[Podcast] The Fundamentals of a Lasting Brokerage with Christan Bosley
In this insightful episode of Million Dollar Question, host Billy Ekofo is joined by real estate maven Christan Bosley. Christan shares her unique journey from sales agent to president of a brokerage, highlighting the significance of personal connections and the value of transparency in leadership. She delves into the intricacies of the Toronto real estate market and underscores the importance of viewing real estate as a business venture. This episode offers a blend of Christan's seasoned perspectives on innovation in long-standing companies and key strategies for agents aiming to thrive in the ever-evolving real estate landscape. In this episode of Million Dollar Question: The evolution and stability of long-standing real estate companies Leadership and human-centric approaches in real estate Common pitfalls and best practices for real estate agents The role of brokerages in agent development and education The dynamics of the Toronto real estate market Connect with Christan Bosley: LinkedIn: Christan Bosley Website Instagram: @bosleyrealestate Listen to this podcast on: Spotify Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts RadioPublic Visit the episode homepage for show notes and more detail.

[Podcast] Enduring Excellence: The Legacy of Four Generations at Real Estate One with Dan Elsea
In this episode of Million Dollar Question, host Jess Edgerton engages in a captivating conversation with Dan Elsea, the owner of Michigan's top independent real estate agency, Real Estate One. Dan and his brother, the co-owner, are the fourth generation in the family-owned business. With three of their kids already a part of the company, their legacy seems firmly assured for the foreseeable future. Dan and his team lead the company with the understanding that the best agents in the business are more than just salespeople, they're true counselors to their clients. Today, Dan shares with us the values, principles and wisdom that have helped Real Estate One maintain success generation after generation. In this episode of Million Dollar Question: Discussing Detroit's revitalization and its impact on the real estate market Addressing the "clog" effect caused by Baby Boomers The importance of counseling clients on optimal buying decisions How Real Estate One has sustained success through the generations Flexibility, kindness and curiosity: The keys to sustained success Connect with Dan: LinkedIn Website Listen to this podcast on: Spotify Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts RadioPublic To view the original article, visit the LeadingRE blog.

[Podcast] Market Trends, Supporting Agents and Luxury Real Estate with Damon Knox of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Brokerage
In this episode, RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli is joined by Damon Knox, a long-time successful agent whose career has culminated in being elected as the President of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS while also serving as the Assistant Branch Manager at Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Brokerage. Damon dives into his real estate journey and lays out the keys to success to build a strong client base and how that experience translated into also serving the luxury end of the business. Also, with the current market trends, Damon offers advice and insights into how to navigate rising interest rates and low inventory. Furthermore, he looks at how brokerages should work to be more modern to support today's real estate agent.    

[Podcast] The Benefits of Having a Property Management Division with David Howell of McEnearney Associates
In this episode of It's Closing Time, RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli talks with David Howell, CIO at McEnearney Associates, about getting into the real estate business, the effectiveness of a property management division, and the short and long-term benefits of agents (especially new agents) working with rental clients. McEnearney Associates ranked in the top 10 of brokerages with rental transactions completed and tenants placed according to the first-ever RealTrends + RentSpree Rental Power Rankings 2022. Learn more here.  

[Podcast] The Modern Agent with Neema Bardi of Atllas
In this episode of It's Closing Time, RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli sits down with Neema Bardi, CEO, and Founder of Atllas, a tech-based real estate brokerage headquartered in Los Angeles. What makes Atllas unique is that Atllas agents retain 100% of their real estate commissions. Neema only started his real estate journey in 2020 during the pandemic and broke the record for the number of closed deals by a first-time agent. And in this episode, he shares his tips for new agents on beings successful in their first few years, as well as the growing needs of today's modern agent.  

[Podcast] Technology, Sales Skills and Success with Chris Aker of Compass
In this episode of It's Closing Time, Chris Aker, Chief Sales Officer at Compass, sits down with RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli to discuss Compass' growing success, how building their own technology has led to attracting top talent and empowering their agents, and tips for refining overall sales skills.  

[Podcast] Technology that Empowers with Jonathan Lickstein of LoKation Real Estate
In this episode of It's Closing Time, Jonathan Lickstein sits down with RentSpree CEO Michael Lucarelli to discuss all things real estate, specifically the unique role that technology has to empower real estate agents and brokers. Jonathan serves as the Managing Broker for LoKation Real Estate, as well as a coach, mentor, and certified instructor. Jonathan brings a passion to helping other Realtors with his expertise, from advancing real estate technology and social media marketing to professional standards and the code of ethics in today’s digital marketplace.  

Constellation Driving Innovation with Investment
WAV Group had the opportunity to catch up with Constellation leader Tom George to discuss the company's recent announcement to extend their growth strategy into the real estate industry. For years, Constellation has been gobbling up great real estate technology companies though acquisition. This new strategy broadens the use of capital to private equity placements and venture capital, including seed stage investments. The video recording of our call is below. When the spark of innovation ignites an entrepreneur's passion in real estate, they often don't know what they don't know. Second Century Ventures and look-alike VC firm Moderne Ventures both do a really great job of delivering that support through their programs. In the financial markets, they refer to this as "smart money." There is a lot of capital available to startups in real estate, but smart money is a bit harder to find. Constellation brings a lot of resources to the table with their capital. They can handle data aggregation from MLSs, understand the targets for KPIs, and are savvy on how to go to market with the best customers – many of whom are likely already Constellation partners. A caveat that I picked up from Mr. George is that their investment will also open doors to the entrepreneurs that are in residence at Constellation today. They have a lot of employees with great ideas and now they will get the support and investment capital to explore them more easily than trying to organically grow a concept in-house. If you are interested selling your company to Constellation, you should take a moment to watch this video interview on the Anatomy of a Valuation. This will prepare you for the discussion. If you are interested in venture capital from Constellation, reach out and we will be happy to provide an introduction. Please enjoy this video of the interview; run time is approximately 17 minutes. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Meet RESO Volunteer, Board Advisor, Homesnap Exec and Real Estate Dynamo Liz Tewksbury
Liz Tewksbury is a dynamo in the real estate industry. As MLS Operations Director at Homesnap, she has an abundance of energy, passion and commitment to everything she undertakes while remaining unflustered by change. She's not only an active Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) volunteer and Board of Directors Advisor, she's also a self-described "exercise junkie" and a mother of five. Tewksbury has adeptly navigated a dynamic career over the last decade, first as an MLS executive and now helping manage technology services provided to MLSs. Chasing after two sons, triplet daughters and a rapidly evolving real estate technology landscape has a way of improving one's stamina. With the acquisition of Homesnap by real estate industry giant CoStar, a firm at the vertex of industry change which also recently purchased Homes.com, Tewksbury remains singularly focused on the MLS industry as an avid, veteran supporter of real estate standards. RESO's Impact on Tewksbury's Career "I have learned over the years that 90 percent of real estate technology is listening, learning and asking as many questions as you need to, so you fully understand the product and issues at hand," said Tewksbury in a recent interview with RESO. That was one of the reasons Tewksbury was initially attracted to working with RESO's vast network of member organizations. "The first time that I attended a RESO conference, I was just scratching the surface of understanding the importance of adopting RESO standards," recalled Tewksbury. "I remember going to that conference looking for my 'why.' I knew that RESO creates the standards that drive innovation in our industry. But what I learned at that first conference was that adopting RESO standards results in faster software development and more accurate, robust and informative data for agents, brokers and consumers." Today, making RESO efforts a priority is a given for Tewksbury, whether attending the next conference or adopting and deploying a new standard. "Data standards help MLS/vendor partnerships. When an MLS is RESO-compliant, plugging their data into an existing platform is seamless for the vendor," said Tewksbury. "Adoption of data standards will lead to a better experience on all real estate technology platforms for both consumers and agents. Isn't that a common goal for all of us?" RESO's Impact on Homesnap "When we first launched Homesnap, we had six simple search filters," Tewksbury noted. She understood the frustration consumers experienced when they didn't get the highly tailored results they expected when searching on Homesnap.com. "When the data isn't available in RESO standard fields, our developers have to adjust their filters to use additional custom fields," Tewksbury said. "And that only works if we can even locate where that data may be in a custom, non-standard system." "With hundreds of MLS data feeds coming in, you can imagine the manual process that this entails," she continued. "This can be a source of frustration for brokers, agents and their clients, along with any buyer or seller that may be attempting to search for property in a market that is not using RESO standards." The difference for Homesnap was using RESO data standards when they expanded the platform's search capabilities. "I'm happy to report that with our new upgrade, we now have 23 search filters all using RESO standard fields," said Tewksbury. RESO also plays a vital role when a firm operates in multiple real estate markets. With more data feeds, challenges are magnified. Homesnap works with more than 240 MLSs covering 90 percent of all listed properties in the U.S. "When we started developing the new search functionality, we quickly realized that using RESO standards would greatly simplify the process and shorten development time," Tewksbury explained. Showings Homesnap has applied that same standards-first thinking to the development of a new feature called Homesnap Showings. Users will be allowed to schedule property showings with their agents directly in the Homesnap app. "We have a large team of developers dedicated to this project," said Tewksbury. "Not only are they ensuring that the fields used are from the RESO Data Dictionary, they're also ensuring that the data can be transported via a RESO-compliant API and offers interoperability with others in the showing service space." Standardized data starts with listings but extends to many other facets of the real estate professional's guidance of a consumer through the transaction process. The showing experience for agents and consumers becomes much more efficient across brokerages and MLSs with data standards. Commercial and Residential While CoStar has a leadership position in the commercial real estate space, Tewksbury emphasized that Homesnap is expected to remain focused on residential properties. Homesnap does have commercial listings available as well though. Always Active, Forever Learning Tewksbury is an active runner, Peloton rider and gym attendee living in New England. She has completed a "Climb to the Top" of the 62-story 200 Clarendon Street (formerly John Hancock Tower) in Boston, the tallest building in New England, an event that supports the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This summer, she's looking forward to "everything and anything Lake Winnipesaukee," her favorite place to retreat for recreation and relaxation. But she also can't wait to help create technical solutions with real estate industry folks in person. "I happen to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry and a group of all-around go-getters," said Tewksbury. "Having positive people in your day-to-day life is always great motivation." Tewksbury encourages you to join RESO if you are not a member. You can learn more at reso.org or register to attend the next in-person (with a virtual option) RESO conference, RESO REtreat, October 18–21, 2021, Kiawah Island, SC, with details at reso.org/reso-retreat.

