Howard Hanna Joins Forces with Ask the Agent to Revolutionize Client Engagement
Howard Hanna announced a strategic partnership with Ask the Agent, an interactive video and conversational AI technology provider specializing in communication tools for the real estate industry. Ask the Agent brings a wealth of expertise in developing advanced technology solutions tailored specifically for the real estate industry. At the forefront of their offerings are two key products poised to revolutionize client engagement: Interactive Video and Conversational AI. Interactive Video: Ask the Agent's Interactive Video platform empowers Howard Hanna's agents to create and publish with one click immersive, personalized video experiences that captivate audiences while answering client questions on demand 24/7 to drive engagement. Its products, such as Meet the Agent, Property Listing Channel, Agent Broadcast Channel, feature calls to action with reports and unique client insights that elevate the user experience. Conversational AI: Ask the Agent's Conversational AI technology enables Howard Hanna to transform both large scale property listing descriptions and property search with knowledgeable, speaking avatars educated on every property with local area information, delivering unique real-time assistance. Interactions can include answer inquiries, property information, scheduling viewings, and guiding clients through the initial stages of the buying or selling process, enhancing efficiency and convenience for both parties. "Being able to help agents modernize and communicate what their value proposition is in an engaging interactive user experience is what Ask the Agent does best. It's the right product at the right time," said James Beckmann, Ask the Agent's CEO. "We are thrilled to partner with Ask the Agent to offer our agents these innovative technology solutions," said Kevin Patai, senior director of digital strategy, Howard Hanna. "With Interactive Video and Conversational AI, our agents have the opportunity to modernize their marketing strategies and gain a competitive edge in the market, ultimately delivering superior service to our clients." For more information about Howard Hanna, visit howardhanna.com. To learn more about Ask the Agent and its Interactive Video and Conversational AI solutions, visit asktheagent.com.

Unveiling Success: The Crucial Role of Annual Reports for Real Estate Brokerages
In the dynamic and competitive world of real estate brokerage, staying ahead requires more than just closing deals. Real estate brokerages play a pivotal role in shaping the housing market, and transparency is key to establishing trust with clients and the community. An annual report serves as a powerful tool to communicate business achievements, market trends, and future strategies. In this article, we'll explore why annual reports are vital for real estate brokerages and the best ways to distribute them to customers and local media. The Importance of Annual Reports for Real Estate Brokerages Transparency and Trust Annual reports provide a transparent overview of a brokerage's performance, showcasing market share, market insights, and any new client tools that make home search easier. This transparency builds trust with clients, investors, and the community, reinforcing the brokerage's credibility. Demonstrating Expertise Real estate is an ever-evolving industry with trends and market dynamics that can change rapidly. An annual report allows brokerages to demonstrate their expertise by analyzing market trends, predicting future developments, and offering valuable insights. This positions the brokerage as a knowledgeable authority in the local real estate landscape. Marketing and Branding An annual report serves as a powerful marketing tool, allowing brokerages to highlight success stories, innovative strategies, and unique selling points. A well-crafted report can enhance the brokerage's brand image, attracting potential clients and differentiating itself from competitors. Strategic Planning Assessing annual performance helps brokerages refine their strategic plans for the future. By analyzing what worked well and identifying areas for improvement, brokerages can adapt and enhance their business strategies to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their clients. What did you do last year that was effective and what do you plan to do in 2024 to improve? Compliance and Accountability Annual reports are often required for regulatory compliance by public corporations, but not by private companies. By adhering to reporting standards, brokerages demonstrate accountability and ethical business practices. This commitment to compliance enhances the brokerage's reputation and fosters a sense of responsibility within the organization. What did you do to train agents on compliance? How did you enhance your cyber security? And so on. Best Ways to Distribute Annual Reports Digital Platforms In the age of digital communication, distributing annual reports through the brokerage's website, email newsletters, and social media platforms ensures widespread accessibility. Providing downloadable versions will alow clients and stakeholders to access the report at their convenience. Direct Mail For a more personalized touch, consider sending physical copies of the annual report to key clients, investors, and local community leaders. Direct mail creates a tangible connection and showcases the brokerage's commitment to transparency. If you want to see a great example of a physical copy – check out Chase International – they slay! Press Releases and Media Kits Craft compelling press releases and media kits summarizing key highlights from the annual report. Distribute these materials to local media outlets, leveraging their reach to amplify the brokerage's message and gain exposure in the community. WAV Group's communication department can help you with this – shoot me an email. Client Meetings and Events Incorporate the annual report into client meetings, listing presentations, and industry events. This provides an opportunity to discuss the report's findings directly with clients, fostering engagement and addressing any questions or concerns they may have. If you have a waiting area in your office, keep it stocked with your annual report. Collaborate with Industry Influencers Partner with local influencers or industry experts to share and discuss the annual report on their platforms. Their endorsement can significantly increase the report's visibility and credibility within the community. At a basic level, get your agents to promote it. If you do any media advertising – print, radio, TV – ask their journalists to post it. In the fast-paced and competitive real estate brokerage industry, annual reports play a crucial role in establishing trust, showcasing expertise, and shaping the narrative of a brokerage's success. By adopting a multi-faceted approach to distribution, real estate brokerages can maximize the impact of their annual reports, reaching clients, stakeholders, and the broader community to solidify their position as leaders in the local housing market. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Compelling Content Is Relevant and Sticky
Last week, I spoke at three different conferences, all three in Florida. It was fascinating to participate in these three gatherings and observe how the conference organizers shaped and delivered content. The Realm Global Collective was held in Miami, May 1 to May 4. Realm consists of 575 top-performing real estate professionals from more than 130 brands and 17 countries — a diversified and talented group of peak performers. The theme of the conference was "Where Leaders Come to Learn." The Realm team delivered. I was hired to articulate the future of real estate. The Realm participants enjoyed 75 minutes of a fast-paced conversation between me and Julie Faupel, Realm Founder and CEO. Our conversation touched on all the topics in the word collage below. The Q&A session was active with very specific questions from the audience. The Realm Global Collective may have been the most compelling conference focused on real estate professionals that I have attended in more than a decade. The conference kicked off daily at 8:30 a.m. and concluded around 4 p.m. When was the last conference you attended in which the first and last sessions of the day were packed? These early and late sessions were full and the real estate professionals were attentive and engaged. This is a direct result of the relevancy of the content delivered. The Realm team delivered exceptional value to the attendees. One interesting conversation I participated in happened over coffee with a few real estate professionals in the hotel lobby the morning after the closing gala. The commentary went something like this: That was an amazing conference. Content was current, relevant, and compelling. My real estate company's conferences are nowhere near as compelling. In fact, I only attend to participate in the off-site events and independent gatherings of top performers. This was a stunning conversation and a serious reminder that content is king. When you ask for someone's time (and money), make sure you deliver content that is compelling and relevant. BRAVO, Realm! This is Where We Are Now! Mark McLaughlin serves as CEO of McLaughlin Ventures and M&A Advisory at WAV Group. To view the original article, visit the McLaughlin Ventures blog.

