An overview of the state of affairs in the industry
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Agents are more connected than
ever, and their systems have
never been better.
[/pl_blockquote]So Chris Smith, formerly at Move, Inc. hits Inman, and does some amazing rainmaking for the brand, and is now at DotLoop. DotLoop’s CEO is much deserving the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine (and yeah, his teeth really are that amazing). It wouldn’t be an article if I didn’t mention Zillow, now Trulia going public (congrats to both), or Move’s recent acquisition of TigerLeads. Keller Williams makes some bold new international moves, and the Good Life Team in Austin has joined the trade show business. Who would have thunk that Marc and the 1000Watt team would rock the real estate industry with Nudge, a great new product essentially putting their money where their mouth has been for years to Joel Beasley launching Merge to unforseen popularity – I mean it’s a really, really crazy popular product.
So many changes, and so many tiny moves in a small space that the industry seems busy busy as we trend into a sellers market. Agents look sharper today with their iPads, and if you haven’t seen Ben Kinney’s application of presentations mixed with scripts that sell on a stage yet, you’re really missing something. Agents are more connected than ever, and their systems have never been better, and for those who have not yet, they soon will, because the rest of the industry has gotten the word that mediocrity isn’t a winning system.
An ear to the ground
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…the industry is leaning very
heavily toward modernizing the
agent and the agent’s experience,
but not so much the experience
of the home buyer or seller.
[/pl_blockquote]In our AgentGenius Group on Facebook, I watch daily agents discussing cold calling, mailers, email marketing, and things once thought irrelevant. Agents are talking about tough problems, mentoring others to give old systems a second thought, or even finding tweaks to old ways of doing things. It’s truly amazing to see others openly helping each other, and discussing the news of the day or week, or just giving each other a hard time – it’s a lot of fun.
I know I’ve missed some much deserving accolades here, but I need to get around to the meat. I’ve simply thrown out what’s top of mind for the moment, so please don’t be offended. What I’m pointing out here are good things – the industry from my perspective has never looked more modern or more professional. Sure there’s a long way to go in regards to innovation, but it seems to me that the industry is leaning very heavily toward modernizing the agent and the agent’s experience, but not so much the experience of the home buyer or seller. That’s not getting much press at all, and why? Because it’s not happening.
Why is this the focus?
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Agents would rather spend an hour
on a session on how to capture
more leads than how to build
consumer loyalty and keep it.
[/pl_blockquote]The conversations I’ve heard over the past week are sales related, and they’re agent-centric, not consumer-centric. They are completely numbers driven, not people driven. Agent consumers will sit through an hour long presentation on how to boost up their Facebook by Stacey Harmon (which I hear is actually useful and not to miss) rather than spend 15 minutes talking to the guys at Better Voicemail about how to better control the consumer experience on the phone.
Agents would rather spend an hour on a session on how to capture more leads than how to build consumer loyalty and keep it. I’m not saying one is better than the other, I’m saying they go hand-in-hand and are not one in the same. Noted columnist Jeff Brown is as old school as it gets, but having worked with Jeff and his clients, even he’ll admit that it’s a red carpet situation from start to finish with very little technology, but the technology he is using is much much better than 40 years ago (the length of his career).
Shifting the focus to consumers
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This is the conversation we need
to get back to. You’ve got your
iPad, so now what?
[/pl_blockquote]I guess right now Keller Williams is winning in the consumer experience race with two JD Power and Associates awards, but what is their difference? Culture? This is the conversation we need to get back to. You’ve got your iPad, so now what? What is your brand failing at and how can you make it better? Or are you just going to repeat the past and ride the seller wave until the wave is no more?
The National Association of Realtors has done an amazing job of preparing to handle Capitol Hill, and are even getting consumers involved in housing matters. Their ad campaigns make more sense to a new generation, and bring a message of hope and prosperity through homeownership, and we applaude them – we’ve been their loudest critic, but have always been fair. But there’s more work today for the big NAR. It’s time to tear down the walls and allow competition in the marketplace when it comes to new technology that better helps consumers. There needs to be more agent choice in the products NAR backs, for example, why not DotLoop? Why ZipForms? Hell, why not both? There is a lot more Second Century Ventures could do to incentivize outside influence in technology to really prepare the industry for a Second Century. There are so many budding startups NAR should be partnered with that the industry really is missing a large opportinity.
The bottom line
There are so many more issues in real estate still to be dealt with, but I fear politics of the residential industry get in the way. But I wonder, if it really is about the overall consumer experience that agents are tweeting and conferencing about, if true progression and greater changes could be felt thoughout the industry and across the consumer beltway?