Addressing Expansion Challenges Head On: Real Estate Brokers Find Answers Through RESO
A conversation on real estate brokerage opportunities with Bill Fowler, Senior Director of Industry Relations at Compass The United Nations (UN) is an international organization that was created to promote peace and security. Amidst a variety of belief systems across the nations of the world, and its goal is to create cooperation and harmony among its members. "RESO is the UN of real estate," says Bill Fowler, Senior Director of Industry Relations at Compass. "It's the most important organization in the industry right now, because we can all get together – competitors and people that we maybe don't agree with fundamentally on big issues – and have conversations that are outside of the normal boundaries that keep us apart." Fowler spoke with us about how RESO data standards can help with the expansion of brokerages like Compass and about the challenges that he and others in the broker community still face today. At the top of that list of RESO benefits is "a platform to have a discussion" about data services and data policies. "This [RESO] is a room where we can be ourselves and be true and honest and not have to worry about what happens outside of that room," said Fowler. "What RESO can do is provide an atmosphere of cooperation." With approximately 17,000 agents across the U.S., Compass has become the country's largest independent real estate brokerage in a relatively short period of time. Compass is self-described as both an innovative residential real estate firm and a technology company. Using proprietary software built by their own engineers, designers and strategists, their intent is to make searching for and selling real estate more intelligent and seamless. Using a modern data transport like the RESO Web API is critical to advancing real estate technology, said Fowler. "A lot of the developers that Compass has hired come from places where API is standard and has been in use since the inception of the technology." According to Fowler, the universal adoption of the RESO Web API can fuel more rapid growth. Tech-forward companies have been asking for a modern API and full data sets for years. Yet dependence on legacy technology like the outdated Real Estate Transaction Standard (RETS) has diverted attention away from making the upgrades necessary to fully fuel Web API services. "When we walk into a new market, we would prefer to use an API," said Fowler. But the reality is that the Web API hasn't been fully implemented or "doesn't quite have the data that we expect." In those cases, said Fowler, "We're just gonna get a RETS feed, and we're gonna run with that." "We know we have to stop," he confessed. "Real estate has happened to be the place where RETS is just the language, and we all understand that's something that needs to change." Meanwhile, Compass continues to push for more API adoption, and Fowler shared how he thinks it would be easier to innovate using MLS data. "The MLS Board of Directors room is the place where everything either stops or goes," said Fowler. "We as a community need to look at this much more collaboratively. It's not that the MLSs don't want to give us what we want. It's not that they're actively trying to stifle business. It's really that they're only doing what they're allowed to do." What needs to happen to foster change? "The menu of services needs to change, and we can do all of those things together," said Fowler. "Pointing the finger at the MLS repeatedly, I think, is not doing anybody any good. It's companies like Compass and the MLSs working together to see that when we order off the menu, that we have the options that we need." Working together to achieve a common goal sounds familiar, like maybe something that the U.N.'s Dag Hammarskjöld, Kofi Annan or António Guterres could get behind. If RESO is the place where differing ideologies come together to solve common problems, then it's important for its leaders to engage directly in these issues with people like Mr. Fowler.

Why Rescuing a Deal Matters
Fallen Sales, Failed Contracts, Deals Fallen Through (DFTs), or Transaction Fallen are a few names designated to real estate contracts that fail to make the closing table. This session is Part II of Peter McGarry and David Gumpper's video about "Fallen Deals Are Like Fallen Angels." Follow the journey with Mary Smedley, Branch Manager for Michael Saunders & Company, and Peter McGarry of McGarry Properties to discover why keeping a deal together matters. Mary's insights on the many benefits gained from a strategy to save real estate deals present compelling reasons to follow this metric. We also discuss if technology has a role to help the broken wings back to flight. Please sit back and enjoy it! To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Commercial Market Chat with Deena Zimmerman
With many businesses shutting down and workplaces realizing that their employees can easily work from home, it seems that commercial real estate will most likely look quite a bit different moving forward. Even with these not-so-hopeful indicators, there are some silver linings and positive signs on the horizon...

