Realay.com Is Modernizing How Referrals Are Done
MILFORD, MI - Nov. 1, 2023 -- Kaibo LLC today announced the launch of Realay.com, a new client referral platform that has eliminated multiple pain points in the existing referral processes. The Realay platform provides dashboard tracking, status visibility, is quick and easy to use, and automatically connects your client with a Realay-vetted Network Agent in a one-to-one handoff. As a result, referring agents save time looking for an agent and gain visibility into their client's progression, Network Agents receive high-quality referrals, and clients are promptly paired with a top agent. Unlike other networks that cost you hundreds of dollars per month, Realay is completely free to use. Sending a referral on the Realay platform takes no more than one minute. This platform is perfect for independent brokers and their agents. The exclusive Realay Network Agents are thoroughly vetted and already include many of the top agents and teams across the country, ensuring clients have a positive experience. Any agent or team can apply to be a Network Agent for a one-time fee of $89; however, agents must pass the vetting process, which includes how responsive they are throughout the application process. Realay's innovative approach is poised to redefine the referral process and improve the experience for all parties involved, seamlessly connecting clients with top-performing real estate agents and marking a significant leap forward in efficiency, reliability, and transparency in the referral process. "It's like having an oil well of qualified referrals on your front lawn," says Cliff Freeman, CEO of The Cliff Freeman Group and a Realay Charter Network Agent. Key features of Realay: Free for anyone to send a referral — referring agent receives 25% commission at close. Solves the black hole syndrome of current referral networks with full visibility and trackability in the Realay's dashboard. No hidden or recurring monthly fees. Saves you time and money — sending a referral takes less than a minute, and your referral is automatically paired with a vetted Realay Network Agent. Broker agnostic — Realay is for any agent regardless of location or broker affiliation. Realay's philosophy revolves around ensuring that the opportunities they provide are genuine. Realay is publicly available nationwide as of November 1, 2023. To learn more about Realay, visit www.Realay.com.

New for Homesnap Concierge: Get Live Calls with Google Local Services Ads
When we launched Homesnap Concierge, our fully managed advertising and lead qualification service, our goal was simple: Deliver agents better leads at a lower cost than third-party advertising platforms like Zillow Premier Agent and realtor.com. So far, we believe we've made good on that promise. Concierge agents have generated nearly 400,000 high-intent homebuyer and seller leads to date and have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on the promotion of their listings and business. Now, we're excited to announce we've made our industry-leading platform even better. Starting today, Concierge is one of the only services that lets real estate agents incorporate Google Local Services (GLS) Ads into their marketing campaigns. What is a Google Local Services Ad? A brand-new advertising product from Google, GLS Ads seamlessly facilitate contact from homebuyers and sellers to real estate agents in their market. They're prioritized at the top of the Google search page, above traditional paid search advertisements, and enable prospects to live call an agent directly from their desktop or mobile device. There's no friction, form fills, or needless clicks. Best of all, you'll only ever pay for quality leads. The Concierge team ensures that every call you receive from a GLS Ad originates from an interested buyer and seller. Should you receive a non-high-intent call, we'll work with Google on your behalf so you're not wasting a dime of your hard-earned money. With Concierge, you're guaranteed an advertising platform fully optimized to get you maximum ROI on your marketing spend. But that's not the only advantage of Concierge. Do-it-yourself GLS Ads require verification of your real estate business via snail mail – a process that can take weeks. However, as an exclusive Google launch partner, Homesnap will verify your business and help you receive a “Google Screened” badge, which engenders trust with prospects and helps you rank higher. You'll get your ads live sooner, and, most importantly, you'll gain an edge on your competition, as you'll be among the first verified agents in your market to go live. Pro Tip: Make sure you answer GLS calls. Google measures agent call responsiveness (calculated by the number of connected calls/total calls), which factors into your ranking position. The more you pick up, the higher your likelihood of being seen first. Still the same great Concierge benefits GLS Ads are an addition to our Concierge platform—not a replacement for any of its great features. Concierge remains the gold standard in white-glove treatment. Homesnap's experienced Concierge marketing team will continue to take a hands-on approach to optimizing and running agent advertising campaigns for an unlimited number of listings on major networks like Google, Facebook, and Instagram. We'll target the most-likely-to-transact leads on these platforms with hyper-targeted and personalized ads and qualify them for you. Then, we'll send you the qualified, hot leads right away, and continue to nurture the rest until they are ready to convert. You'll have full transparency into this process. We'll update you with key metrics daily — where advertisements are appearing, number of leads processed, lead contact information, qualification details, all leads acquired, and more — so you can follow your campaigns every step of the way. And you'll receive a dedicated account manager, whom you can contact at any time with questions or to make changes to your campaigns. The only difference? Now, with GLS Ads, it's even easier to get more high-quality leads for less. How's that for a promise? Talk to a team member to add Google Local Services Ads to your subscription today: [email protected] Not yet a subscriber? Schedule an introductory meeting with a Concierge team member. To view the original post, visit the Homesnap blog.

