As the saying goes, the best CRM is the one you use. Today’s guest has enjoyed great success onboarding agents to his platform, and when brokers with a strong training culture employ his software, agent adoption is as high as 80%–compared to the industry average 6%. So what’s his secret?

 

Zvi Band is the co-founder and CEO of Contactually, the leading intelligent CRM for real estate professionals. Agents have seen an average increase in GCI of 42% by staying in personal contact with their networks through Contactually, and the platform has facilitated $3B in deals closed. Zvi is also the co-founder and organizer of DC Tech Meetup, a monthly gathering of entrepreneurs, technologists and investors to see demos, launch products and network. Since its inception in 2011, the meetup has grown to a community of 18,000, making it one of the largest tech meetups in the country.

 

Today Zvi explains how his nomadic childhood and an early passion for building things led him to become a software developer. He discusses the significance of relationships in furthering his career and walks us through the way Contactually functions to help real estate agents maintain important business relationships. Zvi shares the thinking behind his decisions to fund Contactually via investors, to offer a multifaceted onboarding process, and to give prospects a 14-day free trial without securing credit card information in advance. Listen in and learn what contributes to Contactually’s success within a brokerage and how Zvi addresses agent concerns around sharing their contacts.

 

What’s Discussed:

 

Zvi’s nomadic childhood in an academic family

How the Contactually intelligence CRM serves brokerages and agents

Zvi’s insight relationships as the most important asset you can have

The value of cadence in maintaining relationships

Why Zvi chose investors over self-funding

The shift from raising capital to building a business

Zvi’s take on why Contactually enjoyed strong adoption early on

Zvi’s proposal around pooling capital to solve big problems in real estate tech

The initial Contactually customer base of agents and teams

How Contactually has evolved to serve brokerages

Contactually’s multifaceted onboarding process

Why Contactually offers a free 14-day trial without requiring credit card info

Contactually’s growth from three to 70 team members

The remote-friendly culture at Contactually

What contributes to Contactually’s success within a brokerage

-Provides tech AND systems

-Integration with other toolsets

-Open-ended training options

How Contactually addresses agent resistance to sharing contacts with brokers

Contactually’s focus on helping brokers use available data

Resources:

Nintendo Labo

 

Connect with Zvi Band:

Contactually

Zvi’s Website

Zvi on LinkedIn

Zvi on Twitter

The vast majority of real estate professionals read the annual Swanepoel Trends Report for its analysis of the top developments shaping the industry. A phenomenal resource for agents, brokerages, associations, MLS firms and vendors, the T3 Sixty report offers in-depth research around what’s happening in real estate—from investment in tech innovation to the direct buyer phenomena to the latest brokerage models.

Jack Miller is the President and CTO of T3 Sixty, a team of strategic, technological and managerial experts in the residential real estate industry. The premiere consulting firm facilitates solutions for industry players throughout the US and Canada, leveraging their team’s vast experience and personal connections. T3 Sixty offers a wide range of support, including strategic development, technology audits, system design, operational improvement and continuous comprehensive market research. Jack has 16-plus years of experience in real estate, previously serving as the CTO of a boutique real estate brokerage that won Inman’s Innovator of the Year Award.

Today Jack shares his entry into real estate, explaining his role on the Keller Williams software development team as the firm grew from regional player to national franchise. He offers his take on the increasing importance of brokerage culture, the rise of the tech-enabled firm, and the impact of the recent influx of capital in the industry. Jack walk us through several current trends, including the legitimization of the FSBO model, the shifting role of the real estate agent, and the increasing velocity of brokerage expansion. He speaks to the best representations of the newer business models and the momentum of flat fee companies like HomeSmart. Listen in for Jack’s insight around T3 Sixty’s role in the industry and his advice for agents and brokers in the internet age.

