The herd has a fascinating drive for the shiny. “It’s the latest XYZ offering, the Uber of our industry, and everyone who is anyone is using fill-in-the-blank to explode their growth!” Fearful of missing the next best thing, budding teams often fall victim to the scramble to keep up. Good software and tools can be the gateway to your team’s success, but if not properly vetted and based on your needs now and in the future, it can become an unsuccessful money suck. So let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot (or the wallet). Here are some of the fundamental real estate tech tools you actually need to start your real estate team.

Email Marketing Tools

Fan favorites, Mailchimp and Emma, both set the bar in email marketing options. They make it extremely simple for you to promote your listings, share events, and create helpful newsletters to build your prospect base. You’re set up with sleek, user-friendly templates (pre-made!) and pretty solid insight into the success of your campaigns. They’ll help you out by tracking and reporting on everything from your click through rates to the effectiveness of your subject line.

Social Media Tools

Our top picks for social media promotion are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. But when you’re trying to share relevant content and build brand awareness while running your business in the day-to-day whirlwind, it usually comes off a little lackluster and last minute. You can’t sit online all day, so using a tool like Buffer is a great way to share your content, promote your listings, and build your brand reputation without constant monitoring separate accounts. You can schedule out your blog posts and listings, promote relevant news and advice, and get stats, input, and social monitoring to boot. Another popular tool is Oktopost. This one plays especially nice with Linkedin, and guiding you through which groups on the platform will serve you best.  

Use video to promote your listings and even yourself in more dynamic ways too. BombBomb makes it crazy simple to record videos (even letting you quickly capture one from your Gmail inbox) send them out through email and track engagement. Video tours can be embedded in emails and quick, personal talks can be shared on your social media channels. Even if you’re new to video, they idiot-proof the process and provides helpful stats on the success of your video too. Another cool way to show off your listings is through SlideShare. You can create an online presentation for important properties or for all the properties in a specific area using this tool, which lets you present everything in visually pleasing way with high quality images and information.

Customer Service Tools

Client calls can come at any time, but somehow it often falls at the wrong time. When you’re out meeting other clients, in a meeting- these always seem to be the popular times. So how can you keep everyone happy in the meantime? Services like RingCentral can help you in a pinch and create a better customer experience. This software lets you redirect the call to someone else- from your cell phone. If you’re busy and can’t answer the phone, instead of voicemail, RingCentral will reroute the call to another specified number (like an assistant or your office’s main number) until someone answers. Of course you can adjust this several different ways, but it’s great for daily double bookings, holidays, weekends- you name it!

Transaction Management Tools

So. Much. Paperwork. There’s an incredible amount of time spent drafting, sending and signing documents and contracts (and trying to keep it all organized…keep all the right parties apprised…yeah). This isn’t the glamorous part of the real estate business, but it’s an enormous part of any successful team collaboration. Using offerings like DotLoop can save you and your team precious time, by handling all this virtually. That means you can manage it wherever you are, on-demand, and even track all your documents seamlessly. Everything in one place. They even serve up charts and graphs for real time insight into the transactions occurring in your team. Cheers to now making data-backed decisions.  

Business Tools

You’re running a business! Gotta keep those books. Nothing makes that simpler than Intuit QuickBooks. It’s the complete took kit to set up and manage your daily business needs and expenses. Track everything from commission income, to deposits and company expenses

While it’s certainly ideal to have a platform that everyone can log into and track progress and relationships, if you’re just starting out, a very simple tool to encourage team members to update each other on daily to-dos is Idonethis . This is especially handy if anyone on the team is part-time or working remotely.

You also can’t beat Google’s suite of tools for the office: Google for Work for collaborating on marketing projects, administrative docs and calendar maintenance. The system is designed for collaboration and communication so you can save tons of time and cumbersome emails back and forth.

As you grow, it will be increasingly important to keep your processes streamlined and your team accountable.

Real Estate is still a people business, and your team’s success is a direct result of how they build relationships. Your most effective marketing tool is your database, and you need to equip everyone with a system that establishes the discipline and responsiveness to build relationships and drive your business.

Remember to always assess your true needs and not be swayed by the “shiny new thing”  syndrome. These are some solid tools to get you started and help you address your needs as you build your team. Theses types of offerings will help you communicate your message to clients and prospects and create more efficient workflows in  your day, but you’ll need to find a partner and a multi-use platform to help you scale and continue momentum.  

The post Technology Tools You Need to Start a Real Estate Team appeared first on BoomTown!.

Selling a house is a major undertaking. Where do you begin? First you’ll need to establish a big-picture view of how to prepare it. This ideabook will help you do that, so you can get your home in shape to sell quickly at the best possible price (without breaking your budget).

10 Low-Cost Tweaks to Help Your Home Sell

Blueline Architects p.c. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

The project: Get a home ready to sell.

Why: Taking the time to prepare your home before putting it on the market can help it fetch a higher price and increase buyer interest, making for a quicker sale. Taking a big-picture look at what to do to get your home ready to sell will help ensure that you make the best decisions and stay under budget.

Things to consider: It makes sense to start with the outside of your home, since that is what potential buyers will notice first. Shoot for nice landscaping, a freshly cleaned exterior, a driveway and walking path in good repair, a well-lit porch and an eye-catching front door.

Locati Architects Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Make a list early on of all of the repairs your home needs, from the tiny (change a lightbulb) to the major (new roof) before deciding what to get done. The fact is that the cost of most repairs and upgrades will not be recouped in the sale price, so focus on taking care of the minor repairs and tackle bigger projects only if you feel you must.

Remove clutter and organize what’s left. Any real estate agent or home stager will tell you that getting rid of clutter and excess personal items is essential to making your home look its best to potential buyers. Less stuff will make your space look larger, which is almost always a positive thing. Overstuffed closets and drawers signal to buyers that there is not enough storage space in the home, while neat and orderly closets help buyers envision living an organized life in your house.

Rafe Churchill: Traditional Houses. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

If you need to get a lot of furniture and accessories out of your home while it’s on the market, think about renting a storage unit. The cost could be worth it if it means your house shows better and sells faster (and hopefully for more money).

Who to hire: The pros you’ll hire to help prep your home for sale will depend on how much work your home needs and on how much work you plan to do yourself. Consider these:

• Real estate agent: This is the first pro you will want to hire. Your Realtor should be able to give you an honest assessment of what your house needs to position it well on the market.
• Handyperson: Hiring a handyperson for a single day is often enough to take care of a whole list of small repairs.
• Electrician: Get that broken doorbell and porch light fixed, and update interior lighting.
• Cleaning service: Getting your house sparkling clean is a low-cost way to make your home look its best. A professional house cleaning team can make your house shine in a single day.
• Painter: A fresh coat of paint indoors and out is a surefire way to make your home stand out.
• Stager: A professional home stager can help declutter your home, arrange furniture (sometimes bringing in loaner furniture) and accessories, and make paint and landscaping recommendations to get your home in top shape for a quick and profitable sale.
• Landscape designer or gardener: Landscaping consistently makes the list of things that can influence a home sale. If you do not have a green thumb, it could be worth it to invest in pro services from someone who does.

thea home inc. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Cost breakdown: Sage advice is to spend as little as possible on your home to prepare it for sale. Small changes and upgrades will give it a boost in perceived value without your having to dip too far into your savings.

