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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 MoxiMarketing: 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.
MoxiMarketing
MoxiMarketing, 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 MoxiMarketing 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.
Increase Agent Adoption Rates by Following These 3 Steps
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
Agent adoption of brokerage tech is one of the major obstacles facing virtually every brokerage out there, it’s just part of the industry we’re in. You work hard to carefully choose and curate the perfect tech stack for your brokerage, so I personally would understand if a lack of adoption stings a little – or a whole freaking lot. Don’t let your confidence take a hit from it, as it likely has nothing to do with you, or your quality of choice.
Every agent has their own system and methods for completing their tasks, making it completely understandable for them to be hesitant about starting from scratch with new tools. In today’s world, it’s one of the biggest ways that you can leverage your data, so it’s important not to give up on it. The more your agents utilize your tech, the better it is for everyone.
Here are three steps to consider taking in order to increase agent adoption rates and get your agents hooked on your tech:
1. Choose easy to use tech.
If your technology is extremely confusing, hard to use, and doesn’t offer onboarding and training support – run. Once agents get comfortable with the tech they use, it can take a whole lot to convince them that it’s worth it to make a switch. Once they do decide to make the move, you want it to be easy-as-pie for them to adopt your tech.
That means it’s important that you choose technology that is connected. And yes, we’re talking about an open-platform! The more your tech tools talk to each other and share data, the more value there will be for you and your agents, and the less work it will require in order to get it. That will be a major plus in the minds of your agents, as efficiency and productivity are the keys to being successful at what they do. Also, make sure that your tech provider has an amazing support team – you want your agents to have access to the assistance they need, when they need it the most. If agents are finding understanding your tech to be a road block preventing them from reaching the productivity levels they are used to, they will have no problem dropping it, and understandably so.
2. Host educational training events.
Agents are busy, which is why you need to make sure it’s ridiculously easy for them to get training. Hosting events is a great opportunity for you to get your agents in a room together and give them the info they need to succeed with your tech. Bribery will likely be necessary, but it will be worth it in the long run. Whether it takes buying them cookies or offering up a raffle for tickets to the ball game, we’d suggest that you provide some kind of incentive to at least get them in the door.
Once they arrive, make it interesting. The last thing you want is for them to be trapped in a room for an hour, bored out of their minds, wishing they had never showed up in the first place – we’ve all been there. Create an exciting and interactive experience that gets them involved and allows them to interact with the product. We’ve seen trivia and jeopardy games among the many creative activities our awesome clients have whipped-up to make the training process more enjoyable and, dare I say, fun.
Use these events as an opportunity to explain why your tech is so valuable to their sphere of influence, their data, and to the health of their work-life balance. Don’t just focus on the “how,” focus on the “why” too! Building value in the minds of your agents is essential in order for them to see the benefits that it will bring to them, therefore increasing the likelihood that they actually invest the time into adopting it.
3. Provide incentives.
In addition to the bribery previously mentioned to encourage agent attendance to your training events, you will also need some more of it to make sure that they consistently use your tech. As you know, adopting the tech in the first place is the first hurdle to tackle, but making sure that agents are continuing to keep up with the training and taking advantage of any shiny new features is another goal that can be tough to accomplish.
Reward agents who are using not only one feature of your tech stack, but all of the tools that it has to offer. Interview those agents about how it has impacted their professional lives and send it out to the other agents in your office. It’s one thing for you to tell your agents that your tech will better their lives, but it will be so much more impactful when they hear it directly from one of their own!
3 Steps to Organize Your Life as an Agent
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
You are one busy professional. Life as an agent is hectic, to say the least. From hosting open houses, to creating content for your marketing channels and engaging with your sphere (don’t even get me started on keeping up with emails), your to-do list seems to go on and on.
With a career like yours, it’s easy for things to get overwhelming and unorganized. That’s why it’s so important to set yourself up for success and be thoughtful about how you structure your professional life. Doing this will help achieve a greater work life balance.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Make weekly appointments.
And by that, I mean appointments with yourself. Dedicating specific time every week to complete your tasks will set the tone for a stress-free life. Not only will it increase your amount of distraction-free work time, but it results in higher quality work all around as opposed to what is produced when scrambling to get things done last minute.