What’s Discussed:

Jack’s unique introduction to real estate on Keller Williams’ software development team

The increasing importance of culture as part of the brokerage value proposition

How tech innovation has shifted from consideration to core requirement

The potential impact of the billions invested in real estate in 2017

The role of technology in the growing speed of brokerage expansion

The legitimization of the direct buyer (FSBO) model

Why it’s difficult to commodify real estate

The changing role of the agent as a consultant, counselor

The best representations of the newer business models

– Redfin, Compass and Opendoor

– Momentum of flat fee companies (e.g.: HomeSmart)

Why T3 Sixty is betting on the trend toward consolidation

T3 Sixty’s branding as the premiere consulting team for larger, more sophisticated companies

Jack’s advice for new agents around building relationships

How brokerages can recruit a specific audience of agents

 

Resources:

Swanepoel Trends Report

Books by Stefan

T3 Summit

T3 Brokerage Accelerator

 

Connect with Jack Miller:

T3 Sixty

Real Estate Trends on Facebook

Jack on Facebook

Stefan on Facebook

Stefan on Twitter

 

 

 

Katie Smithson picks her battles. Even well-meaning colleagues occasionally make insulting or offensive comments, and a professional woman has to decide what she can brush off and what she simply cannot accept. Though the lines can be blurry, nine years in the industry have taught Katie how to establish boundaries and present herself as a professional.

Katie grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, and went to school at Tennessee Technological University. Discouraged by the boys’ club that was electrical engineering, she changed her plans and pursued a degree in marketing. Her first foray into sales and customer service was at a Sprint/Nextel store back in Franklin, where she saw the first MLS searches on a Blackberry. After a move to Knoxville, Katie worked in marketing for a local mortgage company that happened to use CRS Data for tax purposes. Tired of spending her days in a cubicle, she noticed an opening for a trainer at CRS. Katie won them over and secured her first job in real estate. After four years working with agents, realtors and MLS execs to implement the use of CRS products, Katie had a conversation with Greg in a lobby bar at CMLS Boston, and the rest is history.

She has worked at W+R Studios for five years, serving as Director of MLS Services since 2016. Today she shares the details of her activism through the Georgia Women’s Policy Institute, the challenges for women in the real estate industry, and her advice around establishing professional boundaries.

What’s Discussed:

Why Katie gave up on electrical engineering to pursue a marketing degree
Katie’s early sales and customer service experience at Sprint/Nextel
How Katie got involved with the real estate industry
Katie’s role as Director of MLS Services at W+R Studios
The shift from training to sales
Katie’s work with the Georgia Women’s Policy Institute
– Issues affecting women, children
– Get in front of legislators
The challenges for women in the real estate industry
How Katie establishes boundaries as a professional woman
The complications of alcohol as part of industry culture
How Katie’s reputation in the industry has improved her experience with sexism

Katie’s advice for women coming up in the industry
– Keep your head on straight
– Maintain professionalism
– Have a buddy

The challenge of dressing appropriately for women in a business environment
Katie’s recommendations around resources for sales executives

Resources:

CRS Data

Arianna Huffington on Repeating Outfits

‘The Rock’ Test for Sexual Harassment

Inc. Magazine

Connect with Katie Smithson:

W+R Studios

Georgia Women’s Policy Institute

Katie on LinkedIn

If you feared more of the same when Bob Goldberg was named CEO of NAR, take heart. The rhetoric of our new leadership is focused on engagement, openness and transparency—knocking down the façade of the ‘Ivory Tower’ and facilitating dialogue with members, even those who disagree.

Bob Goldberg has been a senior executive with NAR since 1995, and his accomplishments include the launch of the REALTOR Benefits Program, the introduction of the top-level domain initiative, and the expansion of NAR’s technology partnerships via Second City Ventures and its REach Technology Accelerator. Prior to NAR, Goldberg served as senior vice president with PRC Realty Systems, the national’s leading provider of online multiple listing systems.

Bob is lauded for his leadership, recently named one of the 2017 Swanepoel Power 200 and Inman News Real Estate Influencers of 2017. Bob has forged his career on designing programs and partnerships to strengthen the REALTOR organization and drive success for its 1.2 million members. Today, he explains his approach to ushering in a new era at NAR, discussing his pursuit of transparency through social media, interviews and opportunities for Q&A. He also addresses his intention to serve members via a ‘flipping the pyramid’ model of leadership, and how he plans to empower his team with the authority to drive change. Listen to understand why Bob is an advocate of tech initiative partnerships, and how NAR can tackle the issue of professionalism among its members—with both consumers and fellow agents.