May I Have Your Attention, Please?
Attention is a powerful word. In the military, soldiers stand still at attention, listening to their leader. You probably have not thought about attention lately, but it might be the most important thing that a leader needs to focus on. Do you command attention with the people that are important to your success? In the last day or two, have you picked up your phone to do something and wound up doing something else? A friend of mine who came over to watch the Buffalo Bills game confessed that she deleted Instagram. "I found myself spending 20 minutes scrolling through photos and watching Reels every time I picked up my phone." She had to tell me this twice because I was scrolling through Snapchat posts while watching the game and listening to her. Do I have your attention yet? Have you ever heard the saying that Realtors don't read? It is a very common complaint from brokers and MLSs who are trying to inform real estate agents about all sorts of things. Communications are difficult, especially if you have a lot to say. Most brokers have about 20 software products available to agents, whereas MLSs have a dozen more, and franchises offer their own pile, and REALTOR associations have a handful, as well. All these offerings come with notifications and trainings. Real estate agents live in a noisy inbox. Getting Attention The truth is all of us have attention deficit disorder these days. In our efforts to stay connected, we connect to everything and often connect to many things at once. Our efforts to stay connected are notably separating us from the strongly bonded connections that we need to succeed. As leaders, getting attention is about the quality of connection you are creating when you communicate. Here are a few things to consider that will improve your connection quality: Engage the Senses – Touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. An in-person meeting with food hits all five! Create a Frame of Reference – If you can relate to the book about knowing your why, or a purpose driven life, you understand that reference drives clarity, infuses passion, focuses on goals, develops resilience. Break Expectations – Surprises are great, and people pay attention when you do not give them what they expect. Drop templates and focus on variety. Reward! – Deliver rewards in two ways: extrinsic and intrinsic – money and self-improvement rewards deliver the best results. Reputation – Remember, just because you are the boss does not mean that you have established credibility. Mystery – Never give out the entire answer. Create some mystery by leaving things a little bit incomplete so that you reduce certainty and encourage discovery. Be Vulnerable and Personal One of the most interesting and unknown service offerings at WAV Group Communications is reviewing and editing. We write news releases, blog posts, and newsletters for brokers, MLSs, associations, and technology companies. These are things that we encourage companies to learn how to do themselves, but we jump in when the skill set is not available. A better solution for companies is to draft your communications yourself, and send it over to us for editing. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Realtor.com Finds Their Publishing Power
When the operator of realtor.com (Move, Inc.) was acquired by global publishing giant News Corp, there was optimism that the licensee of the REALTOR brand would move closer to Zillow Group in engaging willing consumers who are shopping for property. News Corp is among the top publishers in generating clicks from banner advertising, and housing is one of the top economic segments of the publishing industry. Consumers read an article about the housing market and click through to realtor.com to view properties. Today, most brokerage firms and agents report more lead generation from Zillow Group, but higher quality lead generation from realtor.com. By higher quality, we are referring to consumers who are more likely to buy or sell in the short term. This is a wide generalization of opinion, but it is the industry view. For years, leading portals have followed Redfin's lead at publishing housing insights based upon data—headlines like, "The 10 Most Affordable College Towns for Homebuyers in 2022." Recently, I received (for the first time, I believe) a newsletter from realtor.com called "Our Weekly Best." It is packed full of articles that engage consumers. Brokers Can Follow the Template If you want to compete as a brokerage, you can borrow the playbook of realtor.com to create articles that leverage your local expertise and deliver the most interesting article content for consumers in your area. America's Hottest Real Estate Markets Can Help Homebuyers Save Six Figures – Change this article to {County name or state name} Hottest Real Estate Markets Can Help Homebuyers Save Six Figures The Housing Market Just Took a Miraculous Turn – Change to The Housing Market in {county name or state name} Just Took a Miraculous Turn The 10 Most Affordable College Towns in the US − Change to The 10 Most Affordable Grammar School Areas in {county name or state name} And so on and so forth... How to Develop Community Content Like most marketing done by brokers, you can choose to purchase content for your website and newsletter or crowd source it from your office managers and agents. Alternatively, you can do a blend by purchasing some and internally sourcing others. WAV Group Communications is happy to help you pull this communication strategy together. The trick here is to make sure that consumers are engaging with your content. That is the benefit of following the headlines of realtor.com. They have professional writers who are masters at writing headlines about topics that generate clicks. The problem they have is that they are addressing a national audience. If you localize the content, you will outperform the national site all the time. Consumers are far more interested in what is happening in their county than they are on the national perspective – especially when it impacts the value of their home. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Multiple Brokerage Applications Break the Consumer Relationship
Brokers use a variety of tools to connect to the consumer. They have a CRM from the agent, they have Buyside, they have transaction management like DocuSign, they get emails from drip marketing tools, and on, and on, and on. Imagine the experience for the consumer: you buy or sell a home, and you get bombarded every month with pieces of information from each of these broker and agent applications. Whereas the real estate company actually values each of these point solutions for the benefits they offer to the business, this viewpoint often neglects to understand the experience of all of them. To the consumer, your email barrage looks like a hodgepodge of information. These emails come in, and they are appreciated, but there are two problems: The information is not delivered in an organized way. The information is often irrelevant to their interests or needs at any given time. How to fix it Set yourself up as a customer on all of your software applications. You may want to use a special, separate email address for this purpose. You can share the address with your team so everyone has the experience. You will become a human integrator, determining what has value and what does not. You can add/remove/edit messages. Use this process to refine your message, and make sure that it sounds like your brand. Try to develop machine learning, and put consumers in stages. Customers who are buying, selling or closing/moving have different information needs than customers who are living in their home. The information that your firm (and the agent) is sharing with the customer needs to consider the status that they are in. For customers not transacting, use a service like Milestones or MooveGuru to deliver valuable homeownership information. Move them into a smart newsletter service that bundles information together rather than spamming the customer to no avail. Be careful whenever you reach out to a client—you DO NOT want your efforts to stay connected to result in a negative experience and ultimately being spam blocked. Whenever you are spam blocked, contact the customer and ask them if they would consider a different type of communication once a month or even quarterly. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