• Expect to pay $50 to $85 per hour for a handyman and $60 to $100 per hour and up for an electrician.
• Home staging consultations (you implement most of the changes) run $150 to $500, but it can cost $2,000 and (way) up for full-service staging and furniture rentals.
• Should you decide to rent a storage unit, expect to pay about $100 per month for a 10- by 15-foot unit.
• House painting generally costs about $2 to $4 per square foot.

Lindsay von Hagel. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Best time to do this project: The boom time of year for home sales is summer, so it’s a good idea to set late spring or early summer as a goal date to have your home ready to sell.

You can start preparing your home to sell anytime, but sooner is always better than later.

If you can, begin preparations the year before you plan to sell to give landscaping time to fill in,and to give yourself ample time to get work done. For instance, you could plant spring bulbs in the fall, take care of interior house repairs in winter and finish up the rest of your projects in spring to ready your home for its first open house in early summer.

Sarah Greenman. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

First steps:

1. Interview and choose a real estate agent.
2. Assess your property — not just the value but also what could be done to the interior or exterior to appeal to more buyers.
3. Decide what work you are going to do yourself and what you would like a pro to do.
4. Hire a home stager. Your stager will have important input on what repairs and changes will be most worth your time and money, and which ones to skip.
5. Hire additional pros as needed, starting with a landscaper. Remember, the landscape needs time to fill in.

The post How to Sell Your Home Faster — and Maybe for More appeared first on BoomTown!.

In today’s real estate world, the life of an agent is mobile, driven by technology, and very fast-paced. Finding your focus can be tough with all the multi-tasking going on while running your business. So why do many agents still think they have to do it all themselves?

One of the biggest limitations to real estate business growth is the idea of “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” We’re not superhumans. At some point in growing your real estate business, you will need to hire staff to take some of the to-dos off your list.

Spend Your Time Wisely

The more your business grows, the less time you have to actually do everything by yourself. More leads come in, your responsibilities grow, the paperwork piles up, and unfortunately this might mean your follow up (and $$$) may fall through the cracks.

As an agent, your time should be spent on dollar-producing activities. Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) can be a great first move in finding the focus to do just those tasks that directly generate money and grow your pipeline.

A virtual assistant can be hired for single projects, or you can hire a VA for more consistent hours a week or month. They can handle everything from lead follow up, transaction management, scheduling meetings, filtering emails, and assisting with your marketing.

Learn More: How to Build the Real Estate Team of the Future

Benefits of a Virtual Assistant

Some benefits to hiring a virtual assistant versus in-office support staff include:

• Virtual assistants are contractors, not staff. You don’t have to worry about all the HR paperwork and responsibilities of bringing a new staff member on board.
• Virtual assistants work remotely, so you don’t have to worry about them taking up precious office space.
• Virtual assistants can work part-time, per project, or on an as-needed basis. There are many companies that can help pair you with a virtual assistant that fits your specific needs.

Although hiring a virtual assistant has many benefits, you do have to be willing to give up some control. Not unlike implementing a new technology product, starting something new or different can come with some risks.

However, many of our clients say hiring a virtual assistant has been a stress reliever that unchains them from time consuming tasks. Also, delegating jobs that you are not very skilled at yourself can not only make your business run more efficiently, it can save you from wasted time and money in the long run.

What Tasks Should I Assign?

The best tasks to assign virtual assistants are ones where systems have already been put into place. Virtual assistants are great at taking a program you’ve created and then running with it.

While you wouldn’t want your virtual assistant to create your systems and processes from scratch, you can easily plug them into a variety tasks.

• Administrative support. Use VAs to help with your contract-to-close process. They can take care of all that paperwork that eats up an your time.
• Marketing support. Have your VA help with updating your social media outlets or create flyers based off of templates. They can even post your listings to Craigslist to drive additional traffic to your websites.
• Sales support. Some VA services offer highly trained Inside Sales Assistants (ISA). Use an ISA to help convert more leads into closings. For this option it’s best to already have a CRM solution, like BoomTown, in place for the VA to work from.

Where Should I Hire From?

MyOutDesk offers all of the above services, and can specifically train how to use the BoomTown CRM. Rokrbox also specializes in training Inside Sales Agents to call, qualify, and nurture BoomTown leads.

Both companies were started by former BoomTown clients, so they understand the importance of tracking all conversations and actions in your CRM, and train their team to provide the most professional service to leads, and a seamless transaction from their team to yours.

Learn More: Everything You Need to Know About ISAs

Due to growth of online leads, the demand for virtual assistants and ISAs is surging. Delegating out the smaller tasks can free you up to convert more leads, and significantly increase the return on investment of your online marketing efforts and help you close more deals.

If you’re an agent and you find yourself juggling too many tasks without enough time to prospect, consider hiring a virtual assistant to help. Get back to your dollar producing activities!

The post Trim the To-Dos With A Virtual Assistant appeared first on BoomTown!.

Do you ever pretty up a room and take a shot, only to print it out and think, “Sheesh, my room looks so much better than this in person!”? I do. I do it all the time. There’s so much you notice in a photo that you don’t notice in person. For me, the number-one thing I notice in my pics is a cord.

Lamps, phone, computer, you name it, I hate to see wires in a photo. In other peoples’ photos, it’s that ugly dishtowel you leave haphazardly hanging off the stove handle or shoved in the fridge handle. In stylists’ photos, it’s the over-karate chopped throw pillows.

Ideabook: Lessons of a Home Photo Stylist

Enough with the negatives. Here are some positive things you can do to up your interior photo styling prowess.

Go ahead and use overused props. Top three kitchen styling props:

• Citrus fruit
• Campbell’s Soup cans
• Perfectly aligned bottles of Perrier

Hey, you know what? They work! Tuck your appliances, herbs, olive oil, etc. into drawers; leave out only the cute canisters or a La Creuset pot, and use one or more of the items mentioned above.

Modern: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Pick a show. Television sets almost always ugly up a shot; I don’t care how expensive and fancy they are. So choose something fun to put on and make it look like a painting. I’ve been taking careful notes of where Houzz photographers have chosen to freeze the screen (upside down Spiderman/Kirsten Dunst kiss; Avatar), but seeing some sort of Toddlers and Tiaras in this very contemporary room is my favorite pick so far. Do I believe that someone with such clean, minimalist taste would indulge in such trashy reality TV? You betcha!

Play with your tablescape arrangement. Get rid of the messy notebook, coffee cup and IKEA catalog, bring out your favorite monographs, perhaps a bowl or a tray, and of course, flowers.

Upgrade Your Coffee Table

John Thompson Designer: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Tell a story. There is A LOT going on in this room, from the deep blue walls to the Greek Key-ish sofa, zebra pillows and exotic collectibles. However, the styling tells a story. Some sort of intellectual naturalist (glasses on book with leaf drawings on it) likes to make himself comfortable in this study, where he enjoys the coral and butterflies and other specimens from the field. Perhaps he uses this book and a magnifying glass to identify them in here. Perhaps he looks like Harrison Ford.