These appointments may be along the lines of dedicating the same morning every week to writing blog content or adding content to your monthly newsletter, and another to calling people within your sphere. An additional area to focus your efforts on a weekly basis is paid advertising to ensure you’re always growing your business, but you probably won’t need a full morning for that one – more like 5 minutes.
Turn your notifications on.
The next step to getting organized is holding yourself accountable to the goals and appointments you set for yourself. You are human, which means that you likely forget things from time to time. Although it’s a normal part of life, it can affect your reputation and hinder the high levels of productivity that you strive to reach. This means that keeping yourself on track will require more than a few sticky note reminders.
Turning on your calendar notifications is a great way to never miss an appointment and keep yourself on track. Adjusting your settings so that you get one notification the day before your appointment, and another one an hour or two before will keep you constantly prepared for what is to come and ensure that you never miss a beat.
Focus on efficiency.
Did you know that removing clutter from your home eliminates 40% of housework? The same idea applies to your professional life.
Even if you are being more mindful about when you do what, it doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to further maximize your efficiency. Leveraging the tech tools that you have available to you is a great way to keep your organization up to par. Making sure that your data and contacts are organized will decrease the amount of time you spend doing busy work and increase the amount of energy you can put into areas that will really make a difference. Organizing your database happens to be one of the most essential steps to successfully engaging with your sphere. Refer to our Agent’s Guide for Engagement with Your Sphere for more tips on that! Hopefully all these tips will help organize your professional life and get you to a work life balance that is more sustainable.
The Power Your Mindset Has on Your Business
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
How you think on a daily basis could be having a profound influence on the results your business is generating. Having a positive mindset can help you thrive in your life and business, and ultimately, make you more money. Your mindset affects your health, well-being, relationships, success, and income – so we highly recommend you start paying attention to what kind of head space you’re in. Here are a few ways in which leveraging a healthy, positive business mindset can make you a stronger agent.
Thinking Positively
There has been extensive research supporting the power of positive thinking on a person’s health. The thoughts running through your head have a strong influence on the state of your mental and physical health, undoubtedly affecting your work life. When you think positively, you’re better able to realize those thoughts, bringing your goals and dreams into reality.
“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi
In addition, positivity is infectious. Those around you, including your clients, colleagues, friends, and family, will take to your energy and feed it.
Increasing Productivity
Having a clear mindset could very well increase how much you’re able to achieve in a day. Improve your productivity by getting clear on what your priorities are and getting realistic about what you’re able to take on. Managing these expectations with yourself will allow you to better manage your workload, ensuring you get done what you need to, while leaving time for your life outside of work.
We hear a lot about the importance of work/life balance, but it can be tough to achieve as a real estate agent. After all, you generally work out of your home, car, and cell phone, so it’s difficult to “turn off” work when it’s time to focus on your personal life. When you have clearer focus while “on,” it’ll be easier for you to turn off, while still meeting your goals.
Embracing Change
Change is inevitable. In order to move your business forward, you need to be willing to embrace change.
One way to think about this is to consider the difference between having a “growth” mindset and a “fixed” mindset. According to Harvard Business Review, “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and they put more energy into learning.” People who tend to have fixed mindsets get stuck in their ways and tend to be change-averse. When you remain flexible, however, you open up windows of opportunity that might’ve otherwise been closed off.
Setting Goals
“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.” – Mark Victor Hansen
Keeping your eye on the ball will ensure you get where you want to go. Many people embark on a new year with little sense of direction. By setting goals for yourself, you’re giving yourself a vision for where you want to go, which sends you in the right direction towards your desired success. Start every year by setting your GCI goal. It’s a simple, easy step that can make all the difference. Second, believe in yourself and your own success. Then, work towards it and watch it come to fruition.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie
Our final piece of advice is to work for a company you believe in. Choose a brokerage that shares your values – you’ll feel significantly more fulfilled at the end of every day. Remember why you joined your brokerage and why you feel accomplished every time you sell a home. These thoughts will contribute to a positive, balanced mind. Leverage the power of your mindset to propel your business forward and reach toward your goals.
Think like a CEO: Why the Mindset Will Lead to Success
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
Agents have traditionally been thought of as salespeople, which, is understandable since on the surface that’s what they do. They sell houses. But there is so much more to it than that. As a real estate agent, you’re running your own business.
