“We offer that tool, if only our agents would use it!” These words are uttered by nearly every leader of a brokerage firm. Each day, agents and teams eagerly present the next ‘game-changing’ tool to their brokerage leadership with the promise of it making them more productive.
In a sea of shiny objects, brokerage leaders are feeling the pressure. On average, brokers today are purchasing more than 12.4 company-wide tech solutions. For larger brokerage firms, the number is much higher. And this fragmented approach to technology comes at a significant cost — an average $67 per agent, per month or more — at a time when brokerage profit margins are at an all-time low. With significant investment and a plethora of tools being provided, we have to ask ourselves: Do agents actually use it? Is it making them more productive? Is it making you more profitable?
After powering over 200,000 agents and 4,000+ teams on our technology platform kvCORE, we’ve learned a lot about what tools agents actually use, what drives results in their business and what leads to greater profitability throughout the brokerage. Because no two agents are the same, brokerages historically have tried to piece together many different solutions catering to the needs of many different agent ‘personas’. The result? An overwhelming tech landscape: multiple logins, tools that operate in silos, no real data flow or automation and worst of all, limited usage. Agents tune out and often go outside of the brokerage for solutions that meet their unique needs.
So, what do agents and teams really need to drive results in their business? What can you provide as a broker to ensure they’ll use the technology you invest in? After working with tens of thousands of agents, teams, and brokers, we’ve gained some insight into the primary ‘personas’ that exist within a brokerage and the tools they need and actually use.
Nathan the Newcomer Agent
New and up and coming agents typically represent a small portion, about 10-20% of your overall agent base but can be your next generation of superstars. Newcomers like Nathan have a smaller sphere of influence and are hungry for new business often looking for free and organic lead channels. Nathan has more time than money and is willing to put in the work to generate online leads, host open-houses and utilize a brokerage sponsored e-leads program.
What Newcomer Nathan utilizes:
- Free and Organic Lead Gen: landing pages and IDX squeeze pages offer a quick and free way to generate leads using hyper-local content (e.g. Nathan’s List of Modern Downtown Lofts)
- Integrated Open House App: seamlessly captures leads from open houses and automatically triggers nurture campaigns with relevant content
- Social Media Marketing: one-click promotion of office listings on social media, growing their online presence and personal brand
Valerie the Veteran Agent
Typically 60-70% of your agent base is comprised of more seasoned, veteran agents who have an established Sphere of Influence (SOI) and are motivated by driving repeat and referral business. Veterans like Valerie are typically less tech-savvy and sometimes reluctant or intimidated to try new tech. Valerie has her tried and true tactics like postcard mailings and newsletters and prides herself on building lasting relationships with a high-degree of personal touch.
That being said, Veterans like Valerie are pulled in many directions, juggling active listings and deals in escrow all while trying to stay organized and in touch with their past clients and SOI.
What Veteran Valerie utilizes:
- CRM with Database Privacy: simple to use CRM that keeps their database private from the brokerage
- Marketing Automation: automated, multi-channel campaigns that leverage AI and client behavior to drive relevant and timely content to their SOI and past clients
- Mobile Dialer: an integrated mobile app & dialer that prompts live phone calls with SOI and past clients at just the right time (e.g. when they’ve had a life event or started looking at properties again)
Randy the Team Rainmaker
With teams now making up nearly 25% of all production volume nationally, it’s highly likely your brokerage has a growing number of teams. Team Rainmakers like Randy are focused on generating new business for their team, team production, and performance. Randy cares about growing his team brand and establishing systems and infrastructure that allow him to bring on new talent. Rainmakers like Randy need technology that offers scalability and flexibility to grow their own independent ‘business within a business.’
What Rainmaker Randy’s utilizes:
- Independent Lead Generation & Routing: integrated options for paid lead generation that create high-quality, low-cost leads for the team along with sophisticated lead routing
- Team Specific Business Rules: team-specific user roles, built in agent accountability and visibility into key performance metrics across the team
- Customizable Branding: fully customizable websites and team-specific branding throughout their marketing materials
Office Manager Megan
Office managers and admins are the unsung heroes of a brokerage, busy onboarding new agents, conducting coaching and training and helping keep their agents happy and productive. Office Managers like Megan often feel like they are playing a game of digital Frogger, jumping from system to system. Megan often has to log in to dozens of systems to gain visibility or reporting that will help her engage and retain the agents that need her the most.
What Office Manager Megan utilizes:
- A Centralized Dashboard: a single source of truth showing agent performance at the office, team and individual agent level
- Learning Platform: integrated learning management that shows who has completed training, where they need help and what to do next
- Mass Marketing: customizable marketing content that can be shared to agents and automatically sent to clients on their behalf
A tech eco-system that delivers at every level
Brokers today can’t afford the never-ending list of new tools that agents want. And the gaps created by disjointed technology systems wreak havoc on productivity and brokerage profit. The solution? A comprehensive tech eco-system like kvCORE that delivers on the needs of each ‘persona’ while providing the flexibility and customization brokers need to differentiate themselves in the market. Inside Real Estate powers hundreds of top brokerages and over 200,000 of their agents and teams with the #1 focus on delivering results for every user across the brokerage organization. Visit insiderealestate.com to learn more about how kvCORE is driving profitable growth for brokerages throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Inside Real Estate is a fast growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top brokerages, agents and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create their own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations and high-quality add-on solutions.