RESO Fuels A.I. Innovation: How to Enter the U.S. Market Effectively
Restb.ai is a leader in real estate computer vision solutions, blazing a trail other PropTech firms outside the U.S. are likely to follow. Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, the start-up leverages artificial intelligence (A.I.) to automatically tag and classify property photos with real estate-specific information. Restb.ai technology is used by fellow RESO members Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and TRIBUS, among others. In a video interview, Nathan Brannen, VP of Product and Sales at Restb.ai, discussed the role that RESO plays in helping A.I. companies like Restb.ai enter the U.S. market effectively. Brannen revealed how A.I. start-ups and other PropTechs can speed up their development and understand how the U.S. market works by tapping into the resources RESO offers. Restb.ai offers several different A.I. applications related to computer vision. "Our A.I. analyzes the property photos to extract things related to the real estate world and things that would be important to agents or/and buyers. So that includes things like room type classification, feature identification," said Brannen. Features such as hardwood floors or stone countertops allow consumers to search properties listed for sale that have the kinds of specifics that consumers want. Brannen noted that Restb.ai leverages its A.I. and computer vision in other ways, too, including analyzing the condition of the home – or even a particular room. He also said that Restb.ai can automatically determine with its computer vision technology if a photo is compliant with MLS rules. The goal is to make the home-buying process easier. "RESO has been very helpful with the data standards and having the Data Dictionary," said Brannen. "We've seen how varied things can be in different markets." According to Brannen, the RESO Data Dictionary has served as "a kind of blueprint" of the features Restb.ai can tag. "What are they called? How can we translate it to all the sites that already exist? It just makes our life a whole lot easier. It's almost like someone did a lot of our work for us by getting all that in line before we got started." As a European firm, attending a RESO conference helped Restb.ai better understand the U.S. market, Brannen said. "Being over in Spain, we weren't too familiar with the different conferences that existed," he said. Attending a RESO conference turned out to be the best place for Restb.ai's leadership to understand how the U.S. system works, who the players were and, he added, "What are the unique things we need to do to work in this market? It's almost a community that has been so easy to get up to speed and to really understand what we need to do and what we need to build for the U.S. market." Throughout this process, Brannen has become an advocate of RESO and would recommend RESO to other A.I. and PropTech start-ups. "It's really where a lot of the decisions being made on the future of this space are happening," he said. Brannen noted that RESO is not only good for Restb.ai but for all new technology companies, including the competition. "It's like a rising tide lifts all ships, and I think that's kind of what RESO is helping do. They may be helping our competitors, but at the same time, they're creating this environment where there's competition and innovation. If you want to be on the forefront of that and see what's coming, you have to be here." View the full 4:30 video on RESO's YouTube channel.

One More Time, with Pam Johnson O'Connor
Pam O'Connor retired only two years ago from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, where she was more than its President and CEO, she was an industry leader and a mentor to many. Inside Real Estate was thrilled to have her join us on the second edition of Insider Spotlight. In an hour-long conversation via Facebook Live, O'Connor openly and warmly shared a bit of her unique background, business insights, and wonderful life experiences.

Canvas Real Estate Sees Massive Growth Through Independent Tech and Training
Canvas Real Estate is among Florida's leading independent real estate firms. Spanning the east coast from their base in Ft. Lauderdale, the firm is generating over $13 million in gross commission income across 800 agents. WAV Group founding partner Victor Lund met with Canvas CEO Ernesto Vega to learn about the key strategies that are powering success at Canvas. Mr. Vega has a fundamental belief about what success means in real estate. He uses the metaphor of a wheel to describe the key elements of growing his brokerage. For Vega, the key spokes in his wheel are technology, recruiting, and training. Vega's view is that independent firms that become the hub of these key spokes will outperform franchise organizations every time. Vega explains, "You cannot outsource your recruiting, training, and technology to your franchise organization and expect to have good results in your company. Your agents will not adopt those tools; they will not actively participate in this training. You must earn the confidence of your agents by being the trusted source for these key spokes." One of the ways he's earned this trust is by aligning with an independent tech company, Inside Real Estate, to offer the technology, systems, and tools that he has personally researched and vetted, and completely believes in. "I tried the franchise path where you rent a brand and tools. That didn't work for us," says Vega. For his critical "technology" spoke, Canvas uses kvCORE, Inside Real Estate's comprehensive platform that integrates easily with other solutions he uses and is customized to fit his unique business. "I really wanted a single platform for everything, but one that also gave us the flexibility to customize it into what we needed, and kvCORE was our answer," says Vega. "With kvCORE, we have so much of our business integrated into one platform including the broker websites, marketing platform, intranet, CRM, email, calendar, tasks, action plans, and so much more." In addition to empowering his teams and agents with all of the tools they need to be successful, the platform also builds upon agents' trust by providing them with a personal, private database and independent lead gen tools. kvCORE has also been at the center of Vega's recruiting strategy. Since implementing the platform, Canvas Realty has solidified its leadership position in their market. Their massive growth, happy agents, and proven results help attract top agents and teams alike. Vega shared that "an intro video to our kvCORE technology platform is texted to the recruit when they are in our lobby for the interview, and there have been times when the agent preempts the interview and says they are ready to join before I even get started." The third important spoke is training. You get the impression from Vega that he has a training program that is tailored to every single one of his 800 agents. Vega tracks the usage of their technology tools on an agent by agent basis. Whenever an agent is failing to use the tools, they are on it. The spoke metaphor is also carried through the training. There is a wheel for managing and growing your business as an agent that includes lots of open houses, telephone calls to sphere, targeted email campaigns, buying leads, social media marketing, etc. "Our reporting allows us to visualize the activities of our agents and deliver prescriptive training to support any success tool that an agent is underutilizing," says Vega. No doubt, 2020 has proven to be an interesting year with COVID-19, but we feel very confident that Vega and his team at Canvas are perfectly positioned to weather this storm based on their fundamental philosophy to empower their agents with technology and training that everyone—from the broker and office staff to the teams and agents—fully buys into. It is worth noting that Inside Real Estate provided financial relief to their clients in the form of a deferred payment program to help their customers through the crisis. This gesture shows what happens when you are aligned with a great partner. If you want to take a look at the tech stack available from Inside Real Estate, visit insiderealestate.com. To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

Case Study: How Quicken Loans Boosted this Agent's Closing and Retention Rates
If there's one thing Quicken Loans has, it's name recognition. You've probably seen their ads on TV or online, but have you ever wondered what the company can do for your business? We talked to Ari Prostak, a top-producing buyer's agent with the Jason Mitchell Group to find out just that. Rather than getting overwhelmed by the sheer size of America's largest mortgage lender, Ari found that Quicken offers both agents and consumers an easy, tech-driven experience that's user friendly and customer-centric. In this new, downloadable case study, Ari shares: How Quicken's Verified Approval program provides peace of mind, ensures more closings, and works as a strong negotiating tool. How Quicken's customer service team works faster than smaller lenders, leading to happier clients and quicker closings. Why Quicken's trusted name and brand recognition is a plus for consumers. Why, despite relationships with multiple lenders, his multi-state team does the majority of their business with Quicken Loans. How working with Quicken Loans results in more referrals and repeat business. Download this free case study now to find out how Quicken Loans can boost your closing and retention rates!

