Agent Productivity: Up, Down or Sideways?

This is an extract from the 2004 best seller Real Estate confronts the Future by Stefan Swanepoel and Tom Dooley.  In this chapter the authors interview Terri Murphy, author and sought after technology speaker. To purchase the book click here.

Introduction

The real estate business changed forever the moment that proprietary multiple listing information became available outside the industry.  The trend for the consumer to be more involved in the transaction, combined with  consumer awareness of costs for services has forced real estate agents and brokerage companies to re-design and re-define the value/price of their service model.

Studies about what the consumer wants and how they want it, has offered new insight to the constantly changing criteria for the changing consumer service model.  These insights indicate our need to upgrade the standard of services and to design a new framework to enhance and change the delivery. Value drives price and, although challenging, today’s agents must differentiate their services to create value and remain relevant to the exchange of real estate.

With the advent of the Internet, information resources are everywhere and virtually unlimited offerings are available. Today’s consumer, however, like many of us, struggles with economizing the precious assets of time and energy. The savvy agent of tomorrow will devise creative ways and systems to streamline the desired information and use delivery services that are suitable to meet the individual needs of the consumer.

What steps must success-minded real estate professionals take in order to harness consumer deployment of real estate Internet technology?  

The wake up call has come. This means is that the consumer is much more knowledgeable about the process and how to get what they want than the average agent is about serving them or securing information outside the traditional mediums.  There are several issues that today’s agent must address and strategize differently in order to survive the morphing of the service model for buying and selling real estate. The categories are:

Systems

Agents must be open to implementing automated systems that offer on-demand information and services beyond just the dissemination of data.  This translates to not only tracking and securing leads, but also servicing the lead until such time as the consumer is ready to move the relationship forward.  Today’s agents need systems to continue building the intentional congruence of gentle branding, which  offers the opportunity to build “trust” if combined with consistent value added information and services.

Many present systems offer multiple listing information that includes properties for sale, comparative market analysis services, etc., but are limited to sending the data, without the critical branding of the agent behind the service. The concept is sound and gives the consumer what they want, but is without mechanisms to tie or brand the service to the agent.

There are new components to independent web marketing solutions that are more complete in the service modalities.  They have been designed with HTML (hyper text markup language; used for developing documents for the Internet) branded reports and a “drip system” for sending electronic messages that clearly identify who the agent is that has provided the information and/or service.  It is imperative that agents  have underlying organizational systems to help serve, track, offer reports, communicate information and statistics to the customer, and calculate the effectiveness and costs of each marketing system to ensure effectiveness and profitability.  It is clear that the customer is looking for services that provide value-added information beyond the data itself. They are most amenable to expand the relationship and actually work with the agent or company providing the services. These systems offer 24/7 automated responses to requests for information, coupled with options to get more in a “buffet” offering of additional information sources.

The evolution of electronics and Internet information tracking and exchange has revealed the habits and preferences of consumers using these tools. This information offers critical insights into how and when the consumer wants what they want. A 2003 NAR report revealed that approximately 40% of sign calls are placed before 8:00 a.m. and after 5:30 p.m., just outside of the “normal” hours of business for many agents.

This trend indicates that the way customers approach the buying or selling of real estate has changed.  Previous history indicates that the customer would “walk-in” to get information.  Today’s empowered consumers can secure that same information prior to contacting the agent and are often much better informed about their market interests than the agent.

The latest innovations in automated response systems offer a sophisticated integration of capturing a lead, identifying the source, calculating the cost of the lead and the easy manipulation of where the call can be directed via the Web, allowing the prospect to connect with a real person at any time.    The study revealed that offering 24 hour recorded information secures three to four times more calls, simply because the prospect is comfortable in retrieving the information without the intervention of an agent.  Integrating the e-mailing of activity reports to the property owner disclosing the actual results from all marketing entities and helping with price changes are smart marketing decisions for REALTORS®.

Marketing

In past years it was expected that consumers seeking real estate services would look for an experienced agent with a strong history of success.  Today’s consumers are not interested in agent self-promotion.  They are looking for specific real estate services and show more interest in having a good real estate experience rather than finding an individual who assumes his history of success is important to the consumer. It is painfully clear that today’s consumers are only interested in how an agent can serve their needs more quickly, more efficiently and in a manner of their choosing.

            Marketing has been forced to change from “built on tradition” claims of service and professional history to borrowing a premise from Burger King: Have it your way. How this affects agent marketing is fairly simple, but many licensees continue to invest in display and classified ads that are only mildly effective and difficult to track as to whether or not the investment is worth the money.

The biggest challenge facing many agents today is their unwillingness to “let go” of what no longer works, or what works with very limited results.  They must give the customers what they really want, when they want it and how they want it. The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken!

In fact, small classified ads are proving to be more effective when they offer non-specific agent or company identification.  The process provides property information using the latest 800 call capture services and the innovations in marketing to the customer using “stealth” websites to capture their data.  The process then continues to serve the customers’ interest with softly branded reports and information until they are ready to engage in the buying or selling process.