Declutter. You don’t want your dog-eared paperbacks distracting from the rest of the room. The shelves here have the right amount of empty space and enough items to keep things interesting.

Reynaldo Gonzalez Design: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Go for symmetry. Although this room is not perfectly symmetrical, draw a mental line through the center. Now fold it along this line. There are enough mirror-image items to give the shot a pleasing balance, yet enough different elements to keep the image interesting.

Traditional Bedroom: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Light that fire. More exciting television screen picks abound. I often turn on all the lights in my bedroom and enjoy ski racing from my bed, don’t you? Anyway, the blazing fire adds to the ambiance, and closing the shades here keeps the view outside from distracting from this calm and serene bedroom. Well, it’s calm and serene until a skier crashes.

Put the lid down. Bathrooms are full of shot-ruining pitfalls. The number one rule: PUT DOWN THE LID ON THE TOILET! Number two: Get your towels and washcloths in check. Number three: Put your toothbrush, toothpaste, and tacky plastic liquid soap bottle away. Number four: Get that stupid fluffy loofah thing that hangs from your showerhead out of the shot. In fact, throw it away; it’s probably moldy. Tuck your shampoo bottles, razors, and other shower items away.

Don’t overdo dining setups. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like that fake, overdone set table in shots. I call it “Model Home” syndrome. You know when you go into a model home and there’s even a fake turkey and all that stuff like the Bluths had on Arrested Development? Anyway, I think just a simple bowl or centerpiece can be plenty of style for a dining room photos.

Boor Bridges Architecture. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Do not fear using people in your interior shots. Exploit cute kids, cute pets, and cute chefs. The people in this picture are not the focus of the shot, but they certainly enliven it and let us see it as the perfect family kitchen.

Boor Bridges Architecture. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Pull out the chairs. Take this advice more generally. If you take a shot and something doesn’t seem quite right, play with the furniture as well as the composition. If these charming chairs were tightly tucked in under the table/desk, the room would have a completely different feeling. Pulling them out makes the room seem more welcoming, and makes it more obvious that this is a workspace and not a dining table.

Seek More Advice From a Home-Staging Pro

The post How to Style Your Interior Photos Like a Pro appeared first on BoomTown!.

Realtors Property Resource, or RPR, was created by the National Association of REALTORS as a data solution for agents on the go. With this tool you can successfully leverage data and go after those leads you never thought you could reach.

BoomTown’s recent webinar, Mastering the Transition from Seller Lead to Listing, went in-depth on how to maximize this tool for you business. You can watch the full webinar below: 

Watch the RPR + BoomTown Webinar Here! 

Now, What Exactly is RPR?

RPR allows you to leverage data. How you say? Through reverse-address lookups, data storage, and instantly compiled reports, RPR takes the work out of several time consuming processes and provides the information you need to go after a seller lead.

Even better? RPR’s mobile app goes where you do. Making lead generation, information gathering, and reporting easy both in your office or on-the-go.

Who Can Use RPR?

First and foremost, you need to be a NAR member to access RPR. If you are a member, then you can easily use this tool. If you are a BoomTown user and a member of NAR, all you need to do is access the RPR button in our CRM!

When we say you may not know your strongest advantage is waiting for you, we mean it literally. If you are a member of the NAR and not using this tool, you have yet to unlock some serious game changing data.

RPR Strategy: Address Only Seller Leads

Our first scenario occurs when a lead visits your site, uses the home valuation tool, and only leaves an address without any other relevant information.

These leads are oftentimes ignored, but as Michael Elias Sr. details in the RPR webinar listed above, these are far from useless leads.

Instead of ignoring them, follow this RPR Action Plan Instead:

1. Input the address provided into RPR and try to find possible matches.
2. Go to the tax record and find the actual owner of the property.
3. Head on over to your social media outlets, and explore if you have any connections with these owners. Elias makes sure to check Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
4. Find out what you can via social media and see if there is any realistic way you can connect with them in a cover letter.
5. Prepare a cover letter you can send along with a mini version of the RPR Seller Report, any details about active properties around their house, and a brochure or more information about your business. [This is a seller lead package similar to what LocoMusings sends. But you can cater your package to whatever fits the personality of your business!]
6. Cover Letter: This is your way in. Do not waste time talking about yourself, but rather include information about their home, weave in any subtle connections you may have, and mention their home value may differ than the value they were provided online if there were any improvements done on the house. Check out our example Cover Letter below to get started!
7. Last Step! Send the whole package certified mail so they have to sign for it. This makes the entire thing more personal and adds value.

Now keep in mind, these address-only leads need to be approached as a case by case basis. Elias mentions they only take the leads who are worth the time, but he tries not to spend more than 15 minutes looking into and researching those leads so it isn’t too much of an investment.

This process is all about, “creating a coincidence,” according to Elias. 

Explore Your Seller Strategy Options. 

RPR Strategy: Seller Leads with Full Information

In the spirit of creating a coincidence, approaching seller leads who provide more information than their address are a much more direct contact.  

1. Reach out with a phone call. Elias mentioned these calls go to voicemail most times, but that’s OK because we have a full plan of action! 
2. Send a BombBomb customized video email within ten minutes of the registration. These videos can be short and sweet, but make sure to thank them for stopping by your site, introduce yourself, mention you will be sending a more extensive property report in the mail, and tell them to reach out if they have any questions. 
3. BombBomb allows you to track whether or not your leads open emails, how long they watch the video, etc. Use this to your advantage to understand what information your lead has received up to this point.
4. After you send the email with a BombBomb video, then you create a packet of information, much like the address-only leads.
5. Send this packet through Direct Mail as well.
6. Follow-up after two days (or after the expected delivery date) with another email and video asking if they received their package, if they have any questions, etc.

This experience is more immediate and personalized due to the nature of the information you’ve been provided. If you have never used BombBomb before and are a BoomTown user, this is another one of our integrations available!

Learn More about Using BombBomb in Your Efforts! 

Direct Mail Seller Leads Cover Letter Example

Whether you are working with address-only leads, or full information leads, these cover letters need to be as personalized as possible without sounding too forward.

You don’t want to include any information that would make these leads feel like you’ve been looking into them too much. Instead, give off the general vibe that you want to listen to where they are in the process.

And always remember, provide value and create trust first. The example below is more catered towards an address-only add situation where RPR was used to track down the current owners.

Hi Mr. Miller,

I noticed you registered on our site the other day for a home valuation report and I wanted to follow-up with you. Included in this packet is a more extensive property valuation, a little information about our company, and a few houses currently listed in your area.

Whether you were just curious about your home value, looking to sell when it’s convenient, or need to sell your home soon, we can always come by and help you create a helpful plan for the future. I know the area well since my children have gone to school closeby for several years now. We have worked with several homeowners in the area who were able to boost their property value by a significant amount upon selling.

Since home valuation reports do not take into account any improvements or renovations you have done to the house since it was purchased, we can always create a more accurate report for you if you’d like.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. I can easily stop by and provide you will a more accurate, improvements included, home valuation whenever is convenient.