Why Did a New Homes Construction Professional Join RESO?
A serial entrepreneur who started his first firm at 11 years old and is working on his fourth startup, Bill Gaul has been driven by solving problems. His first appreciation for standards came from his military experience, and it fueled Bill's keen interest in joining RESO. Although Gaul is new to RESO, as the CEO of Builders Update, he brings a new homes construction perspective to the development of industry standards. In this video interview, Gaul discusses the value he's found in attending RESO conferences. "I really love coming to RESO. From the networking, I am able to make contacts that I'm able to use as resources, and they're able to use me as a resource as well." Gaul says MLSs are not really set up for home construction and he sometimes finds himself as the odd person in the room. But he is working with RESO to help create new standards that are friendlier to the new construction industry. "I love standardization. It makes things easier to work with when everything is standardized," said Gaul. "You don't have to rediscover fire when you work with a new client, because everyone's working and singing off the same sheet of music." Gaul says that RESO can provide his builder clients information that will help real estate agents sell new homes, noting that the National Association of REALTORS® has stated that agents are responsible for 65 percent of new home sales. Gaul also says that some of the biggest values of being a part of RESO is networking and the ability to build your credibility with the industry. "For companies out there that are interested in dealing with MLSs…brokers…they need to be here at RESO. This is the best," said Gaul. "This is a great place to be able to meet those people face to face that you've been dealing with on the phone or through email. This is all about developing relationships, and these relationships last." Finally, Gaul noted that RESO provides one of the industry's lowest-cost conferences, making it easy to get a great return on investment. Book Your Hotel for the RESO 2020 Spring Tech Summit Now! To get the best rates, make sure to book your hotel early and register for the RESO 2020 Spring Tech Summit in New Orleans, April 20–23, 2020, at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. | REGISTER AND BOOK YOUR HOTEL TODAY

Long-term Relationship with Tech Partner Leads to Long-term Client Relationships for Florida Brokerage
The Holy Grail of real estate is maintaining long-term relationships with clients--and reaping referrals and repeat business from them over the years. But what about long-term relationships with your real estate technology partners? We talked about the value of a years-long relationship with broker Mike Larocque of LaRocque & Co., Realtors. He shared how his seven-year partnership with realtor.com has benefited his family-owned company. While the technology and consumer habits have changed, one thing has been consistent—realtor.com has been a steady source of quality leads for LaRocque & Co. for the better part of a decade. Read on to learn more about how this long-term relationship with realtor.com has helped this brokerage build long-term relationships with clients. Is the magic still there after seven years? Yes, it's true we've been using realtor.com leads for seven years now. There have been consistent quality leads and it still represents the lion's share of the business that we do at a company level. I've managed to expand into three counties and I've hired more agents. I'm in a growth spurt again at this time. I'm actively recruiting because I have so many leads that I need more agents to service them. I can only recommend it after seven years of a really profitable relationship with realtor.com. I'm a very happy broker. Do customers you met there back in the beginning come back as repeat and referral business, or do they just go back online? 100% of our goal has always been to get the best quality leads from realtor.com and set a relationship as a customer for life. We acquire their referrals and their repeat business, friends and family. It is very common that we're doing multiple transactions with individuals originally sourced from realtor.com. It's an exponential rate of return over time because you're not just doing one deal and done. You're doing multiple transactions with them over the years. Absolutely it's a big component of our business, as well as the repeat business from originally sourced realtor.com leads. Do they need a nudge to remember you if they do go online again? We are now using realtor.com®'s Local Expert(sm) for branding, knowing the importance of continuing to brand even to our past customers. We use this to catch them when they start looking at properties anew on realtor.com. The consumers are fickle and they want what they want when they want it. They don't oftentimes realize that we work in a contingency based environment, and so unless we consistently brand to them and remind them of who we are, they start looking at properties online or go to open houses and such and could wind up stepping foot across other brokerages and agents. Then it complicates our business model and our ability to get paid. Is this the only branding you do? I have no branding at a company level anywhere else. But Local Expert(sm) is giving me an opportunity to acquire some brand-new business. Because consider when the public hits "enter" to get more info about 123 Elm Street on realtor.com (or any site for that matter), they don't really realize who is going to be reaching out and contacting them. It's then that we need to set the hook and let them know who we are. With new customers, branding comes into play after our agents have contacted them and we need to stay top of mind. When they go back to realtor.com, and they do, they're going to start seeing our smiling faces on and also crossing their feed on social media. It's going to click and trigger their memory a little bit and it's a good use and deployment of branding. This is a neat tool and kind of a niche tool for us as a complement or sidebar to the tremendous amount of business we're doing from our realtor.com Connections Plus lead program. This is a nice little addition to that. Is this all focused on buyers? Actually what may be the most significant part of this is the "wow" factor under the auspices of acquiring listings. We can showcase how we can draw attention to a homeowner's property on realtor.com in a listing presentation for the purpose principally of acquiring that listing. The likelihood of actually acquiring a buyer using this tool is awesome. It certainly becomes a more powerful tool in your arsenal than posting things like open houses, for instance, because you'll never get the exposure doing that. I know a lot of agents whose whole business model is hosting open houses with little more than lawn signs. Well, pitch that to the curb using the tools as we just described. If you can showcase a listing across a user's feed on realtor.com, that's a powerful tool.

What Are the Advantages of Becoming RESO Platinum Certified?
With a technology career that spans three decades, Rob Larson is one of RESO's most knowledgeable volunteers as chair of its Data Dictionary Workgroup. Larson also is the Chief Information Officer of the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), the largest MLS in the nation. In this video interview, Larson discussed how being RESO Platinum Certified benefits both MLSs and brokerages. "One of the advantages of being involved in RESO is having future perspective on where things are going," said Larson. RESO Data Dictionary updates allow the ability for coordinated changes for both vendors and end users. CRMLS has been Data Dictionary Platinum Certified – RESO's highest-level – since 2015. RESO Platinum Certification benefits CRMLS membership because CRMLS makes the Data Dictionary native to the MLS system, creating a streamlined consistency between MLS system input and third-party products. Larson discussed why vendors are benefiting from RESO and explained the importance of the stability and consistency the organization provides. "I think we all see that we're changing things – keeping up with the Dictionary as it's growing," said Larson. He further stated that with each new version of the Data Dictionary, "the expectation is that level of change is going to drop dramatically." Brokers who are members of multiple MLSs benefit from the consistency that occurs with RESO standards. "There are some brokers that very clearly see the benefit," said Larson. "They are in the position of aggregating data. They are in the position of being members of multiple MLSs, so that consistency really lowers the cost of operation for their technology ventures." Larson offered MLSs advice on how to prepare for RESO Platinum Certification: organize your communications have a laundry list of benefits ready to share with members Ultimately, when the Data Dictionary is rolled out and the listing form changes, "there's a pain point to the membership," said Larson. Re-educating members on new terminology is important and should not be overlooked. The RESO Data Dictionary Workgroup is always looking for new members. | JOIN NOW or CONTACT ROB LARSON RESO 2020 Spring Tech Summit – New Orleans! Plan ahead! The next RESO conference is in New Orleans, April 20–23, 2020. Book your room now at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside! | EARLY BIRD DETAILS

Think Your Lead Generation Is Expensive and Ineffective? Watch This Short Video for 3 Lead Gen Tips from Industry Experts
Lead generation: two words to strike unease in the heart of any dedicated agent or broker. Funneling potential clients into a sales cycle takes time, energy, and resources... and then comes the actual nurturing of the lead to convert them into a customer. Technology continues to change the way we market ourselves to clients. Lead generation has moved from the tactile world of newspaper listings and flyers to a digital landscape with seemingly endless options. And yet, navigating this terrain of resource-hungry advertising platforms can be treacherous on all sides, especially when only an average of 2% of leads are ready to move to contract within 30 days and it could take up to seven years to close a deal for the other 98%! If it seems like a daunting task to come up with new leads, you're not alone. Many agents face similar issues in their campaigns to create business through lead generation, whether they hire a service or pursue new leads themselves. Recently, Bondilyn Jolly, VP of Marketing at Elevate, an online lead generation and marketing provider, sat down with Denis Pepin, Broker/Owner of United Real Estate Professionals in Huntington Beach, Calif. to talk about common lead generation challenges and their solutions. Here's the video and recap: Problem: Lead generation is expensive. Solution: Generate new leads from your current clients. As an industry average, for every $1000 spent on lead generation, only $10 is spent on lead nurturing. Disrupting this statistic will set you apart from other agents who simply walk away after a deal closes. Actively maintaining a relationship with past clients positions you at the top of their minds when someone they know starts talking about moving. According to NAR's 2018 Home Buyer and Seller Profile, 90% of buyers would use their agent again or recommend to a friend—take advantage of this fact. Problem: More leads exist than actual business. Solution: Lead gen that specializes in analytics could provide higher quality leads—meaning, customers that are more likely to buy. Investing in companies like Elevate that work closely with dedicated and experienced marketing professionals to add value to their lead gen services can help ensure you're seeing a profitable return on your dollar. Problem: Most agents do not have a system to effectively handle and nurture inbound leads. Solution: As part of your sales funnel model, it's extremely important to send potential clients down a tested, proven track towards contract to get the most out of your leads. If you're losing clients at a certain step in your cycle, don't keep trying the same methods over and over until you wear yourself out—change your approach! The best thing to do when you're feeling stuck is to find a reliable, consistent company to work with that responds to agent/team needs.

