Tyler Smith is the CEO of SkySlope, and he’s here to take on the industry’s questions, speaking from his experience as a tech leader and former top producer. And when he says, “Ask me anything!” he means it. Check out episode 1 and episode 2.
Once again, the Inman audience came out swinging when I said, “Ask me anything!” I love the strategic angle to these questions, from people who are clearly prepared to take a deep look into what they measure, how their tactics deliver, and the future of real estate tech.
“What are the top KPIs that I should track for my team/brokerage?”
First and foremost, who are your top producers based upon volume? This one is a no-brainer. But an often overlooked KPI is to identify your top agents are from a unit perspective. Next, I would look at who is writing offers that aren’t getting accepted. If you track this metric, you can provide additional coaching to those agents.
Large brokers tend to be successful because of their ancillary services. As a broker/owner, I would want to know who is referring business to your preferred vendors. Those agents not only bring additional revenue to your brokerage, but they’re also helping your partners grow. It’s a win-win scenario on both sides.
As for KPIs on the operations side, learn how long it takes your admins to audit a file. When you have auditing data, you can set baseline expectations and goals. You can also look at the time from when the deal closes to when your agents are getting paid. Pay your agents faster and they will love you! When you start tracking these processes, you can run your brokerage like a lean, mean operating machine!
KPIs will give you insight into how your team is doing and provide opportunities to connect with them. If you want to connect in a personal way, I recommend something like this All About You form I created when I was an agent. Now as a CEO, I use something similar with my team so when they hit a home run, I can reach out in a personal way.
“How can agents be smarter about using video for listings?”
These days, everyone’s hiring videographers. It makes sense; you want your videos to be professional. But not too long ago, my good friend, Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee) gave me some sage advice: don’t get precious. And so, to you, I say: don’t underestimate the video camera in your pocket!
Show the listing from your point of view. Walk people through the property and tell them what you think gives the home value or potential. Then, put those videos on your Instagram or Facebook. It may seem amateur, but don’t get precious. Seriously, you have nothing to lose.
Not only will people watch because they might be interested in buying, but they’re also watching you be an expert.
“Will A.I. replace human transaction coordinators?”
At Skyslope, we’ve had our transaction coordinator division for over five years. For the first three years, we made no money. But we sure did learn a lot. When running a transaction coordinating (TC) operation, you have transaction coordinators who work for multiple agents, on different deals, and each agent has different preferences. It’s a challenging model to scale.
Research shows the traditional TC can handle anywhere from 30 to 50 deals at a time. Our TCs, however, can take up to 80. How is this possible? Well, first, they’re awesome transaction coordinators, and second, we invested in building technology that automates their processes so they can be more efficient. Just as I don’t think Realtors will be replaced by technology, I don’t believe TCs will be replaced by AI. I believe tech will continue to expand and optimize operations so roles like that of a TC can be more productive while continuing to provide quality white-glove experience to their clients.