What’s Discussed: 

Bob’s pursuit of openness and transparency
How Bob plans to connect directly with NAR members
Bob’s interview with Andrew Flachner of RealScout
How Bob and the panel approached Q&A at the NAR Leadership Summit
Bob’s intention to facilitate honest discussion about industry issues
Bob’s mission to break down the façade of the ‘Ivory Tower’
– Message was controlled in past
– Initiate dialogue with dissenting voices

Bob’s ‘flipping the pyramid’ concept
– Think from member perspective first
– Encourage member engagement

The upcoming NAR organizational design study
Greg’s characterization of Bob as having a ‘vibe of inclusiveness’
Bob’s aim to be a different kind of leader
– Visionary
– Empower team with authority to drive change

Bob’s background in MLS technology with PRC
How Bob plans to assess the value prop of tech initiatives
– Cost of product
– Member use

The NAR budget process
How NAR decides to sunset a program that’s run its course
Why Bob does not advocate for a national MLS

– Not NAR’s core competency
– NAR doesn’t have funding to compete
– Better to seek partnerships with experts

Bob’s take on NAR’s role in raising the bar for agents
Professionalism with consumers and fellow members
The complexity of addressing professionalism in the industry
Bob’s willingness to be embrace social media
The world-class talent at NAR
The network effect of engagement

Resources:

NAR Leadership Summit on Facebook Live
RealScout Interview with Bob Goldberg
RealScout on Facebook

Connect with Bob Goldberg:

Bob on Facebook
Bob on LinkedIn
NAR Leadership Team on Facebook
NAR Leadership on Twitter

LIVE from RESO Spring Conference 2017

Henry Ford is credited with saying, ‘If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.’ True innovation provides you with the tools you didn’t even know you needed. Today’s guest understands the challenges of the real estate industry, and he created a platform that provides a unique solution tailored to the work we do. A solution that will make you wonder how you ever did without!

Tyler Gordon is the CEO and Founder of Agent Inbox, an all-in-one communications platform that empowers MLSs to launch a market-wide platform that allows every agent to communicate with every other agent about any listing, from any device, within any product. Agent Inbox seeks to build the messaging infrastructure so that everyone involved in the real estate transaction (including vendors) can effectively communicate via one system.

After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in finance, Gordon went to work for Grooveshark, an on-demand streaming music service, where he built their data products and market research team, boasting a research panel of over 300,000 participants. From there, he joined the family business, a real estate brokerage in south Florida. Realizing just how difficult it was to be a real estate agent, Gordon set out to solve some of the problems he encountered – and Agent Inbox was born. Today, Gordon explains the nuts and bolts of Agent Inbox, sharing how the tool works with any app under the MLS umbrella. Listen and learn the benefits of a single communication system that connects all the stakeholders involved in the real estate transaction!

What’s Discussed: 

The shift in how people communicate
– Agents have migrated away from phone/email
The idea behind Agent Inbox
– Create market-wide messaging platform
– Every agent can communicate with every other agent
The installation of Agent Inbox
– Integrated directly into MLS link
– App is available to download, but not necessary to use the service
How to access Agent Inbox
How the Agent Inbox infrastructure might be used to include other industry stakeholders
– MLS
– Association
– Vendors
The benefits of Agent Inbox
– Sits on top of any product in MLS
– Allows for live, contextual conversation
How Agent Inbox was conceived
The trend toward specialized products
Where Agent Inbox is already up and running
The user-friendly nature of Agent Inbox
The benefits of messaging (vs. email)
– 99% of people open, 95% respond
– Socially acceptable to wait several days before responding to email

Resources:

Intercom Customer Messaging Platform

Slack Team Messaging

Connect with Tyler Gordon:

Agent Inbox
Email: tyler [at] agentinbox [dot] [com]