How One Brokerage Gets More Listings and Referrals with Online Branding
Robert Slack, LLC uses branded property portal and retargeted ads to attract clients, recruit agents, and win listing presentations. In this interview, Robert Slack, Founder and CEO, and Dan Walters, Partner and COO, share their secrets to online marketing success.

Finding Your Inner Entrepreneur and Launching Your Own Start-up
The real estate industry is filled with entrepreneurs – every individual agent is the CEO of their own business. With over two decades of experience as a broker, owner, operator and investor, Dave Garland, Managing Director at Second Century Ventures helps members of the real estate community turn their ideas into reality. Three years ago, Dave was tapped to oversee the National Association of Realtor’s venture capital division (Second Century Ventures) and NAR REach – a program that provides exposure and guidance to startups that are building technology for the real estate industry.

Follow the Leader: Max Henderson, Compass
WAV Group welcomes Max Henderson to the real estate industry. This article is part of our Follow the Leader Series, where we introduce exciting new faces to real estate. Max joins the leadership team at Compass as Vice President of Product and General Manager of Platforms/Marketplaces, reporting to Robert Reffkin.

The WHY for CRM
Pacific Sotheby's International Realty is planning to roll out a blended solution of a CRM system, Contactually and Market Snapshot, across their offices in San Diego. We interviewed Diana Rubottom, Branch Manager, who was an important driver for this integration. Her view is that the two solutions have a cumulative effect, and is proving that this can be used to drive listings for the agents and the firm.

Retention Expert Offers 13 Ways to Keep Top Agents
Retention expert Eric Pearson has 13 ways to make sure good agents stay with his brokerage. He has a plan for agents in all stages of professional experience from trainee to team leader. Eric has decided to provide every possible tool and service they need to enjoy unfettered growth within Pearson Smith Realty – using leads from realtor.com. How can you offer a program for new agents that won't be outgrown once they achieve success? We have 13 different compensation models, so it's very customizable to the real estate agent in terms of what their needs are and where they are in their career. The goal of our lead program is to generate revenue, but it also builds agents and helps them get to the next level. They don't always have the financial resources it takes to get out there and do online lead generation given today's cost. This is our way to help them grow and ultimately lead to a brokerage built off agent productivity. What is your "starter package"? We start newly licensed agents with a program on our All-Inclusive Lead Package. Basically, this provides agents with leads to get started -- and realtor.com is definitely one of our biggest sources. In addition to other syndicated sites, we also use pay-per-click and Facebook. We teach and we train those agents how to convert. We currently provide leads to 125 of our agents on this package. They will probably make up around $750 million of our volume this year – and likely half a billion dollars in sales is from the brokerage supplied leads. How much of your company business comes from leads? From round numbers in terms of what we track, I'd say we're getting about a third of our business from online leads. Some of the other 750 agents associated with Pearson Smith Realty are doing online leads as well; they just do it at their own capacity and spend. The rest is about 50 percent from our database / sphere of influence with a smaller percentage coming from other pillars that agents choose to attack—whether that's general networking, expired, withdrawn, FSBO, circle prospecting, door knocking and open houses. Why so much emphasis on company paid leads for new agents? It's a structured way to help an agent ramp up quickly. Everybody knows the main con in this business is that ramp up period. It takes an agent a year or so to get going and that could mess with mindset and frustration comes into play. It's our way to say, "When you join our brokerage, you're going to be rocking and rolling in four months if you follow the business plan we lay out." How do you help your agents convert? The initial package is run very similar to a team. It doesn't have the constraints of a team, such as having to brand themselves to a team or having to have transactions and listings credited under the team leader's MLS. They're individual agents. They are just held to high accountability and performance metrics. To back this up, we have coaches and mentors and people really putting in a lot of effort. This drives a lot of our revenue and what the main goal is honestly when an agent goes on that package at the end of year one they come in and say, "Hey, I closed 18 deals, Eric!" I then ask, "How many were leads versus how many were personally generated business?" At the end of year one, it's typically, "Well 15 were leads and three were my own." So they stay on the lead program—it only makes sense. It's going to help them continue to grow. It's also going to build their future and their database and SOI (sphere of influence). How do you retain agents who have outgrown the starter program? At the end of year two, I usually see it shift and be a little bit different of a story. "Hey Eric, I closed 30 deals. Fifteen were leads, 15 were my own." I'm usually telling them at that time, "We have several other packages in our brokerage that may be a better fit for you now because your business is rocking and rolling." At that point, they usually make that transition. At the same time, we fill an agent into a new lead spot and repeat the process. How did you decide on 13 packages? Currently, it's 13. We probably will narrow it down some. It's not like you go from needing leads to all of a sudden, "I just want to be a complete individual agent." The progression is typically "I need leads," and in that package, we're also paying for everything for them -- we paid for all the listing expenses, transaction coordinators, etc. This allows them to focus on servicing clients and growing their business. The next progression for a lot of people is "My business is built up. I don't need the leads anymore, but I want to increase my compensation." They may still not quite be ready to lose that coverage of the other items when they get a listing. They still want the brokerage to cover the expenses involved in that transaction. This allows them to invest in their own lead generation without having to worry about some of the additional expenses, and in additional help with bandwidth. And the top people who may not need as much help? Eventually, they want to be an individual agent. It gets a little bit more about compensation and you see someone say, "I no longer need leads, I no longer need the services. Now I just want to go out there build my own procedures and processes and go prosper." So they typically jump to that package then. Do you have a place for starting a team? Yes we have team packages. Our ultimate goal is never have a ceiling for an agent. We have 13 total packages, but with each one usually compensation rises, and they lose some of the services from the brokerage because they don't feel they needed them anymore and they would rather run it their own way. Can an agent change their mind? It's very customizable. We allow the agents to choose every quarter. You hear it every day from everybody else that "This is an agent centric environment." We truly believe our job is to serve our real estate agents, and if we do that the right way, those agents are going to take such great care of their clients. It's going to be a win-win all the way around. We put a lot of pride into that—so it's not just in terms of our packages. We have the best brokerage recruiting incentives. You hear a lot about the profit share models and all those different things. Ours is a revenue share based model and more lucrative then any other brokerage out there. Is this helping you compete in your market? From a tech perspective, they get everything. This is every agent in the brokerage—from the CRM, to leads, and a number of top level tech tools that are coming at no cost to those agents. We're transitioning into another level in 2019 where we will make it even more customizable for agents. I'm super excited about that because it's going to allow agents almost on a transaction to transaction basis to determine what they feel they need during that time. When I look at real estate brokerage in general, it's basically going the way of discount, the way of tech companies that may offer discounts with the goal of one day replacing the agent. My goal is to give the agent everything possible from compensation, training, best in class technology, leads, ability to scale, etc. End of the day, if we service our agents correctly, my belief is having highly skilled agents that offer amazing customer service will win against the disruptors all day long. Are the realtor.com customers receptive to your agents and converting? I'm extremely happy with realtor.com. We run our numbers every day and it offers an incredible ROI. Agents need to give it time. When we put someone on to our lead packages for four months, we don't expect anything to happen right away. Most agents get a realtor.com lead and expect to convert the first one or two. But in reality, we're bringing an incredible amount of those to conversation and getting the highest conversion to closing in terms of any other source that we have. I cannot speak any more highly of what realtor.com is doing. There's a huge difference between a voluntary inquiry on a specific property. When I get that realtor.com lead, that person could be hot that day because they've been on realtor.com for one month already searching and they voluntarily push that button to make that inquiry -- so it's far and away the best online lead you can get out there, in my opinion. As long as somebody is able to give it the time needed and the investment needed to get the number of leads to actually get to a conversion-to-close ratio, there's not a better purchase in the industry, in my opinion. How do you get agents engaged with the leads? If you're on leads with us, you'll have a day that is your day to receive leads. It's nothing but constant training, coaching, kickoff off meetings, scripting—whatever is needed so that the agent is constantly learning and understanding how to get the best conversion possible. We give them a lot of time to get going. We put them in a process where they're getting the coaching/mentorship everything that they need from one another to make sure they're in a position while they'll be able to have speed to lead and then set them up with a CRM that's going to let them see a high level of success. What differentiates the Pearson Smith company? Culture, in my opinion, is our biggest value proposition in terms of things that we do and what comes from the management down. It's open door policy. We're here every single day. We're the first one in and the last one out. I'm kind of the real estate side of things, which is the Pearson; the Smith is my uncle Chuck, who comes from the corporate world and runs an incredibly efficient back-end operation. How do you encourage innovation and idea sharing? I literally read everything that comes through here. If an agent has an idea or suggestion that we feel we can implement and at a high level, and it makes sense, we're definitely going to make sure we do that. We have cultural things that we do, whether it's a Saint Patrick's Day party or the annual crab fest. We bring in bands and make sure we're inviting families and things like to meet not only the agent, but the people that are important to them to be successful in the business. We all know it takes a lot of sacrifice to be a significant other of a real estate agent because they're often on-call 24/7, so we want to appreciate them as well. So back to where we started: what is your goal in making your company a place that an agent would never want to leave? I want them to grow and achieve their goals with no limits. If a person is a good fit from a character level, believes our core values and overall vision, there is not a brokerage in the industry that offers or cares for their agents more than us.  