You have to take care of everything from marketing, to selling, to transaction management, and even the nitty-gritty like keeping your financials straight and properly filing taxes. You have to be entrepreneurial in that you need to take responsibilities for your business’ successes as well as its challenges, and you need to get creative when it comes to growing your business.
Here are some tips to growing your real estate business by using a CEO mindset:
Focus on the bottom line:
At the end of the day, you’re working to make a living. Just like any CEO, you have to pay attention to your bottom like and focus on activities that drive revenue growth for your business.
Get a system in place to track your sales and your expenses. If you aren’t tracking the second half of that equation, you’re missing half the story. You should always begin the year with a financial goal and work towards that. It will serve as a benchmark throughout the year to ensure you’re generating the cash you had hoped.
Prioritize:
“The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’… Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time.” – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
Many agents struggle with time – there are never enough hours in the day. Because you can’t do everything. Especially as an agent, you constantly have a lot of balls in the air. You need to be able to prioritize each and every day to ensure you’re spending your precious hours on things that will truly have an impact on your business. Technology comes in handy, here. Rely on a task management system that will assist you in keeping track of everything you need (and want) to do and prioritizing them to improve efficiency.
Look forward:
“You have to be very nimble and very open minded. Your success is going to be very dependent on how you adapt.” – Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp
Change isn’t easy. However, our industry is changing rapidly, which means you need to set yourself up for success to ensure your business will grow along with the industry and market. Be flexible, embrace change, and make sure you stay ahead of the game by adapting your business as necessary.
Think outside the box:
Get creative and be innovative. It’s ok to follow trends and use proven methods, but take those to the next level. What else could you be doing? Where else could you take your marketing efforts? Drive business by thinking outside the box and delivering service that is a step above what else is out there. In order to stand out in today’s competitive market, your marketing efforts not only need to keep up, but they need to be ahead of the game. Leverage your brokerage brand and your personal brand and think outside the box to build your business.
So, although you already wear tons of hats, it’s time to put your CEO hat on and drive your business into a successful future.
The 411 on Interest Rates Rising
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
The economy ebbs and flows, and with those fluctuations come different concerns from home buyers and sellers. As an agent, you need to be prepared to walk your clients through the fears and unknowns, serving as a trusted guide. Your clients will want to ensure their home purchase is a smart (and affordable) one.
When it comes to the affordability of a home, interest rates make a massive difference. They’re on the rise, which means you’ll likely be hearing – if you aren’t already – major concerns being voiced from your clients.
Inventory is low.
With today’s thriving economy, the housing market is hot all across the US. What we’re seeing is that there is extremely low inventory in the major markets. For agents, this means winning a listing is tougher than ever. For buyers, this means competitive bidding wars and cash offers swooping in.
NAR’s annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers revealed that in 2017, the typical home was on the market for just three weeks.
Many real estate professionals are starting to feel like there’s more agents than there are listings. While this isn’t quite the case, it can certainly feel as though there aren’t enough listings to go around. According to NAR, there were 5.51 million existing homes and 612,000 newly constructed sold in 2017, and there were 1,334,668 NAR members as of July 2018. Tight inventory increases the feeling of competition and adds pressure to an agent’s ability to win new listings.
Buyers are fatigued.
The home buying process can be stressful and discouraging, often causing buyers fatigue, which stems from seeing a lack of inventory in the market. Houses aren’t on the market long enough to go through the typical home buying process. Decisions are made sight unseen, inspections are waived, and above-asking offers are made. This can be incredibly discouraging for a buyer, surfacing fears around timing, affordability, and their ability to find the perfect home.
Interest rates are on the rise.
Freddie Mac published research showing the steady month-to-month increase in interest rates so far this year, starting at 4.03% in January 2018 and increasing to 4.57% in June 2018. This continuous rise is what has caused a stir across our industry, worrying many home buyers.
As published by Bloomberg, “The average rate for 30-year home loans climbed this week to 4.38 percent, the highest since April 2014, according to Freddie Mac.” Shanne Sleder, a mortgage broker based in San Diego, commented on the data, saying, “At this point in time, people don’t like it but they can still make it work. It hasn’t gotten to where people are starting to back out of deals yet. As we get closer to 5 percent, that’s when they will start thinking about it.”
