August 2020 - Vendor Alley

#ICYMI Friday 8.28.20

August 28th, 2020

I love videos of people talking about their homes. It shows their taste, inspiration, and great stories. Casey Neistat is one of my favorite creators on YouTube. So, how could I not include a video of him and his wife, Candice, talking about their new home in California?

Super geeky deep dive from Andrea Brambila (who else) of Inman News, into how MLS providers handled Days on Market (DOM) during this pandemic and where they are now.

Love this look back from Anil Dash on the 25th anniversary of Windows 95. I remember this like it was yesterday, and the only cloud was just the art of the box.

Michael Hayes, of Homes.com, buries the lede in his blog post, “Do you really want to be back on the road?”.

This webinar with Sharran Srivatsaa and myself is breaking all our sign up records, please share, “7 Secrets to a Winning Virtual Listing Presentation”.

This just in.

Looks like GAMLS got hacked. If you don’t think this could happen to you, you are sadly mistaken.

Be safe, and be good to each other. Have a great weekend.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

August 27th, 2020

Please join me in wishing a Happy Birthday to one of the industry’s finest, Katie Smithson.

DOM Ice melts

August 26th, 2020

Andrea Brambila for Inman News – MLSs roll back rule and status changes to pre-pandemic norm

“Only two of 30 MLSs who responded to Inman’s inquiries chose to outright pause days on market for Active listings, though about half chose to adjust the rules for listings in other statuses that do not accrue days on market and which proved to be more popular during the early days of shelter-in-place orders. Now that lockdown restrictions have eased in many places nationwide, many, though not all, of those rule changes have gone back to their pre-pandemic normal. The 30 MLSs represent nearly 900,000 agent, broker and appraiser subscribers nationwide.”

Who loves 2,500 words about the intricacies of MLS organizations discussing days on market? This guy!

Setting aside its 2020 and we still can’t agree on what Day On Market actually means this article gives a great overview of the regional responses MLS organizations took to the onset of the global pandemic.

Greater Gateway Association of REALTORS® Partners with MRED

August 26th, 2020

Greater Gateway Association of REALTORS® Partners with Midwest Real Estate Data

“This agreement gives GGAR members the opportunity to use MRED’s services in addition to their current MLS, exchanging listings directly with real estate professionals in MRED’s coverage area as well as their local marketplace.
GGAR provides resources to more than 1,200 real estate professionals across 135 offices in eight southwest Illinois counties. GGAR becomes the 16th REALTOR® association in Illinois to partner with MRED.
GGAR CEO Kyle Anderson said partnering with MRED allows his association to build on a track record of outstanding service and providing members additional opportunities to expose properties to a broader audience.”

This is interesting in that Great Gateway AOR borders on Missouri, and currently also members of MARIS MLS. My guess is that having, what I would classify as a “system of choice” option will help GGAOR with expansion opportunities. The same goes for MRED.

Listing Bits Episode: How to Win Business with Buyer Data – with Ashley Terrell of Buyside

August 25th, 2020

Speaking of Buyside…

It’s easier to gain a seller’s trust when you have the data to back you up. But where can agents and brokers go for real-time buyer data? And how do we turn those numbers into actionable insights to earn new business?

Ashley Terrell is the Executive Vice President of Partnerships at Buyside, a real estate tech platform that helps real estate professionals leverage intelligent buyer data to capture seller leads, win more listings and close more transaction sides in-house. Prior to joining Buyside, Ashley served as the Director of Account Management and Director of Strategic Growth at Constellation Software and the Director of Account Management and Product Marketing at Real Estate Digital.

On this episode of Listing Bits, Ashley explains how Buyside partners with other vendors to procure data and provide its users with seamless product integration. She offers insight around the current buyer landscape, sharing her take on why there’s such a boom in real estate right now. Listen in for Ashley’s insight on the resources available to help agents use the Buyside tools and learn how to leverage buyer data to win your next listing presentation.

What’s Discussed:

Ashley’s background in tech and how she was introduced to the real estate tech space

How Buyside serves as a seller lead gen tool and helps agents win listing presentations

How Buyside procures data from vendors like Zillow, ShowingTime, etc.

Buyside’s focus on seamless product integration to create the best possible user experience

Ashley’s insight around the current buyer landscape in real estate

Ashley’s take on why there’s such a boom in real estate right now

How agents and brokers can leverage buyer data in a listing presentation

–Help seller price home

–Marketing strategy

–Pool of buyers

How Buyside serves large brokerages vs. small brokerages and large teams

The value proposition for Buyside in a buyer’s market

Ashley’s commitment to building out resources that help agents use the Buyside tools

Connect with Ashley:

Resources:

John Heithaus on Listing Bits EP061

‘Existing Home Sales Skyrocket Amid Pandemic, Inventory Down’ in Inman News

ShowingTime’s June 2020 Showing Index Results

Buyside Help Center

Sponsor:

Cloud CMA

Looking for a new gig?