A Commercial Pro's Success Amplified through Realtor Membership
Greg Hrabcak, CCIM, started his real estate career directly after graduating from Ohio State University 33 years ago. Since then, Greg has been involved in the sale and leasing of industrial, investment, retail, and office properties, as well as business brokerage sales throughout central Ohio. Greg's clients include Kroger Company, Inland Real Estate Growth Fund, Textron Financial Services, United Parcel Services, and Five Guys, and he has received awards from the Columbus Board of REALTORS, Ohio Association of REALTORS and the National Association of REALTORS.

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.

A Realtor's Path from Selling Homes to Investment Real Estate
Mark Howe's career began like many Realtors, working a second job to make ends. To add to the challenge, Mark's start as a Realtor in 1982 was compounded by interest rates as high as 20-plus percent. While many may have let a less-than-ideal market discourage their path, success in the form of a commission check encouraged him to continue his real estate career. Mark voiced feelings that residential real estate was only a starting point for him, so we wanted to explore more about his path into investment/land brokerage and uncover some of his keys to success in this real estate arena.

Is Broker Paid Marketing Making a Comeback?
The "100 percent model," where highly productive agents pay for all their own marketing, had edged out much of broker-paid advertising in some companies. This worked well for some agents, but many found they inherited overhead and tasks that took them away from selling. Now reemerging in some brokerages is a new version of company-paid marketing. But it is not the traditional brokerage from yesteryear with the mahogany manager's desk and a bullpen of agents. Frederick Herot, VP Customer Communication at realtor.com®, recently discussed newer concepts of broker paid-internet lead models with founders Luke Monroe, Lisa Sickman, and Dan Sundberg of Kendrick Realty. Their group fully pays for and provisions their agents with an abundance of leads and then coaches them to what is most often a six-figure income.

Next Week's Don't Miss Event: First Live Interview with New NAR CEO Bob Goldberg
For the first time ever, Bob Goldberg, the new CEO of the National Association of Realtors®, will answer questions via live video about the issues that are top-of-mind for the real estate industry. You are invited to attend this exclusive Facebook Live event on Tuesday, August 15 at 3 pm Eastern / 12 pm Pacific. It will be moderated by Andrew Flachner, co-Founder and CEO of RealScout. REALTORS® and brokers, let your voice be heard! Goldberg will field questions directly from you about the issues that matter most. Submit questions prior to the event on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with hashtag #AskBobNAR. Goldberg is NAR's first new CEO in 36 years. After taking the helm on August 1, this will be the first chance you can personally connect with him about the issues most important to you. "As a graduate of the NAR REach® program, RealScout believes REALTORS® are critical to the success of our industry," said Flachner. "We are excited to connect Goldberg's vision directly to the real estate community." Register here to attend the live video interview on Tuesday, August 15 at 3 pm Eastern/12 pm Pacific.

Pull the plug or double down? Why one brokerage invested in new tech to get more value from their low-conversion paid leads
Stephens Real Estate describes themselves as a "traditional, full-service brokerage." And everything from their location — in the heartland of Lawrence, Kansas — to their business model does seem pretty conventional. But when new broker/owners Pat McCandless and Chris Earl stepped in to run the firm in 2013, they knew that continued success would require that they innovate and invest in technology for their agents and clients. Here's how they created an office technology culture that didn't interfere with the company's longstanding traditions. Q. You recently had to choose whether to invest more or pass on your primary online portal contract. What provoked this? Pat McCandless: We purchased the company in January 2013, and for the first year we really just focused on not interfering in any way that would derail their longstanding success.  We are one of the top companies in the area and our reputation is excellent. But we did realize our support systems were out of date; in order for our agents to maintain our standards of service, we had to update those support and tech systems. Q. What systems are you talking about, and how did you first learn that your systems were no longer efficient? Chris Earl: Two weeks before renewal of our contract with realtor.com®, our sales representative, Richard McDonald, came to explain changes to our existing offering. The program we had been using was being transitioned and we weren't able to renew the contract for our web leads in its current form. Surprisingly, Richard did not recommend we go forward with a different product. He had conducted an analysis of the response rate we were providing for leads, and it was less than ideal. Some leads were responded to quickly, others were not and some did not receive any response at all. Our conversion rate was at 3-4 percent, when it should have been 8, 9 or 10 percent.