How to Prepare for a Successful Meeting with a Recruit
Recruiting new agents to your brokerage is an essential part of growing your business. Whether you decide to cast a wide net and hope to catch the right talent, exclusively go after top producers in your market--or both--there's a lot of planning and strategy that goes into recruiting. Once you've identified a list of agents you would like to meet with, it's time to prepare to meet. Here are our top five tips to have a successful meeting: 1. Study your recruit's past performance. When a real estate agent is considering joining a new brokerage, they want to know that you are invested in them from the start. To gain their trust, do your homework so you can have an informed conversation with them. By looking at MLS data and sales history, you can learn what their production levels are, their market share, areas they do business, and if they work primarily with buyers or sellers. 2. Come prepared with a list of questions you want to ask them. At the end of the day, meeting with a recruit is essentially a job interview. You need to understand how they will fit into the culture of your brokerage and help contribute to your bottom line. The questions you ask should cover multiple areas of their business from working with clients, to lead generation, as well as their career goals. Some example questions* to ask are: How do you build rapport with new clients? What questions do you ask upfront to identify what your client is looking for? What lead generation tactics do you find most successful? What type of culture are you looking for? What do you want your career to look like in five years? *If you're interviewing a new agent, you will need to alter your questions to discuss future plans from market areas they want to focus on, needs for coaching, etc. Most importantly, now is the time to put on your listening ears and refrain from giving too much input. Let your recruit guide the conversation so you can decide if they are in fact a good fit for your brokerage. 3. Discuss your business with them—from your plans for growth to market share and culture. Being transparent about how your brokerage operates from the start is imperative if you want to successfully retain your recruit—at the end of the day, they are also interviewing you. Start by sharing the story of your brokerage. Share what you consider to be your strengths, while also being transparent about your weaknesses and how you plan to overcome them. Additionally, come prepared with market share reports and your business plan so you can clearly illustrate how and where their skill set will fit in. It's also a good idea to share agent and client testimonials so they have a clear picture of how others (not just you) see your brokerage. Once you've laid out how your business operates, open the door for them to ask questions... and be prepared to give honest answers. 4. Invite them to meet other agents, admins, and support personnel in your office. Since we all spend so much time at work, it's important for your recruit to enjoy the culture you've built at your brokerage. By allowing your recruit to interview or meet with other agents or admins in your office, they can get a clear picture of what their day-to-day will look like. 5. Explain the tech tools and coaching you provide. With real estate leaning more and more to digital processes, explaining which tech tools you provide at your brokerage is a huge selling tool. Whether you have decided to provide lead generation tools, a CRM, or transaction management—you want them to know these things upfront. This also lets them know what out-of-pocket costs they will incur to successfully manage and run their business. Another huge selling point for recruits is how and when you will provide coaching and training along the way. At the end of the day, they want to know how you intend to support their growth so they can also reach their goals for their own business. To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.

