As you and your managers coach agents on the importance of a CRM and how they should best utilize such a system, guidance has to be specific. The first step to using any CRM is to get your database of contacts cleaned up and uploaded. So, how many contacts should they have in there?

CRM Tools: Getting the Most Out of Your Software
Customer relationship management tools can transform a disorganized real estate agency into a thriving operation. But navigating the decisions that come with adopting new software can be confusing and tedious. How effective your CRM tools become is dependent on whether you truly know how to use them.

Bradley Real Estate Going after Listings with Effective eProspecting Campaign
Jason Lytz, Vice President at Bradley Real Estate, operates in Northern California, a market experiencing extremely tight inventory. He spent time with us to explain a new process their company is putting in place to engage potential home sellers. Jason explains Bradley's company-wide campaign to help their agents build relationships with potential sellers by arming them with detailed neighborhood data and teaching them ways to encourage homeowners to contact their agents if they are considering selling. Read the interview here:

CRMs Innovate with Coaching Integration
Customer Relationship Management platforms are going through a massive revolution today, and real estate teams, agents and brokers are taking notice. Leading CRM firms are programming the stock content and action plans to align with popular coaching techniques. For the most part, every sales professional understands why you need a CRM. Understanding your "why" is always the first step to adopting technology that will make a difference in your business. The "why" is pretty straightforward—real estate salespeople are significantly focused around developing and managing a crowd of relationships that will drive sales and organizing your work around the tasks to work each stage of your sales funnel. Why do you need a CRM? Because it allows you collect a lot of customers and build relationships by using software to manage the process. How do you use a CRM? Ask your favorite coach. CRM + Coaching Techniques Emerge A new trend that we see merging is the integration of sales techniques developed by the nation's top real estate coaches. Moxi Engage is a CRM that was built around the Ninja Selling techniques. And in an announcement this month, Contactually announced the integration of the Tom Ferry selling techniques into their application. To break this down, there are steps to making sales. In an ideal world, every touchpoint with the customer has a purpose that is delivered at exactly at the right time with a perfect message. If agents, teams, and brokerages pick a coaching solution to increase their sales productivity, the coaches' process must be implemented in the CRM. Every script, every email, and every single action follows a plan. All CRM systems have the ability to be customized. CRMs learned long ago that you cannot hand an agent, team, or broker a CRM without stock content for email drips and other sales plans. Today, they all come with something. The problem is that most stock content that comes with a CRM is fairly pedestrian. This new revolution is that the world's best sales coaches have worked with CRM companies to configure them to the coaching style. If you are coached by Tom Ferry, you want Contactually. If you follow Ninja Selling, you want Moxi. There are many examples like this. Some CRMs let you pick a selling template so you can add in the content to the CRM that is styled exactly like your coach's selling style. So the next time you go CRM shopping, start by doing some self-analysis. If you have a coach, pay close attention to the CRMs that have been customized to your coach's style. Even if you do not have a coach, you still want to pick a CRM that has adopted a coaching style. All salespeople need to plan their work and work their plan. CRMs are designed to keep you on track so you can always be selling. You do not have the time or expertise to go through the painstaking process of developing or modifying hundreds of drip messages, tasks, call scripts, or emails. These coaches have been honing their expertise in this area for decades to make every touchpoint you have with your customer awesome. CRMs are Getting Smarter There are dozens of CRM solutions offering an array of features. Historically, the most popular CRM has been Top Producer. That product has every possible feature you can imagine in a CRM. So much so, that it intimidates some people. CRMs have also gotten really smart. A technology feature that has recently found a path into CRM is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a fancy new term for allowing software to do tasks that are normally performed by humans. Another term for this is automation: "If this, then that." Basically, the software looks at data and actions and decides to go ahead and do something that will benefit the customer relationship without the agent doing anything. Another steep innovation has been the addition of predictive analytics. Again, machines crunch data and behavior variables and suggest actions. For example, a customer who changes their search behavior from searching once a week to searching multiple times a day may be more likely to transact. Big data has found its way into CRMs, too. Many advanced CRM systems can collect consumer data that the agent does not have – like public record filings – and use that to score the likelihood of a customer to transact. You may have a customer that may have recently transacted in the past three years who you would not consider to be a prospect, but suddenly they file for divorce – which immediately makes them very likely to transact. Inside Real Estate's Kunversion, Commissions Inc, IXACT Contact, Chime, Contactually, and Boomtown all leverage these smart technologies. For a complete list of CRM providers, visit RE Technology's Product Directory. You will find the top 70 CRMs in real estate, only a handful of which are mentioned here. You will also be able to read CRM articles about how agents, brokers, and teams have deployed these CRMs, see any news releases about CRMs, and access recorded or upcoming live webinars about CRMs. RE Technology is the best place to research any technology that you may be considering in your business. The site has been collecting technology research and best practices since 2010. If you do not already have an account, contact your MLS. RE Technology is a member benefit in nearly 180 MLSs who provide free accounts to more than 850,000 agents. Check it out. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Don't Make These 3 CRM Mistakes
Seventy-one percent of real estate agents use some type of customer relationship management system (CRM), and more than two-thirds of them use this technology to keep in touch with their contacts. Still, a good chunk of agents and brokers are making the same errors -- ones that could jeopardize sales and revenue. Usually, it's not the technology that's the problem, but the end user. Here are three common CRM mistakes and how you can avoid them.

