Buy Back Your Time, Not More Subscriptions

We see a shiny new software and think, "Oh, this will solve all my problems!" But soon enough, you're juggling ten different apps, none of which talk to each other, and back to square one.

Jeff Bezos famously challenged people to base their strategy on the things that won’t change. Instead of worrying about trends or competitors, focus on what’s important to customers.

In real estate, those things seem to be 1. Compelling Marketing 2. Transaction Management.

West + Main University is our regularly scheduled training and education sessions for Realtors. While this was originally given as a live presentation, the points still stand on their own.



This topic felt relevant to revisit as agents look for ways to thrive in the latest market shift. Often we look for technology to save us or for a novel new idea that can change everything.

Step away from the manic Facebook groups and pricey product pitches. As a community-driven Realtor, is your marketing visible and do you guarantee a top-tier experience every time?

Compelling Marketing

  • Depth Over Display: It's not just about visibility. What delves deeper, ensuring the message resonates emotionally and intellectually with your audience?

  • Beyond the Surface: Aesthetics draw them in, but relevance keeps potential clients engaged and creates lasting and impactful relationships.

  • Consistency is Key: A singular, memorable brand voice ensures that your marketing efforts are cohesive and recognizable, building trust over time.

Transaction Management

  • Client-Centric Approach: Every transaction should prioritize the client's needs and concerns, ensuring that their experience is smooth, transparent, and positive.

  • Data-Driven Decisions: Harnessing the power of analytics ensures that every decision, from pricing to placement, is backed by solid data, minimizing guesswork.

  • Streamlined Systems: It's about reducing friction in every transaction, ensuring that processes are efficient and intuitive.

Real-Time Listing Availability with West + Main and ShowingTime

It’s no secret that showings are the most delightful part of the home buying journey.

And while buyers can search what’s for sale and see how much they can afford, they still have no idea when their favorite homes are available for a tour.

What if looking at homes online made it easier for buyers to look at homes in person?

Today we’re proud to announce that West + Main Homes is displaying real-time tour availability for listings in Colorado to help book showings faster.

No more back and forth

As we head into a competitive spring market, after months of volatile interest rates (and years of showing restrictions), buyers are eager to visit homes in-person with REALTORS® again.  

Registered clients can now request appointments without checking anyone else’s schedule first, thanks to an API integration by ShowingTime and Real Estate Webmasters (REW).

How it works

REW receives real-time information about listings managed by ShowingTime and displays a calendar on westandmainhomes.com that identifies upcoming availability.

Buyers can reserve a verified time slot when reaching out to their agent at West + Main, without having to worry about when each home is prepared to host a tour. 

 
 

"What I love about this new feature is that it perfectly aligns with a new normal, where consumers expect digital efficiency and transparency when engaging with brokers,” said Morgan Carey, CEO of REW.

Listings not managed by ShowingTime will display a standard contact form.

Real-time availability not only improves the home shopping experience - it helps agents schedule more appointments with buyers, and at their listings, during a critical shift.

Better together

We’re continuing to expand relationships with forward-thinking companies who work closely with the brokerage industry to solve the most challenging problems facing consumers in the real estate market and deliver products that excite and delight the community along the way:

We can’t wait to show you what’s next!

3 things for agents to remove from their to-do lists

And a few things to add to your list as well!

Happy New Year! How is your 2023 to-do list going so far?

Whether you’re already back in the office or sitting back waiting for the spring market to heat up, there is no doubt that you’ve been inundated with pressures to a build business plan, increase your sales, grow your brand, lose some weight or start/stop/do more/do less of whatever it is.

It’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed, but we’re here for you with what to prioritize and what not to.

What to clear from your to-do list

Here are a few things that you might want to erase from that to-do list, simply because they aren’t worth doing (no matter what that super-charming and persistent salesperson has been telling you!)

1. Don’t waste time and money building a custom website

If you love and have proven that you have the long-term commitment, budget, time and systems to invest in online leads, then a custom site might pay off in the long run. But spending your precious time building a custom website for your sales business, or worse, paying someone to do this for you is so 2008.

Unfortunately, most agents that attempt to create an online space for themselves from scratch end up spending way too much, never finishing the project, and failing at everything from SEO to IDX integration. 

2. Don’t pay a brokerage that isn’t giving you what you need

I hear it all the time, “I’m at XY brokerage but I hate their branding/don’t understand their tools/feel like I’m on my own.” 

Stop.