Collaborating with Media and Reporters for Brand Awareness in Real Estate
In the real estate industry, brand awareness is crucial. In order to fulfill your goals, such as getting your listings in front of potential buyers or simply generating brand awareness, you must know all the best tactics. In today's article, I will list some of the benefits of partnering with media and reporters and how it can help your real estate business grow. Being Featured in a Media Outlet Imagine your company being featured in a business magazine or local newspaper. By investing in a public relations survey, which is known to be a great real estate marketing technique, you can easily gain the attention of the media from news outlets, which can help you get exposure to thousands of people. What Exactly Is a PR Survey? A PR survey, also known as a public relations survey, is a technique used by a lot of industries including real estate to gain media exposure and coverage. It's the process when a company sponsors a market research survey and uses the findings for marketing and PR purposes that can be featured by news companies in their blogs, social media posts, etc. Through your findings, your company will be provided with a large amount of brand awareness. Benefits of Using a PR Survey Some benefits of using a PR survey include: A large amount of media coverage and increased brand awareness, which is crucial to be successful in the real estate industry Marketing your company as a real estate expert by giving proprietary data to the media, which can be shared on social media, websites, blogs and other platforms Establishing media relations for your future endeavors Press releases Developing a powerful marketing strategy for your brand Making use of infographics Paid digital advertising on social media platforms and webinars Being provided with promotional materials Plus, your real estate company will also benefit in the fields of property development, investing, sales, marketing, and much more. Therefore, with all the benefits that it offers, it may be a valuable addition to your real estate company. Now that you know how media exposure can be beneficial for your real estate business, let's get into action. Below is a list of things you must take into consideration before partnering with media companies. Know Your Plan You must be clear on what it is that you want. Set goals, and work your way toward achieving them. Clarity is very important for media exposure. Your brand must have a clear establishment of its goals in order to send out the right message. Know Your Target Audience Who are you trying to reach? You must be aware of your target audience, know their demographics and target them accordingly. How does your audience get their information? Perhaps through the news on TV? Or maybe social media? Knowing which media they are consuming is important in order to use the right platform to reach them. Know Your Story What makes your real estate organization stand out from the rest? What does your brand value? What does it offer to its clients and why should they choose you? Know what makes your real estate company special and start working on your story. Make sure your story is informative and compelling to your audience's needs. Will Your Story Sell? Remember, by collaborating with reporters, you aren't only selling your story but also representing the media. Is your story compelling enough? In order to get the best results, you must first establish the best tactics. Start Setting Up for Action After you have established the above actions, you may start your marketing process. Collaborating with media and reporters will not only help you reach a wider audience, but will also help you stand out from your competitors and gain more potential customers. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.

Direct Message Marketing on Social Media Is Wrong
If you are like me, you get direct messages on LinkedIn every day with offers to help you grow your business. Some of them are from people or companies that you know, and others are spam from people or companies that you do not know. The come in like this:

TRIBUS Unveils Slack for Real Estate Brokerages
TRIBUS, a leader in the creation of API-based tools for real estate companies, announced the update and launch of its brokerage communication platform, TRIBUS Chat. The brokerage intranet chat and news platform is available, customizable and easy to use. In light of COVID-19, companies have been forced to completely shift their business practices, and as a result, communication has suffered. With TRIBUS Chat, brokerages are able to create channels within their ecosystem to segment communication between teams, agents and managers.

All Businesses Have a Story: 6 Steps to Discover It, Craft It, and Tell It
Storytelling predates writing as the original method of social sharing. Thousands of years ago, people of every culture used a communal form of sharing information in the form of story. From the passing of religious beliefs in Greece to the sharing of cultural history by the African griot, the use of story is innate. The late sociologist Peter L. Berger said, "Storytelling is a means for sharing and interpreting experiences. Human life is narratively rooted, humans construct their lives and shape their world into homes in terms of these groundings and memories. Stories are universal in that they can bridge cultural, linguistic and age-related divides."

How to Host a Great Zoom Meeting
With the world moving to the digital space, hosting Zoom meetings has become increasingly popular. We're here to help you work through some best practices when it comes to hosing a great virtual meeting for you and your team. You can find a full guide on how to use Zoom video conferencing here.

