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Gear Up! Every Brokerage is a Virtual Brokerage
April 17, 2020
Every industry is being driven into tech-adoption en masse at rapid speed to balance social-distancing and quarantine with continued business. Real estate is no exception — as an agents’ essentialness remains debated in every state. However, while you may hear some companies claim their ‘virtual-ness’ and absence of a brick-and-mortar location as a competitive advantage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality is that every single real estate brokerage has the ability to pivot and continue business virtually. Every brokerage is a virtual brokerage.
I had the pleasure of wrapping up the LeadingRE Annual Conference in Las Vegas last month with a presentation on why every real estate brokerage is a tech-enabled brokerage — a statement that some companies are trying to use as differentiation to compete for talent. But you, as a human, are tech-enabled and therefore so is your business. If you’re a tech-enabled brokerage, you’re also a virtual brokerage. Perhaps you won’t want to operate as a virtual brokerage forever, but you are capable of pivoting temporarily to best serve your agents and their clients.
LIVE: “Don’t fear the technology, make it work for you.” – York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks pic.twitter.com/HCAUrGYmPn
— MoxiWorks (@MoxiWorks) March 12, 2020
Going Virtual Brings Us Together
In critical situations, it’s impossible for a leader to over-communicate with their team. Honesty, transparency, authenticity — no one has all the answers, but openly talking through our shared experience is cathartic and productive for everyone.
Encourage your staff and agents to communicate using video. All smartphones these days offer front facing cameras and most laptops have a built-in camera, too. We can absorb both verbal and non-verbal cues in conversation and have more productive and fulfilling chats. We can hold each other accountable to the conversation when we’re visible, rather than a phone call where we can get distracted just listening.
It’s Time to Gear Up – Virtually
So, here’s what you do. Brokers, managers, office admins — take a second to think about all the traditional tasks you do during the day that ‘require’ face-to-face interactions or on-site access. Now, brainstorm a new, virtual way to achieve that goal. Is it a group video chat? Perhaps it’s e-signatures on forms instead of wet ink.
The MoxiWorks suite of products and services has always been here to help future-proof the way you work and our cloud, along with over 50 integrated partners, will help our clients thrive during this unique time. We’re right there with you — Seattle being one of the first and hardest hit hot-spots of the crisis, our staff have all been rising to the challenge of working from home and continuing to provide stellar service. We even continue to have our regular releases of feature updates right on schedule. I personally was excited about 2020 being the year MoxiWorks moved into a new office downtown, but 2020 is now the year that MoxiWorks transcended physical location to keep doing what we do: getting shit done.
Competition, fresh players, technology — every disruptor you’ve faced before has trained you for this whether you knew it or not. The pandemic is another kind of disruptor. Your response will drive your future success. Business has always been about inertia: an object in motion stays in motion. Now is the time to stay in motion.
Let’s do this together,
York Baur
CEO, MoxiWorks
7 Tips to Help Your Real Estate Business Thrive in the Middle of a Pandemic
Earning an income from the comfort of your couch sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? I personally have friends who have applied for remote-only positions, hoping to get the opportunity to do that very thing. Ask any of my real estate friends why they chose a career in real estate, and almost all of them will likely tell you they wanted to obtain a flexible schedule and they wanted the ability to work from home. What they quickly find out, though, is that the job requires them to be out and about more often than they originally anticipated due to meet and greets, buyer tours, listing appointments, staging days, open houses, and a plethora of other things that require them to be customer facing all the time.
So… what happens when working from home is no longer a luxurious option, but a requirement mandated by our government? What happens when real estate agents and brokers aren’t deemed as essential, so they are told to stop working immediately to slow the risk of COVID-19? Here are seven tips and tricks to real estate from home, for real.
Tip #1: Use Video Communication
With stay-at-home orders in place across our nation, it is now more important than ever that you and your team familiarize yourselves with video communication sources such as Facetime, Facebook video, or GoogleDuo. Being able to continue to meet your clients “face to face” will help them feel more comfortable with the idea of having you as an agent because not only will they be able to put a face to the name, but video communication gives a more personal feel than a basic email. For those of you who are using MoxiPresent, did you know that you can embed video elements into your created presentations? Try adding rich media to your bio or neighborhood news and see what kind of response you get!
Tip #2: Virtual tours & video walkthroughs
The housing market has been affected by COVID-19 as a result of a variety of factors, but more so because buyers are scared of meeting their agents at a home for a tour due to the risk of potential spread of COVID-19. How do you show them a home without actually being there to open the door for them? Easy! Matterport, Zillow, and other 3rd party sources now offer you a way to create a 3D tour for your buyers. You can also use your cell phone to record a walkthrough of the property to give the customer a realistic sense of how the home feels. Both of these avenues allow your buyer to see the home, while still being able to social distance. You can then easily embed videos or create your own buyer tour within MoxiPresent.