Best,

Charlotte Butler

Find Out Where Your Seller Strategy Stands

RPR is valuable because it allows anyone in the NAR to access important information in half the time for potential seller leads. But what are you doing other than this to give yourself the advantage? Take our seller expert quiz to find out where you land on the seller strategy spectrum!

The post Gain the Seller Lead Advantage with RPR [And Take Our Seller Expert Quiz!] appeared first on BoomTown!.

Artificial Intelligence. There’s a lot of excitement around the possibilities. And there’s a lot of concerns too. In the past few years, humanity has made significant breakthroughs with A.I. or “deep learning” technology. With recent successes (and some flops, like Microsoft’s Tay), the question has shifted from “Will artificial intelligence come to fruition?” to “How far away will we see cognitive machines?”

Now, the more interesting question: What’s the future hold for real estate + artificial intelligence? Forget the images of Terminator or iRobot. What we’re discussing is a machine’s intelligence to handle inquiries from homebuyers and to suggest “hot” lead opportunities to real estate agents.

Most real estate businesses already use a CRM (or lead management system), plus a website to showcase properties. Depending on what you use, you may already see a touch of analytical thinking … i.e. the CRM running algorithms to suggest best-fit leads, to match buyers to properties they will like, or sending out drip email communication to contacts. Most of it is automated.

For real estate websites, it wasn’t too long ago, where homebuyers had to rely on agents to see what homes were on the market. Now, they have full view of properties and listings. If cognitive interfaces like Apple’s Siri and even lesser known bots like howdy.ai can suggest places to eat, places to go — how hard would it be for a bot to suggest what properties to look at?

Artificial intelligence isn’t as far away as we thought. So, the discussion turns to what are the opportunities, how will it impact real estate, and how long before we start seeing it? Let’s begin …

Learn what BoomTown’s CRM looks like today. Click Here.

Today’s Artificial Intelligence

Before we dive into the possibilities for real estate, it’s important to analyze what already exists (in terms of “intelligent software”) and how other companies are looking to leverage artificial intelligence, if they aren’t already.

Device Personal Assistants — Siri, Cortana, Alexa

These intelligent “personal assistants” are probably the most prominent A.I.s you’ve encountered. Apple’s Siri has been around for a few years, progressively getting smarter. New to the field is Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa (on Echo). You can ask them almost any question and get an immediate response, like “What’s the weather like today, Siri?”

These cognitive engines can respond, alert, and carry out tasks based on your behavior. Think of them as your personal Google (i.e. search engine). Instead of typing a search query, you’re asking “someone.” Future applications could make them your literal personal assistant.

New Personal Assistants — howdy.ai, x.ai, Coversica, Facebook M, Amelia

Following the “personal assistant” track, upcomers x.ai, howdy.ai, Conversica, Amelia, and Facebook M are leading the charge with purpose-driven uses, such as for handling meeting requests or answering sales inquiries. They’re showing a glimpse of what artificial intelligence can do when built and directed to a core set of tasks versus the “assistant” for everything and anything.

Cognitive Engines — IBM Watson and Google DeepMind

IBM Watson first attracted attention with its quest to dominate Jeopardy. Google’s DeepMind project gained infamy when it bested top Go master, Lee Se-dol, 4-1. Each of these A.I.s has shown an ability to evaluate a situation, adapt, and find the best solution (or path to winning).

Now, technologies such as Watson and DeepMind are being explored for alternative uses in various industries. Both are being looked at for their abilities to handle mass amounts of data and sift them into insights/knowledge — such as weather predictions and medical diagnosis. Imagine if we took all the user data + behavior from Google searches and gathered insights into humanity.

Bots — Skype bots, Slack bot, Dominos, Video Game bots

Not quite hitting the mark of artificial intelligence, bots are still good examples of what technology can achieve for the real estate industry. Held in a long-time position, video games have been leading the way in terms of automated avatars. Programed to act and behave in specific manners, they react to what you do within the game.

Slack made a simple virtual assistant for onboarding new users. It helped humanize the company’s communication, but it also provided a tool users could rely on for help. Dominos gathered a lot of press around it’s pizza-emoji ordering. All you have to do is text a pizza emoji, and voila, pizza is ordered.

Skype recently introduced bots to their platform, to provide a variety of services like Summarize, who can give an overview of a web page if you don’t have time to read the whole thing.

Real Estate Artificial Intelligence

If you’re a regular reader of Inman News, you’ve probably heard of the Broker vs Bot challenge. It’s one of the first examples where artificial intelligence could be entering real estate. The challenge was simple: a broker and computer bot would suggest homes to a buyer (based on their previous search). The end result? The homebuyer preferred listings suggested by the computer bot.

Now, take this simple program and consider the cognitive engines already built (or in progress), like Google’s DeepMind project. We can see where Siri can answer typical questions homebuyers ask. We can see where bots could provide resources based on what information a buyer is looking for. Take it another step, where deep learning begins, you can start to see where a machines could be fed massive amounts of listing data or market data — and then begin to translate them into insights for agents. Better yet, they could communicate to agents and tell them what to suggest to clients, such as when the best time to buy is.

Real Estate CRM + Artificial Intelligence

Right now, real estate CRMs use algorithms to suggest best-fit leads. What happens if that system starts interpreting behavior and gives you recommended action plans based on market statistics, inventory levels, the number of people moving in/out of the area, sales volume, price point, etc? The list goes on.

It’s not just matching the best property to the homebuyer. It’s suggesting which house is the best to buy at the moment and the one that will give them the most return on investment (ROI).

Real Estate Websites + Artificial Intelligence

Then, transpose those cognitive abilities to your real estate website. For example, websites provided by BoomTown allow users to set up an account, favorite houses, and save for later viewing. Take that data and watch cognitive engines begin showing houses that fit user tastes … without the user having to manually narrow their search.

A bot can quickly (and easily) process vast amounts of data to answer basic questions from homebuyers. It could lead to better customer service.

What if the popular “virtual assistant” chatbox on many real estate websites gets replaced by artificial intelligence? Suddenly, you have an avatar that can answer questions and negotiate contracts. It could manage showing times based on agent availability and confirm everything before it hits an actual real estate agent.

Learn what BoomTown’s CRM looks like today. Click Here.

Why I Think A.I. Starts with CRMs

Scroll back through time. Computers began as tools of business and research, designed to automate tasks such as math and information retrieval. Today, they’re tools for personal communication, connecting us with people across the globe and within a second’s notice.

Before “the new shiny object” gets popularized into the mass market and faces the public, it’s often tested within businesses and large organizations first. Look at IBM Watson, for example. Right now, it’s focused on industries like healthcare and big data — not really diving into mom & pop doctor offices yet or even being in reach for regular people to use those cognitive abilities. It’ll be monetized first, placed to assist the business, and then bleed into the public. It’s a prediction and I could be proven wrong, but if history follows the usual path, I have a feeling it’ll start there.

When Will Artificial Intelligence Reach Real Estate?