Branding in marketing is more important than ever before.  Many independent agents misunderstand the concept of branding.  Branding is a part of marketing and extends beyond creating and helping to identify a uniqueness of services, it reaches past the catchy logo and colors to make a statement. 

The expert with unique specialization has overtaken the top producer in sales as an important selection criterion for a prospective buyer or seller.  Branding helps identify and create a category within an industry.  Joe Calloway’s new book, Becoming a Category of One, he notes that a smart agent will focus on creating such uniqueness to their business model that they become a single category themselves, re-defining the service model.  This focus requires studying what has always been done and thinking completely outside the box when re-designing services, resources and the systems that deliver them to meet and exceed consumer expectations.

Extreme Customer Care

Quite frankly, after surveying hundreds of clients who have bought or sold, the feedback regarding their agent’s services has been only lukewarm.  The biggest consumer complaint concerns the lack of consistent communication.  Studies show that if a prospective buyer is driving around taking phone numbers off of yard signs that 62% of the time they cannot reach a live person to help them.

In general, our service levels have been un-structured and in many cases have caused valid criticism from buyers and sellers.  Most agents fail to educate the customer about the process and keep them abreast of developments during the transaction.  The use of email and agent productivity software is a step in the right direction. However, the consistent and timely use of these tools by agents is generally poor due to the complexity of the software, lack of agent expertise and the unwillingness to learn how to use these support programs.  It will be imperative for tomorrow’s successful agent to increase proficiency with the latest electronic communication and marketing products, to ensure relevance and to provide value in the services rendered.

Are the agents of today any more productive than those of a few decades ago?

In all fairness, the agent of today has a totally different customer than the one of 10 to 20 years ago.  Then the agent was considered the expert at handling the purchase or sale of a property. The customer had limited access to available property data because the MLS was strictly proprietary to real estate offices. 

Much has changed since then as incoming licensees are migrating from the corporate world, well equipped with e-training and expertise in using the Internet and software to communicate.  But, today’s average agent must improve his knowledge and expertise using electronic communication to compete and effectively communicate in the manner that the customer prefers. This proficiency is paramount to providing extreme customer care in order to maintain the relationship with their clients before, during and after the sale.

Many offices are scrambling to offer computer training but are confused by the proliferation of numerous products and services. They ponder about which one will actually provide value? The catch is to figure out which product/software/service is an interim step and which actually offers integration that is beneficial and not cost prohibitive.  Generally companies will rather continue what they’ve been doing than be open to the latest versions of support tools.

What must agents do if they wish to be a “super-agent” and conclude a few hundred transactions per year?

The super agent needs to understand the value of specialization and delegation.  This is why you are seeing so many “teams” within offices.  By the very nature of the independent contractor structure, a company is rarely able to create teams that are cohesive enough to serve the many aspects of the  transaction. There have been inroads to offering services to single agents, like closing departments, marketing departments, farming support, etc., but they are unable to provide a unique enough brand identification to the consumer, nor is there any guarantee that the investment will payoff with agents rotating through the industry.  Management is grasping to keep up with recruiting and retaining better agents in order to recover their investment, not to mention  the changes in competitive offerings, mergers, etc.

In order for an agent to be successful in both production and profit, he or she must incorporate automated systems to ensure and support global communication – 24/7. These systems should support continual communication and the dissemination of branded information, accountability and calculation of costs to support profitability.  The tools required for any agent, whether acting alone or with a team include:

• Full web solutions, including multiple websites not directly branded to the agent or company, using “stealth” marketing to serve the comfort zone of the consumer until such time as they are ready to engage.
• “Call capture” systems that identify and delineate profitable marketing and service leads.
• Mutually beneficial partnerships with ancillary service providers like lenders and title companies. Companies that can provide ongoing client relationship management services, both as a differentiation to secure the lead and to service the client after the sale.  This golden partnership can be designed to minimize expenses and maximize effectiveness and, while the consumer enjoys the benefits of ongoing service and information, both parties are consistently branded for after the sale referrals.
• The use of effective web marketing strategies, combined with 800 call capture services providing the latest version of immediate tracking, response, reporting, database management and electronic e-mail drip systems, which help support the commitment to meet and exceed customer demands.

 How important is education to becoming a successful agent?

The industry as a whole must face the fact that our continuing education offerings must prepare both the established and newer agents with the information they need to provide professional services to their newly empowered customers.

State and local associations scramble to provide speakers when they should be hiring experts in specific fields (in and outside the industry) that provoke critical thinking and new ways to provide better service and information to the public.  In an effort to attract members to conventions/programs/seminars, many industry speakers have a fixed presentation and attempt to provide a “one-size fits all” presentation.   Many presenters do little to study their audiences beforehand.  Real estate varies significantly from area to area, state to state and country to country.  It’s time for the agent to look less to personality and more to expertise.

More than ever, our education entities, departments and associations must look outside the industry to bring in resources that convey new concepts and fresh aspects for customer needs and wants.  Collective intelligence helps us to see differently when we view things thorough eyes that are outside our industry. 