You’re paying desk fees, a split, a franchise fee, and possibly even transaction management, insurance and marketing fees to hang your license. Are you getting your money’s worth? Are you using the resources you’re investing in? Do you feel like you’re a part of something and belong?

You should be able to answer yes to most or even all of these questions, or you might not be at the right agency for you.

3. Don’t keep buying new CRMs thinking they are going to sell real estate for you

This is such a distraction. I don’t care how sophisticated your new CRM promises to be, or how much you’re paying for it, it’s going to take a lot of time to set up. It’s going to take a lot of time to learn how to use it. And it’s still not going to be a magic wand that you wave that brings business to you.

Sure, there are a ton of bright and shiny, AI-based, automated promises that are so tempting, but there is not a CRM on the planet that replaces you.

At the end of the day, it’s your work, your time, your heart and your passion for helping your clients. Stop trying to find it and just dig in. Track your efforts and activities, calculate your ROI on everything you do, and focus on the things that repeatedly pay off.

What to add to your to-do list

Ok, that’s a few things to remove from your to-do list. If you know me at all, or if you’ve been reading my RealTrends series for the last few months, you know that I love to leave you with a few positives and action items. So, here you go:

Do keep focusing on your people 

Be a resource, solve problems, be the hero or even just the amazing supporting character in someone’s story.

Do tell the truth 

It’s not ever the right time for everyone to buy or sell property, but it’s always the right time for someone. 

Do decide who you are going to be this year, and go for it

Are you going to increase your business, focus on your brand recognition, become a healthier/happier you or all of the above? 

I believe in you, and I cannot wait to see what you do with the rest of your 2023. 

Stacie Staub is the Co-Founder and CEO of West + Main Homes.


5 Ways You Can Spring Clean Your Tech

Spring is a time of renewal. With warmer weather and sunny days arriving for many of us, spring is not just a time for cleaning the house, but also a time to tidy up your technology.

As real estate becomes synonymous with remote work, a disorganized and messy online space can negatively impact your productivity. Worse, digital clutter also slows down your technology.

Best practices tell us to keep our technology in good working order and our software programs and favorite web browser up to date. But when you're busy, it is sometimes tough to find the time to keep things current or our tech tools clean.

Springtime can be a great time to make sure your tech is in tip-top shape.

Here are five tips and tricks for a tech spring cleaning:

Declutter your desktop

Can you see your desktop's background image? Or are there too many items you saved to your desktop blocking your view?

Many people save items to their computer's desktop to remember where to find them. But when you do this too many times, you create a digital mess. It also can be even more challenging to locate the files you need.

A quick digital decluttering can get you organized—for example, removing files that you no longer need can free up space. In the end, you'll feel better by organizing your desktop.

  • Pro tip: If you view your desktop files in list view (Finder in macOS and File Explorer in Windows), you can create folders for like files (i.e., "screenshots") or quickly trash the ones you can delete.

Remove unused apps

How many apps do you have on your smartphone? A better question: How many of them have you opened in the last 30 days? Having too many apps slows you down. It can take you more time to find the app you need. It also can slow down your phone. If the apps you aren't using still are set to run in the background, that can take up Radom Access Memory (RAM). Using too much RAM can make your phone response slower. It even can cause issues such as connecting to Wi-Fi, even if it used to connect perfectly.

  • Pro tip: Conduct an audit of your apps and use the 30-day rule. Determine which ones you haven't used within the last 30 days and are unlikely to use in the next 30 days. For iPhone users, there's a setting to "Offload Unused Apps." It auto deletes the apps, but saves their documents and data and leaves the icon on your phone. When you tap the icon, everything reinstalls, but until then, you free up all that space.

Delete old files

Have you ever run a date sort on your computer's files? You should, as you might be surprised to find many files from several years ago that you don't need. Also, go through and look for original software files you downloaded to store a program. Not sure which ones those are? Reach out to a Tech Helpline analyst to help you sort for and find files you no longer need. After all, that treasure trove of funny gifs that made you laugh once probably isn't worth saving.

  • Pro tip: If you don't have the time to go through all of your files now, why not at least get them off your computer? By transferring all of your older files to a low-cost data storage service such as Google Drive, you can clear your computer of clutter. That way, you can go back through your files when you find the time. Also, if you move your files online, don't dump everything into one folder. Instead, take just a little time to sort them, even if it's only in folders by years.

Synch your phone's photos

One of the most common mistakes people make is keeping every picture on their phones. That practice can slow your phone down because images, especially videos, take up a lot of space. You have a couple of options. You can transfer them to your computer or, better yet, move them online to still have access to them at (almost) anytime.