These rate increases are serving as both a concern and motivator for many buyers who want to purchase before they can’t afford to do so. Some buyers want to wait it out, hoping for a drop in rates, while many others want to move quickly, confident that the upward trend in interest rates only gaining speed.
You don’t need to be an economist predicting the future of the housing market, but you do need to be able to assist your clients through the process as they navigate through market information such as interest rates. Stay up to date with forecasts, but more importantly, know how you’ll respond to your clients’ concerns, no matter what twists and turns the market makes.
3 Steps to Change Your Focus from Software to Success
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
In the world of real estate, we all hear the seemingly constant buzz about the ever-evolving technology that is shaking up our industry. The traditional ways in which real estate has been conducted are slipping away, and brokerages and agents alike are being left scrambling to define what they do, and exactly how they ought to do it. The movement to incorporate technology into real estate practices is tempting and, in many aspects, necessary to keep up and maintain a competitive edge. The pressure to stay current with the movement can be daunting, in fact, 48% of all real estate firms consider keeping up with the tech advancements to be one of the most significant challenges they are facing today. The question that arises here is: what technology does one actually need in order to achieve success?
When searching for new software for your brokerage, make sure you’re confident when it comes to exactly what benefits you are hoping to gain from bringing it on board. Further, that you’re aware of the tools you will need in order to fully utilize it. The process of acquiring new software can be costly and have the potential to put a major strain on the financial health of your brokerage if done incorrectly. Simply handing your agents a fancy new program and leaving it at that won’t anyone any good, and definitely won’t rock your agent’s socks off. In order to see the jaw-dropping ROI you are looking to get out of your software, it will require you to invest the time and money into the implementation process so that your agents are continuously being trained on how to use it and actively receiving value from it.
In light of this, avoid the common mistake of buying technology solely for the sake of buying technology. Instead, raise your bar high and purchase software that you deem absolutely essential in order for you to achieve success, and then gear your efforts toward making sure that you are getting everything you possibly can out of it. After all, what’s the point of having flashy technology if you don’t get value from it? No point. The answer is that there’s absolutely no point to that at all.
Here are a few steps we suggest you consider taking before sealing the deal to maximize your success:
Step One: Clearly define your goals.
Look beyond the buzz and clearly define what you are hoping to achieve by incorporating new software into your business. After you decide on a goal, articulate what metrics you will use to gauge when you’ve successfully reached it. Clearly you want your goals to be centered around the main interests of your company. Here are a few that we here at MoxiWorks like to focus on:
- Improving the quality of your marketing efforts
- Increasing lead generation
- Strengthening CRM
- Increasing agent productivity
- Retaining current agents
- Recruiting rockstar new agents
The main takeaway here is clarity. Be able to state what your goal is, and how you will measure its success.
Step two: Look for the missing parts.
Once you define your goals and establish your metrics, it’s then time to create a game plan for how you will go about achieving them. This requires first conducting extensive research within your brokerage to ensure that you are utilizing the skills you already have, making worthy investments in the technology, and avoiding the expensive mistake of double-dipping in resources. Start asking questions to get a clear insight into what you already have covered, and what you will need to look externally to find.
- What types of resources do you already have within your brokerage that can help you reach your goals?
- What steps can’t you complete without the implementation of new technology?
- What does your timeline for onboarding new technology need to look like?
- Will you need your technology partner to supply onboarding assistance and continuous training, or do you have tech savvy agents that can support others in the process?
Asking questions like these will assist you in finding the missing pieces within your own team, and help you pinpoint exactly what you will need to get out of your technology partnership.
Step three: Treat yourself to a technology shopping trip.
After you discover what kind of technology you need, it’s time to begin the hunt for the right company to partner with. Taking the time to complete the previous steps beforehand will make this process much more straight forward. Make sure to compare different options and take on a “What can you do for me?” approach. Brush up on the major players for that kind of software in order to be perceived as educated and become more likely to get a better price.
At MoxiWorks, we know that you have a unique set of goals and needs. This is why we created the MoxiCloud, an open platform of tools that are designed to help you reach your goals within a variety of different segments of your business. We even have a team of amazing Account Managers available to help your onboarding run as smoothly as possible and ensure that your agents have the tools they need to achieve incredible levels of success with our platform. Our clients are happy with our plug-and-play style, and we want you to be too. Take a look at what they have to say.