Working with different companies and service providers identifies and offers insights into what they are doing to become more valuable to their consumer.  We need to improve communication and business development skills. On most state and local association continuing education or license training agendas, rarely do we see training on business development, communication and presentation skills, effective scheduling or personal and professional goal setting through business planning. 

Most of the popular training focuses on how to increase leads, business, volume, etc. There is very little or no attention to “principle centered training,” which is timeless and essential to top professionals. This is especially appropriate in today’s business world where professionalism and authenticity resonate more than ever before. 

In addition, training is needed on how to develop business on a consistent basis, the value of client relationship management, writing a business plan and defining individual values as the market slows and competition increases for listings and sales. Training topics should include:

• Business planning and accountability.
• Personal development strategies for agent education with a focus on both personal and professional development.
• Business consulting and coaching for management and agents as well as e-training for effective branding and economical marketing.
• Communication training. There is a great need for training on how to communicate with different people “differently,” using both traditional and electronic means.
• Effective education, which includes distance learning, web training, teleconference coaching and consulting.

Are teams the future and how strong are they really?

The team concept has been highly effective among the top producers in the industry that clearly understand how to maximize the “rainmaker.”  As top producers across the country developed and studied profitability, it became clear that the consumer hired a “person” and the corporation was secondary. There was no direct personalization to a corporate entity in many cases.  The rainmaker then identified what activities were better delegated to meet the needs of buyers and sellers.  It became clear that a well-trained team offered several solutions and supports: 

• The rainmaker enjoys higher production when relieved of the paperwork duties;
• The buyer-agents had a constant source of leads; and
• The team’s support staff manages and handles calls, administration and scheduling activities, making the consumer’s real estate experience more professional.

The successful team also creates a higher visibility for the brokerage company.  In many cases, companies allow teams to work and help support their efforts with private office areas, phone lines, etc., to leverage their high visibility and customer base. 

The team concept can help to solve the problems that occur in offices where the office administration is not strong by providing the communication and more stringent service model of the team.  In effect, the teams are “mini-companies” and if the company and the team have a good working relationship, the results are excellent.  Many companies promote and support the team and market its identification.

We experienced a shift from the broker-centric model in the 1950’s to the agent-centric model in the 1980’s. What are we today?

In Peter Montoya’s book, You are the Brand, he notes that people choose to do business with a person, rather than a corporation. There is more accountability, personal interaction and quick, identifiable response when there is an individual involved.  The agent reflects the company and is the representative of that company.  How well they work together, how accountable the company is for the actions of the agent and how the company interfaces with the agent’s customers blends the value of both in creating a strong, unique, selling proposition.  People do business with people. Agents have the benefit of the company framework, support and the autonomy of being the unique brand of that company – if they sufficiently brand themselves.

What should a real estate professional do to be a winner? 

Quite simply, today’s consumers are looking for service that meets their individual criteria; service that is not anything like what has been traditionally offered. Our studies have shown that the consumers’ idea of service comprises several components, which define the new service model. The consumer wants instant information, when they want it.  Winning agents will look at the consumers’ needs and simply design their service model around them in realtime. 

This requires the winning agent to approach his career as a true business and not a hobby. The consumer will no longer tolerate the haphazard and sloppy standards of the past.  More than ever, the consumer is looking for authenticity. With the demise of corporate cornerstones like ENRON there is far less tolerance for inefficiency and ambiguity.

There are key elements that winning agents must adopt to survive and thrive in today’s arena:

• Create business plans that become the foundation for their business – weekly, quarterly and annually.
• Create a business vision.
• Develop a brand that defines that vision.
• Incorporate technological tools and systems that support a global demand for information, services, resources and communication.
• Incorporate customer service support systems to meet, exceed and maintain customer demands using tools like the Internet, Intranets, call capture services and web marketing solutions
• Perform more and deeper due diligence with customers and clients in order to better serve their needs.
• Use agent productivity software that includes electronic marketing, client relationship management (CRM) and electronic databases with CRM factors.
• Maintain better records, especially financial.
• Develop relationships with lenders or title companies that include ongoing CRM programs.
• Invest in personal development programs that include communication and behavioral assessments for improved inter-personal skills.
• Invest in software training for personal competency such as hand held computers that provide real time connectivity to MLS, digital imaging, cell phones linked to the Internet, email, etc.
• Provide for personal development and life quality goals to avoid burn out.

Closing Comments

The current generation of agents has little or no barrier to using electronic tools in its business.  According to a 2002 study by the California Association of REALTORS® (Internet versus Traditional Buyers Study), the average homebuyer is 36 years old.

Combine this with the fact that 41% of homebuyers are using the Internet as an information source (2002 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers; National Association of REALTORS®) it is clear that the agent who doesn’t embrace the Internet and e-tools in order to provide the customer with instant information will be by-passed for the agent who does.  It is imperative that today’s agents have systems to support these new demands in a way that serves both the client and the agent.