The good news is that it has never been easier to have your photos transferred online automatically. Google Photos, Amazon Photos, or iCloud from Apple not only help you store your photos, but their smart software can also automatically help you organize them by like images or location.

  • Pro tip: If you upload your favorite photos to Facebook, did you know you can download all of them at once? After logging in, go to facebook.com/settings. Then, click on "Your Facebook Information," then "view" next to "Download Your Information." This will take you to the Downloads page. Select the "Date range" as "All time" in the pull-down. Just below, at the right of the top of "Select information to download," be sure to "Deselect all" to be sure you only check "Posts." Facebook will send you an email with a link to download your posts with all the high-quality photos you have posted since you opened your Facebook account. It's a great way to make sure you have copies of those photos you are deleting from your phone!

Physically clean your tech

Your smart devices get grimy over time. You may not even realize it unless you take a good look. Start with your computer's keyboard. If you take a white lint-free cloth and some rubbing alcohol (damp, not wet), you may be surprised how dirty it is and why most keyboards are black. Now clean the sides of your mouse, and if you have a trackpad, clean that too.

But don't use that cloth on your computer screens – it's best to clean them with a chemical-free cleaning cloth as you can ruin some screens (i.e., Mac laptops) by using any solution but water. Experts suggest microfiber cloths and distilled water as the safest way to clean. The same goes for your smartphone. And if you are spraying anything to clean a device, make sure you spray on the cleaning cloth and not the device.

  • Pro tip: Compressed air or a mini vacuum can work magic to dislodge or pick up particles from a keyboard or crevices in your device. Amazon and other retailers sell compressed air in a can for as little as a couple of dollars per can, and mini vacuums are available for as low as $20.

To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.

Real Estate Webmasters Wins Gold Award for Design of Westandmainhomes.com

 
 

Real Estate Webmasters, a Vancouver Island-based real estate web design and technology company, has taken home the top award for global real estate websites at the 2022 Muse Creative Design competition.

The company won the Gold prize for its design of westandmainhomes.com, which rests on the Renaissance platform, a solution that combines high-end front-end design with integrated back-end business tools, such as a CRM and lead-generation features for brokerages, teams and individual agents.

 
 

West + Main Homes has partnered with Real Estate Webmasters since its launch in 2017. Since then, REW has created websites for all West + Main Homes branches, which includes offices in Oklahoma and Oregon.

“We think this website has been a crucial part of our success,” said West + Main Homes Founder + CEO Stacie Staub. “When we opened offices in Oklahoma and Oregon, one of the first things we did was contact Morgan Carey(CEO of Real Estate Webmasters) to start building out their REW sites.”

The Renaissance website platform is sleek + modern, making it the perfect compliment to the West + Main brand. Behind the scenes, the platform is ADA complient + SEO friendly, and gives the West.+ Main team the ability to capture online leads as well as nurture their existing database.

“I love working with Morgan because he is constantly innovating and open to new challenges, which is important for us because we move at a very fast pace,” said Staub. “We’re so excited to continue to partner with REW and see what they do next.”


Just Pick Whatever Showings Technology You Like Best

Later this summer Realtors at West + Main Homes will have a choice to pick between ShowingTime or BrokerBay for managing showing appointments. We will support both.

It’s extraordinarily awesome for your MLS at REcolorado to be evaluating new vendors that provide showings services to Realtors in Denver. Showingly is another one integrated recently.

Even though ShowingTime and BrokerBay and other options coming to the market seem wonderful and may get the job done - we think it’s best for our Listing Agents to decide.

It’s important to know you aren’t being forced to decide between one or the other at this time.

Since we haven’t used BrokerBay to set up a listing or schedule a showing yet -we think Agents will get plenty of opportunity to decide which tool is better for them once everything goes live.

Buyer Agents should prepare to see listings managed in both BrokerBay and ShowingTime and will have to learn two systems as they navigate a new period where Listing Agents have choice.

Ultimately one day we’d love to see “interoperable” showings for MLS subscribers and allow Agents to choose their preferred software for both scheduling and managing showings.

We work for that future today as a member of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO).

Competition and collaboration are needed so that listings, contracts, and showings products are differentiated and improve the experiences offered to customers in the real estate market.

We trust our Agents to let us know what is working and will help them every step of the way.


And if you’re concerned about Zillow buying ShowingTime we had a conversation about that here

West + Main Homes Joins The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO)

West + Main Homes is proud to announce that we have officially joined The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO). While the beauty of RESO is in the details of the data - we thought it’d be useful to explore what this means in simple terms for our agents and peers.