If we use Moore’s Law compounding over time (a formula heavily used in the software/hardware technology industries), we could estimate computers to have the same cognitive power as a human by 2025. (see graphic by Mother Jones below)

However, my guess is that it’ll come sooner than that. I’ve read reports on tech companies using Moore’s Law to properly set business strategy and production times, but I’ve also seen companies, like Nvidia, produce faster than Moore’s Law (by trimming down process and development even further).

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Real Estate

Artificial intelligence — even the heavier use of bots — will bring a lot of changes to real estate, specifically on the role of the agent. There will be an appearance that A.I. and bots can do an agent’s job, but it doesn’t mean the industry is saying “goodbye.”

Roles will shift, duties will change, but again, we need to ask the right questions. What’s the purpose of building artificial intelligence that can shoulder more of our work (as humans)? Is it to allow us to work more hours for less pay? Or is it to enable us to choose how we work, and to give us greater knowledge so we can make better decisions?

To end the post, here’s something to think about … for the future. 10 years from now, jobs will be made for machines, but life — an easier, more enjoyable life — will be for people.

The post Real Estate A.I. – What’s the Future for CRMs & Websites appeared first on BoomTown!.

If you are planning to sell your home, the list of potential improvements to consider before staking that sign in your front lawn probably seems endless. And the numbers can be a bit disheartening — nearly all remodeling projects do not recoup the full costs when you sell your home.

Ideabook: The 4 Potentially Most Expensive Words in Remodeling

But recouped costs do not give you the complete picture. Selling your house quickly, and at your asking price, are goals that the right remodeling projects could help you achieve when you put your house on the market. Here’s what I found out from a contractor, an architect and a real estate agent about how to remodel smart and small when you are prepping for sale.

James Crisp: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Boost Curb Appeal

Add a porch. “This is one of the least expensive additions to a home, which gives the absolute maximum curb appeal for the dollar,” says James Crisp of Crisp Architects in Millbrook, New York. Many potential buyers will make up their mind about about whether to attend your open house based on the impression they get the first time they drive by — and an attractive front porch can be a wonderful way to lure people in.

Pay attention to details. Iris Harrell, CEO of Harrell Remodeling, adds, “A clean and welcoming appearance at the front entry is critical. Add a new exterior light fixture, new front door or front door color, and new door hardware with a lock that works properly. If the front door has a sidelight of glass that is a bubble glass from the 1960s, change it to clear tempered glass. Bring in as much natural light as you can.”

Choose exterior colors and finishes that feel current. “If you have a section of diagonal wood siding from the 1970s, replace it with horizontal siding, which was popular in the last century and is still popular,” says Harrell. “For exterior the color should recede and let the landscape be the focus. So no pink exteriors — try deeper earth tones. And no high sheen — that only appeals to a small group of people.”

Do you have a Houzz Profile for your real estate business? Create one for free today! 

Crisp Architects: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Improve Light and Flow

Spring for more windows. “Add windows for light and views,” says Crisp. “Most ‘builder’ homes are from stock plans, which do not take advantage of the views and have nothing to do with the place the home is built.”

Not sure it’s worth the splurge? Pay attention to photos of rooms you most admire — chances are, they include generous windows, striking views or both. And unlike paint color choices and decorating decisions, great windows appeal to everyone.

Remove Walls. Imagine attending an open house where the rooms are difficult to navigate, dark or simply too small and cramped. Not pleasant, is it? “Combine rooms,” advises Crisp. “Our clients almost always want to improve the flow and connection between rooms.”

Consider taking down a wall between the kitchen and dining room, the living room and kitchen, or the kitchen and breakfast nook to open up the space. Always check with a pro before removing a wall in your home to ensure structural safety. It’s not worth the risk to do it yourself without assurance that you are not removing a load-bearing wall.

Crisp Architects: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Update the Kitchen and Bath

Add a breakfast bay. “Breakfast bays can add views, light and character to a home,” says Crisp. Sure, people want high-end appliances, but “a breakfast bay also is one of the most desired additions to a kitchen,” he says. A lovely bay window breakfast nook could be just the sort of charming feature that ends up selling your house.

Give your kitchen a DIY makeover. Caroline Bass, an agent at Citi Habitats in Manhattan, says, “Kitchen renovations can be big or small, depending on how much money you have to invest, but they are definitely worthwhile — most buyers are looking for move-in-ready homes.” If you don’t have a big budget for updating your kitchen, there are still plenty of high-impact things you can do.

“Try changing out old appliances for new, modern ones. Reface your cabinets or simply purchase new cabinet doors if your current ones look outdated,” says Bass. “Changing hardware is a great investment, too — you can even buy nice nickel-colored pulls at Home Depot for under $2 each! I just did this in my kitchen, and they look great.”

Find an Appliance Manufacturer Near You

Make small swaps in the bathroom. Major bathroom renovations do not typically make the same impact on a home-selling price as kitchen renovations do, so save your money here — and make what you do splurge on count.

“Small changes to your bathroom, such as a new vanity or mirror and new lighting fixtures, will make a big impression to buyers,” says Bass.

Caroline Bass Citi Habitats. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Take Care of the Basics

Clean and paint. Just because we are talking renovating here doesn’t mean you should forget about the basics. “A new coat of paint, inside and even outside, in a neutral color will make your home look clean and fresh to prospective buyers,” Bass says. “Bold colors can often be a turnoff; painting is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to get your home ready to sell.”

And clean your windows, advises Bass. “I know this isn’t a renovation tip per se, but it will make a big difference in the amount of light that comes into your house or apartment,” she says. “You’d be amazed at how few people do this.”

Choose timeless finishes. “Hardwood floors are a much better investment than stained concrete floors, as it has wider appeal and works for both contemporary and traditional design,” says Harrell. “Replace old wall-to-wall carpets and reduce the amount of carpet in the home, the exceptions being the master bedroom and on the stairs.”

In the living room, Harrell recommends smaller updates, such as refacing the fireplace and updating the mantel. And don’t neglect scent! “Make sure the fireplace does not smell like burnt wood upon entering the home,” she says. “If your nose is too used to it, ask a friend who will tell you what the home smells like upon entering.”

Crisp Architects. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

The post Renovation Trends to Try Before Selling Your Home appeared first on BoomTown!.

In the past, small mom-and-pop real estate teams were able to keep up with the general pace of their markets and the industry. But today, consumer needs and demands have shifted and require far more.

Hence the widespread popularity of growing a real estate team. We have seen that as the size of the team grows, so does the need for defined processes under a unifying system.

The best real estate teams are managed by good leaders who create and regulate the systems necessary for teams to thrive, and set strategic goals that unite team members under a shared vision of success. A great team isn’t simply born into existence. It takes a great leader willing to invest in and develop his people and systems in order to manage a successful team.

Why Should I Set Goals?

Would you embark on a long road trip without first mapping out your route? You would probably get lost. Trying to run a business without clearly defined goals is like driving aimlessly without a clear sense of direction. Having just a “general idea” will either get you lost, or take you an unnecessarily long time to reach your destination.

To avoid the headache, lost opportunities, and wasted money, start off every year by “mapping out” your goals to determine where your business is headed.