Tip #3: Stick to individual home showings
The Center of Disease Control (CDC) recommends that people don’t have gatherings of six people or more to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Instead of hosting a large open house for potential buyers, try video communication (tip #1) or virtual tours (tip #2) to help. Some states consider real estate to be an essential business, while others don’t, which means you may or may not be able to conduct in-person showings. If your buyer is determined to see the property in person, don’t feel obligated to risk your health to show them a house this week. Try to reschedule as best as possible. That being said, if you decide to, you can schedule a time to do an individual showing. Just remember to keep your distance and take the necessary precautions to keep you, and your clients safe.
Tip #4: Your CRM is your friend
Regardless of whether or not you are working from home or in an office, one of the biggest mistakes that an agent/broker can make is forgetting about their CRM. For those of you who don’t know what that is, CRM stands for Customer Relationship Manager, which is a fancy term for a software system that allows you to manage client relationships and track data. We’ve seen first-hand how MoxiEngage helps real estate professionals stay organized even in the midst of all this chaos. Since it’s designed specifically for real estate, it allows agents to follow their sales flow and communication cadences set for each client in order to stay engaged with their sphere and maintain productivity, even in times of uncertainty. It’s all about keeping your book of business organized and to help fill your pipeline.
Tip #5: Visual and Online Marketing
As we know, leaving the house isn’t really an option these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sellers are wondering if putting their house on the market is even a good idea if nobody will be able to see it. As an agent, it is your job to guide them in the right direction and help them understand there are other ways people can see the home. Marketing that home in ways that can highlight the property visually, is key. For example, MoxiWorks provides you with marketing materials that you can use the moment your listing hits the market. These materials are focused on providing real time property data and are highly visual, creating an engaging experience for recipients. If your buyer is more traditional, feel free to print out the PDF and send them a flyer. If your clientele is younger and more tech savvy, leverage email templates and pre-populated posts for different social media platforms to ensure maximized exposure.
Tip #6: Utilize your Seller
Most of us are stuck in our houses with kids, pets, and chaos, so finding a time where your seller is not home is very unlikely right now. Instead of hiring a staging company or scheduling a time where the owners can take a walk with their dog so you can show the property, use your seller and their “free time” to your advantage. Ask them to capture videos of certain rooms for you. I’m sure they would be happy to help if it allows them to sell quicker!
Tip #7: Provide a personal touch
Have you ever walked through a store in the mall, just to browse and get a feel of what was there, or to waste time while you’re waiting for your watch to be engraved? Most of the time we get that sales associate who comes up, asking if we are searching for something specific and won’t leave us alone, even though we tell them we’re “just looking.” As consumers, we don’t like to be sold, especially in times of uncertainty. Reach out to your prospects and clients with a simple goal: To ensure they are safe and healthy, and to let them know you’re thinking of them and wishing them the best. Too many people want to force a sale, not enough of them want to take the time to connect on a human level. Don’t forget that sometimes just a simple smile or hello can go a long way.
3 Social-Distancing Friendly Alternatives to Your Typical Day in Real Estate
We’re in this together — separately. Real Estate has always been a relationship-first type of industry, and during this situation, many agents and brokerages have gotten creative in pivoting to social-distancing friendly alternatives to their typical day in real estate. We’ve put our heads together to come up with 3 new ways to conduct your typical flow of business.
Number One – Buyer Seminars
Brokerages Holding Buyer Q&As or First-Time Homebuyer Seminars
You know the drill: an agent looking to drum-up buyer business partners up with a loan officer, orders a bunch of pizzas, and walks a group of neighbors and friends through all the ins and outs of home ownership. Those clients leave feeling less afraid of buying their first home and ready to evaluate their buying power. But, if we shouldn’t have people gathering in groups – especially in public spaces and sharing food – how do we recreate that atmosphere?
Instead?
Host a Facebook Live Happy Hour to answer questions live for your sphere.
Agents for their sphere, or Brokerages for your entire company — start up a regular cadence of providing this kind of information virtually. Recreate the laid-back mood of pizza in a lounge by setting up a time that you’ll be Live on Facebook to answer questions and share info. Invite your friends and followers to ‘BYOS’ (bring your own snacks) and submit their questions through the comments section.