Office Safety: Dealing with Angry Visitors, Part 3
So now you know the first two steps (see parts one and two) in dealing with an agitated person who visits your real estate office. You're aware of how to identify an angry person from a distance, and the non-verbal tricks that can help you de-escalate the situation. Now, let's talk about verbal strategy. What do you say to an upset individual to defray a tense situation? Watch this week's episode of "Real Answers" to find out. In the video above, you'll learn: Why validation is key to calming an agitated visitor Sample scripts for validating their feelings Why you need the person to be calm and rational, and how to get them there Next week: Learn the next steps for defusing the situation with your upset office visitor.

Office Safety: Dealing with Angry Visitors
For weeks, we've been sharing strategies that agents can use when faced with an agitated squatter. But what happens when the agitated person is a member of the public--and they're in your office? In this week's episode of Real Answers, brokerages, MLSs and associations will learn what NOT to do when an upset individual enters their office and makes a scene or starts a confrontation. This episode is the first in a series of four that looks at how to handle this potentially dangerous scenario. Next week: Learn what TO DO when confronted by an angry person in your office!

Dealing with Squatters: How to Ask Them to Leave
So, you've calmed an agitated squatter in the home you're showing. What's the next step to take in order to show the listing without provoking a confrontation? Watch this week's episode of 'Real Answers' to find out. In the video above, you'll learn: How to safely give squatters options to leave so you can show the home What to say if they choose not to leave Why respect and appreciation for the squatter and their decision are key Why you should never issue ultimatums if you want to stay safe Sample scripts you can use throughout the interaction Next week: What happens when an angry person visits your office? Learn how to handle them peacefully.

Safe Selling: A Script (and a Trick) for Screening Prospects
We've talking a lot about red flags lately--specifically how to spot them in new prospects. This week, learn a quick trick that agents can use over the phone to uncover hints that a prospect might be dangerous. The trick is called 'The Training Play' and it can help agents gauge a prospect's hidden motives. Watch the video above to: Hear a sample script for using the Training Play on the phone Find out which vocal cues to be alert for How agents can decide if they should take another agent with them to a showing Next week: See why it's so important to learn about the neighborhood—and to share your findings in the Showing Notes.

Safe Selling: Why Agents Should Avoid Getting Personal in Their Marketing
How can brokers help their agents stay safe? You probably already know all the physical basics, but did you know the way your agents present themselves online can actually deter--or attract--predators? We've already learned how an agent's profile photo and the language they use in their marketing can put off a potential attacker. In today's episode of "Safe Selling," we're deepening that knowledge by exploring what types of marketing information attracts dangerous people, and what repels them. Watch the video above to learn: The difference between personal and professional information Why agents should NEVER include personal information on their website or other marketing channels The personal details that can cause a predator to stalk an agent in person What topics your agents' marketing should focus on instead Tune in next week when we'll learn the ins and outs of social media safety!

May We Please Start Saying 'My Pleasure' Instead of 'No Problem'?
Customer service in real estate is paramount. It's a key differentiator promoted by the vast majority of brokerages and agents. It's vital because real estate is a relationship business. I've written about this before, but growing up and working for my dad in the hotel business, I was taught how essential it was to provide exceptional customer service. That has made me acutely aware of the overall decline in excellent customer service in our society at large.

Office Safety: Dealing with Angry Visitors, Part 4
Over the past month, we've been showing you what to do when an agitated person visits your brokerage, MLS, or association office. Today, our series wraps up with the final steps you need to take to deescalate a tense situation. Watch the video above to learn: How to guide an agitated person to a resolution by offering them options Why it's important to stress the consequences of each option Why respect and validation are crucial—and why ultimatums never work Sample scripts for offering options and validating their choice Need to catch up on this rest of this series? Check out parts one, two, and three here.  

Office Safety: Dealing with Angry Visitors, Part 2
When an agitated visitor comes into your office, it's better to be proactive than reactive. If you can identify an angry person before as they approach, you can prepare yourself to de-escalate the situation--and keep you and those in your office safe. How can you do that? In this week's episode of "Real Answers," we'll show you exactly what to look for. Watch the video above to learn: The physical signs of an agitated person Why you need to lead the de-escalation process, not the visitor The body language to display to better calm a person--and the physical stances to NEVER take in a tense situation Want to learn more? Check out part one of this series, where we showed you what NOT to do when an angry person visits your brokerage, association, or MLS office. Then stay tuned for a new episode next week!

Real Estate Buyers Want More Process Content
Real estate buyers come from various financial situations and with widely different ideas of what makes a great home for their needs. They also arrive with very different levels of knowledge of the process, from a first purchase to a seasoned investor. So, what's a common characteristic of real estate buyers that can work for us in marketing to them? No matter how many properties they've purchased, every real estate buyer is always open to learning more about the transaction process or particular niche information that applies to their deal. You may be covering most of the major phases of a common transaction, but more information is always a plus for site visitors, and even for the search engines.

Is Your Real Estate Seller Content Hitting the Mark?
The real estate seller is a prime prospect, as listings are known to be the best business building tool for real estate professionals. They also can feel like they're the targets of tons of marketing, emails, and repetitive advice. When you're pursued by a throng of real estate agents, it feels like a pack, and your attention is mostly in getting away; nobody stands out.