RESO is a powerful central technology body made up of devoted industry titans and champions. A volunteer board of directors facilitate rapid real estate innovation with input from The National Association of REALTORS®, Zillow, the MLSs, and the hottest emerging startups. Compass, Redfin, and other top brokerages have a presence among indies like us.

 
 

We believe the future of real estate is growing with possibilities not only to strengthen existing models, but to introduce new and complementary ones too. Houses are an exciting asset class that support a robust and competitive industry needing a modern infrastructure to balance on.

Real estate technology is extraordinary in scope, yet still has a long way to go. There are thousands of vendors that help power agents and brokers and still thousands of roadblocks we need to overcome if the marketplace of housing services is going to evolve for the better.

The opportunities are endless in Colorado, where software for forms and showings are limited to singular options. Our primary focus at RESO is on the Broker Advisory Workgroup surfacing use-cases from the field to help inform members designing technical standards that allow for choice and interoperability in a marketplace of products that agents and clients love.

In addition to participating in workgroups and conferences, we’ll be among the first brokers to complete the RESO Education Course: Working With Real Estate Data (WWRED) this year.

It is possible RESO initiatives will shape a future of transparency for real estate data and fuel products that provide equitable access to homeownership benefits and wealth to more people.

We hope that other independent brokers wanting to contribute to the future of real estate technology join us too. RESO is under the smart and capable leadership of CEO Sam Debord, a top broker from the Greater Seattle area with a deep understanding of the entire landscape.

Agents - we’ll continue to update you on RESO initiatives through the year and are always available as a resource for any of your technology needs. We are interested in your feedback and requirements for tools that you rely on to serve and delight your networks and customers.

West + Main Homes is a proud new member of RESO. We’re excited for what’s ahead!

Welcoming Zillow to the MLS

Hello colleagues and friends! I am not the first person to alert you to the monumental news that Zillow is now a member of MLS’ and REALTOR® Associations all across the country.

But I might be the first person to encourage you to consider all the reasons why this is good.

A Monumental Shift in Real Estate Advertising

These changes are positive for every member of the real estate ecosystem and consumers alike.

I’d be remiss if I did not acknowledge the consternation that exists in the industry when it comes to Zillow. I’m here to walk you down a more peaceful and productive road forward.

[Check out the bottom of this post for a list of resources and links that dive deeper into specifics]

This might be the most historic real estate technology event since listings came online.

For more than a decade Zillow assembled digital listing advertisements through a patchwork of data feeds. Today they are publishing listings via the gold standard of property display: IDX.

Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Background & FAQ by National Association of Realtors (NAR)

Zillow is following listings advertising rules that Brokers and REALTORS® manage.

While it might be true that Zillow had its battles with listings accuracy and completeness through the years, the circumstances around that struggle are now forever in the past.

Real estate agents don’t have to lift a finger and their listings will appear for free on Zillow.

Over 100 million visitors go to Zillow to browse home advertisements every month.

It’s worth questioning why any real estate broker would intentionally keep their listings off Zillow in the past when it’s the most popular consumer destination to see homes for sale.

Withholding listings from Zillow was fringe and risky before…and now impossible today.

The listings on Zillow are as accurate and complete as what agents put on the MLS.

We’ve seen social marketing posts by agents claiming the MLS stopped sending listings to Zillow. This is completely false and nearly impossible now Zillow is a member of the MLS.

If you’re seeing any issues today, be patient. Code is complex and time-consuming to update. Use this time to reach out to people and introduce them to your branded experiences.

A positive attitude about Zillow is good for all real estate agents and brokerages.

Zillow has a wealth of expertise that will benefit the MLS’ and REALTOR® Associations. I ‘d be welcoming them with open arms, just like any of the other businesses who love this work.

What’s Going to Happen Next

I’ve decided to skip over some of the more granular issues surrounding Zillow’s updates in service to one of my most pressing pleas: Please treat Zillow like you would any other brokerage in the market. We know tons of great people working for companies other than ours.

It’s a vital year to show everyone how unified and special and innovative real estate truly is.

It might seem like the perfect storm to manipulate the confusion about the Zillow platform change in your own favor somehow. I am choosing to marvel at the feat from a distance and am ecstatic that our agents can continue promising clients their listings will show up quickly and seamlessly on Zillow just like they always have. The IDX feed is like getting an upgraded ad.

Because the MLS is the premier system of cooperation in data for independent and fierce real estate professionals, let’s continue treating it with the respect and nuance it deserves.

Zillow has always been a peer in the housing space. Now they just look a little more like you.