Number Two – The Pop-By
Dropping off ‘Pop-by’ Gifts for Your A-list Clients
A thematic pun, a thoughtful gift — this classic sales tactic perseveres because honestly, who doesn’t enjoy giving and receiving presents? However, now is not the time to be out and about, ringing doorbells or knocking on doors. We need to respect that some homes have residents whose immune systems need to be protected at all costs.
Instead?
Send a digital gift card to your typical pop-by recipients.
Many large brands, but also a lot of small businesses, offer digital purchase and delivery of gift certificates. What are your clients probably looking for right now: Groceries? Entertainment? Send them a gift card for grocery delivery or to download a new eBook or movie!
Number Three – SOI Groups
Staying Top-of-mind by Staying in Sight
If your communication strategy depends on regularly scheduled meetings, you may have to pivot how you stay in touch with those individuals. Perhaps your business revolves around a community that you regularly meet with — outside of real estate. Many agents have spheres of business that involve their religious congregation, a work-out group, children’s sports team, or other gathering that is now on hiatus due to distancing orders.
Instead?
Same Sphere, New Routine
Bring those groups together virtually, and be the shepherd that facilitates camaraderie and communication. Maybe your weekend bike-ride buddies can’t come out, so jump on a video chat and reminisce about some of the best trips you’ve taken. Got a group that normally goes to yoga? Ask your yogi to host a personal live video class for you and your crew!
What do I do now?
Just because we’ve had to change the ways we communicate and engage, doesn’t mean you need to fundamentally change the way you do real estate business. Here’s an exercise. Get a motivating beverage, sit in a comfy chair and do the following.
- Get out a sheet of paper and pen (or the doodle app on your smart device, whatever) and make a rough itinerary of a typical day-in-the-life of your business. Or – even better – what do you wish a typical day was like?
- Then, look at each activity and think about a creative way to engage your sphere virtually or digitally.
- Third step? Do it.
Now is the best time to try something new. We’re all more forgiving and understanding during the current crisis. We all enjoy something outside the mundane when we’re getting itchy waiting for this ‘storm’ to pass.
Did it succeed? Share your story! Did it flop? Learning opportunity.
BONUS TIP:
Consider investing in the human element of your business. We’re all in this together, and for many that means ‘paycheck-to-paycheck’ isn’t even an option. Were you working with first-time homebuyers that may now need rent assistance? Find all of your community resources and be an advocate for your eventual-client to stay solvent so that when the time is right, they will qualify for their mortgage. You are their expert in real estate, their guide, and you can do that before and after a transaction – not just during.
Looking for more guidance? Explore MoxiWorks resources specifically around productivity, education, and positivity during the COVID-19 situation.
April 2, 2020 | June Laves, Sr. Marketing Manager
4 Ways for Brokers to Support Their Local Communities
Mercedes Santiago, Marketing Coordinator at MoxiWorks | March 24, 2020
It’s a time of global uncertainty, due to COVID-19, the epidemic that has disrupted the world. We’ve seen the anxiety-inducing statistics on job uncertainty, food scarcity, deaths, and more. The combination of it all is showing us the true magnitude of the current state of our world. While we’re not sure of what’s to come for certain, we know as a community we must jump in and help where we can.
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
– Coretta Scott King
Real estate brokers are an integral part of their communities and experts in the residents, businesses, and structures that make a neighborhood ‘home.’ As such, brokers and their agents are poised to be great community leaders and supporters during this time. We’ve put together a list of recommendations and want to hear from you as well!
1. Support local restaurants
Seattle streets are much quieter these days for obvious reasons, with one of them being the empty tables in restaurants — a trend fast occurring across the country. We know we can’t dine-in, but don’t forget that many restaurants are offering take out, and it’s essential to their survival. Support your community by ordering takeout.
Fun idea: Virtually cater for your agents! Let all agents order lunch on you for company moral! Share your support on social media to encourage others to follow in your footsteps! Not only can you promote positivity and camaraderie amongst your company, you continue to support your market’s economy.
2. Check in with your neighbors
These times are difficult for many, physically and mentally. You could be struggling personally to care for someone who’s been infected with COVID-19. Or, perhaps you’ve upended your day-to-day routine and are now working from home. Especially difficult, maybe you’re self-isolating due to a pre-existing condition and feel uncertain about your safety. While we shouldn’t be physically close to each other, with technology we have the ability to all stay connected. Even from miles away, what you post online has the ability to shift someone’s mindset on the situation. Let’s keep content optimistic, light-hearted, and inspiring to keep our mental states up high.
Fun idea: check-in with your partner businesses like mortgage lenders, moving companies, or home repair persons and share each other’s stories.