5 Key Features Needed for Agent Adoption
Most solutions available to real estate agents today promise to be the best, top-converting, or have the highest engagement rate, etc. I'm sure you've seen them all. But when it comes to getting your agents to use the CRM and truly getting your money's worth out of it, what really matters? Agent adoption. If your agents aren't using the solution you provided for them, then all those claims to be "The Best" are in vain. Your agents need to know how to actually use the tools you've given them. We've narrowed the list down to the top five value propositions needed within a CRM platform to have the highest success of agent adoption.

Why Productivity Systems Are the Future and CRMs Are the Past
By Frank Chimento, VP – Broker Division, Elm Street Technology CRM software is diluted and largely ineffective! There, I said it. It's true. The future belongs to productivity systems, NOT CRM software. Last December, while attending Inman Connect in New York City, I overhead a few industry insiders commenting sarcastically about the good news that there are "...only about 10 new CRM products this year." They were right and that is good news. Yet, when you go online or open almost any industry related blog, you'll read or hear companies harping on the need for having a CRM. Of course, these are usually companies that sell CRM software. Often, they'll quote anecdotal statistics confirming the increase in business by companies that employ CRM software. This shouldn't be surprising to anyone, considering that in business you get what you focus on and, of course, CRM software can help some people focus. However, in real estate, what matters even more than simple customer relationship management software is productivity. To put it another way, growing a real estate brokerage or a real estate agent's business is about capacity. It's about scalability. Let's break it down. After almost 20 years working with brokerages and agents of all shapes, sizes and brands, as well as working with the largest technology companies in the industry, it is solid science that the typical agent has almost 400 contacts in their "database." With even conservative assumptions of only 3 percent turnover year-over-year (industry data says it's more like 5-7 percent,) that means 12 transaction sides should take place in every single agent's database each year. Yet, the typical agent does not average anywhere near 12 transaction sides per year. Why not? I submit this lack of volume has less to do with a CRM system and much more to do with a lack of productivity systems. Gathering everyone you know into one "place" should be part of your strategy, but understanding the sequence of how to qualify and quantify which individuals are likely to move through a sales pipeline should be the paramount objective of every professional real estate agent and brokerage. To do this efficiently without breakage requires a system, not merely software. It requires understanding how to increase capacity, because we have yet to determine how to add more hours to the day. Growing a real estate business is a process, not an event! What determines an effective productivity system? Flexibility Agents and brokerages in today's environment use a variety of tools for staying in front of clients and one size doesn't fit all, but it's important your productivity system is open enough to allow for plug-n-play opportunities. The future of the real estate business is all about integration. Think of your smartphone. You may use many different apps to accomplish tasks compared to what I may choose. Your real estate productivity system should function in the same manner. Think of your productivity system as your mainframe or your operating system that allows you to connect and/or disconnect ancillary services at your choosing without disrupting the entire ecosystem. Business Model Congruency A useful productivity system is congruent with the real estate business. In other words, your system needs to "understand" real estate. It makes little sense to apply another industry's nuanced systems to real estate. It's not congruent. For example, stellar productivity systems understand sales cycles and the differences for referrals from your spheres of influence, compared to leads from online portals or pay-per-click campaigns. Good productivity systems understand your GCI goals and how transactions are conducted, as well as having the flexibility to navigate the "parent/child" relationships (technologically speaking) regarding team structures, etc. Be careful your system is not one-sided toward only your sphere of influence or only your online lead cultivation. It needs to handle all aspects of your business. Data Is the New Bacon Everything tastes better with bacon, and a great productivity system is all about managing data. Your system must be able to handle live MLS data as well as customer and task/activity data. Data is power. Data is control. To scale your business and increase capacity, you must own and utilize your data to find the gaps in your production and identify solutions. KPIs Key Performance Indicators are the lights on each side of your runway. Not knowing where you are or where you're supposed to be will put you in a ditch. If there is one startling observation I've noticed over my career it is that profitable brokerages and agents know their KPIs and review them constantly. Underperforming brokerages and agents usually ask me, "What does KPI stand for?" Your productivity system must provide comprehensive visibility into all the appropriate indicators necessary for making decisions and adjustments during your business activities. Ironically, most CRM software companies state that a good CRM should improve agent productivity. In reality, increases in capacity or "output" is what increases production. A more honest statement would be that a good productivity system will increase profitability because it will identify gaps, increase capacity, reduce waste, and provide more time to focus on the activities that generate revenue. In short, a good productivity system provides the kind of coaching and insight that moves the needle toward profitability. Elevate BOSS (Business Operating System & Services) is a new brokerage and agent productivity system that's 100 percent devoted to increasing profitability by boosting production capacity. Elevate BOSS is much more than software, it is a system. Because it is built on a cloud-based open API platform, it is flexible and can integrate with a variety of ancillary tools. Providing everything from social media marketing, IDX sites, MLS data feeds, customer activity workflow and task coaching to lead aggregation-response-routing-and tracking plus CMA creation wizards and brokerage recruiting modules, this productivity system is the new framework putting the most critical pieces of functionality at the fingertips of real estate professionals. Additionally, the unprecedented key performance indicator dashboards provide agents and brokerages with never-before realized access to the information that matters most. The new Elevate BOSS platform is now bringing on small, medium, and large brokerages for our beta release and implementation. If you would like more information about this revolutionary business operating system, visit: boss.tryelevate.com    