ERA Real Estate Launches IVR Enhancement to TextERA Platform
ERA Real Estate announced the addition of an IVR (interactive voice response) feature to the TextERA platform. TextERA, already hugely successful among ERA® affiliated brokers and agents, allows potential clients to immediately access the listing agent, pricing, video and details about the property within seconds by following prompts from their yard signs. TextERA's new IVR feature ensures that potential clients who still opt to make phone calls will also receive an immediate response.

Format for Writing Agent Bios
WAV Group has written a lot about agent profiles, and usually with scorn. There is nothing that demonstrates a lack of professionalism than a profile with a grey cutout instead of a professional photo, or an empty bio page. In some small way, I hope that this quick article will stimulate a few more brokers, teams, and agents to rekindle the professional flame and update headshots and bios now. Have your agents answer these questions to get started:

Best PR Quotes of All Time
My top favorite pastime is being a professional mentor of high school robotics team where I live, just a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle on Bainbridge Island. It's a FIRST Robotics Team (4915 Spartronics) that I helped found six years ago. I'm the lead marketing mentor. One of the mantras we have taught each student on the team as they go through the program is "Everyone's a marketer." That quote really captures the importance of the business side of the robotics team. Marketing impacts everyone on the team. It is vital to the team's success and sustainability for many reasons, the biggest one is the team is self-funding.

7 Communication Apps for Your Business
Is your business communicating or miscommunicating? Mishandling the exchange of information with clients or even staff and business partners can have major repercussions on your bottom line. Fortunately, help is on the way through a number of mobile apps you can download to streamline your business communications. Keep reading for a list of the best communication apps.

Let's Get Our Language Right
In real estate, agents and brokers talk about sales. They talk about how many and how much. Time to get our language right. Instead, let's say...

Twilio Acquires SendGrid for $2 Billion -- Real Estate Tech Wins
Twilio sent out a press release about buying SendGrid on October 15, and it seemed to fly past the radar of everyone in real estate. Maybe the lack of interest is because both companies supply backend services to products who need communication services. Building multi-channel communication features in an app just became easier.

What Is a Cloud Phone System?
You know how important a good phone system can be for your business. But you may not know what a cloud phone system is. Let's go over what it is and how your business can benefit from it.

The ABCs of Marketing Acronyms for Real Estate Brokerages
Marketing is full of acronyms—and sometimes, looking at them can feel like trying to make sense out of a bowl of alphabet soup. They're key for your marketing plans, but there are so many (and so many similar ones!) that it's hard to keep track. But what do those collections of letters mean for your and your real estate brokerage? Keep reading for your cheat sheet of some of the most common marketing acronyms!

Live Video Chat: The Way Modern Communication Is Supposed to Be
Technology has transformed the ways we communicate with clients. Today we have more channels available to us than ever: email, text, direct message on social media, and so on. Unfortunately, with each advancement, communication has become more impersonal and the use of chatbots and pre-recorded messages have made clients feel like they are talking to robots. However, there's one advancement in communication technology that can be the answer your clients (and you) have been searching for: video chat. Live video chat may seem optimal for friends and family, but it also holds great potential for businesses. Video chat can even help you increase engagement on social platforms and gain the winning edge over your competition.

Should You Use Live Chat Apps on Your Website?
Live chat apps are literally popping up everywhere. Today, we'll take a look at this talked about tech, and whether or not it might be right for your business. Put a Bug in Your Ear You spend countless hours driving traffic to your real estate website. But in your business, and with today's instant-access lifestyle, it's easy for first-time visitors to feel ignored. Let's face it, as much as it would be great for initial client contact to be one-on-one with you, the nature of the realty business makes a prompt, live response tough to tackle.

Audience Engagement in a Noisy World
We all do it. Wake up, grab our mini computers and see what we missed in those all-too-short hours of slumber. Whether we jump into our favorite social app, go directly to email, or just start scrolling through notifications that built up overnight, come morning we want to be instantly informed about the world spinning around us. But don't worry, this isn't a self help article like 5 Steps to Grow Your Twitter Following. No, this is a different look at audience engagement from the supply side of the equation and all of our quests as to how to do it better. So join me for a conversation with NAR Commercial's communication guru Jacob Knabb where he shares some of his thoughts on how we can communicate with target audiences more effectively.

What Is Public Relations?
I am still stunned by the number of people I meet in the real estate industry, including prospective clients, who really don't understand what public relations is. More importantly, many people often have misconceptions about what PR can do. Most often, PR is confused with activities and outcomes that are entirely in the realm of advertising. A better widespread understanding of what PR is, what is not, what it can do and what it should not be expected to do would greatly benefit the real estate industry. That's because PR is one of the most potent and underutilized business disciplines that yields one of the highest ROIs when executed well.

The Secret to Having the Best PR Program
When I met the "father of public relations," Edward Bernays, he was in his 90s. I was a USC grad student in the School of Journalism working on my Masters in Public Relations (MPR). A small group of us had gathered at a Public Relations Student Society of America reception at a national conference to meet the living legend. His body may have been feeble, but his brain was still wickedly razor sharp. He said something to us so simple, and perhaps even obvious upon reflection. At the time, the full impact of his words and what he meant was not apparent or immediate. But they lingered in my mind, almost hauntingly.