 
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Greg Fischer

Tech | Managing Broker

(720) 605-3325

 

Further Reading & Background

  • Update on Switch to IDX Feeds & Agent Profiles - link
    01/21/21 | Zillow Premier Agent

  • Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Background and FAQ - link
    01/01/21 | The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

  • FAQ: Zillow Product Updates - link
    01/12/21 | Zillow Premier Agent

  • NAR, MLS, and Technology Leaders Openly Discuss Zillow and IDX - link
    01/18/21 | Bright MLS Podcast

  • Creating a Better Real Estate Experience - link
    09/21/20 | Zillow Premier Agent

  • A Message from Zillow’s Chief Industry Development Officer- link
    09/22/20 | Zillow

  • Zillow Offers Expand Services in 2021 to Simplify Customer Transactions - link
    09/23/20 | Zillow PR

  • Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Policy - link
    01/01/21 | The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

  • REcolorado MLS Rules & Regulations - link
    04/23/20 | REcolorado

  • How Zillow’s transition to IDX feeds affects you - link
    11/24/20 | CRMLS

  • MLS Clear Cooperation Policy - link
    01/01/20 | The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)

How is real estate tech playing a role in the current housing boom?

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2021 will be the year of the tech-enabled agent

2020 was a year that forced a number of industries to modernize and adopt technologies that had been otherwise underutilized. For the housing economy in particular, tech helped to solve many of the challenges that COVID presented and allowed the industry to not only sustain, but prosper. 

“In 2021, technology will no longer be a ‘nice to have,’ but a must for building trust and standing out amidst an abundance of competitors in the wake of the pandemic,” said John Berkowitz, CEO of OJO Labs. “With the right tech stack, agents and brokers have access to rich market insights at their fingertips, the ability to provide virtual home tours…and a deeper understanding of what consumers really want in a home.”

According to Berkowitz, those that embrace technology will distinguish themselves as stand-out industry leaders, while those that remain ambivalent will struggle to meet consumer needs.

OJO Labs, a real estate artificial intelligence platform, is a 2020 Tech100 Real Estate award recipient. The Tech100 Real Estate awards recognize the companies that are driving innovation in real estate. Nominations close this Friday, December 18.

HousingWire reached out to Berkowitz to learn how real estate tech is playing a role in the current housing boom and what homebuyer trends will look like in the new year.

HousingWire: What kind of real estate market do you expect to see headed into 2021? 

John Berkowitz: In 2021, the housing market faces yet another year of uncertainty. From the new administration to the promise of a COVID-19 vaccine, there are so many forces at play that significantly impact the industry at large; it’s impossible to predict for certain the state of the market in the new year. In fact, our Chief Real Estate Officer has a completely different take than my own, so we’re preparing for anything and everything. 

However, I do believe that we will continue to see a significant housing boom through 2021. With the virus spiking and new lockdown orders, I don’t foresee significant change in fiscal policy or the record low interest rates we’ve encountered throughout 2020. What’s more, coming off an election year, it takes time for new government policies to come into play with the turnover. As such, ongoing low rates will spur demand into the new year, even when it would typically slow down. With all of these factors taken into consideration, the housing market is trending towards continued growth.

Meanwhile, the impact of COVID-19 on homebuyer trends and habits will also fuel a strong market. Today, there are more platforms than ever before to access and buy homes, and agents and consumers alike have leaned on technology to identify and sell the right properties. Additionally, homebuyers continue to look for new homes to be closer to family or meet new preferences, such as bigger backyards or more open space within the home. Paired with the fast turnover rate, these preferences will continue to drive high demand.

HW: What can brokerages and agents do to make sure they’re staying competitive?  

JB: While there are differing opinions internally at OJO Labs on how the market will play out, there is one thing we all agree on: 2021 will be the year of the tech-enabled agent. There’s tremendous opportunity for brokerages and agents to differentiate themselves as they guide consumers through the unknowns of the pandemic, a new administration, and an evolving market. 

In 2021, technology will no longer be a “nice to have,” but a must for building trust and standing out amidst an abundance of competitors in the wake of the pandemic. With the right tech stack, agents and brokers have access to rich market insights at their fingertips, the ability to provide virtual home tours made necessary by the pandemic, and a deeper understanding of what consumers really want in a home. What’s more, the way consumers and agents communicate has transformed, with text, email, and digital apps more important than ever before. Our research found at the onset of the pandemic, 41% of people who still planned to purchase a home reported an increase in remote communication with their agents including text, email, phone, and video. Consumer expectations for agent accessibility and outreach are high, and will carry on through the new year—agents and brokers need solutions that will connect them with consumers within seconds.