How To Set Tactical Goals

BoomTown client Reed Moore has become one of the nation’s top real estate professionals by setting smart goals for himself and his team. When he sets out to define goals, he starts by asking himself three important questions:

1. What do I want?
What is the overall goal thatI want to achieve as a business owner?

2. What can I do?
Take into consideration what is actually possible. You want your goals to be reasonable and realistic. If you can’t take actionable steps toward achieving your big goal, then it is not strategic to your business growth.

3. What do the people want?
What are the agents’ personal goals? Make sure their goals align with your overarching business goals. Because if they don’t…”you may need to make new hires,” advises Reed.

Wondering how to determine what your annual production number should be? A place to start is by setting a reasonable minimum number for each individual agent’s goal, and basing the team goal on the presumption that all your agents will hit their minimum.

Track, Measure, And Stay Accountable To Your Goals

Many of our clients will sit down with their team at the beginning of every year to complete a goal setting exercise. This transparency makes it easy to see how individual goals work to support the larger business goal.

But setting goals means nothing if there is not a system in place to track progress and keep everyone accountable. The key is to monitor your numbers regularly — daily, weekly, and monthly — and then adjusting as needed.

Craig Reger monitors his team’s progress and tracks their results with BoomTown’s accountability dashboard. These reports give him an= top down overview of his team’s numbers, so he can adjust as needed needed to reach his overarching company goal.

“Our goals drive our activities. If we are off-target for our goals, we course-correct our activities until we are back on track.”

Another way to monitor your team’s goals is through the use of a Daily Activity Report. Agents can use this report while prospecting to track their activities throughout the day, such as the number of dials made, appointments set, contracts written, etc.

Along with the reports in the CRM, these Daily Activity Reports can also be a good tool for your one-on-one meetings with each agent, acting as a guide to help navigate through their struggles and areas for improvements

Watch: Maximizing Your Accountability Tools

Want more? Head over to our Video Library for more tips and strategies!

Great Leaders Motivate Great Agents

It is the responsibility of the team leader to develop the people on their team and keep them working together smoothly. A good leader can greatly benefit agents by giving them training, helping them overcome obstacles, and providing accountability on proper lead follow-up in a competitive industry.

BoomTown and Real Trends recently released a study compiling interviews with several real estate professionals, to determine what makes real estate teams successful. One factor was the effect of good leaders who manage their agents well. One survey participant responded, “The strength and success of a team are strongly dependent on the directions, goals, and leadership of the leader.”

[  Download the full study: Real Estate Teams Playbook  ]

Good leaders provide support through accountability and pushing team members to reach their professional and personal goals. When team goals are met on the Duncan Duo team of RE/MAX Dynamic in Tampa, Florida, Andrew Duncan rewards his entire 40-person team with an all-inclusive trip to destination cities across the United States. The whole team is motivated to reach their goals because everyone benefits from the rewards. Last year, the Duncan Duo team averaged 28 transactions per sales associate and earned an all-inclusive trip to Los Angeles.

This type of incentive is a form of actionable accountability that motivates team members to not only achieve the goals they set, but also reach their full potential.

Manage Your Entire Team With One System

The Real Estate Teams Playbook mentions that lead management goes hand-in-hand with lead generation. Therefore, when starting a team, it is worth investing the time and energy into developing a solid system for lead management.

Many technology platforms available today, such as BoomTown, are geared toward team use, and are great for teams to streamline their lead management.

Reed Moore agrees that having a central CRM is essential to manage a team of successful agents. “When your team is just two people, you can support each other and fill in where it’s needed. But as your team get bigger, it becomes imperative to create processes, infrastructure, and an organized system.”

Running everything through one system helps in managing a growing number of people. “I believe in using only one system so that everyone is speaking the same language,” says Reed. “If we all speak the same language, when one person encounters an obstacle, we can collectively help them overcome it.” Clear communication is the best tool to cultivate team culture because it keeps team members connected, focused and accountable to one another.

[ Increase Your Real Estate Team’s Efficiency With Reed Moore’s Leadership Approach ]

If you’re using more than one system, tracking can become inefficient. “The more systems you have in place to track, the more room you have for error. As your business grows, you’re going to have more moving parts with more people handling those parts. Tracking numbers in different places and increasing human interaction widens the margin of error and miscommunication.”

Reed’s solution? Build with the future in mind to avoid having to “stop-and-go” to deal with these problems as they pop up. When making big decisions regarding technology, reporting, or processes, develop a plan and incorporate the systems that will work for you whether you’re doing 20 transactions a year or 500 transactions a year.

Keep Agents Accountable And Successful

No matter how fancy or advanced the technology you choose to implement is, people are what make a system like BoomTown truly effective. So hiring the right people, and managing them successfully, are important to growing your business.

BoomTown can help your team achieve your goals as long as you build a culture around accountability and set clear expectations. Our Accountability Dashboards give team leaders a bird’s-eye view as well as a macro-level view of who is following up with their leads and who is not.

[  Read More: How to Recruit and Retain the Perfect Real Estate Team  ]

Providing quality leads as well as the tools to manage them, and comprehensive reporting to keep agents accountable to their goals, systems like BoomTown are the juggernaut behind maintaining a successful and productive real estate team while continually growing your business.

The post How The Best Real Estate Teams Use CRMs To Set Goals And Succeed appeared first on BoomTown!.

There are countless real estate agents and teams. But how many actually succeed in a time when technology changes by the second? Chris Lyons built and now supports a team prepared to evolve through the ups and downs of real estate.

He did this through first understanding that a real estate team is organized around one purpose: To never stop looking for the best way to create amazing client experiences.

Listen to the Full Lyons Realty Success Story Here:

Building Blocks of an Unbreakable Real Estate Business

Lyons began his real estate business almost a decade ago and admits they didn’t have a website when they started out. Something of which many in the business can still relate. The changes in real estate have been swift and don’t know any sign of slowing down.

But Lyons Realty continues to rise above change and evolve time and time again.

The secrets at the core of their resilience?

They don’t fight change. Lyons Realty embraces it.

They treat technology as a solution for out-of-the-park customer service.

And they build teams of people they can trust in and out of the office.

Below, we’ll dive into the five focal points Chris Lyons makes sure to stress in his adaptable real estate business. For more information on building your business, explore these real estate success stories.

1Establish Trust Oriented Real Estate Teams

Sounds simple right? Choosing people you trust. But it takes dedication along with trial and error to find the right people for your team.

Chris Lyons built his team by choosing people who were motivated and had similar mindsets when it came to their livelihoods. He jokes that he uses the “vacation test.” If you could imagine yourself going on vacation with this person and having a great time, then you could probably work with them on a daily basis.

Best Practices: How Hiring the Right Talent Affects Overall ROI

With two locations in Amarillo and Lubbock, Chris denotes every member of the brokerage, a member of the team. He makes sure to remember that his team members are the most important element in his business, and without them, this reality isn’t possible.

2Work With Adaptable Team Models

Now team models vary depending on size, personality and leader. But just because you decide on one does not mean you can’t try several on for size over time. Team models are meant to adapt to where you are with your business, along with lead distribution methods.