3. Reach out to nonprofits
Many nonprofits around your city are constantly providing shelter, food, and support for members of your community — even during pandemics that close other public places. Call around to local nonprofits and decide who needs what most. In our current situation, these groups are running out of food to distribute. Feeding our community and staying healthy is important for us to move past this.
4. Help seniors who are most at risk
It’s a fact that older people and people with pre-existing health conditions are most vulnerable to COVID-19. There are multiple things we can do to keep this group of people healthy and safe.
- Grab groceries for those who are at risk or those that are shut-in. Drop the groceries off at their door to keep your distance.
- Facetime self-quarantined individuals to keep them socialized and less lonely
- No tech? Start a letter-writing campaign to individuals in nursing facilities who can’t visit their friends and loved-ones face to face currently.
Now is the time to think outside your office walls and see how you can help your community.
Together we can accomplish so much more than we can alone.
Understand more. Fear less: Real Estate and the Coronavirus
Real estate leaders, what do we do now?
It’s a wave we have to ride out, but we don’t have to do it alone. Every industry is being driven into mass-tech-adoption at a rapid speed due to social distancing and isolation. Real estate is no exception, but the key difference is we’re already able to handle this.
I had the pleasure of wrapping up the LeadingRE Annual Conference in Las Vegas last week with a presentation on why every real estate brokerage is a tech-enabled brokerage — a claim that some companies are trying to use as differentiation and value-position to compete for talent. But honestly, do you have a cell phone, perhaps you’re even reading this article on your phone right now? You, as a human, are tech-enabled and therefore so is your business.
And if you’re tech-enabled, you’re also a virtual brokerage. Perhaps you won’t want to operate as a virtual brokerage forever, but you are capable of pivoting temporarily to best serve your agents and their clients. Fear in the face of disruption can cause us to fall back into old habits, ruts of non-productivity, or drive us to seek control in the minutia around us.
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.
Now is the time to understand more so that we may fear less.”
– Marie Curie
A strong woman with wise words, Marie Curie’s quote can remind us that by focusing on the truth we will get through this and recover. As I always say, data tells the truth and data sets you free. In this article, I want to focus on a quick look at our industry’s economic history, what industry leaders need to be doing right now, and my 3 B’s for the time-being: Be Optimistic, Be Supportive, Be Productive.
Going Virtual Brings Us Together
On a ship over rough water, a captain can’t stay silent. At no point during this situation is it possible for brokers to over-communicate with their agents. No one has all the answers but talking it through always helps build confidence and trust.
Everyone is leaning into video communication. We still get to see each other’s smiling faces while preserving our goal of safety. Brokers, leaders, reach out to your sphere with one-on-one video calls. It’s 2020, we’re all capable of having a video chat, and it bridges one more gap that a standard phone call can’t provide. We’re telling agents to keep in contact with their clients, their sphere, their community. Practice what you preach, right? Call your agents, call your staff, call your partners.
Remote work employees have been facing the hurdle of building camaraderie without physical closeness in the workplace for years. At MoxiWorks, we have moxians and partners across the country bridging the gap. Now, we all have gotten a taste of that world — sitting in your house trying to have a meeting as the dog howls at a bird or your children forget their inside voices. The silver lining is this gives us all an opportunity to be sympathetic and supportive of each other.
We’re living this at MoxiWorks for several weeks now, with the entire company working remotely without any service interruption. We have the obvious advantage of being a technology company which helps, but we face the same cultural challenges that you. That’s why I’m saying that over-communication is so important. It’s human nature to fill in a void with the worst possible scenario and without communication, that’s exactly what your stakeholders will do. Don’t let there be a communication void – fill it with honest, transparent, supportive but optimistic communication. It’s not about having all the answers because none of us have them right now, it’s about being present as a leader.
Real Estate’s Response in Bear Markets
While the United States hasn’t entered a bear market due to viral outbreak before, it can be comforting to look at how we’ve bounced back from drops in the past. The good news? Event-driven drops (like our current situation around COVID-19) in the market are typically acute and recover much faster than structural drops (think 2007 Great Recession).
Goldman Sachs sent out a report on looking at severe declines, length in a down market, and time to recover/stabilize.
Make no mistake, this is an unprecedented time in history for everyone, but this is a storm we can weather in the real estate industry. MoxiWorks is proud to work with the strongest partners and clients, companies that survived through the housing bubble bursting and are going to pivot, survive and thrive again.
Real Estate Leaders, here’s what we do.
With that said, this isn’t a time to sit still. This is the time to link arms and lift each other up. In our MoxiWorks Town Hall we held virtually this week, I told all of our moxians: Be Optimistic, Be Supportive, and Be Productive. I’ll give you that very same advice.