Ultimately, those that embrace technology will distinguish themselves as stand-out industry leaders, while those that remain ambivalent will struggle to meet consumer needs. 

In addition, I fundamentally believe that challenging times provide a unique opportunity for outsized growth. Once core survival is secured, identifying ways to capitalize on a crisis can accelerate your business. Staying competitive is a precursor to thriving – and agents and brokers who take risks and make moves that others can’t or won’t make are going to be best positioned to come out of this even stronger.

HW: How is a strong focus on real estate tech especially important during these times?

JB: As real estate technology gained momentum over the last decade, industry experts were concerned that new innovations would displace or diminish jobs. But that’s not how things have played out. Instead, the need for a great agent is stronger than ever. Buying a home is one of life’s biggest decisions—both technology and industry experts play an important role in helping consumers make the right decision.

Even amidst a pandemic, consumers want to find a home that fits their needs. And their desire to make more confident decisions hasn’t changed either. Yet, it’s likely preferences and needs have evolved — concerns about commute time may be less acute, while there may be increased worry about mortgage costs. Real estate tech can help surface those nuanced signals and arm agents with the insights they need to support buyers along their journey. 

Technology is also able to fill many of the gaps that emerged from the pandemic. The number of virtual tours will only continue to rise. We’re already seeing this play out. Take Austin, for example, where the availability of traditional virtual tours grew by 147% between March 2020 and August 2020, while the use of enhanced virtual tours grew 1147% over that same time period. Many of these use cases have emerged due to social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, and I expect that many will transform the way we buy and sell homes in the long run. 

This year has significantly accelerated technology adoption and real estate tech will continue to play an important role in 2021. Homebuyers and sellers have come to expect a seamless, on-demand experience in normal times or otherwise. Thus, agents and brokers will continue to leverage technology to find a home that fits in today’s remote-first world, and beyond.


If you have questions about Real Estate technology, or are thinking about investing in hardware, software or a digital platform but unsure of the potential ROI on your investment…give us a shout. At West + Main Homes, the tech stack that we provide our agents with is simple + strategic. Learn more.

Interview: Technology and Ethics in Real Estate

Our friend Dave Jones (Co-Owner and Manager at Windermere Abode in Tacoma, Washington) has been producing videos and a podcast called insideABODE for the last two years and asked our very own Managing Broker and Chief Technology Officer join him and talk real estate shop about Technology, Racism, Pandemic Response, and of course - Zillow.

Watch on Instagram | Listen on Spotify + Apple or Anchor

In this special edition of AbodeLive!, Dave chats with Greg Fischer, CTO of West + Main Homes. West + Main Homes is based out of Denver, Colorado, and has expanded to four offices in short time in Colorado.

- Background behind West + Main Homes and Greg’s role at the company
- Passion about reducing technology in front of agents to regain focus
- Mastering core tools like searching for homes, showings, and contracts
- Putting broker operators in product roadmap conversations for software
- Addressing systemic racism in the real estate industry over the long term
- Safely showing homes and critiquing the regulation and rollout for business
- Top 5 things we’re both on right now and quick hot take on the latest from Zillow


Additional Reading

- It's Time We Pull Back the Racist Curtain in Real Estate | 3 Actionable Steps We Can Take

Dave wrote an incredible article on LinkedIn back in June that we hope everyone gets to read.

insideABODE by Winderemere Abode

insideABODE is a podcast that gives you an unfiltered, honest, inside look at the Real Estate industry like you've never heard before. Windermere Abode is a boutique real estate brokerage located in Old Town Tacoma. We are changing—and elevating—real estate in this community. Windermere Abode intentionally maintains a small team of amazing agents, to focus time and energy focused on creating the best experience possible for buyers and sellers.

Replay: Cloud CMA Live Demo and Discussion with West + Main Homes

Damien Huze and Sky Winston from W+R Studios jumped on to share an update on the new interactive digital presentation that is included as part of the Cloud CMA package. Don't miss your chance to hear directly from real estate tech designers who make the tools you use!

We’ve included a podcast link below if you just want to hear Damien and Sky wax poetic about all things product and real estate software design for about 20 minutes without demo.

If you’d like to see the full conversation as well as the live demonstration, check out the video.

You’ll understand after watching, but in case you don’t: this is the best product in years.

P.S. W+M Agents let us know if you need a discount code. We’ve got your back on this one.