Create the Agent Process Perfect for Your Team

Lyons Realty combined models and works with the hybrid ISA model. For every lead who registers, that lead is automatically assigned to an agent. However, the hybrid aspect comes into play when the customer care team still calls the leads within the first five minutes.

In other words, the customer care team is still qualifying the leads right off the bat, but the agent takes over when the lead is placed in an appropriate category.

The Lyons team relies on the customer care team to do the initial qualify process. If leads do not answer right away, the “cc team” will spend the following six weeks attempting to make contact.

No Contact After Six Weeks: The lead is moved into nurture or watch.

Contact Before Six Weeks: Place in the appropriate category and agent takes it from there.

Get Started with Your Follow-Up: The 7 Emails You Need to Send to Real Estate Leads

3Create Your Main Hub with a Real Estate CRM

What the Lyons Realty team has mastered though is understanding that technology is a catalyst for connectivity and customer service.

Where many teams look to technology for support, the Lyons team keeps it at the core of their business.

“We found a system that really works and the best experience for the shoppers. And we wouldn’t go back.”

Depending on one system closes the loop between many broken ends in the real estate process. This creates a seamless click to close process for the consumer and user.

No matter the system, it is extremely important for the longevity of your business to replicate your systems during expansion. When the Lyons team decided to expand to Lubbock, Texas, they made sure to do so.

How to Choose the Technology that Helps, Not Hurts

4Encourage Real Estate Team Accountability

You have the team. You’re on board with the technology. Now how do you promote accountability for best practices?

Lyons admits, “The agents are all super busy. The thing with BoomTown, it’s just not the new leads coming in, it’s the clients they already have that are in love with the system. And so it just grows and grows.”

And with this growth comes a need for accountability.

Watch Our Video On Maximizing Your Accountability Tools

Lyons Realty doesn’t rely only on BoomTown accountability tools to stay on track. They also incorporate consistent training.

“Every team meeting we do what’s called a BoomTown Ten. It’s a little training that our customer care manager does, and it’s great. The agents love it, some of them use it more than others, but it’s turned into a vital part of our business.”

5Last Step? Close the Loop on Customer Service

Close the loop. Real estate agents focus so much time on generating leads, much less time on following-up with leads who don’t want to act right away, and even less time asking why certain things worked or did not work.

After attending the BoomTown Unite for several years, the Lyons team has picked up a lot of advice along the way.

Last year’s event hit home the importance of reviewing their customer’s experiences after closing. RealSatisfied was the tool they picked up and have been using it ever since.

Are you a BoomTown Client? Don’t forget to sign-up for this year’s Unite Conference! 

Reaching out to clients after their transaction is complete further hit home the importance of a technology that perfectly bridges the gap between agent and consumer.

Technology has the ability to create better customer experiences which lead to closings. The Lyons team simply uses their technology. And this continues to lead to their fantastic success.

The post How Lyons Realty Is Beating Everyone At The Real Estate Game appeared first on BoomTown!.

A fixer-upper can often seem like a first-time homebuyer’s dream: an older home with great bones that simply needs an update or perhaps a few tweaks to its layout.

Unfortunately, even seemingly straightforward projects can be fraught with hidden problems discovered once work begins. While disclosure laws seek to protect homebuyers, sellers can always claim ignorance to problems like lead paint, and disclosures on distressed and bank-owned properties are nowhere near as complete as they are for traditional sales.

But that doesn’t mean you have to risk getting stuck with a money pit. Here are five ways to project yourself when buying a fixer-upper.

Ideabook: Can You Handle That Fixer-Upper?

CertaPro Painters of Seattle: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Look out for lead paint.

If you’re buying a home that was built before 1978, it may contain some lead paint. “You will often find lead in exterior siding; wood window frames and sills; old solid-core door frames, jambs and the doors themselves; and painted walls and ceilings in kitchens and bathrooms,” says Dan Ventura of Hawk Environmental Services.

While it’s mandatory for sellers to disclose whether they have knowledge of any lead paint present in their house, they are required to do so only when they’ve specifically tested for it, and the law does not require that a test be performed.

“Lead paint isn’t a hazard until it’s chipping, flaking or chalky,” Ventura says. Which is exactly what will happen if you disturb those surfaces during a remodel.

Fortunately, you can easily look for clues that lead paint may have been used in the home. If the house was recently remodeled, lead paint dust may be present, so request a lead-dust- wipe analysis as a contingency of sale. During this noninvasive test, an inspector will swipe a section of floor with a special wipe and test the dust it gathers for lead.

Another option is to request an XRF test, in which the inspector uses a special tool to search for lead. “This allows us to test all the surfaces in the home and produce a spreadsheet report of exact lead content and locations,” says Ventura.

This option is much more expensive than the first, though, costing anywhere between $650 and $1,000 for an average residence, as opposed to just $100 for a swipe test.

Ventura also recommends walking the perimeter of the home to look for paint chips. If you see some, request that the soil be tested for lead, as well.

It’s also smart to request soil tests for areas where you might be considering a vegetable garden or a child’s play area. “Those areas have different thresholds for what’s accepted,” says Ventura.

Do you have a Houzz Profile for your real estate business? Create one for free today! 

Fresh Finishes Painting: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Check for asbestos.

“Asbestos may be present in any building material that is not wood, metal or glass,” says Ventura. While we often look for asbestos in materials like popcorn ceilings or vinyl tiles, it can often lurk in unexpected places, like specialty textures, appliance components and insulation.

Ventura says one easy way to check for asbestos is to pull the metal caps from the heating registers and look inside. “Sometimes they’ll scrape the popcorn ceiling, and they won’t do it properly for asbestos,” says Ventura. “Guys that are doing a halfway job like that usually don’t cover up the registers, and you’ll find popcorn dust in the registers.”

Be aware that asbestos is still legal for use in certain building materials, like some roof patches, but it’s much more likely to be present in homes built or remodeled before 1981.

When you’re dealing with a house that predates that year, you might want to consider asbestos testing as a contingency, but you’ll need to get permission first, because testing is a destructive process that requires removing certain materials.

Hawk Environmental Services: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Hunt for mold.

Notice a musty smell? Start looking for flood damage and mold. Telltale signs of water damage include wall stains and swollen baseboards. You should also look for signs of a cover-up.

“I like to look for sections of baseboard and trim that don’t match the rest of the room, pull toe-kick registers in kitchen cabinetry and look under them, and pull drawers out of kitchen cabinetry and look at the Sheetrock in back of the drawer,” says Ventura. “I also look at baseboards and sheet vinyl flooring around bathtubs and showers to make sure there’s no staining, discoloration or inflammation, as well as any unusual patches in walls.”

He also recommends checking trim flooring in and around any door leading to an outdoor space, and insisting that your home inspector get into every attic and crawl space to look for water damage there.

If you still can’t find the source of the smell, Ventura says you might not have to worry. Older carpets and furnishings — especially in basements — tend to hold humidity in benign ways, thus creating that musty smell.

Rad Design Inc. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Check for broken bones. 

Look closely at the roof. Is it sagging? This is a sign of weakened or faulty roof material, or that the structure is simply too weak to support the weight of the roof, both of which are expensive problems to fix.