Changing Buyer Behavior to Convert More Web Leads: A Q&A with San Diego broker Jesse Zagorsky
A dynamic leader who started his career in 2003, San Diego real estate broker Jesse Zagorsky is a self-proclaimed, unabashed geek when it comes to digital marketing and lead generation. In this brief interview, he shared how he has churned through various lead sources to find the one that works best for him, and how his team works to change web lead behavior starting on the very first call. If you were to go back and look at customers you have met online – when did it first come onto your radar? Were you an early adopter of online marketing? I was an early adopter – I was focusing on online marketing since I got into my real estate career in 2003. That was pretty much the beginning of online marketing. I have worked with every provider in the real estate space. Some were referral models and others were pay for lead programs. At this point, I must have tried every provider of online leads. You were an early adopter, but I imagine you have a lot of competition now! According to NAR's 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 51 percent of last year's home buyers found their future property online and brought it to the attention of a real estate professional. Does this seem possible to you? Absolutely. I actually think 51 percent may be low. Even though we have instant access to properties as agents, so do our clients, and the reality is that buyers are looking at houses often before a REALTOR® has had a chance to look that day. I actually think this is a good thing. The value proposition has changed; our role as an agent is not just to find the house, as it is in executing all of the other elements of the process.

How a Black Sheep Transformed His Personal Brand into a Successful Brokerage
When Peter Lorimer first entered the real estate industry, didn't fit into the stuffy corporate formality of his brokerage. That doesn't mean he didn't try--at first. "I hated it," he says in the video interview above. The former record producer and DJ eventually told his wife that he wanted to quit working at his current firm to start his own. "The moment I did that, everything took off massively." Lorimer's Los Angeles based brokerage, PLG Estates, features the rebellious and creative vibe that he himself embodies--informal, but hip, and always in the know. In this video, Realtor Sam DeBianchi talks to Lorimer about how he used his personal brand to transform his firm into a successful company, and the tools and techniques he used along the way. Part of that success came with, again, breaking with tradition. Lorimer says that shiny brochures don't sell houses. "What sells houses is exposure," he says, "and there's no better exposure than social media." He estimates that 70 percent of his company's clients are aware of what they're doing on social media. Giving away informative content is another trick Lorimer uses. He creates videos on everything from market trends to information on escrow and contingencies. This not only draws in customers, but it attracts agents that fit his brokerage's vibe to the firm. For more on how Lorimer built his company with his personal brand, watch the video above.

Meet Patrick Arkeveld, Lone Wolf's New CEO
Recently, Lone Wolf founder Lorne Wallace stepped up to the role of Executive Chairman of the real estate software firm and appointed Patrick Arkeveld to step in as Chief Executive Officer. The transition came at a key time in the evolution of Lone Wolf. The firm has been on an aggressive path of launching new products and acquiring real estate technology companies, warranting an additional capital investment by partner firm Vista Equity Partners. WAV Group founder Victor Lund connected with Mr. Arkeveld to create this article for RE Technology's "Follow the Leader" series. Everyone who knows Lone Wolf's founder, Lorne Wallace, understands that his core passion in business comes from his love of the real estate industry coupled with a deep understanding of accounting and operational best practices within a real estate brokerage. Lone Wolf grew from 50 employees to more than 300, causing the founder to seek ways to strengthen Lone Wolf's bench by engaging specific operational expertise from large software companies. "There are a lot of great software products in the market today. But there is a difference between having a great product and running a great software business. That is why I brought on Patrick Arkeveld," says Lorne Wallace. Patrick Arkeveld joins Lone Wolf from Constellation Software, the global software conglomeration that operates hundreds of software products across multiple industries. Constellation trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange at a $10 billion valuation (TSE:CSU). While at Constellation Software, Mr. Arkeveld worked in a wide variety of industries, ranging from product groups with $2 million in sales to groups with in excess of $100 million in sales. In many ways, Constellation is a huge version of Lone Wolf. Coupled with onboarding Arkeveld, Wallace has engaged the operational excellence of the consulting group within Vista Equity Partners. With Vista's guidancem coupled with Arkeveld's executional expertise, Wallace believes that his firm is poised for exceptional growth while continuing to enhance their product development, and all the while focusing on customer satisfaction. Patrick's LinkedIn profile is here.

A High-Volume Brokerage on the Solution that Enriches Their Bottom Line
One of the principles of running a lean business is eliminating redundant processes, like duplicate data entry, and automating others in order to free your team from the grip of time-wasting tasks. Because brokers rely on dozens of elements--websites, accounting solutions, document and transaction management, and beyond--it can be difficult to untangle the knot of over-complicated data in order to streamline a business. That's why many enterprise-level brokers are increasingly turning to all-in-one solutions to handle the lion's share of their back office needs. Using one solution rather than several unrelated solutions means that data flows freely between components, eliminating mistakes and wasted time. Currently, there are only a few companies that offer all-in-one solutions. Today, we're evaluating one company that offers a full suite of solutions that encompasses accounting, a "front office" intranet, document and transaction management, brokerage and agent websites and more. We spoke with Teresa Powers, a long-time Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies' Complete Enterprise Solution user, to hear about her brokerage's experience with the software. Teresa Powers is the Director of Operations for RE/MAX Professionals in Lakewood, Colorado. Her firm adopted Lone Wolf's accounting solution, brokerWOLF, in 2006 and added the company's front office platform, WOLFconnect, and document and transaction management solution, loadingDOCS, in 2012 and 2014, respectively. One reason Powers' brokerage repeatedly turned to Lone Wolf's solutions is because even though they're feature-dense, they're easily adaptable to her business's unique needs. "Any canned software program thinks that they know how you should run your business, but that isn't always true," Powers says. "We have our systems in place, and we're able to take Lone Wolf's software and make it work with how we like to run our businesses and how we like to function. That has always been very easy to do." For RE/MAX Professionals, that means handling the needs of a multi-office, high volume production company that serves 400 agents. "I've got files being processed at eight locations and so to have everything go into one system, pretty much 99 percent error-free, is huge for me," she says. "We close over 6,000 files a year and it just saves me so much time."

Advice from a Veteran Public Relations Expert: Use Local PR to Build Strong Local Real Estate Brands
Real estate brokers for decades were the "voice of real estate" in their local markets. It was pretty straightforward: Most daily newspapers had real estate sections and there were hundreds of journalists dedicated to covering real estate exclusively. They were always writing about real estate and contacting local brokers, as brokers had the data they needed and knew the local market and trends better than anyone else. But times are changing. PR isn't what it used to be. With the pressure to differentiate services and stand-out among the larger brands, it is even more important for mid-size brokers to understand how they should use PR. To get a better understanding of the situation and what brokers can do to stand out in their local markets, we spoke with Kevin Hawkins, President of WAV Group Communications and an experienced real estate public relations guru. Imprev: How has local real estate PR changed over the years? KH: Essentially, newspaper real estate sections and their editors have disappeared from the media landscape. Now, real estate is just one of many beats assigned often randomly to a business reporter and few know the beat deeply because they write about it infrequently. The result is that you are more likely to read a story in your local newspaper citing Zillow than a local brokerage. Imprev: What can brokers do to create or maintain visibility of their brand in their local markets? Is it a losing cause; should they throw in the towel? KH: No, don't throw in the towel just yet. Local brokers can win back their share of voice in their local markets, but they have to be proactive to win over the journalists, bloggers and social media influencers that are writing about real estate in their local markets.