Chat Bot 2.0 for Brokers
In 2013, WAV Group performed the most comprehensive research on responsiveness to consumer leads on broker websites. At the time, more than 50 percent of consumer inquiries were not responded to at all! For those that did respond, the quality of the response was very low and the time to respond was about 15 hours. The research highlighted an enormous disconnect between the efforts of brokers to drive consumer engagement though marketing and the problem with conversion. Since the paper, we have seen a few trends emerge. Zillow has created a center of excellence around concierge services to connect consumers from their websites with agents in real time. Zillow is the first responder and endeavors to make a live hand off to Zillow Premier Agents. Howard Hanna and others have adopted the offering of live operators too. It's working! But the expense of operating these call centers is significant, averaging about $58,000 in full-time employee costs.

How to Choose the Right Phone System for Your Business
Your phone system is a vital part of your business. Here's how to choose the right phone system and why you should consider a cloud phone system.

Stop Struggling to Create Content: 5 Steps to Simply Get It Done
There are plenty of advanced tips available to teach you to get the most from Facebook Ads, Snapchat, Twitter, and every other social network. However, before you learn the ultimate tips for any social site, you should nail down your content plan. You can't have an effective social media strategy without a content plan, and social content plans work best when kept simple. With that in mind, here are five tips from Katie Lance's recent Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar for creating a simple but effective social content plan.

5 Technologies Helping Brokerages Crush Client Communication
It seems as though every day there is a new way to communicate, whether it be on a new social media platform or via a new app that connects people. Brokerages are picking up these new technologies to help them crush client communication and help improve the relationships they have with their clients. It's important in an industry that is built on relationships to make sure that brokerages stay connected and in sync with both prospects and clients. Here are five technologies that help make that happen.

How to Compete as Redfin Lowers Their Listing Fees
Redfin recently rolled out an initiative to drop their listing fees, significantly undercutting the industry average listing fee. The company tested the strategy in major markets—such as Washington D.C., Seattle, Chicago, Denver, and San Diego—and, not surprisingly, saw a substantial increase in business. In many of these markets, the typical listing fees are around 2.5 percent, yet Redfin has lowered their fee to 1 or 1.5 percent. Redfin has claimed that their listing count has grown in every market where they've dropped their listing fee. The new low-fee strategy is spreading into residential real estate, which is leaving many brokerages concerned about how they'll compete. Lower listing fees will put pressure on your pricing, which is painful in an industry with already dwindling margins.

The Complete Guide to Promoting Your Business with Texting
Staying current has never been more important for business than it is today. As millions of consumers turn to Amazon for ease of ordering and delivery of a wide variety of products, the worst thing a small business can do is be complacent. Most entrepreneurs would do almost anything to avoid being considered obsolete or out of date. That's among the reasons why it's so crucial for business owners to leverage all the tools they have available. Sure, that includes email and social media and whatever other kinds of marketing is pertinent to a given industry. But if a marketing plan doesn't include text messaging these days, it's definitely missing a golden opportunity to not only stay current, but to stay in touch. Text message marketing continues to flourish as one of the most cost-effective and result-driven methods to keep customers happy. Here is what you need to know about using texting for business. 3 Steps for Texting for business:

Which Brokerage Intranet Solution is Right for You? (Part 1)
Gone are the days when the brokerage itself was the physical hub of agents' activities. Thanks to mobile apps and cloud-based solutions, agents are able to access everything they need from the field or their home office. That said, if the various apps your firm offers are unconnected from each other, it can result in both disorganization and low agent adoption of your solutions. One of the best ways to cure this mess is by setting up an office intranet—accessible from anywhere—that your agents can use to download files, access software, and see announcements and other communications. But which intranet solution is right for your company? Well, we highlighted two big intranet players in our 2017-18 Technology Guide, and today we'll take a closer look at one, DASH! for Brokers from Clareity. (Stay tuned tomorrow when we look at the second solution, WOLFconnect!)

Putting Storytelling Back Into a News Release
The art of storytelling is celebrated today as one of the most effective ways to communicate. When I first started practicing public relations, the most effective news releases were the ones that told a story. They were called feature news releases. I'm not sure what happened to them, but over the years, that term has all but disappeared from the PR vernacular. In fact, Google yields a paltry 5,700 search results for the term, which makes me very sad, as it once was the most effective way to get a reporter's or editor's attention. It was a great way to cut through the clutter of the boring, mundane and often useless and news-less releases that were being sent out – and stand out from the competition.

Do Real Estate Professionals Need Grammarly?
If you're like me, you may have come across a few Grammarly ads and commercials over the past few months. Grammarly touts itself as the 'The World's Best Grammar Checker.' The question is, do real estate professionals need Grammarly? What is Grammarly? Grammarly is an advanced grammar checker more powerful than the spelling and grammar check found on Microsoft Word. Beyond spelling and basic grammar, Grammarly identifies confused prepositions, wordiness, plagiarism, overuse of passive voice and much more.