- Be optimistic that local markets will bounce back, that your pipeline clients will still be ready when bans and restrictions lift. Be optimistic that your agents are solvent and with time, will help your business flourish again.
- Be supportive of each other, we are all humans in this together. Everyone needs time to reflect, to understand, to acclimate — but the speed we are moving at is going to be fast, so we need to help each other. This is a great time for fostering collaboration.
- Be productive no matter what. Give yourself a few seconds to catch your breath, then get back to work. Work on your sphere, evaluate your data, clean up your business and keep moving forward. We’ve got this. We’ve got moxie.
Competition, new players, technology — every disruptor you’ve faced before has trained you for this whether you knew it or not. Don’t let fear bring you to a crushing halt. Business has always been about inertia: an object in motion stays in motion. Like Marie Curie said, now is the time to learn more so we can fear less.
Let’s do this together,
York Baur
CEO, MoxiWorks
P.S. On that note, at Moxi we’re going to go above-and-beyond to bring continued content for our clients and the industry. We’re kicking this content release off with a guide on how to host an ‘open house’ virtually using our MoxiPresent / M Present product. Check it out.
Real Estate 2.0: Broker Turns to MoxiWorks for Creating Integrated Solution
As seen in RISMedia’s online magazine.
By Jameson Doris
As principal broker/owner of Mississippi-based eAgent Realty, Justin Allen is intimately aware of the main problems agents regularly face in this ever-changing real estate landscape. Being in the industry for some 17 years, those issues have changed, but Allen notes three main struggles agents are facing today.
The first two are that the 6% commission is on the chopping block since the listing agent’s tasks can now be largely automated with new options for sellers arriving every day, and the fact that developing your own brand as an agent is harder than ever.
Thirdly, many agents have to do double data entry since the technology on the brokerage level is often subpar and not integrated. In order to be more efficient, many agents end up purchasing their own tools for lead generation, CRM, CMAs, websites, transaction management—the list goes on and on.
These unwanted expenses all add up, which led Allen to take a step back. After much consideration, he determined that what the industry needed was a much more efficient model where the agent could strike out on their own and develop their own brand without the burdensome costs associated with doing so.
“Within a short period of time we had this new model figured out, but needed a software company to help build the intranet that it would take to roll out this new, non-traditional partnership between ourselves and entrepreneurial-minded agents,” says Allen.
That’s when he found MoxiWorks, a company that already had an excellent handle on the integration issue that many agents face. Thanks to the MoxiCloud, real estate professionals are able to integrate various tech partners so all of their tools seamlessly work together. This also lets folks use a single sign-on (SSO) for access, saving time and limiting double data entry.
eAgent Realty Owners, Justin Allen and Darlene Allen
“The service from MoxiWorks was amazing and in just a few short months, we had an intranet that could act like a network where we could easily connect different vendors,” says Allen. “Having a weekly conference call with our dedicated account manager from MoxiWorks made it easy to stay on task and get a lot accomplished.”
With MoxiWorks on board, Allen was able to face the other two issues agents deal with head on. Allen repurposed his office into what he calls a “Synergy Office” where other brokers have access for a low monthly fee—which took care of the need for their own office space. And for branding, to remove the guesswork, he came up with two different branding options that brokers can choose from.
“Incorporating a partner like MoxiWorks gave us the ability to create something new for the industry and launch an evolution for the next generation of entrepreneurs who have staked their claim in this new world we call Real Estate 2.0,” Allen says. “More importantly, our new partnership with MoxiWorks has changed the team dynamic within our new evolved office.”
He adds that the support his office has received from MoxiWorks through regular phone calls and webinars for the entire brokerage with his local account manager, Melissa Anderson, has been integral to his brokerage’s innovation, enthusiasm and overall growth.
“MoxiWorks has not only exceeded our needs and expectations, but was the only company we could find that even came close to being able to assist us in achieving our vision,” says Allen.
For more information, please visit www.moxiworks.com.
Here’s What the BEST Real Estate CRM Looks Like
By Tiana Baur, Marketing Manager
Have you ever had or wanted a personal fitness instructor? Someone who would be there every time you showed up (or didn’t) to hold you accountable, motivate you, give you step-by-step instructions, and push you towards your goals. What if we told you that you already have one of these? Only yours is specifically for your real estate business and it’s called a CRM (customer relationship management).
More than 70% of real estate professionals use a CRM tool, according to a survey Inman News conducted. This shouldn’t come as a shock considering maintaining and growing one’s sphere of influence is really the main thing real estate agents do (or should do).