What's in Your Wallet?
Remember the days when you kept a few business cards of influential people in your wallet or purse? Perhaps they were friends, advisors or peers so important to your career that you never wanted to be without their information handy. Today, you store hundreds of these contacts in your smartphone, but it's still the same: What's in your database are your keys to success. Most of us have a database, filled to overflowing with everyone and anyone we've met over the years. If you were to scroll through that list today, you might be surprised to find you recognize only a small percentage of the records. Much like social media accounts, we've collected more than we've connected with in a meaningful way. Perhaps it's time for a little housekeeping.

Are You Adopting the Right Techniques in Your CRM Onboarding?
Getting a CRM platform or software onto everyone's devices is not always an easy task and the reason for this is simple: human nature. You could be using best CRM software out there, but that doesn't guarantee that everyone is going to to be on board with it. This applies to small brokerages all the way up to large franchises. So how do you get your team on board? Being proactive and targeting the right people in your organization, such as early adopters or influencers, will build brand integrity and ultimately lead to the rest of the team to follow suit. That's just one example.

What Is the Difference Between CRM and Marketing Automation?
Some people think that the terms CRM and marketing automation refer to the same type of software. While there is some overlap in the type of information each system utilizes, the two systems are very different in terms of who uses each one and the tasks the systems support.

What Is the Difference Between CRM and ERP?
Running your business takes planning and execution. Your customers are the backbone of your business, and for that reason you've got to be able to reach them and nurture your relationship with them to keep your business growing. Being able to manage these relationships requires organized, well-established business processes. Two tools that can be used to establish and manage these processes are Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). In this article, we will explore both of these tools, how they work, and what each of them can do for your company.

What Brokers Should Look for in a CRM
First of all... yes, you need a CRM. If you haven't onboarded a standard agent CRM for your brokerage, then 2018 is the year to do so. A CRM (customer relationship management system) is where all of your agents keep and nurture their contacts, market to their sphere, manage their sales flow, track their goals, and much more. The CRM glues everything together. What impact could a CRM have on your business? Here are a few quick facts: 74 percent of businesses using a CRM report improved customer relationships (Annuitas Group) Conversion rates can improve by 300 percent with a CRM in place (Cloudswave) Lead cost is reduced by 23 percent with a CRM in place (Cloudswave) Vetting technologies can be challenging and complicated, especially a system as robust as a CRM. So, what should you be looking for in a CRM for your agents? Below are our recommendations for what you should consider when it comes to a CRM for your brokerage.