Ozarksagent
September 21, 2012 at 2:25 pm
ozarksagent
Ozarksagent
September 21, 2012 at 2:29 pm
The market has caused us to focus on short-term results at minimal cost for survival. That is why we are not relationship ie long-term focused as well as the types of clients a diatressed market attracts are not really that responsive to typical marketing either.
krisstinawise
September 21, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Ben, you are an incredible writer. I think the best in the business.
Just to let you know, what we think differentiates us at GoodLife Team is our focus on the consumer experience. Our #1 company Core Value is “Delivering a 5-star customer experience”. Our Tech is simply a way to deliver it…better. Our upcoming conference is the place where we will be sharing with other agents across the country how we consistently produce a 5-star experience as a local consumer brand so that other local brands (in other markets) can do the same.
Thank you for what you do for the industry. I (almost) always agree with your point of view 🙂
Krisstina
krisstinawise
September 21, 2012 at 4:10 pm
Oh, and I totally agree with the opinion you share in this post. You are right on.
RussBergeronMRED
September 21, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Technology of the past 30 years has focused on the delivery and monetization of the listing data. The actual real estate transaction – the art of the deal – has not changed a bit. It’s still between you and me.
michellepoccia
September 22, 2012 at 9:40 am
Benn, great piece…full of valid questions and points. (“spell check” would have come in handy prior to posting). The title…the tablet VS JD Power awards could be changed to a piece with “the tablet + JD Powers Award”. I think technology and an agent’s desire to acquire, learn and utilize these technologies is totally driven by the desire to better serve the consumer (the consumer, who I might add, is often more up to speed on using these technologies than the average agent!).
If I grasped your point about NAR opening the door to more than one vendor per venue…your point about it being “political”…well, I think you hit a nail on the head with that point. (I hope I understood it correctly).
With all the many associations and MLS’s across the United States alone, any vendor would be hard pressed to provide services that work seamlessly with all players. That presents a huge problem for these “start ups” in developing their technologies to serve our industry as a whole. And getting the attention at the NAR level would require attending lots of real estate conferences on local, state and national levels spending long nights providing steaks and scotch for the current heads of those entities (ouch! did I just type that!).
I totally agree that “crowning” one vendor over another as “the” service provider is a problem. The door should be opened. As we all know in our real estate businesses…there are many real estate offices that the consumer can choose from in any given area. The consumer has a choice. That competitive nature is what keeps us all on our toes perfecting what we do and pointing that out in order to drive consumers to “choose me”.
Oh, and by the way, those JD Power awards…this is just my opinion…as I see it get passed back and forth between the major franchises…KW, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, Prudential, etc… Didn’t you just fall prey to the game of giving greater meaning to that award than is perhaps deserved? Yes, it is a good thing to poll the consumer population and take the temperature for “how are we doing?”. I do not think that consumers are going to the JD Power site to see who won the award that year to choose the real estate agent and/or company that they will use to list or buy a home. In the long run, doesn’t that consumer really only care about the person who is sitting in their home talking with them one on one about servicing their specific real estate needs. I think those awards are just another “political” weapon used in our industry to “fly a flag” for the year and show it off to the other companies. In fact, many times when you see the breakdown of the counts…the numbers are incredibly close. And that, my friend, is a good thing. If all these companies are staying on their toes taking care of consumers…then surely they must be sharpening their tools along the way, raising the bar of how we behave and service clients and customers. So, I have no problem with the JD Powers awards at all…just not sure how much creedence to give them and in what category. Don’t get me wrong…they are valid. But they are awarded for past behaviors and achievements.
Thanks for making me think about all this stuff this morning. Good job, my friend!
DavidPylyp
September 22, 2012 at 10:26 am
All good and valid points! We are seeking a way to justify what has become a commodity, with the deliver of listings to anyone with an ipad. They can search and do all their own neighbourhood comparisons.
Realtors need to define the value that they bring to the transaction without a 30 second elevator speech when you are only going two floors/ Having the shiniest newest iPhone iPad or tablet does not enable you to Docusign anything until you have a prospect and a property.
I’m in Toronto Canada Google Me.
David Pylyp
ChrisShouse
September 22, 2012 at 11:06 am
Very excellent article and so many valid points. Great job Benn.
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September 23, 2012 at 11:05 am
…..Agents are more connected than ever, and their systems have never been better, and for those who have not yet, they soon will, because the rest of the industry has gotten the word that mediocrity isn’t a winning system….. So what do they actually think of nigeria hotels, if they think that selling through your iPad would make it much better. You can’t just sell if you’re sitting around just meddling with your gadgets. Yes, I see your point about the advantages of our technology today and I do admire Stacey Harmon’s point of view, but still I’m old school as you put it because I believe in “getting up close and personal” with the client.
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