CRMs come with a wide variety of benefits, time-saving tactics, and like your favorite instructor, a massive support system. In fact, all the valuable perks and features of a CRM that are imperative to your business can’t fit into one article, so we’re going to give you the highlights of what a killer CRM looks like, and how it can enormously impact your real estate business.
Built Specifically for You
We all know real estate is a unique, people-driven industry and a real estate CRM will understand the nuances of your day-to-day life, saving you precious time. A great CRM will know when you should be contacting someone, have automated email marketing that’s easy to use, integrations with your MLS, and much more. Work/life balance may not be 100% achievable for agents, but a great CRM will give you some much needed time back in your day-to-day life.
Goal-Setting = Goal-Getting
Fun fact: just by establishing and writing down a goal, you are 42% more likely to achieve it. Insane, right?! A quality CRM will be goal-oriented and should always be pushing you towards your individual business goals! For example, it will prompt you to set annual goals for yourself, track your progress towards your goal, and serve up actions to help you get there. Basically, it is your personal cheerleader. If you’re using a tool that doesn’t define a goal and actively help you achieve it, then it’s time Ctrl+Alt+Del it.
Integrated in the Right Ways
It’s probably safe to assume that most agents are sick and tired of entering the same data over and over again. A solid CRM is integrated with your MLS, which means live property data is available with no manual data entry required. And this doesn’t just mean IDX, but RETS too, so you have easy access to historic and current data. Having everything connected is reason enough to embrace and love your CRM.
A Guided Flow
Sphere marketing and lead nurturing should be simple, right? CRMs prompt you with the necessary steps to build strong long-term relationships so you can close more deals today while generating more business for tomorrow. Having clear, concise steps is essential so you can log in first thing in the AM and have your to-do list waiting for you.
In-Depth Insights
This one is probably the most exciting, but also a less well-known component of a CRM (hint, hint if you want a competitive advantage!). We’re talking predictive analytics that will help you win more business. Having a powerful analytics tool connected to your CRM means you finally don’t have to Google people or lurk on social media profiles to find some (or any) information about the person before you pick up the phone or compose an email.
An analytics tool will simply put all public records data into your CRM under each contact, so you have all the information you would be looking for elsewhere in one spot. Not only that, but these tools have the power and insights to know when someone is likely to list and will notify you.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, a CRM is extremely powerful and vital to a real estate agent’s business. And if that’s not enough to convince you, then how about this: your fiercest competition is using a powerful CRM with all the features above.
You need to think of your CRM like your personal fitness instructor or if you’d rather, like your sidekick; the cheese to your pizza, the Wilson to your Tom Hanks, or better yet, the “cha-ching!” to your bank account.
Curious what a killer CRM looks like in the wild? Check out MoxiEngage and see why it truly is the bee’s knees!
Hey, Brokerages! Time to Get Excited for Automated Listing Ads
Automated listing ads are coming soon! Here’s why you should get excited (and exactly how to get started).
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
In a world where 46% of Americans check their smartphones before getting out of bed every morning, digital marketing is a key component to meeting your target audience where they are already spending their time: online. However, finding the time and resources to invest in creating digital ad campaigns for your listings is a roadblock being faced by many real estate pros looking to utilize this powerful form of marketing.
Agents don’t have the time to be knee-deep in the trenches of digital marketing because they’re too busy out in the field doing what only humans are capable of doing – building strong relationships. On the flip side, brokerages don’t have the time to support agents’ listings on an agent-by-agent basis, as they have powerhouse businesses to run. The compromise?
Automated listing ads.
With the next upgrade coming soon to Promote, you’ll be able to support your agent’s listings without any heavy lifting. This new ability, which will be provided at no additional cost to current MoxiWorks users, will allow you to enable automated ad campaigns for your agents’ listings with a few clicks and a simple, set-it-and-forget-it style workflow.
Taking your technology offering a step further and supporting your agents’ listings through automated ad campaigns will put your agents, and your brokerage, far ahead of the game.
Here’s why this upgrade will be so powerful for your business:
One. With automated listing ad campaigns, you’ll be able to set your budget and spend as little or as much as your heart desires, meaning you’ll always be in control of what you allocate towards them.
No contract. No minimum. The power lies 100% with you.
Two. Providing agents with these campaigns shows that you’re tech savvy and know the important role that digital marketing plays in their businesses.
Three. Providing this boost demonstrates that you’re invested in your agents and their success, so much so that you’ll even take on a portion of the marketing spend to prove it.
