It is funny how trends emerge in real estate. New terms pop up and suddenly everybody is jumping on board. The latest trend that we caught wind of is the word playbook. A playbook is a grouping of activities, and in this context, playbooks are a proven, automated, and integrated set of actions that drive outcomes faster.
Over the past five years, the adoption of client relationship management software (CRM) has been awesome. Real estate agents have finally recognized that successful performance as a salesperson means the organization and dedication to the management of customer relationships. Automation has helped a lot. For example, it is now a requirement for the agent CRM to integrate with the broker’s email and calendar solution. This is invaluable because it keeps customer records and the agent’s calendar in sync.
Another great evolution in CRM has been artificial intelligence (AI). On a basic scale, sending a notification to a customer when a new or updated listing matches their search criteria is an example of AI. But there are many more, like suggesting properties for customers based upon scanning images and determining which homes are “look alike” homes. A lot of AI development is in the area of drip marketing campaigns and other marketing automations. If you take this a step further, you can begin to understand the reference to a playbook.
Playbook Examples:
- Promote a New Listing
- Run an Open House
- Power Up My Sphere
- Get Repeat & Referral Business
- Build a Lead Funnel
I spent a few hours watching the spring launch of the new kvCORE Platform from Inside Real Estate. Some of WAV Group’s brokerage customers are on the platform today and they tend to find their way onto the list when brokers hire us to help them explore new vendors.
Inside Real Estate is shaking the norm again by their release of playbook technology inside kvCORE. Quite simply, this looks to be a game changer.
In kvCORE, a playbook is a series of activities that that simplify and automate proven tasks to help agents achieve optimal outcomes, faster.
To be clear, a playbook is not a checklist. In technology they use the term ITTT – If This Then That. Playbooks are like an “easy button” solution that helps agents accomplish more in less time. Behind every automated playbook are proven steps based on top-performing agents and successful results. On average, these playbooks save agents 80% of the time it would normally take to achieve those same results. That’s a pretty impressive productivity enhancement.
A playbook for promoting a new listing would include prompts to send postcards, flyers, post to Facebook, send an email to agents in the office, or whatever. Playbooks are designed to automate common activities so agents have a clear, streamlined process that eliminates the guesswork of what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Everyone certainly has a little different take on their preferred activities – but the basic framework is there and all of the activities can be completed through the platform. Plan your work and work your plan.
I really believe that playbooks may be as important as any other thing that brokers focus on this year. Brokers who encourage adoption by agents will see their efforts profoundly improve their business performance and the relationship that their brand has with the customer. I would love to see a marketplace for playbooks at some point in the future – so agents could download the Ninja Selling playbook for prospecting, or the Tom Ferry playbook for getting referrals, etc. But to make these work the way Inside Real Estate has invented these “technology-based playbooks”, they would need to be built in to your tech platform so they function seamlessly with your day-to-day activities.
I ran across some other great footnotes from the kvCORE webinar like Pond Accounts – think of this as new vocabulary for team functionality – like contacts and activities shared in a pond for teams to collaborate. It is great to see vendors rolling out this type of innovation. I may write about pond accounts in a future article.