Cloud CMA Live Interview and Demo

00:00-16:30: We open by discussing product design and real estate technology opportunities
16:30-30:00: W+R Studios background story and context shaping Cloud CMA product
30:00-56:00: Cloud CMA Live demonstration
56:00-#End: Q+A, Pricing, and Wrap Up

 
 

Product First Impressions and Feedback

Cornerstone product: Comparing listings is an evergreen skill agents perform every single day.
Transformative: Comps used to require multiple assets. Digital experiences need only one.
Polished: Agents are escorted through the process and clients appreciate the visuals.
Winner: This elevates the game for every stakeholder in the process.

Cloud CMA Live exposes a broker and agent software category as important as real estate search results and individual listing detail pages. The art and science of comparing listings used to be a cut + paste mishmash of files, links, and anecdotes. With this release, nearly every agent and broker can analyze, package, and present this information with style and confidence.

Here is an example Cloud CMA Live customized with W+M listings, not a true CMA - link

There will be a moment in time later this year when collectively as an industry we won’t understand how we did this process any other way. I compare it in our chat to Caller ID.

If these last two months have showed newer agents anything, it’s that pricing real estate is equal parts art and science. Cloud CMA now cannibalizes the previous other ingredient: bulls**t.

I must implore brokers and agents to truly discover where this tool fits in your stack and master the workflow for discussing a group of listings as compared to another one. Cloud CMA and it’s Live upgrade are customizable with PDF upload modules and a simple WYSIWYG editors for additional content. Don’t try to shove every other part of your process into this product - and simply marvel at the beauty in having a tool that fits one piece perfectly.

With a true product category leader on the table, MLS, Associations, Brokers, and Agents must figure out how to get the product in the hands of every single user in the country.

The folks at W+R studios threw down an instant classic, much like the Led Zeppelin debut.

There will be cheap imitations. But once you go Cloud CMA Live, you’ll never go back.

 
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Greg Fischer

Tech | Managing Broker

(720) 605-3325

 

West + Main Homes Agent Pro Podcast.

A 20 minute outtake from our conversation above where Damien and Sky share insights.

Nobody else in the real estate space talks about their work like this. Throw down your card.

 

The crew from W&R Studios jumped on to share an update about the new interactive digital presentation that is included as part of the Cloud CMA package. Don't miss your chance to talk directly to real estate tech product designers who make the tools you use every day!

 
 
 

Simplify Your Stack + Buy Back Your Time | Genuine Hustle

This is a short 10 minute talk that I gave at Genuine Hustle in Boise in October 2019. I tried to keep this simple and direct and took a more conversational approach instead of a presentation.

By the way - if you’ve never been to a Genuine Hustle event, the next one is October 15th in Atlanta and hosted by Jennifer Kjellgren. It’s a break-even grassroots event by and for agents.

Our friend Alyssa W. Christensen, Owner & Managing Editor of Home Scribe Creative, wrote a recap of the event and I loved what she ending up saying in response to my talk in her post.

 

Core ideas in the talk

  1. The “I’m Not a Techie” approach is getting in the way of mastering core real estate tools

  2. Context setting how I shift between real estate operations, sales, and technology to learn

  3. Stop designing workflows in reaction to advertising, do it proactively in response to needs

  4. What’s not going to change in ten years is more important than what’s hot or not today

  5. Modern hardware and internet connectivity are non-negotiable parts of the job

  6. Communications and transaction management expertise makes an agent tech-savvy

  7. Testing products before deploying to customers leads to better user experiences

“Tech is in your way—it’s an excuse,” Greg shared. “People are using their inability to use [tech] as an excuse to not do their job.” Greg recommended getting rid of everything except your core tools, and also pointed out how people are always talking about how things will change (tech, the real estate industry, etc.), but what’s NOT going to change in 10 years is 1.) compelling marketing and 2.) transaction management…” - Read more on Alyssa’s Genuine Hustle Boise 2019 Recap.


 
Greg

Greg Fischer

Tech | Managing Broker

(720) 605-3325

 
 

Sweat the Details: Nest Realty Interview with Greg

Our friends at Nest Realty (an independent real estate brokerage in the Southeast) have been recording a podcast called Sweat the Details this year and recently asked our very own Managing Broker and Chief Technology Officer to join them and talk shop about the latest trends in the industry and how we approach work life at West + Main Homes.

We appreciate the opportunity to share our insights with colleagues across the country and thank the Nest Realty team for their collaboration and support through the years.