Four. Refreshed ads featuring all of your brokerages active listings will constantly be circulating and reaching the masses. That’s powerful marketing for your brand, let alone your agents’.
Five. More eyes on listings means shorter time from list to close, and more time for additional transactions.
Six. When your get the ball rolling on your agents’ ads, it allows them to see the immediate impact digital advertising has on their businesses and will encourage them to incorporate automated ads into their own marketing activities moving forward, a win for everyone.
So, there you have it. If you didn’t previously think of providing digital advertising services as a major value-add when it comes to recruiting, retention and adoption of technology – now you know, and it’s time to jump on this train, pronto.
Here’s exactly how to get started:
Step 1: Make sure you’re ready to hit the ground running.
None of this magic can happen if the feature isn’t turned on for your brokerage.
The MoxiMarketing advertising suite, which will soon include the automated listing ad function comes free to all current MoxiWorks customers, all you have to do is ask your designated Account Manager to turn it on.
Contact them now so you’ll be able to use this powerful tool the second it’s available.
Step 2: Open the automated listing ads builder
Once it’s released, you’ll be able to access the automated listing ads builder by opening the My Advertisements tab in your account holder’s MoxiWorks account.
Step 3: Create an ad campaign
Next, you’ll complete a list of parameters to create your campaign. These will include:
- The design (copy, colors, branding)
- The spend (overall budget, spend per ad)
- Choose whose listings you’d like to advertise (which agents, price points, offices, regions, organizations)
- Craft a personalized message to the agents you’re advertising for
Step 4: Mentally prepare for a brand explosion
And just like that, your beautiful brokerage branding will be painted across every listing ad placed on Facebook, Instagram, AND Facebook Audience Network as part of your new campaign.
This means that it will be seen in places such as:
- Forbes
- Vogue
- CBS
- NFL Network
- New York Times
- HGTV
- Huffington Post
And many, many more.
Sit back, relax, and watch your brand recognition get a major boost in record time.
Step 5: Keep an eye on your campaigns
The ad reporting functionality built into the automated listing ads feature will make it easy for you to track ad performance and see firsthand the massive boost you’re giving your agent’s businesses. You’ll see it and want to do a celebratory dance, as you will officially be supporting your agents with a best-of-breed, innovative advertising experience.
Want to learn more about the MoxiMarketing suite? Here’s the rundown.
The Latest in MoxiImpress: Facebook Audience Network
By Tiana Baur, Marketing Manager
Let’s talk MoxiMarketing and Facebook Audience Network. What they are, what they do, and why they matter to your business.
MoxiImpress
MoxiImpress, the ever-growing marketing arm of the MoxiCloud, includes digital marketing tools for agents at no added cost to our client brokerage. The heart of MoxiImpress is Promote, an integrated advertising tool that makes marketing simple for busy agents. Promote has various options for both agents, and at the brokerage level.
Promote for agents
Promote gives agents the ability to engage in easy-to-use digital marketing via their existing MoxiWorks account. This leading advertising tool enables agents to promote their listings or their business, in three easy steps, typically taking less than five minutes to complete.
Essentially, we wanted to take the pain out of online advertising for real estate agents, so we built a tool that lives within the technology they use every single day – a ‘one-stop shop’ for their advertising needs if you will. They can create eye-catching ads in mere minutes to promote things like open houses, just listed, just sold, and more.
Promote for brokerages
We know that brokerages are constantly looking for new, innovative ways to support their agents, specifically their listings. Promote for brokerages now has a co-marketing tool for brokerages to boost their recruiting and retention efforts, without adding more work on for their services members.
With co-marketing, brokerages can spread their brand further. They simply select a budget and parameters and cover part of the ad cost for their agents’ listings. For example, they can pick up the tab for 20% of the spend on all listing ads. Every time one of their agents opts to promote their new listing, they then cover 20% of the cost. Brokerages can choose to set one listing ad per agent for the month or for a set duration. They’ll soon even be able to select certain offices, price points, or specific agents to whom you’d like to extend more support. Basically, the power stays with them!
Plus, coming soon are Automated Listing Ads, which lets you automate all of your brokerages ads, pick your own price, and increase your brand awareness in just a few steps. Automated Listing Ads give your brokerage the ability to promote your business, brand, and of course, your listings independently from your agents – quickly, easily, and all without extra staff time.