3 Must-Have Features Your Agents Need in a CRM
Real estate agents who use a CRM are 26.2 percent more productive than agents who don't use one. The solution: get a CRM, right? Wrong. Or to be less black and white about it, you're only halfway to the answer. More specifically, agents need a) a CRM with features designed with real estate in mind, and b) a CRM that they'll actually use. A CRM that doesn't really meet your needs is a cost. On the other hand, a CRM that optimizes your working practices, improves efficiency and helps your agents close more deals is an investment. If you're smart about the CRM features you look for, your software can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Below are three features that can help you make that leap.

Three Hard Truths About Building Your Brokerage
Real estate is hyper competitive; everyone knows that. According to the 2012 Economic Census, there are 86,004 real estate brokerage firms operating in the United States. This means you have competitors around every corner vying to overtake your market and your business. However, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is focusing on your competition. Successful brokers focus on determining their own strengths and figuring out how to build a solid foundation for their agents and clients. Forward-thinking brokerages are moving in the right direction because they're aware of these key facts:

Spring Cleaning your Dirty Data!
Spring is a great time to clean our backyards, houses and yes, our databases! Dirty client, prospective buyer/seller and agent databases can waste our time, hurt your reputation, cause misunderstandings and lead to missed opportunities! So how do we turn garbage into gold? No data is ever perfect, but we can always strive to clean and normalize data to make it more accurate and usable. So what do you do, how can you fix your data and make it your friend? Well, the garbage in garbage out rule should always be top of mind, but there are also a few other ways you can maintain a cleaner database and improve the quality of leads or source of information your business relies on. Remove Duplicates Every database has duplicate data. Spelling errors, extra spaces or different spelling and abbreviations for a company name, contact name or address. These are some of the common ways duplicate data sneaks in. Looking for unique identifiers such as phone number, email address or a postal code can help you understand who may be a duplicate contact or lead in your database.

Pull the plug or double down? Why one brokerage invested in new tech to get more value from their low-conversion paid leads
Stephens Real Estate describes themselves as a "traditional, full-service brokerage." And everything from their location — in the heartland of Lawrence, Kansas — to their business model does seem pretty conventional. But when new broker/owners Pat McCandless and Chris Earl stepped in to run the firm in 2013, they knew that continued success would require that they innovate and invest in technology for their agents and clients. Here's how they created an office technology culture that didn't interfere with the company's longstanding traditions. Q. You recently had to choose whether to invest more or pass on your primary online portal contract. What provoked this? Pat McCandless: We purchased the company in January 2013, and for the first year we really just focused on not interfering in any way that would derail their longstanding success.  We are one of the top companies in the area and our reputation is excellent. But we did realize our support systems were out of date; in order for our agents to maintain our standards of service, we had to update those support and tech systems. Q. What systems are you talking about, and how did you first learn that your systems were no longer efficient? Chris Earl: Two weeks before renewal of our contract with realtor.com®, our sales representative, Richard McDonald, came to explain changes to our existing offering. The program we had been using was being transitioned and we weren't able to renew the contract for our web leads in its current form. Surprisingly, Richard did not recommend we go forward with a different product. He had conducted an analysis of the response rate we were providing for leads, and it was less than ideal. Some leads were responded to quickly, others were not and some did not receive any response at all. Our conversion rate was at 3-4 percent, when it should have been 8, 9 or 10 percent.

What are the Touchpoints of a Brokerage's Front Office?
How do you make money? If you're not bringing in leads, you're not bringing in clients. If your agents aren't communicating with clients, they're not winning referrals or nurturing long-term business. These interactions define your face to the consumer and define how you interact with them across the board. Simply put, how you deal with people and what they think of you is how you make money. This is also known as your brand. With the right technology, your brand can be one of the most powerful tools for generating business. But how do you tell the difference between 'shiny pennies' and the right technology? Here are the most important touchpoints a brokerage's technology must have: Website Having a mobile-first website is necessity for every single real estate brokerage alive today. No ifs, ands or buts. Without this initial touchpoint, your brokerage loses leads before they even exist. And with a non-responsive site, you might as well give your viewers a trampoline—because they'll bounce right off your page.

