MLSs and Brokers Misunderstand RESO

Our industry is in the dawn of a new day. With some measure of struggle, the Nations’ MLSs and their Vendors have endeavored to adopt a set of standard fields for standardized data transportation from the MLS system to applications that support the real estate industry.  I consider this the dawn of the effort because, for the very first time, MLS adoption of the real estate standards are more strictly mandated by the National Association of REALTORS® MLS Policy. For years, the National Association of REALTORS® supported and funded the Real Estate Standards Organization, which is referred to by its [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:04-07:00October 7th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights|Comments Off on MLSs and Brokers Misunderstand RESO

Do Online Marketing Analytics Blind Agents to Offline Opportunities?

We’ve all been the unhappy recipients of unwanted junk mail and Internet advertisements, yet online marketing has been hailed as the Holy Grail among Realtors for turning up sales leads. However, statistics show that scattershot online marketing does not necessarily translate into sales strength. By hyper-focusing outreach efforts on online portals, agents are missing valuable opportunities to not just create leads but actually increase sales. Agents can optimize their reach and revenue by remembering the roots of marketing principles and embracing an integrated plan that engages more offline strategies. To be sure, the prospect of influence through online channels is [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:05-07:00September 21st, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Marketing|Comments Off on Do Online Marketing Analytics Blind Agents to Offline Opportunities?

What’s the Real Value of Portal Marketing?

A recent survey of over 120 broker-owners and senior leaders at some of the top real estate firms in the U.S. and Canada revealed an apparent disconnect between revenue goals and business strategies. According to the survey, 85% of brokerages focus their marketing investments on lead generation activities– despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of sales are the result of repeat clients and past client referrals. Clearly, agents and brokers are spending too much time and money marketing on portals when long-view strategies produce a better return-on-investment. While lead generation is an undeniably important tactic for targeting specific market segments, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:05-07:00September 19th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Marketing, Product Management|Comments Off on What’s the Real Value of Portal Marketing?

Re-Inventing the Collection of Earnest Money – A Case Study

John Mosey, CEO of Northstar MLS is known to be one of those leaders that when he finds a business challenge his brokers face, he will do his best to find a solution.  He is not afraid to go first. As such he has helped to bring to market many exciting new products that serve the greater good.  I had the pleasure of interviewing him about the latest gem he has brought to the market for his subscribers. It’s a company called TrustFunds. TrustFunds, led by Lynn Leegard, was inspired by challenges she faced when she was General Counsel for Edina [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:05-07:00September 15th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Re-Inventing the Collection of Earnest Money – A Case Study

How Do Top Homes.com and Realtor.com Compare?

Since internet is among the top three most important methods of generating real estate leads and online listing sites rank as one of the most valuable tools, every agent is challenged to leverage these resources for creating, capturing, and closing leads. But, how can agents effectively compare the value propositions of marketing on the most popular real estate sites? An analysis of online marketing solutions from Realtor.com and Homes.com show that their marketing tools stack up pretty solidly when compared side by side, offering a range of options to suit any agent’s CRM strategy, marketing budget, and revenue goals. Both [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:06-07:00September 8th, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on How Do Top Homes.com and Realtor.com Compare?

Growing Agents’ CRM with Solutions from Homes.com

  There’s a significant opportunity gap for agents to grow their CRM through online real estate sites. The statistics are in: While almost half of buyers find their home online, 89% still use a real estate agent or broker to seal the deal. That’s why advertising on a real estate site can do wonders for creating a robust agent CRM for agents… IF the agent understands how online marketing works to secure more traffic, leads, and clients. There are many online marketing options, but Homes.com ranks #1 in terms of lead quality and they offer a range of solutions for building [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:06-07:00September 7th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Marketing|Comments Off on Growing Agents’ CRM with Solutions from Homes.com

CRM Tools Solve the Problem of Agent and Client Retention

Real estate brokerages waste valuable growth opportunities by over-focusing on new client adoption and agent recruitment instead of implementing solutions for the retention of both. Industry research shows that repeat clients spend 67% more than first-time clients, so agent and client turnover reduces a brokerage’s potential return-on-investment (ROI) for marketing and training dollars. The key to capturing these high yield sales is enabling agents to efficiently communicate with clients throughout the sales process and beyond. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution significantly boosts the ability of agents to foster long-term relationships, driving repeat—and more profitable– sales. The potential benefits of [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:06-07:00August 31st, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Clients|Comments Off on CRM Tools Solve the Problem of Agent and Client Retention

How Does Howard Hanna Do It?

The title to this article may very well become the title of a book someday. The story of Howard Hanna’s ascension to the pinnacle of real estate brokerage in America is certainly one for the Library of Congress. By and large, their growth has come from two streams – market expansion in existing offices and acquisition. Oddly, not much has come from property value growth. I remember my early days in real estate. I was at a conference somewhere and Alain Pinel was speaking about the growth of his namesake brokerage. When asked about his success, he replied along the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:06-07:00August 24th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information|Comments Off on How Does Howard Hanna Do It?

MetroList® gives agents powerful new mortgage affordability tool

  Agents using RatePlug technology report faster sales cycle, provide better data to buyers Naperville, IL (Chicagoland) – August 24, 2016 – For the first time, MetroList® agents and homebuyers will be able to view on MetroList – their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – total monthly housing payments for every property listed for sale, including current mortgage rates, taxes, assessments, and home owners insurance information. MetroList Services Inc., the largest MLS in Northern California has released RatePlug’s new mortgage technology to its more than 17,000 real estate brokers and agents in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, San Joaquin, Stanislaus [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:07-07:00August 24th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights|Comments Off on MetroList® gives agents powerful new mortgage affordability tool

Does Your Email Blast Stack Up?

MLSs and Brokerages struggle constantly with how to build communications that break-through to their agents.   Sometimes, it’s hard to know how your marketing efforts stack up against others, so I thought I would share this study to give all of us some perspective. As all online marketers know, open rate and click through rate are two key metrics that need to be closely monitored to ensure that you getting the bang for your marketing buck! According to a recent study called the 2016 Email Marketing Benchmarks Study    th published by IBM, the average click through of emails sent in the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:07-07:00August 16th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Does Your Email Blast Stack Up?

Baird and Warner Dropping Big Bombs

With great interest, WAV Group noticed that Baird and Warner announced in July that they are partnering with BombBomb™ in offering their video solution. Historically, WAV Group has always understood BombBomb as an agent video solution. We believe that Baird and Warner may represent the largest firm to deploy their solution across their enterprise. We caught up with Laura Ellis, President of Residential Sales at Baird and Warner to understand the strategy. For Baird and Warner, many agents in their company had found BombBomb on their own.  This is how the company started to become aware of the service. Overall, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:08-07:00August 16th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|Comments Off on Baird and Warner Dropping Big Bombs

Imprev Study: Upstream garners remarkable support

Going into Real Estate Connect San Francisco, Upstream CEO Alex Lange should be all smiles when he reads the latest Thought Leader Survey – an Upstream-focused study – from real estate marketing automation leader Imprev. The latest Imprev study released today shows that 84% of the more than 300 top real estate execs participating say they “support” Upstream. Alex already had a strong wind of momentum at his back after releasing, to much praise, the new Upstream website. Upstream is also nominated for a 2016 Innovator Award by Connect conference organizer, Inman News. The nomination in itself is a considerable [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:10-07:00August 2nd, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Marketing, Press Releases, Suveys and Research|Comments Off on Imprev Study: Upstream garners remarkable support