Follow the Leader: Ken Moyle from DocuSign Leading Real Estate into Faster Transactions
DocuSign Chief Legal Counsel Ken Moyle isn't necessarily a person that many in the industry are familiar with, but without him, real estate transactions would look a lot different today. We all think of DocuSign as one of the leaders in digital transaction management, but few understand the pioneering efforts that Moyle and DocuSign have led on behalf of REALTORS®, home buyers, and sellers behind the scenes. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Moyle about these efforts and the future of online transactions. Simplifying FHA Transactions Over the past few years, the FHA has become a much larger force in the real estate business. As recently as 2010, the FHA lacked a process to handle transactions that were "DocuSigned." It didn't recognize the electronic signature as a safer, more effective, and more transparent way to fulfill the regulatory process. Moyle spent 18 months educating and discussing policy with FHA representatives, including acting Director of Single Family Vicki Bott and Commissioner David Stevens. Today, REALTORS® are able to electronically sign an FHA transaction due, in large part, to the diligence of Moyle. You might ask, as I did, how did he position himself so well to be able to have that kind of influence? Like anything, it came with hard work and persistence. Moyle had a leadership role in the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). The group was formed to help individuals and organizations use secure, efficient, easy-to-use, and interoperable identity credentials to access online services in a manner that promotes confidence, privacy, choice, and innovation. Moyle also has been involved with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) mortgage eClosing conversations.

Automated Listing Video Platform For Brokers From VScreen
Earlier this week, VScreen launched ListingVideos.com, an automated and data-driven video service for real estate brokers that features their listings via professionally animated video and graphics. VScreen envisions the new service as a replacement for property slideshows and virtual tours. You can learn more about the product via this press release. To learn more about ListingVideos.com, Steve Pacinelli interviewed VScreen founder Stephen Schweickart. Below, you can check out a sample video and the transcript of their Q&A session. Q and A with Stephen Schweickart 1. From start to finish, how long does it take to create a video? The videos are real time, so they are created whenever the consumer clicks 'play.' Regarding set-up for the broker client, this usually takes up to 3-4 weeks from the time they sign a contract. Then all their listings will have completely up-to-date videos into perpetuity. The videos can be as long as the broker wants them to be (depending on how many scenes they want, they can run as long as 2.5 minutes), but we recommend around 90 seconds for optimal results.

Broker Jan Hooks on Technology
It's time for another broker interview on the Solid Earth blog. This time we're talking with Jan Hooks from Fort Walton Beach on the Northwest Florida coast. Jan is heavily involved in her Association, holding a long list of positions, including the 2010 Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors; 2010 Member of the Women's Council of REALTORS®; 2010 Women's Council of REALTORS® Emerald Coast Entrepreneur of the Year; 2012 South Walton REALTOR® of the Year, and last but not least, she's the 2013 President of the Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS®. Jan is also committed to education and holds several certifications: Certified Distressed Property Expert; Certified Real Estate Broker Manager; Certified International Property Specialist; Council of Residential Specialists; Resort & Second Home Property Specialist; Florida Military Specialist Certification; Accredited Buyers Representation; Green, LMC, TRC, E-Pro, AHWD, A-REO. 1. What's your opinion on the health of the local market in general? Also, are there market segments doing really well, or really badly? Our inventory is low right now. Builders are buying up vacant lots and tracks of land at a discounted price and building new homes. We're seeing multiple offers coming in again. The market is definitely moving. 2. What percentage of your agents have smartphones? Since I am a boutique real estate company, I will speak to the membership of Emerald Coast Association of REALTORS® and take a guess that more than 85% have smartphones; all of our agents use smart phones as a basic tool.

Follow the Leader: An Interview with Krisstina Wise
This interview was one of the most successful in our Follow the Leader series. We're highlighting during the holidays as one of our favorite articles of the year. If you make the rounds of real estate conferences or spend any time following real estate on social media, you’re sure to have come across Krisstina Wise and her brokerage in Austin, The GoodLife Team. Krisstina truly is a leader to follow, having transformed her small company into a powerhouse to be admired and emulated. Krisstina took some time out of her busy schedule to share some of the keys to her success. We’ll share our interview with her here.RE Technology: You've experienced an explosion of awareness about your brand. What factors do you believe led to this? Krisstina Wise: The brand really has taken on a life of its own. However, there are a few factors I can point to that contributed to this. 1) We were early adopters of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. We were out there in the beginning when social media allowed brand awareness to spread.

Technology Helps Facilitate Five-Star Service
By now, you have probably realized technology plays a large role in every business. But did you realize that when it comes to real estate, being on the technological forefront is absolutely critical for success? Read on as RISMedia's Lesley Geary interviews Krisstina Wise of the Goodlife Team about incorporating technology into her winning business plan, as well as other tips and tricks. Krisstina Wise The Goodlife Team Real Estate Brokerage Years in real estate: 17 Region served: Austin, Texas How important is technology for building new business in today's market? Critical. At my brokerage, we are known as innovators. We have been repeatedly looked to for best practices. In fact, Apple recently profiled the Goodlife Team for a case study. Our website has won numerous awards, and if you Google us, you will see we consistently receive five-star reviews. Technology allows us to serve our customers better, work better and attract the best agents. Talk about your use of social media. We use social media all the time, but it's really old news for us. Facebook is a key ingredient to our marketing and branding. It allows us to deliver content and engage with our customer base at an immediate and very high level. Our agents are all active on social media and they work with their clients on Facebook. Our team has a Twitter handle and we also publish an e-magazine.

Never a Better Time to Buy
Guest contributor FrogPond TV provides coverage on Ted C. Jones, Ph.D, Chief Economist, Stewart Title and his advice to the renters across America. The number of new rental units is 40% less than last year.  Because of the fewer number of apartments, the rent is actually going up 4%. Sub-markets like San Jose's housing market has gone down.  If you are looking at renting, consider the state of the housing market. There may never be a better time to buy than now.

Want a New Way to Generate Leads via Mobile Technology?
Did you know you can Google “Free QR codes” and create your own QR codes?  It’s true.  This technology is not patented and therefore costs nothing to generate.  Better yet, real estate technology vendors are offering this service for free too! The next step with a marketing tool, like QR codes, is lead generation. How do you track the success of your marketing efforts?  If you can’t measure it, does it have the value or reach you expect? The good news is that QR codes can be harnessed to validate marketing efforts, providing real estate agents and brokers with and understanding of who viewed your marketing, and more importantly – your QR code will track the potential customer’s phone number. This week we were able to preview the Goomzee QR code solution (www.goomzee.com) for real estate professionals. We spoke with Mike Sparr, founder of Goomzee.  Before founding Goomzee, Sparr worked for Nokia and believes in keeping a pulse on mobile consumers to target emerging technology trends.  While Goomzee started working with QR code technology three years ago, Sparr believes the time for QR codes is just now in the beginning stages.

Using Market Statistics to Gauge Brokerage Productivity
If you are thinking about how to boost agent and office productivity and utilizing key tools to track and monitor your success relative to the activity in your local area, consider market statistic products. The real estate industry in particular has seen a lot of local market weaknesses that have brought angst to the consumer market.  Providing market statistics to your agents, can certainly work to establish them as local experts and trusted real estate advisors. Most brokers think of market statistic offerings in terms of providing a tool to their agents.  Certainly this is a key component to most market statistic services, but it is not the only way brokerages can effectively leverage this data to drive their business. This week I spoke with Michelle Carter, VP of Sales & Operations at Trendgraphix and we discussed the value of real estate brokers using market statistics to drive their business.  Michelle is clearly passionate about the value market statistics offer the broker.

Closing.com Interview with Victor Lund
While at Inman Connect 2010, Julie Han with Closing.com interviewed Victor Lund, CEO of RE Technology, Inc. and founding partner of WAV Group. She asked Victor about Inman Connect and what the highlights of the show are, to explain RETechnology.com, and she asked his opinion on the following topics: 1.) What new tools are emerging for agents? 2.) How does social media help agents? 3.) What technology trends do you foresee in the future? Click play below to see a recording of the interview.