Tech, Relationships, Sharing and Showing Up
26 minutes

Greg Fischer, Chief Technology Office at West + Main Homes in Colorado joined us and we had a great discussion ranging from tech to relationships, the role of the realtor, and community, and he gave one our favorite “what detail do you sweat” answers we’ve had so far.

- The role of technology in real estate in 2020

- Community and relationship marketing and tech

- Overrated and underrated tech

- What tech we’d like to see in real estate

- Collecting and sharing data to benefit Realtors, clients, and the consumers

- That time when we had access to lockbox data

- Grubhub’s use of data

- Indie brokerages and big box brokerages

- Building and facilitating culture

- Showing up

- Being selective in who you hire, and having standards

- Indie brokerages in the next five years; the need for access to capital

- How do you come up with new ideas?

- What detail do you sweat?

Sweat the Details by Nest Realty

On Sweat The Details by Nest Realty, Jonathan Kauffmann, Keith Davis and Jim Duncan of Nest Realty sit down with experts and industry leaders to discuss the details - from design and data to branding and technology - that are influencing real estate and today’s agents. It's inside baseball for the real estate brokerage industry.

Things That Won’t Change for Agents Next Decade

While preparing a talk for an event a few weeks ago, I asked a friend for some inspiration to draw from as I formulated my thoughts. She pointed me towards a framework of questioning made popular by Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffet. Instead of focusing attention on what we think is going to change in the next ten years, what if we thought about what’s going to stay the same?

When thinking about this question from the lens of what real estate agents must do to be successful over the next ten years, there are only two specialties they have to take seriously.

1. Marketing

the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

2. Transaction Management

the collaboration between brokers, clients, and partners for origination, negotiation, signatures, deadlines, compliance, and storage of documents and milestones in service of closing sales.

So instead of speculating about how tomorrow will be different, here is a list of tech that agents need to get right today to excel at marketing and transaction management for another decade. 

A. Hardware

Every agent must own a premium computer and telephone. It’s impossible to do this job correctly without a fast laptop and plenty of storage. The smartphone is like a Swiss Army knife that makes calls, sends messages, executes tasks, and networks to other devices. 

B. Software

Make it a priority to learn various operating systems, browsers, and applications. Master the core workflow tools and experiment with new consumer products. The assembly line for today’s agent is publishing compelling content on the web and executing contracts completely on the fly.

C. Internet

A top cellular plan and ability to tether or connect to WiFi at home, in the office, and on the road is non-negotiable. Every device online at all times and fully charged. The internet is like super glue that connects hardware to software, businesses to consumers, and people to people.

“I’m not a techie…”

Becoming an expert in why marketing is effective and what transaction management requires is a timeless challenge for all real estate agents independent of the current trends in technology.

It’s just that a lack of comprehension of current trends in technology seems like a lack of strategy in creating a business that excels in communications and getting deals closed next decade.


 
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Greg Fischer

Managing Broker

(720) 605-3325

 

CRM Is a Discipline Not a Product

The latest shiny object distracting agents from core business generating activities is the obsessive quest for an all-in-one tool to automate the outreach to a living database of people referred to in the industry as CRM.

Real estate agents use a slew of CRM tools; from the domain-agnostic ones like Highrise to real-estate-friendly products you see at trade shows.

Some use proprietary company platforms. Others defer to the backend of their IDX. 

What’s completely backward is that most agents are shopping for CRM solutions before they even have a thoughtful list of customers to manage a relationship with or a plan to add value.

The three components of a CRM is a list of people, a way to reach them, and caring.

1. A list of people

Everyone you know. As much contact information as possible. Contextual notes. Categories.

This list could be written in a notebook or cataloged in Excel, Google Sheets, or Trello. It doesn’t require expensive software or switching to a new brokerage flexing like it’s a tech startup. 

If you think of an agent’s master-list like a coach's roster of a professional sports team, it’s like most of them start designing plays before knowing who any of the players are or how they fit in. 

That’s how absurd it is to be evaluating paid software without a list in hand ready to serve.

2. A way to reach them

Phone, text, email, social media, coffee, lunch, events, at home, downtown, or the outdoors.

Most agents are conflating marketing automation with CRM. Software that sends email campaigns or property search alerts is narrow in the scope of overall agent operations.

Don’t abdicate customer relationship management to a vendor who doesn’t reflect your style or understand the nature of your individual connections with people who know you sell real estate.

Assemble a suite of communications and experiences and deploy it mindfully and on-brand.

3. Caring

Past clients get data. Prospects get products. Customers get services. Everyone gets love. 

Reach the list of people you know in a way that is unscalable and authentic.

CRM is a discipline, not a product.