By Ronn James
I was on my Facebook page the other day and someone shared an invoice for the laptop they purchased in 1995 for $4,480. This ignited an exchange with many technology minded Realtors sharing stories of their own purchases that were cutting edge for the time. All of this talk of technology made me wonder: what do those Realtors who don’t abuse today’s technology do to succeed?
I know a number of sales reps who are not comfortable, conversant or committed to employing any form of technology. I can’t imagine my daily business dealings without the benefit of my iPhone/ iPad six shooters; one on each hip. So let’s discuss what these “old school” sales reps have to say.
“My clients use me because I get the job done,” says one top-producing Realtor I know. “My mom’s been the in real estate business for 35 years, she takes course after course and is very comfortable in front of the computer. Me? I’m most comfortable in front of real live clients…” he contends. I know this gentleman’s sales numbers and he makes a great income without a laptop.
In 2007 I worked at a real estate office that held meetings in the only closing office the company had. Fifteen people in this room was about a dozen too many and we were being trained on how to upload newspaper ads via a portal system to our administrators. Needless to say the meeting was over-attended, poorly presented and the person giving the instruction wasn’t on her machine so we had to “guess” what many of the input fields looked like. I commented to the tech guy that we could have had this meeting via a chat portal such as “GoTo meeting”. He floored me when he replied, “That would be an awesome idea. I can see so many benefits to this delivery, but more than a third of our agents (approx. 80) do not own a computer or laptop. They only use the ones at the office…” I am rarely at a loss for words. This is a huge market share company in our region and a third of the agents were tech-deficient.
The benchmark that has agents starting to realize the importance of embracing technology is the now two-year-old REBarCampTO (RE Bar Camp Toronto) launched by local Realtors who are passionate about technology and even more passionate about sharing this information with anybody who wants this education. I attended both years of this event. The first year, 500 sales reps were scheduled to turn up, but only 250 actually did and half of those Realtors were only there to see how far behind they were. They quickly realized that an underground movement is definitely taking real estate by storm. This year, (even with the addition of a nominal fee) 400 registered for this event and 400 were in attendance. Still, many were mystified at the breadth of experience and technological knowledge some Realtors have.
Where does the consumer stand on this? In the days of yore, clients would likely find either a personal or company Yellow Pages ad. If you were in the Yellow Pages, you were somebody. Today it’s your website, and even then your website is often being left behind at the speed of light. If you’re not search engine optimized you are winking in the dark. “You’re not likely to be found if you don’t appear within the first 30 organic spots on Google, making you yesterday’s news.” These are real conversations I have had with the public related to why technology is important to them. They want every element of marketing available to them and they will use technology to separate agents they will and won’t consider for their real estate needs. Which group do you want to be in?
Recently a seller client of mine put me through my paces. Adding pressure to this interview, the client’s daytime job was the VP of sales marketing for a large multi-national firm. (Gulp!) I have a solid (some would say excellent) marketing strategy. It fires off many modalities designed to attract buyers within the first 72 to 96 hours. Good. They love it. Then the kiss of death: “What else you got?” Well, there it is folks. Where do I go from here? Many agents revert to the tried and true (and expected) solution. “I’ll put ads in newspapers, magazines, billboards. Your home will be advertised every minute until it’s sold!” I know this is what they wanted to hear (and it’s what I wanted to say) but I didn’t. I couldn’t.
Technology has taught me that I must get a decent return on investment and the classified route continues to fail at providing me with data (analytics) as to who is seeing, reacting and touching my marketing efforts. I need to be able to explain what I plan on trying, for which market segment, for what length of time, and with what rate of success or failure. The numbers tell a story and I want my story to be great, especially if I have to ask a client to revisit a price reduction. I need supporting evidence. In today’s competitive market, “You’ve been listed too long” just doesn’t cut it.
I am pleased to admit that I have sold homes with nothing more than a Gold Cross pen. I have also spent a small fortune on technology that now serves as door stops in my home. I have spent countless hours educating myself (and my clients) on the benefit of what all this technology can do for them and for me. At the end, I am left with this: my Realtor friend who doesn’t use technology sells as much real estate as I do. He hasn’t spent any time learning programs and apps, and he hasn’t spent a penny on machines that are now paper weights. He drives a Mercedes, I drive a Ford. Maybe I missed something. Perhaps the real estate caveman knows enough to survive in his environment. Or maybe he’ll be fired because he couldn’t be found on Twit-Face-Space webpage.
With a track record that spans 27 years, Realtor Ronn James says his ambition is to educate the public and Realtors alike. He has landed appearances on Breakfast Television, CityLine, Real Life and a host of radio shows. James has also been a regular contributor to New Homes and Condos For Sale Magazine, Toronto Sun and Canadian Homeplanner. Website: www.RealEstateCommissionMatters.ca, phone 289-242-9050.