Technology Companies Adwerx and ActivePipe Create Innovative Integration for Realtors
Integration Will Allow Real Estate Agents to Better Leverage Their Database for Sales DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 5, 2019 -- Adwerx, a leading provider of localized digital advertising, is now integrated with ActivePipe, an advanced drip email marketing solution offering valuable customer insights to real estate professionals. The integration is making it easy for real estate agents to automate time-consuming data entry processes and run targeted digital advertising campaigns. Through the Automated Listing Advertising Program, Adwerx provides real estate listing ads that launch when a property is publicly listed. These ads appear on the websites and mobile apps that consumers visit most and are targeted by location and lifestyle. ActivePipe allows real estate agents to identify the best prospects for a property, empowering agents to nurture contacts and build trust through a range of digital products. Their suite of products allows users to build one-off emails or automated drip campaigns that can incorporate properties, blog posts, videos, and a call to action. The Adwerx and ActivePipe collaboration will further empower agents currently using sphere of influence advertising. When integrated with ActivePipe to receive emails from open houses, listing presentations, and other events, emails will include the Adwerx QuickAdder™ from their sphere campaign and will be automatically added to the agent's sphere, bypassing manual entry. "I've loved using Adwerx and ActivePipe. They've both recently been introduced at our office and I've never looked back. I regularly receive positive feedback on our emails, their appearance, professionalism, etc. and I get at least one screenshot a day from someone who's seen my Adwerx ad online while reading the news," said Haley Urquhart, a REALTOR® Associate with Greenwood King Properties. Both companies are actively working to automate advanced digital marketing campaign processes to help users coordinate messages across channels and build a seamless customer experience. As more and more people spend their days switching between their laptops and mobile devices, designing campaigns to reach consumers in multiple spaces is becoming increasingly important. Additionally, research suggests that people are 22% more likely to purchase when they experience digital ads and open an email from the same brand. This integration will provide predictive analytics to help identify who in a CRM is most likely to become an active client, and enable agents to focus on providing superior service to home buyers and sellers. Adwerx has previously integrated with other transaction management providers, including Dotloop and SkySlope. For more information about Adwerx's services, please visit enterprise.adwerx.com. About ActivePipe ActivePipe allows real estate agents and brokers to Never Miss an Opportunity™️ through it's real estate specific email and email automation capabilities. Build a "just-listed" email to all other agents, as well as, your sphere in minutes and deploy drip campaigns specific to each property or prospect. ActivePipe nurtures the thousands of leads received each year advising the agent who, when and why to call, all supported by engagement data. A graduate of the 2018 NAR Reach class, ActivePipe is helping tens of thousands of customers across the U.S., Australia and the UK by delivering relevant property content, to the right person at the right time. To get in touch with the ActivePipe team or simply learn more, please visit activepipe.com. About Adwerx Adwerx provides Brilliantly Simple Digital Advertising™ for real estate, mortgage, insurance, financial services, and other businesses. Ads powered by Adwerx have received billions of impressions on social media, mobile platforms, and the most widely read news sites. Adwerx has served 200,000 customers across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies for three years in a row. To see how Adwerx can work for you, please visit www.adwerx.com. Plus, NAR members receive 15% additional impressions on Adwerx campaigns, which can be combined with other eligible discounts. This exclusive benefit is available through the National Association of REALTORS®' REALTOR Benefits® Program.

ReferralExchange Launches LIVE Product to Help Agents Maximize the Value of Real Estate Leads
New Service Makes Lead Verification Simple and Easy so Agents Can Focus on Clients San Francisco, California, January 23, 2019 -- ReferralExchange, the leader in real estate referrals, has expanded the company's referral offerings with ReferralExchange LIVE, a service that helps agents make the most of their network by verifying and qualifying contacts acquired through their third-party lead generation efforts. The service makes it easy to see at a glance which contacts should be pursued. After the verification process, agents can decide whether to work the leads themselves, or have ReferralExchange either qualify or refer them on their behalf. "ReferralExchange network members told us that they were 'drowning' in leads from third party sources and one of their biggest challenges was identifying which ones were truly interested in transacting," said Scott Olsen, CEO of ReferralExchange. "We have used the power of our data science combined with our well-trained outreach team to support the lead-to-close process — helping agents manage their business at all points in a lead's lifecycle -- with much less stress and aggravation." Many agents purchase third-party leads but aren't always able to spend the time developing these contacts to their maximum value. By saving agents the first steps of lead verification, ReferralExchange LIVE enables agents to immediately hone their focus. For those who want to have leads developed or referred, ReferralExchange seamlessly works as an extension of an agent's brand, giving every agent the benefit of a licensed professional at their service to further qualify and nurture leads. ReferralExchange consistently closes three times the national average of leads because it combines proprietary data science with the power of a well-trained team who make over five million calls each year. This service gives agents more time to build relationships and serve clients. ReferralExchange LIVE has three primary components: Lead verification: ReferralExchange uses proprietary scrubbing technology to quickly figure out which of an agents' third party, raw leads are real and which are not. Lead readiness: ReferralExchange's licensed customer service team calls leads using a proven system that qualifies them and determines their readiness to transact. A live transfer sends them directly back to the agent via phone. Lead transaction: Once a lead has been verified as real and ready to transact, the agent may decide whether or not to complete the deal themselves, or refer it to ReferralExchange's network. ReferralExchange has over 25,000 experienced agents around the country. "We've designed this system for maximum flexibility and control," added Olsen. "It augments an agent's existing lead generation programs and the agent can decide how they want to handle each lead." About ReferralExchange ReferralExchange, the nation's top real estate referral company, is dedicated to creating great real estate experiences between real estate professionals and customers. Founded in 2005, ReferralExchange has built an invite-only network of over 25,000 top-performing Realtors. In 2018, the network created over 250,000 agent-to-consumer matches. Learn more at www.referralexchange.com.

