According to a recent National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey, 41 percent of real estate companies see keeping up with technology as a challenge — and with good reason. The pace of the market is fast and furious; Spending time and resources identifying the next “right” application is a daunting task.
However, the next real estate cycle is incredibly important as it will be driven by organizations willing to use technology to create, automate and streamline jobs in any way possible.
The relevance of traditional brokerage models
This is particularly critical as the relevance of traditional brokerage models is on shaky ground. According to NAR, 97% of buyers use the Internet. Buyers are growing and learning. Non-traditional, national brokers operating out of storefronts are disrupting the industry.
Any brick-and-mortar store rep that fails to keep up with competing technology finds itself further behind. The good news is not a death sentence for your brokers, but an opportunity.
If you can let your agents know what the technology can do for them and drive adoption through onboarding and training, your company is set to thrive.
For example, your brokerage may not have a customer relationship manager (CRM) in place. Perhaps you have considered such systems in the past and postponed a decision due to the investment required. But when CRMs are adopted by your team, they can bring a huge return on investment.
Studies from sales force It shows that CRM increases sales by 29 percent, improves reporting accuracy by 32 percent, and increases the productivity of sales teams by 39 percent. One estimate suggests that CRM can return $30.48 for each cost.
The benefits of adoption are clear, but actually getting your agents to adopt your CRM and other technologies is a challenge.
To improve adoption in your brokerage, here are five tips to consider:
1. Consider the unique solutions of real estate
There are big tech names fighting for your tech budget – Salesforce, Adobe, Oracle And so on. While many have reputable systems, real estate is an industry unlike any other. Look for solutions that understand the ins and outs of this business and are designed with the agent and broker in mind.
Those tools are more likely to be adopted by your team as they map out the day-to-day concerns of busy real estate agents.
2. Make it as easy as possible to use
Technology for technology’s sake is not good for anyone. Your technology investments will be easier to use. The more likely your agents will use it. Most real estate agents come from other professional fields, and few enter the industry with a high level of comfort using technology. Intuitive, easy-to-use tools streamline the learning curve and drive greater adoption.
3. Invest in onboarding, training and accountability
This can be one of the most important things to ensure your team is using the latest technologies. Spend time onboarding and training your team. While few brokers have the resources to create their own training and onboarding programs, technology providers can!
Look for solutions that help get your agents up and running and access support when problems arise. With the right level of onboarding, training and accountability, your brokerage will outperform industry averages for technology adoption.
4. Build trust with your representatives
This can be a big and unexpected problem with technology adoption – agents are afraid that brokers will get their information and start working on their leads. This is useful when implementing a new CRM system. To maximize adoption of technology tools, you need to build trust with your reps. Be clear about how data is used and who holds it.
5. Use the fourth quarter to plan technology expenses
Use the fourth quarter of the year to help agents set goals and make decisions on technology and marketing spend. As things slow down, you can create a plan for the coming year, get up to speed on the new system and its features, and decide how much you can spend each month to reach your goals.
Very few agents go through such a planning exercise. If your team can create realistic plans and embrace the tools available, your broker stands to gain more from the actual business in your niche market.
The US is full of hot real estate markets right now, each full of brokers pitching to the same group of buyers and sellers. Competition will continue to increase as high prices slow sales and high interest rates reduce the number of prospective buyers.
Brokers who embrace and adopt new technologies will thrive among the competition. Let technology be your signature now and in the future.
Stuart Sim is Head of Industrial Development at Chime Technologies.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of RealTrends’ editorial department and its owners.
To find the author of this story:
Stuart Sim at stuart.sim@chimeinc.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tracey Velt at tracey@hwmedia.com