Choosing a Real Estate CRM for Your Brokerage
Not all real estate CRM platforms are equal. So how do you make sure that you invest wisely in such a vital system for your brokerage? Victor Lund of WAV Group addresses key factors brokerage owners should consider when selecting a real estate CRM. Key considerations you will find in the whitepaper: Setting agents up for success with goal tracking Why agents need 500+ contacts records in their CRM Why a sphere-centric CRM exceeds a leads-centric CRM The role that CRM plays in forecasting brokerage revenue How a real estate CRM impacts consumer engagement with your brand The importance of integrating email, calendar, and contacts with your CRM

Top Producer: Ask Us Anything!
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 10:00 AM PDT If you have questions regarding Top Producer® and Market Snapshot® that you want to be discussed in an interactive method, then our live "Ask Us Anything" session might be just what you're looking for! Ask Us Anything is a new concept led by our Product and Customer Service teams. Come ask questions, or just listen to the dialogue and learn something new that you can incorporate into your business. Who knows maybe a sneak peak here and there into things we are working on... shhhh! Register now!

Top 3 Tools to Integrate Into Your Back Office
When it comes to real estate software, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Small brokers have different technology needs than large brokers, and franchises have different requirements than independent firms. Rather than relying on one system to handle everything you need, today's brokers look to solutions that can integrate with others to share data. MLS listing data is typically the backbone of all integrations--given the right set-up, this information can flow into your transaction management systems and eliminate the need for repetitive data entry. MLS data can also be used to automatically generate marketing materials for every new listing. There is an almost endless amount of integrations available to brokers across multiple solutions. Today, however, we're going to narrow our focus to integrations with what we consider the backbone of your real estate firm--your back office solution. The 'Trifecta' of Back Office Integrations This article came out of a conversation we had with Andrew Chishchevoy, co-founder of back office solution Brokermint. Although Brokermint integrates with multiple solutions, there are three that they consider the "trifecta" of back office integrations. 1. MLS Integration - This is the core integration of any back office or transaction management system. When MLS data freely flows into the solution you use, you can save time and payroll by eliminating redundant data entry, and ensure that all listing/transaction data is accurate. For example, once a listing is entered into the MLS, a transaction is immediately created in Brokermint and agents and administrators can start uploading documents immediately. Depending on the back office solution you use, agents are assigned to a new transaction immediately, based on the listing data from the MLS. If your back office solution has a commission management component, a default commission structure may be added to the transaction, as well.

Five Tips for Fostering a Client-for-life Strategy
It's a simple fact for most brokers and agents: There are limited funds for large marketing efforts. That's why it is important to leverage the best of what you already have—past clients who know your value and may pass on their good experience to future prospects! A proactive client retention strategy that builds on these existing relationships can reduce the marketing cost per customer, enhance your brand reputation, and increase bottom line profitability. Building lifelong consumer loyalty may feel overwhelming, but let's take a look at five easy tactics that you can implement today. 1. Connect with your current clients. Make every real estate transaction an opportunity to create a deeper sense of shared understanding. It's easy to get caught up in business as usual, but clients like to work with people they can relate to. Let your caring personality shine—ask them about their lives, their hopes, and their goals. And then, make sure to keep in touch! 2. Share resources. Consumers are increasingly moving long distances for job opportunities, family changes, and age-related transitions. So there's a significant pool of would-be home buyers and sellers that will see the value of selecting a real estate agent who can connect them to localized service providers for any home repairs or other relocation logistics in their new hometown. Nest4Less, for example, empowers brokers and agents to provide localized and customizable online directory content to prospects and clients for free.

Top Producer: Ask Us Anything! (9/21)
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 10:00 AM PDT If you have questions regarding Top Producer® and Market Snapshot® that you want to be discussed in an interactive method, then our live "Ask Us Anything" session might be just what you're looking for! Ask Us Anything is a new concept led by our Product and Customer Service teams. Come ask questions, or just listen to the dialogue and learn something new that you can incorporate into your business. Who knows maybe a sneak peak here and there into things we are working on... shhhh! Register now!