BoomTown Acquires Real Contact, Offers Lead Qualification Services
The acquisition will pave the way for BoomTown to leverage Real Contact's lead qualification services to qualify and nurture leads from virtually any source, helping agents and teams increase sales, save time, and deliver a better consumer experience. CHARLESTON, S.C., November 8, 2018 --- BoomTown, the leading sales and marketing platform for real estate professionals, is excited to announce the acquisition of Real Contact, a lead qualification service provider. "Our data shows that only 23% of listing inquiries are followed up with in the first hour, and less than half of these inquiries come in during business hours", said Grier Allen, CEO & President of BoomTown. "Responsiveness and speed-to-lead are real pain points in our industry, and we're very excited to offer Real Contact's initial response and nurturing capabilities to help agents and teams receive action-ready leads, while ensuring every new inquiry is receiving exceptional and timely service." Real Contact helps agents and teams quickly respond to and engage with leads through their text messaging lead response services. Run by real people who act as a branded extension of a real estate agent, Real Contact concierges respond to leads from any source within 90 seconds, 24/7. They work to qualify leads and nurture unresponsive leads, allowing agents to step in at any time via the app. Services include: A real person responding to leads 24/7 on behalf of an agent Voicemail text-back to engage leads when agents are unable to answer calls Follow up campaigns for 360 days to re-engage leads Ringless voicemail messages Appointment-setting Customizable concierge hours "I am well-versed in the value of both BoomTown and Real Contact to help my team boost responsiveness and drive higher conversion rates," said Josh Malone, Managing Broker of Maven Real Estate. "BoomTown's platform fuels my team and provides the tools to help them work those opportunities and Real Contact has added a powerful extra punch, reaching out to new leads and nurturing them over the long term. It's a natural next step to leverage Real Contact's qualification service to continue helping agents focus on clients who are ready to act while ensuring that prospects are being effectively engaged and nurtured." The BoomTown platform has long been the proven system to provide teams with powerful lead generation and the tools to nurture prospects and simplify their day-to-day activities. The acquisition of Real Contact accelerates the company's drive to deliver more qualified leads to agents and help them seize every opportunity. About BoomTown BoomTown exists to make real estate agents successful. 40k+ of the industry's top professionals trust BoomTown to grow their real estate business with easy-to-use technology that creates opportunities and turns them into closings. Capabilities include a customizable real estate website integrated with local MLS data, client success management, a cutting-edge CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system with custom marketing automation, personalized advertising and lead generation services, and a mobile app for agents on the go. BoomTown's service offerings extend far beyond technology with coaching services from peers who have catapulted their growth with the system, lead development services to contact and qualify leads, and dedicated advisors to offer personalized support at every step from onboarding and training to optimizing your business and planning for strategic growth. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Charleston, SC, BoomTown has additional offices in Atlanta, GA and San Francisco, CA. For more about BoomTown, visit boomtownroi.com.

RE/MAX Appoints ReferralExchange to Approved Supplier Program
New strategic alliance with Referral Powerhouse brings the power of Agent-to-Agent referrals to RE/MAX Affiliates in the U.S. SAN FRANCISCO--ReferralExchange, the real estate referral leader, has been named by RE/MAX, LLC, one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services to their Approved Supplier Program. The RE/MAX Approved Supplier Program is one of the largest of its kind in the real estate industry. "We are excited to have been chosen for this program and to work closely with RE/MAX affiliates around the country," said Scott Olsen, CEO of ReferralExchange. "We offer RE/MAX brokerages an option for monetizing leads that they're not working, and providing trusted referrals anywhere in the U.S." With over 23,000 agent members, ReferralExchange is one of the fastest-growing referral services in real estate. The network participated in over 125,000 agent/client matches in 2016 and over $3 billion in real estate property sold. ReferralExchange has referral-ready real estate agents in all 50 states (100% of US Zip Codes) who have all been vetted and have years of experience and positive recommendations. ReferralExchange will be participating at the upcoming R4 Conference in February, 2018. "Our goal is always to provide RE/MAX Affiliates with access to an exclusive group of Approved Suppliers who can serve their professional real estate needs," said Mike Ryan, executive vice president, RE/MAX, LLC. "ReferralExchange takes excellent care of every referral in their network and provides complete transparency and peace of mind for our agents." The program is available to RE/MAX Affiliates through the dedicated Approved Suppliers portal. ReferralExchange is offering Affiliates a special discounted rate. Learn more at https://shop.remax.net. About the RE/MAX Network RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Over 115,000 agents provide RE/MAX a global reach of more than 100 countries and territories. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX when measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX, LLC, one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMCO, LLC, which is controlled and managed by RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX). With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $157 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. For more information about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit www.remax.com/newsroom. About ReferralExchange ReferralExchange, the nation's top real estate referral company, is dedicated to creating great real estate experiences between real estate professionals and customers. Founded in 2005, ReferralExchange has built an invite-only network of over 23,000 top-performing Realtors. In 2016, the network created over 120,000 agent-to-consumer matches.