Facebook Audience Network
This is the latest addition to Promote. The Facebook Audience Network is exactly what it sounds like, a giant network of hundreds of websites that ads push to. Here’s a short list of some of the websites included:
- Men’s Health
- Business Insider
- CBS
- Food Network
- Cnet
- New York Post
- HGTV
- Nasdaq
- Fox News
- 247Sports
- TV Guide
- Complex
- CBS News
- New York Times
- Forbes
- Vice News
- Accuweather
- Golf Digest
- Vogue
- WebMD
- NFL
- Huffington Post
Now when an agent or brokerage uses Promote, the ads automatically go to Facebook, Instagram, and the Facebook Audience Network, expanding their reach, getting more eyes on their brand and listings, and of course, wowing more clients along the way.
Interested in getting this powerful tool for your agents and/or your brokerage? Fill out the form on this page (which takes less than a minute!) and we’ll be in touch shortly after.
Gaining a Competitive Advantage with a Modern Real Estate CRM
By Maddie Jostol, Senior Marketing Manager
Evaluating a real estate CRM in today’s noisy world is overwhelming. What will actually make a difference in your business? What should brokerages look for in a real estate CRM that will truly give you a competitive advantage?
It can be tough to know what features to prioritize, how much you should be investing, and what questions to ask. It’s important to go in knowing what pain points you’re trying to solve for and what your priorities are. There are a lot of solutions out there, which leaves you weeding through everything to pick a system and provider that will not only fill your current needs, but also grow with your brokerage in the future. Trust us, though… when you pick a good one, it will all be worth it.
The truth is, when you onboard a truly innovative, well-designed real estate CRM that fits your business model, it can make an amazing impact your bottom line.
Here are a few things that a good, modern real estate CRM should have that will undoubtedly enable growth in your business:
A system that understands your business.
First of all, you need a CRM that works for real estate. The sales process in real estate is drastically different from that of other industries. The way in which agents work leads, how marketing is done, the data necessary to complete a transaction, and the way goals are tracked are all unique to real estate. Choose a system that aligns with real estate transactions and compliments the way you do business.
Automation that improves productivity.
Any modern CRM should be built with automation in mind. Automation enables your agents to do more, with less time. It means they’ll be able to rely on technology to do the mundane, repetitive tasks so that they can focus on what they do best: building relationships.
Look for a system with marketing automation, such as email marketing that automates touch points with an agents’ sphere. MoxiEngage, for example, has Neighborhood News, which sends out personalized market snapshots to an agents’ sphere every month without them lifting a finger.
Event better, look for integrated predictive analytics that help your agents stay ahead of the game. Agents are attempting to stay in touch with hundreds of people in their sphere. Imagine being able to provide them with a system that not only automates many of those touch points, but also leverages data to notify them when someone in their sphere is likely to list.
Integrations that matter.
Speaking of automation, data integration is key to having a CRM that truly drives your business forward. Integration with your MLS should be a non-negotiable. Agents shouldn’t need to waste time on repetitive data entry, and your property data should always be up-to-date and accurate. When evaluating a real estate CRM, look for integrations that increase agent productivity, in turn, increasing your brokerage’s profitability.
Lead routing should be a given. Integrated websites are best, because they route leads generated on your brokerage or agent websites directly into an agent’s CRM. On top of that, any lead providers (Buyside, Offrs, and Flipt are a few of our partners, for example) should be integrated so that those leads are routed into the CRM for easy follow-up.
Integration with your digital transaction management provider is also incredibly valuable, as it streamlines the entire transaction process for the agent. For example, agents can launch a DocuSign Transaction Room directly from their MoxiEngage account. The more we can simplify an agent’s workflow through valuable integrations, the better.
Reporting that promotes business growth.
At the end of the day, agents need to know: where does my business stand? Am I hitting my targets? Am I behind on my annual goal? Automated reporting enables and agent to always know the status of their business. Goal setting is step one, but agents also need the ability to track progress towards that goal.
As an example, since MoxiEngage is integrated with your MLS, an agent’s goals dashboard is automatically updated with each completed transaction, which enables them to see a realistic view of where their business stands without having to manually input any data.
A future of innovation.
It’s in your best interest as a brokerage to seek out a CRM that values innovation. The real estate industry is in an era of change and disruption, which means that in order to gain that competitive advantage you’re looking for, you’ll need an innovative technology platform behind that CRM.
Of course, we’re a bit biased since we’ve seen our clients drastically grow their businesses with MoxiEngage – the average agent with a MoxiEngage license sees 54% more transactions than those without, and the agents who fully utilize it see 117% more transactions over their peers without it. You can see why we’re biased. Regardless of the technology provider you choose to partner with, be sure to check these boxes when evaluating a new CRM. Choose a system that not only fits your business now but will grow with you.
If you’re in the process of evaluating a CRM for your brokerage and would like to get advice from one of our experts, reach out to us here.