August 24th, 2020

Product Owner – Buyside

“As a successful Product Owner, you will be the owner of all significant aspects of product development and execution. You will work with our Engineering and Success teams to craft and execute on the product roadmap. Your work will encourage usage and adoption while delivering a positive experience to all users.”

To find out about this job and more please visit the Vendor Alley Job Board.

FirstMLS and ARA open up virtual trade show to all agents

August 18th, 2020

Atlanta REALTORS® Virtual “Showcase 2020”

“The 20th year of Showcase, the Southeast’s premier residential Real Estate Trade Show, is scheduled to be held VIRTUALLY, on August 27, 2020. The Trade Show will bring together REALTORS®, real estate professionals and affiliated industries on a single day. The one day show will feature a broad selection of essential industry seminars from national and regional speakers, industry items, services, and business tools.”

I thought this was pretty smart. Many of these local trade shows get good speakers and have great content, so now that they are virtual, why not invite all agents?

Listing Bits Episode 61: Take the Stress Out of Moving – with John Heithaus of OK Move Me

August 17th, 2020

The five most stressful life events include the death of a loved one, divorce, major illness or injury, job loss, and moving. But a new proptech platform is working to take relocation off the list with a tool that makes the experience of moving less stressful, less expensive, and more efficient.

John Heithaus is a serial entrepreneur and venture investor with 30-plus years of experience in strategic marketing, corporate strategy, and product development. He has co-founded or served as a founding executive of four real estate startups, generating nearly $100M in successful exits. One of John’s current projects is OK Move Me, a proptech tool that offers consumers a one-stop resource for planning, moving and settling into a new place.

On this episode of Listing Bits, John explains how OK Move Me works, walking us through the four phases of the moving process and describing the site’s interactive task lists for each. He discusses how the vendors promoted on the platform are vetted and share what the team is doing to provide an outstanding customer experience. Listen in for insight into how OK Move Me generates revenue and find out why the site is looking to partner with traditional real estate agents and brokers.

What’s Discussed:

John’s unique background in real estate, proptech investing and the music business

What inspired John’s return to building an online marketplace for moving + relocation services

OK Move Me’s four phases of the moving process and associated interactive task lists

–Planning

–Moving

–Move-in

–Settling in

How OK Move Me serves as a referral organization rather than a direct service provider

OK Move Me’s affiliate agreements with vendors on the site

What makes OK Move Me users a coveted cohort

How OK Move Me vendors are vetted and held to a high standard

The potential for OK Move Me to partner with traditional real estate agents and brokers

How OK Move Me is promoting the site through social media ads and content marketing

OK Move Me’s alliance with moving company brands that focus on customer experience

OK Move Me’s Reddit approach to procuring user feedback

Connect with John:

OK Move Me

My OK Move Me

Resources:

Buyside

Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp

SuperStar Factory Productions

Sharma Packers and Movers

Relocation Stress Syndrome

Opendoor’s Deal with Realtor.com

Zillow’s Partnership with DR Horton

SIRVA

Sponsor:

Cloud CMA Live

#ICYMI Friday 8.14.20

August 14th, 2020

I’ve seen the above video above multiple times and it still makes me laugh out loud every time. It was created to promote a webinar being held next week targeted to brokers to help their agent avoid Zoom blunders. If you are interested please register here.

I didn’t get a lot of posting done this week, but there were still a few things going on in the industry.

I got the first copy of my book, The Art of the CMA. I found a few typos. ????

The National Association of REALTORS announced the promotion of Andréa Moore, to Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion and Talent Opportunity. More like this, please!

Kerry Rakuson has joined Prospects Software as Director of Implementations. Congrats Kerry! Charles has put together a really great team.

LionDesk and a few other real estate companies made the Inc 5000 list. LionDesk ranked #360, which is super impressive for a first-timer. Woolley Robertson Group, Inc. d/b/a W+R Studios wasn’t listed in the Inman article but also, just barely, made the list at 4,484. It was our ~~sixth~~ seventh time in a row, I might need a bigger wall. ????

I missed this news before but Katie Lance was recently chosen by RE/MAX to do social media training. Congratulations!

Regardless of your politics I still think this is pretty cool. ????????

From the Wall Street Journal: Stir-Crazy Travelers Are Ordering Airline Food to Relive the Flying Experience. I’m not to that point…yet.

Enjoy your weekend!

Unboxing video – The Art of the CMA

August 10th, 2020

I got a copy of my first book, “The Art of the CMA”, in the mail on Friday. I made a quick video to memorialize it.

We have done a ton of proofreading to make sure there are no obvious errors, but we also wanted to check to see the layout and print quality on the physical book itself before ordering any copies of the book in bulk.

Looks like everything is checking out so I will be placing my first order today. If you are interested to know when the new book comes out you can visit www.TheArtoftheCMA.com and sign up to be notified.

I have many people to thank but will wait when the book is available to everyone, plus I have something fun in mind for the official launch. Stay tuned!