SmartZip Adds Lead Qualification and Concierge Service to its Predictive Marketing Platform
SmartZip Outreach mobilizes a team of inside sales agents who engage and pre-qualify likely home sellers identified by predictive analytics PLEASANTON, Calif., July 18, 2017 -- SmartZip Analytics, Inc., the leader in predictive marketing technology for real estate and related industries, has announced SmartZip Outreach, a lead qualification and concierge service that augments its SmartTargeting platform to proactively verify the selling intent of predicted homeowners. Inside sales agents qualify and engage local seller prospects that have been identified by SmartZip's predictive algorithms and transfer hot leads directly to the local agent for follow-up. "For real estate agents, bridging the gap between cold lead and qualified lead can be difficult and time-consuming. Often times, opportunities are lost when agents get busy and are unable to connect with good listing prospects fast enough," said Rajeev Kalavar, SmartZip's Executive Vice President of Product, Strategy and Operations. "SmartZip Outreach ensures that our clients are the first to reach out and connect with a likely home seller, and is designed to help agents nurture and grow relationships with these prospects for the long-term." SmartZip Outreach is powered by experienced inside sales agents (ISAs) who call targeted homeowners from an agent's market area or sphere. In each call, the ISAs leverage proprietary scripts designed to non-invasively extract the homeowner's selling intent and timeframe. The ISAs are trained to recognize immediate home seller opportunities, which are instantly transferred to the agent for personal follow-up. Homeowners who plan to sell in the next few months are nurtured via phone calls, text and email, in addition to SmartTargeting's automated nurture campaigns, until they are ready to speak with the agent about listing their home. If the seller prospect does not show any indication of selling, the inside sales agent attempts to identify referral opportunities before disqualifying them from the agent's pipeline. SmartZip Outreach's early adopters have been impressed with how the ISAs are able to build relationships with potential local sellers before passing off the hot leads to the agent for direct follow-up. "I just recently launched another campaign using SmartZip Outreach and I'm impressed with the early results," said Scott Newman, broker/owner of Newman Realty in Chicago, Illinois. "I love the idea of saving time by only speaking to homeowners who are thinking of selling in the near future. This new feature further saturates my farm with my brand and positions me as the absolute go-to resource for selling homes in the area." Qualified leads from data-backed predictions Historical industry data shows that when such a service prospects a database of traditional, non-targeted homeowners, it generates one lead or nurture contact every 35 conversations on average. By contrast, in the initial alpha test of SmartZip Outreach based on SmartTargeting's predicted seller targets, the service has seen an improvement of 2x or more, with the ISAs sourcing a lead every 18 conversations on average. SmartZip client Leah Quintana of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has reported strong results in her short time using Outreach. "SmartZip Outreach has been a fantastic new feature to put in my tool belt," said Leah, a RE/MAX Elite agent who participated in the alpha test. "It has been amazing to see that the inside sales agent callers could generate five times as many leads when working from a list of predicted sellers instead of my whole database. It's saving me a ton of time, and it saves me a lot of money. It is early in my campaign and I have already been able to secure a listing. I am very happy!" Rollout and package options After the highly successful Alpha test, SmartZip Outreach is now available to both new and existing clients. Agents who commit to SmartZip Outreach can request that the ISAs contact only their top-ranked predicted sellers — the top 20% of the owners in their geographical farm — or every contact within their farm. Outreach can be purchased as an add-on service with only a two-month commitment. Results have shown to increase over the long-term, with continued and consistent outreach from the ISAs to top targets. Early adopter discounts are available for current and new SmartTargeting clients who sign up this month. "For eight years, SmartZip has been laser-focused on not only developing the most accurate home seller predictions in the industry, but also in making predictive analytics actionable for busy agents and brokers," said Kalavar. "We expect that adding this lead qualification and concierge service to our SmartTargeting platform will immediately elevate the success of agents who recognize the value of predictive analytics, but lack the time or resources to qualify and win over predicted sellers in their area." ABOUT SMARTZIP ANALYTICS, INC. SmartZip Analytics is a national leader in predictive marketing solutions for real estate, lending and related industries. Using patent-pending home intelligence, predictive analytics and automated marketing campaigns, SmartZip's SmartTargeting platform offers an integrated solution that can identify top home seller prospects accurately, engage them through targeted online and offline marketing campaigns, and help close more business with smart nurturing and prospecting tools. SmartZip is backed by Intel Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Crest Capital, Javelin Venture Partners, Cue Ball Capital, Toba Capital and ORIX Growth Capital, and is headquartered in Pleasanton, CA.

Adwerx Announces Spacio Integration
New collaboration adds digital advertising power to open house follow-ups DURHAM, N.C., June 28, 2017 -- Adwerx, the leading provider of localized digital advertising for over 40,000 U.S. real estate agents and brokers has partnered with Spacio, pioneers of the paperless open house, on a new integration to bring their two products together in a single workflow for agents and brokers. "Automating as many services as we can is a way that we continue to add value for our customers," said Jed Carlson, CEO of Adwerx. "This new partnership allows Spacio users to easily put open house attendees into an advertising campaign with no additional steps needed." Spacio's elegant visitor registration solution automates lead capture and follow-up. The company's analytics and customer insights provide contact verification, lead quality scoring, and insights on each lead. The broker-level version delivers real-time visibility over company-wide open house activities tying them directly to agent and office activity for more effective decision making. "Spacio helps agents and brokerages create relationships with new customers from the moment of contact at an open house," added Spacio CEO and co-founder Melissa Kwan. "This partnership deepens that, allowing our users to make sure these valuable new contacts become part of their ongoing advertising campaigns." The integration is now live inside the Spacio paperless open house product. Spacio and Adwerx debuted the product during a webinar with Inman News on June 20 on ways real estate agents and brokers can use automation to streamline their businesses. For media, interviews or speaking inquiries, please contact [email protected]. About Spacio Spacio's intelligent open house solution streamlines outdated real estate processes and reduces lost opportunities. Spacio helps agents maximize open house lead generation opportunities by automating lead capture and follow up, allowing agents to easily reconnect with potential buyers and convert more leads over time. In an industry founded on relationships, Spacio is a game changer. The tool is sleek, modern, easy to use and impressive. Agents and brokerages benefit from CRM integration, streamlined lead capture, contact verification, social profiling, open house reporting, company-wide real-time analytics, and cross-platform functionality. For more information, visit spac.io. About Adwerx One of the fastest growing companies in real estate technology, Adwerx provides brilliantly simple digital advertising to over 40,000 real estate customers across all 50 states and Canada. Adwerx is comprised of a team of savvy marketers, experienced software developers, and advertising veterans who are bound together by the simple belief that online marketing should work for everyone. For more information, visit www.adwerx.com.

The Numbers Behind Data-Driven Engagement
  We've spoken at length about the power of data-driven engagement, but sometimes numbers are more powerful than words. The average real estate consumer spends just over a minute on any given webpage. One percent turn into a lead by providing their contact information and when they filter into your CRM system; the open rates average 19 percent. After 15 years in the real estate industry, we realized that infusing this process with data would yield better results. And now we're ready to reveal the numbers behind our consumer engagement system. I think you'll agree that they speak for themselves. To view the original post, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.