Throwback: Why Classic Communication Skills Give You a Marketing Edge
Hate the constant texting, tweeting, posting, and annoying constant digital interruptions in today's real estate marketing world? Be true to yourself – and your customers – by taking a few steps back to your snail mail roots. Really. It can work for you. #DigitalFatigue Yes, Tech Can Better Your Biz, But It's Not the End-All, Be-All Because clients yearn to work with someone genuine, honest and authentic, some of your favored forms of dated communication can make you memorable and unique, giving you an edge against a flock of smartphone sheep. While staying up on industry trends in tech is advisable, getting back to basics and flaunting your social skills (while today's internet encrusted generation rapidly sheds theirs) can help you become a big bad business wolf.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Pay Attention to Me: The Best Subject Lines
With the frequent emergence and growth of new, lucrative social media such as Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram (the #trifecta), combined with the existing ease of communications platforms like text messaging, it tends to become more and more difficult to grab the attention of the reader through old school email. One of the few existing grandfather media, your email gets flooded every day with spam, work messages, subscription check-ins and other various, undulating updates. Stewart Butterfield, CEO of real-time messaging platform Slack, suspects that about 80 percent of your email inbox is not coming from an actual person, and that's not even including spam. "Here's your Uber ride receipt, someone's following you on Twitter, marketing newsletters," and so forth, he said. Because of this, people usually skim down their inboxes, ignoring those emails that don't seem relevant or interesting. In fact, 21 percent of email recipients report email as spam, even if they know it isn't. You may be asking yourself: how do I get my emails to rise above the rest and get noticed? Your answer lies in the construction and creativity of the subject line. Believe it or not, 35 percent of email recipients open emails based solely on the subject line. As the first thing people read when they receive your email, the subject line needs to be welcoming, attention grabbing, and brief.

Leverage Facebook Messenger for Lead Generation and Conversion
Facebook Messenger, the most popular app in the world, was downloaded 59.7 million times in the first six months of 2016 alone. Do you have the real estate selling tips you need to take advantage of its newest ad features? Destination: FB Messenger In previous versions, Messenger users had to seek out your business. Now you can select Messenger as a destination for website click objectives, simplifying the conversation initiating process (which allows clients to receive your messages) with a "Send Message" call-to-action to link to the app. This not only brings prospects further down the sales funnel and directly to your door, but allows for faster assessment of where they are in the sales cycle without being intrusive. Heating up sales The update offers businesses greater opportunity to warm up sales leads, drawing cooler leads away from "cold" general interest content and getting them in on the action. Those unlikely to have progressed can be warmed up via direct conversation, generating sales potential that would not have previously existed.

5 Ways to Communicate Effectively in Business
Your communication skills can have a major impact on how your business performs. It's not just about being able to speak in public or in front of crowds, as communication skills are beneficial for every stage of your business. Enhance your business communication skills by learning these five ways to communicate effectively in business. Listen Up Two of the most effective communication tools at your disposal have been with your whole life: your ears. Listening to your audience gives you clarity on the characters, conflicts and context of a situation before speaking. It also keeps you from making assumptions, jumping to conclusions or pointing blame. Regularly practicing active listening, or listening with focus, will make you a more well-reasoned communicator and business leader. It will also demonstrate to audiences that you have a vested interest in understanding what is important to them. Speak to Your Audience In your everyday life, you probably communicate differently with friends, family or co-workers. Tailoring your messaging to your audience is also one of the best ways to communicate effectively in business. Moderate the content and tone of your communications to appeal to the unique concerns of the party in front of you. When you cater your speech to the priorities of your customers, partners and future prospects, you can meet both their objectives and yours.

5 Easy Ways to Expand Your Business Network
Effective networking requires seeking out authentic connections to build mutually beneficial business relationships. But if your business network is scarce or even non-existent, how do you expand it? Read on for five techniques you can use to start expanding your business network today. Take Your Existing Network to the Next Degree Leveraging existing connections to build new ones makes networking more natural and less forced. This is why one of the easiest ways to expand your business network is to analyze your existing network. Then, seek out second or third-degree connections of these individuals. These might be current or former colleagues, clients or even fellow alumni. You are already trusted members of these individuals' networks. This means that they can recommend or even introduce you to their connections without hesitation. Identify Networking Events Networking events with the highest potential for success will depend on your industry. Find out where industry influencers engage with the business community. Chances are high that a networking mixer, trade show, workshop or business luncheon is taking place at a venue near you. Identify a venue that aligns with your goals for the event. Then, plan to attend on a date when the individuals you want to meet will also be in attendance.

Content Curation 101: The difference between curating content and plagiarizing
If you think curating is only for art galleries, you may be spending entirely too much time creating your own original content. Content curation is a simple idea. When you curate content, you review a large amount of information and resources around a particular topic, then present that information in a meaningful way. And, perhaps most importantly, you add your own ideas and analysis into the mix. When done correctly, everyone benefits from content curation: The original content creator has their ideas shared with a larger audience who can easily find them to get more insights Your audience benefits from content that you aggregated from multiple sources You benefit because you added your own thoughts to a particular topic, proving you are a thought leader in the space Good content curation practices include: Getting multiple perspectives on one subject by reviewing varying sources Considering any anecdotal or real-life experiences you have to contribute Rephrasing any content you found useful, while citing the original source Repackaging the information with your own insights and analysis Crediting all original sources (did we say that twice? That's because it's important!)