Homes.com Debuts Instant Response Technology for Real Estate Pros
  NORFOLK, VA (NOVEMBER 01, 2016) - Working to solve the need for real estate agents to rapidly respond to consumer inquires, Homes.com®, a top consumer real estate resource and leading provider of marketing solutions for real estate professionals, unveiled today its proprietary, Instant Response Technology (IRT), featuring its new Lead Concierge service and a powerful new app, TalkNow. "Time may be the most precious commodity we have," says Homes.com President David Mele. "With a real estate market where inventory is tight, responding faster to consumers can be an essential competitive edge for real estate agents, and a definite win for consumer engagement." Statistically, studies show slow agent response time is a pervasive industry problem. An insidesales.com Lead Response Study notes that leads contacted within the first five minutes are 100 times more likely to close. Research from the California Association of REALTORS® (CAR) reveals that a majority of home buyers view "responsiveness" as the most important quality in selecting an agent – more important than characteristics including "trustworthiness" and "knowledgeability." Moreover, a study by WAV Group documents nearly half (48 percent) of buyer inquiries to agents were never responded to and the average response time was 917 minutes (or 15.29 hours). With responsiveness being a leading differentiator for consumers, Mele says real estate professionals must find a way to improve response time, or risk losing more consumers to competitors. To solve the real estate industry's need for speed, Homes.com is delivering its IRT toolset—comprised of Lead Concierge and TalkNow—to enable real estate professionals to respond faster and close more leads. Lead Concierge: On-Demand Call Center Homes.com's Lead Concierge service empowers brokers and agents to work smarter, not harder, by providing a personalized call center service that takes the first consumer inquiries. When an agent or broker cannot be reached for a qualified lead transfer, Lead Concierge service provides immediate consumer engagement until an agent or broker follows up directly. "In effect, we're providing real estate agents and brokers with a personal assistant to help them never miss a call," says Mele. "No one can always be available: if they're actively engaged with a client, they can't stop to answer a call or respond to a text. Homes.com Lead Concierge will perform that service for them, and more importantly, will help qualify and prioritize leads." Well-trained Lead Concierge Assistants automatically handle incoming calls and emails on behalf of the agent or broker. The Lead Concierge asks a series of qualifying questions, including, "Are you currently working with an agent?," "What is the time period for your home purchase?," "Has a budget been determined?," and "Have you been pre-qualified for a mortgage?" Mele explains that leads are considered "disqualified," for example, if a caller is currently working with another agent, or is looking to rent rather than buy. "Hot leads," or qualifying leads, are immediately transferred to the agent or broker. Other leads are sent to the agent's dashboard for follow-up at their convenience. TalkNow: Connecting in Real Time Homes.com takes IRT to the next level with its launch of Homes.com' TalkNow, an app instantly connecting consumers searching for properties online with a real estate professional. "TalkNow is like Uber for a real estate agent," says Mele. "Agents let us know when they're available to take inquiries—they can show consumers 'I'm available now,' and TalkNow will connect them to someone who needs help on specific properties instantly. These may be the hottest leads an agent can get." When a home buyer is interested in a property on Homes.com, by simply clicking on the TalkNow button on the website, an alert is delivered immediately to a local agent. TalkNow then matches the consumer with an available agent in the coverage area for that listing. If the agent chooses to accept the inquiry, TalkNow delivers to the agent links to text or call the prospect immediately. Instant Response Solution To measure how vital response time is to consumers, Homes.com recently polled home buyers about their need for instant response: 22 percent expect to receive an immediate response when they submit an online form, and over 50 percent expect a response in less than one hour. 52 percent expect response time to be faster during business hours, when agents and brokers are busiest. 56 percent report that initial response time is a consideration when selecting an agent to represent them in their next real estate transaction. Homes.com's Instant Response Technology, both Lead Concierge and TalkNow, helps agents win more deals by providing consumers what they want: "immediate responses," Mele says. "Millennials are the vast majority of first-time buyers and to them, faster equals better and faster also means now. Agents also know that the first one to respond often gets the listing or the sale, no matter what the age bracket. With both Lead Concierge and TalkNow, Homes.com delivers instant connections to help agents and brokers to the hottest leads," he adds. "Homes.com is more than just a portal," Mele explains. "We're expanding our digital marketing offerings for agents and brokers to help them remain more competitive." Homes.com requires no minimum spend to take advantage of Lead Concierge. Homes.com TalkNow is currently available in Orlando, Nashville and Dallas/Fort Worth with nationwide coverage expected in the next 6 months. For more information on Homes.com Lead Concierge, view here and Homes.com TalkNow, view here or call 866-774-2947. About Homes.com Homes.com is a top real estate search destination, visited by more than 14 million consumers each month. Homes.com leverages search visibility to connect this in-market audience with real estate professionals in their local areas of interest. Homes.com offers the following real estate marketing and media services: brand advertising, property listing exposure and syndication, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation to help real estate agents and other real estate related partners succeed online. For more information, visit http://www.Homes.com.

SmartZip launches SphereTargeting to power home seller analytics and automated advertising for contacts in an agent's sphere of influence
PLEASANTON, Calif., Aug. 2, 2016 -- SmartZip Analytics, Inc., the leader in predictive marketing technology for the real estate, lending and related industries, announced the launch of SphereTargeting, a product that offers home seller analytics and targeted marketing campaigns for an agent's sphere of influence. After uploading their personal databases to SphereTargeting's predictive analytics engine, agents will receive rich data insights and seller predictions for each contact on an ongoing basis. Pre-configured online and social media advertising campaigns will automatically nurture their entire sphere, while enabling agents to double down on marketing and outreach efforts to top-predicted seller prospects. SphereTargeting works to solve a major pain point in most real estate agents' businesses: finding the time to nurture past clients, potential clients and others who have shown interest in their services. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, just 26% of home sellers hire the same agent they used in their previous transaction. Most real estate professionals lose out on business opportunities over the years simply because they didn't stay regularly in touch with their database. "Real estate professionals know the importance of their sphere of influence for finding business opportunities. But staying in touch over a long period of time, and most importantly at the right time, is a difficult and often expensive task," said SmartZip CEO and President Avi Gupta. "SphereTargeting was specifically designed to create a smarter and easier way to keep an agent's name and brand 'top of mind' for the long term, so they have the best shot at winning the next real estate transaction. But we also wanted to go one giant step further by applying our predictive analytics to surface the contacts most likely to sell, which ensures our client and their advertising is proactively reaching out to the right contact, at the right time, with the right message, and never losing out on repeat business from their sphere." Thousands of agents across the U.S. use SmartZip's flagship platform, SmartTargeting, which helps find listing opportunities in self-selected geographic territories. Beginning today, SphereTargeting will be included within the SmartTargeting platform for all current and future clients. In addition, for a limited time, new and current SmartTargeting clients can get SphereTargeting for free for their first 250 uploaded contacts. Clients will see deep insights about the contacts in their sphere, including their likelihood to sell, which gives them the ability to spark productive conversations and focus their attention on top seller prospects. Online advertising campaigns can be added to automatically nurture their sphere for the long term, including listing-focused ads to top seller prospects or leads and brand-building ads to the others for referral opportunities. Agents who have tested the product tout that SphereTargeting will help them to nurture their entire database while prioritizing the contacts with the highest selling potential. "I totally see the value in it," said RE/MAX Accord agent Derek Rodrigues. "As a real estate agent, my sphere sometimes gets forgotten and I know I'm probably missing out on listing opportunities. But with SphereTargeting, I get to see insights about my sphere and actions pop up that motivate me to stay in touch at the right time." In its initial launch, SphereTargeting is available for existing and new clients of the SmartTargeting platform. The standalone SphereTargeting product is expected to launch in fall 2016 and will be available to all real estate professionals and businesses. SmartZip Analytics is a national leader in predictive marketing solutions for real estate, lending and related industries. Using patent-pending home intelligence, predictive analytics and automated marketing campaigns, SmartZip's SmartTargeting platform offers an integrated solution that can identify top home seller prospects accurately, engage them through targeted online and offline marketing campaigns, and help close more business with smart nurturing and prospecting tools. In addition, leading national real estate companies, including Homes.com, ZipRealty.com, HomeSnap, foreclosure.com, RealtyStore.com and others rely on SmartZip's best-of-breed analytics for their online businesses. SmartZip is backed by Intel Capital, Claremont Creek Ventures, Crest Capital, Javelin Venture Partners and Cue Ball Capital, and is headquartered in Pleasanton, CA.

Is Your Website Helping You Close Leads and Build Relationships?
  How Do You Warm Up Website Leads & Build Relationships to Grow Conversion? In today's real estate market, having a real estate website has become a baseline requirement in the agent's marketing toolkit. Serving as the home base for your professional resume, neighborhood insights and listings, your website can be a great lead generation tool. But, what processes do you have in place to warm up your website leads, build relationships with your prospects, and - therefore - increase your conversion? In our latest downloadable guide, we look at six proven and actionable strategies being used by some of today's top producing agents and brokers. From being as tech-savvy as your prospects to building rapport through valuable information, you'll learn tips for success and walk away with actionable, can-do strategies that will help you convert your website leads and build lasting relationship with you sphere. Download your free copy of "6 Ways to Warm Up Website Leads, Build Relationships and Increase Your Conversion" today!

Contactually Now Offers Lead Capture with Zillow and Trulia
Never miss a new opportunity New client interactions are extremely time sensitive and we know how stressful this can be. What if a prospect reaches out in the middle of the night and you miss an opportunity?! Are you expected to stay up all hours of the night in order to respond? When you're out enjoying life with your family and friends you don't want to be worried about new leads. Trust me – no one likes that person who's always compulsively checking their email...and now you won't have to. It's important to initiate contact with a lead as soon as it's submitted. The likelihood of a lead converting is seven times higher if they're contacted within the first hour, and the window of opportunity starts closing in a matter of minutes. When the stakes are this high, trust the Contactually/Zillow partnership to coordinate your efforts. We'll instantly sync new leads to your account from Zillow and Trulia, so you can break through and build a dialogue quicker than ever before. We even take it one step further and allow you to designate which buckets your leads are sorted in, so you can organize, and prioritize without the manual lift. Imagine the possibilities You've gotten a new lead from Zillow of a buyer interested in a property. The buyer's info syncs automatically with Contactually and is placed in your "Zillow Leads" bucket. The bucket is attached to a program which sends the buyer an introduction email within a matter of minutes from submitting his information. You've just connected with a potential client without lifting a finger! With a systemized approach you can engage with your new leads and start building rapport. The framework of trust starts with the first interaction, and with the help of Contactually your new leads will see a genuine message within minutes from the spark of their interest. Zillow and Trulia Lead Capture in real time The new, seamless integration makes it possible to nurture and evolve your relationships like never before. Contactually's powerful features coupled with the improved partnership will help you uncover, manage and nurture more opportunities with less effort. Take five minutes to run through a quick setup on your end and rest assure you'll never miss a potential lead again. Next Steps For Users Step #1 Log into your Contactually account and head over to your settings page. From the Apps tab select the connect to Zillow option and copy your API key. You can also select which buckets you'd like your Zillow and Trulia leads to go to. Try creating a new bucket specifically for these leads if you'd like. Step #2 Head over to Zillow and go to the Contacts Tab on your Agent Hub account page. From here you'll select "Connect to my CRM." Step #3 Click Add Partner, and select Contactually from the drop down options. Step #4 Paste your Contactually API key, and click save. Build better relationships With four quick steps, integrate your Zillow and Trulia lead capture with Contactually. Take full advantage of Contactually and this new found partnership with Zillow and Trulia to automatically sync new leads. You'll never miss a beat with potential new clients or ever have to worry about a prime opportunity slipping through the cracks. Lasting relationships must be nurtured and it all start with the first interaction. We're toiling away to make your business processes easier. As always, let us know what you think...we're all ears. To view the original article, visit the Contactually blog.

Wise Agent CRM Releases Powerful New Lead Management System
We are very excited to announce that our awesome new Lead Management System is now live! You may now have all of your Leads automatically added to your Wise Agent CRM database from almost any source you are receiving them from. Then, you can decide exactly how you want to handle your leads from each source. You can set up an immediate auto response or choose to leave it off if you already have one sent from the lead source provider. The lead can be added to your call list and assigned to anyone on your team, and automatically added to as many categories as you need. You can set your system to launch a different drip campaign for each lead source and send notifications to everyone you want alerted about the new lead. Easily set up lead distribution filters to distribute leads by zip code, price, round-robin, or a combination of the three to anyone on your inside or outside team. Finally, you can track your success using our Reporting Dashboard. We're constantly adding value to the system, based on your requests! So let us know if there's a Lead Source that we don't yet support, or any other lead management tools and we'll do our best to accommodate!To view the original article, visit the Wise Agent blog.

Placester Releases New Marketing Platform for Brokers
Boston, Massachusetts -­ December 22, 2014 -­ Placester has announced the release of its brand new website and marketing platform for real estate brokers. The new broker platform streamlines the online marketing experience for brokers and adds several features, including multi-­site management, lead management, and premium support. "Earlier this year, we launched a brand new agent platform designed to give every real estate professional the opportunity to create a competitive online presence and build direct relationships with consumers," said Placester CEO Matt Barba. "Now, we're excited to bring the same combination of simplicity, power, and affordability to brokers and offices." Today's release will expand Placester's recent partnership with the National Association of REALTORS® to include broker members. As a partner in NAR's REALTOR Benefits® Program, Placester is offering its broker product to NAR members for just $3.75 per site per month, making Placester one of the most affordable broker­-focused solutions on the market. Rates for non-­member brokers start at $5 per site per month, with volume pricing available for large firms. Whether you're managing a few agents or several offices, running a brokerage can be both stressful and time ­consuming. Unfortunately, many brokers are forced to spend precious hours wrangling cumbersome marketing software. "The broker market is full of complicated solutions, many of which carry hefty setup fees and other hidden costs," Barba said. "We've built a product that's ready out of the box with all the features brokers need to manage their teams, all for an exceptional price." Placester's new broker platform begins with its agent websites, which feature IDX search, responsive designs, lead capture, and blogging. The broker product adds websites for offices, along with the ability to add, remove, and manage all of team's sites from one master broker dashboard. Brokers can also upload their company logo to create custom­ branded dashboards for their teams. In addition to websites, Placester's broker product also features essential lead management tools. Brokers can view incoming leads on agent sites and track their origins for maximum insight. Brokers can also monitor leads on their office sites to help manage lead nurture and follow ­up. More lead management tools will be arriving in the coming months, Barba said. Finally, the new broker product comes with premium support directly from Placester's broker team. "Support has always been a top priority at Placester," Barba said. "For brokers, we plan to continue that tradition with a personalized, high-­touch support experience." For more details about Placester's new broker platform, visit placester.com/broker. About Placester Placester is a real estate website and marketing platform that helps real estate professionals grow their businesses online. Through data partnerships with MLSs representing 95% of agents in the United States, Placester provides cost ­effective real estate websites with IDX search, modern design, and advanced lead capture. In addition to offering websites for agents and brokers, Placester also provides websites and search technology for local media companies and publishers, including Hearst Corporation's nationwide network of daily and weekly newspapers. Finally, Placester connects real estate professionals and media outlets to create an advertising marketplace for real estate, allowing agents and brokers to easily purchase and place digital ads with a variety of local and national publishers. Placester was founded in 2010 by Matt Barba and Frederick Townes. The company has raised nearly $10 million in total funding to date, and is backed by leading investors, including Romulus Capital and Techstars. For more information, please visit: https://placester.com/

Sotheby's International Realty Brand Launches Global Referral Management System
MADISON, N.J., June 18, 2014 -- Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC today announced the launch of the Sotheby's International Realty® Global Referral system, which is designed to streamline the transfer of referrals electronically within the Sotheby's International Realty worldwide network. The Global Referral system, which the brand developed with Immobel, allows Sotheby's International Realty network members to assign referrals, manage them through closing and run detailed reports. The system also features language translation and currency conversion. "The Sotheby's International Realty Global Referral system offers our network members increased flexibility in handling referrals, especially on a global basis," said Philip White, president and chief executive officer, Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC. "They now have the ability to view current and projected revenue for those referral transactions that are active and pending, and gain insight into business generating from other markets. As our brand has grown to 700 offices in 54 countries and territories, we saw a need for an integrated, global referral management tool that would serve to unite our network members and help them better capitalize on referral business." Sotheby's International Realty network members already have found the new system to be valuable in streamlining their referral processes. "The system is very helpful in keeping track of the many referrals we receive," said Laura Benaglia, marketing and communications manager, Milan Sotheby's International Realty in Italy. "I no longer need to file anything in paper. Now I can manage our referrals electronically anywhere using various types of mobile devices, even if I'm not physically at the office." The Sotheby's International Realty network currently has more than 15,000 independent sales associates located in approximately 700 offices in 54 countries and territories worldwide. Sotheby's International Realty listings are marketed on the sothebysrealty.com global website. In addition to the referral opportunities and widened exposure generated from this source, the network's brokers and clients benefit from an association with the Sotheby's auction house and worldwide Sotheby's International Realty marketing programs. Each office is independently owned and operated. About Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC Founded in 1976 to provide independent brokerages with a powerful marketing and referral program for luxury listings, the Sotheby's International Realty network was designed to connect the finest independent real estate companies to the most prestigious clientele in the world. Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. RLGY -1.36% , a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. In February 2004, Realogy entered into a long-term strategic alliance with Sotheby's, the operator of the auction house. The agreement provided for the licensing of the Sotheby's International Realty name and the development of a full franchise system. Affiliations in the system are granted only to brokerages and individuals meeting strict qualifications. Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC supports its affiliates with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Franchise affiliates also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby's auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.

IXACT Contact Joins Zillow’s Tech Connect Program
  Toronto, Canada, June 12, 2014 -- With Zillow's Tech Connect program, IXACT Contact customers can now seamlessly capture all of their Zillow leads into their IXACT Contact Realtor CRM, making follow-up quick and easy and eliminating the need for manual data entry. Zillow Inc. is the leading real estate marketplace on the web, with nearly 64 million monthly mobile and web unique users. Configuration of Tech Connect is very simple and can be completed in just a few steps. With Tech Connect, IXACT Contact customers can automatically capture all contact details, property information, and buying preferences (such as location, bedrooms, price range, lot size, etc.), for all their Zillow leads. But that's just the beginning. With IXACT Contact's advanced lead management automation features, these leads can be automatically assigned to a specific group, a drip email nurture campaign, and to the professionally designed and written monthly e-Newsletter that IXACT Contact provides free of charge to all subscribers. This combination of tight lead capture integration via Tech Connect, and the powerful lead nurturing capabilities built into IXACT Contact, helps agents respond to leads like never before, maximizing their opportunity to build relationships and convert leads into clients. "Zillow has grown to become the leading real estate marketplace and a trusted lead generation partner for thousands of real estate agents across the United States. Similarly, IXACT Contact has grown to become one of the largest and fastest growing real estate CRM companies in the world. We're very excited to announce our partnership with Zillow because it means our customers can take advantage of seamless lead integration, which will save them time and improve their experience with both platforms," said Rich Gaasenbeek, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, IXACT Contact. About IXACT Contact Solutions Inc. IXACT Contact® is an easy-to-use web-based real estate CRM that helps REALTORS® stay organized and build lasting relationships with past clients, hot prospects and important referral sources. IXACT Contact makes it easy to stay in touch with clients in a way that's personalized, relevant and timely. With IXACT Contact, real estate agents can convert more leads into listings and attract more referrals and repeat business. Real estate marketing is also a snap with IXACT Contact's personalized mass email, drip marketing, real estate newsletter, and Email Campaign Reporting features. The Active Business side of the system helps Realtors keep control of transactions by managing all the to-do's associated with listings and buyers. Sign up for a free five-week trial today at http://www.ixactcontact.com. About Zillow Inc. Zillow, Inc. operates the leading real estate and home-related marketplaces on mobile and the Web, with a complementary portfolio of brands and products that help people find vital information about homes, and connect with the best local professionals. Zillow's brands serve the full life cycle of owning and living in a home: buying, selling, renting, financing, remodeling and more. In addition, Zillow offers a suite of tools and services to help local real estate, mortgage, rental and home improvement professionals manage and market their businesses. Welcoming nearly 64 million monthly unique users during its peak month in 2013, the Zillow, Inc. portfolio includes Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, Zillow Rentals, Zillow Digs s™, Postlets®, Diverse Solutions®, Agentfolio®, Mortech®, HotPads™ and StreetEasy®. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

Not All Leads Are Equal
At realtor.com®, we take great care to focus on the outcome for the brokers and their agents when we provide lead solutions. Leads come in all shapes and sizes; and it is not until you back out the intent of the consumer who submitted the lead, that the quality over quantity issue becomes apparent. How ready are they? Where is the consumer in their life cycle? While it is good business to follow-up with all inquiries—at this time of year, the demand seems to be for leads where the consumer is past the research phase and already has a house in mind. If your source of leads is funneling in lots of consumers who are just curious about the state of the market, these potential consumers can convert, but this requires that your agents use good customer relationship practices. Instead of a drip marketing campaign that only sends emails without something personal, that will fall flat. We train with Top Producer® to send auto emails, but filter in lots of personal interactions and references to previous conversations which we store for the agent to refer to. Where is the loyalty? If your leads are being distributed to your agent—and a few others simultaneously, you can argue that this assures that the consumer will get a call. But it can also be uncomfortable for both your agent and the prospective client. We have anecdotal evidence that this hurts lead conversion significantly—from what our customers tell us, and studies done independently by PAA research will back this one up as well. Who answers the phone? Phone leads are great—there is no scrambling to get back to the customer and if done well, an appointment or next step can be produced in a single action. But if your agents have not instrumented a system for sending a personal text when they are busy or capturing the lead on their cell phone, the results can be devastating. When we tested what happens when a consumer reaches a voice mail, only 30 percent left a message. In these cases, we would recommend email leads—or upgrading the systems used to manage the leads the way FiveStreet does it. We offer phone leads and email leads so this is something to consider when every closing makes a difference—especially when your desire is to finish the year strong! To learn more, click here.