Make sure the floors are level. Uneven floors can also be evidence of a structural problem or an issue with the soil the home is built on.

You should also take a peek inside the electrical box. If it’s a mess, that’s a good indication that you’re going to have to do some rewiring.

And if the home has ever been remodeled, make sure it’s properly ventilated. Ventura says he’s worked on many houses that had recently been flipped, and the flipper had tightened the building envelope without adding new heating or ventilation. As a result, the off-gassing from the new paint and carpeting made the new residents sick.

“Invariably, a lot of it leads back to ventilation,” he says.

Bill Fry Construction. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Have a chat with the planning department.

Bill Fry of Bill Fry Construction warns that skipping this simple step can cost many homeowners their dreams. For example, the water department may not allow you to add a bathroom. And then there’s the problem of additional square footage. “In many municipalities, adding on 500 square feet or more is a magic number where more requirements kick in, such as fire sprinklers, which need to be anticipated in your budget,” Fry says.

He also cautions Californians that projects permitted after July 1, 2014, will be subject to more stringent CalGreen requirements.

Get a Professional’s Opinion on the Status of Your Fixer-Upper

The post 5 Things to Consider Before Buying a Fixer-Upper appeared first on BoomTown!.

While a home inspection is your first line of defense against hidden property damage, your inspector can report only what can be seen. And while an inspector can peek into an attic, he or she can’t peer into the home’s past.

Fortunately, most states require sellers to fill out and sign disclosure agreements, which are meant to shed light on damage that may lurk beyond an inspector’s line of sight. Disclosure agreements not only protect the buyer from unforeseen problems; they also protect the seller from legal action down the road.

Ideabook: 5 Risks in Buying a Short-Sale Home – and How to Handle Them

The point at which disclosure is made depends not only on the state you live in, but on the real estate market in your area. Where bidding wars are the norm, agents are likely to make the disclosure available right at listing, while buyers in less competitive markets may not see the disclosure until a few days after the house goes into escrow.

What should you expect to see in a disclosure agreement? And can you do even more to protect yourself? Find out here.

Bob Michels Construction Inc.: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Disclosure agreements typically take the form of a checklist and are a few pages long. While disclosure requirements vary by state, they most commonly include information about appliances, structural components (like the roof and foundation) and environmental hazards (like lead or asbestos).

Legal expert Ilona Bray of Nolo.com points out that while the trend seems to be toward making disclosure agreements more extensive, some states are more specific than others. California, for example, is among the strictest, and Arizona requires disclosures based on its unique pest-control problems. “In Arizona they have problems with scorpions and burrowing owls, so those are on the disclosure list,” says Bray.

Check with your state to find out exactly what’s required.

A caveat: Disclosure agreements require sellers to tell only what they know about the property. That can complicate matters in situations like bank-owned properties and estate sales, where the seller may not know much about the house.

“In California sellers are exempt in a foreclosure situation from doing the typical disclosure,” says real estate agent Julie Angelo of Berkshire Hathaway. That’s because a bank likely won’t know if a toilet once flooded the bathroom or the basement sprung a leak 15 years ago.

In cases like estate sales or foreclosures, Angelo stresses the importance of choosing a highly qualified inspector.

“If there’s any sort of hint that something needs to be looked at, hire a specialist,” says Angelo.

“The best way to protect yourself is to assume the worst and spend the money in advance on a plumber, an electrician, a soils expert — all those things — so you know in advance and can make price adjustments in your negotiation rather than being stuck after the fact.”

Ballard + Mensua Architecture: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Of course, there’s always the risk that a seller may still not know everything about the house. Bray says it’s important to protect yourself by reading the disclosure form carefully and taking note if a seller has included a lot of “I don’t knows.” In that case you’ll need to do some extra digging.

“For example, if the homeowner doesn’t know anything about the furnace, look at it, write down the serial number, check consumer websites for recalls, and when the inspector comes, make a special note asking them to take a look at its age and condition,” says Bray.

1 Special Moment. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

While you and your agent can usually make sense of a disclosure agreement together, it’s wise to call in outside help if the document discloses a lot of problems, or if you’re stretching your budget to afford the house. “Construction management teams usually have someone who can look at those things and make sense of them,” says Angelo.

For example, a cracked foundation can mean any number of things to a layperson, but an experienced contractor will be able to get to the root of the problem. He or she will also likely give you a ballpark estimate for what it might cost to fix any problems, so you can build those extra costs into your offer.

If you do move into a house and suspect that the information on the disclosure agreement was false, Bray suggests first taking a deep breath before getting upset. “Keep in mind that homes are continually aging, and one can overreact,” says Bray.

On the other hand, you do have legal recourse in the case of a problem that couldn’t possibly have just popped up. For example, Bray describes a situation in which the buyers moved in and water suddenly started pouring into the house through the ceiling. The home had acoustic tiles, and the homeowner pushed them aside and found a cooking pot that had been tucked in to catch leaking water.

“That’s definitely a situation where you’ve got pretty solid evidence that somebody knew about this before the house was sold and just did not disclose,” says Bray.

More commonly, however, homeowners find themselves in more ambiguous situations, where there’s little evidence to prove whether the previous owners knew about a potential problem. In these cases Bray recommends hiring a contractor to assess the situation, and even talking to neighbors to find out if there was ever any talk of a problem. In the end you’ll need to decide whether the time and money spent on a lawsuit outweigh the cost of simply fixing the problem.

Fortunately, by doing your due diligence and working closely with your inspector, you can likely avoid these issues in the first place and enjoy your home without putting your lawyer on speed dial.

The post What to Expect in a Home-Sale Disclosure appeared first on BoomTown!.

The real estate industry spends immense amounts of money on technology products every year. We live in a sea of product possibility.

But what the real estate industry does not spend a lot of money on consistently is training for those same products.

The secret weapon for real estate team technology training lies within this disparity.

But first, let’s break this down with an example.

Every year around January 1st our friends, family and co-workers lead into the New Year with a barrage of resolutions: “Lose Weight,” “Start Eating Healthy,” “Stop Procrastinating,” “Start Living,” etc.

How many people do you know who actually achieve their New Year’s Resolution? And how did they do it?

I would venture to say through support, good planning, and most importantly, dedication to the process.

And there it is. The secret weapon to real estate team technology training really is this simple. Dedicate yourself and your team to the process.

But this secret weapon goes a step further. It is not the process itself, but the person or people who make it happen on a daily basis.

And drum roll please … the secret weapon to real estate team tech training is a technology advocate.

Real Estate Technology Advocates

These people are your trainers, your cheerleaders, your teachers, and your in-house experts. There are almost as many ways to advocate for technology in your company as there are to define a team. Which, sufficed to say, is a lot.

But the proven formula we have born witness to for technology training in real estate offices usually goes something like this:

Out of House Training + In-House Expert + Proven Process + Accountability

= Adoption

Without any of these components the formula falls apart.

This formula also stresses the importance of aligning yourself with a technology company who offers tailored training plans for what you need at any give point, not only at the beginning of your journey.

Step One: Align Yourself with a Technology Team

In a sea of real estate technology solutions, it’s sometimes hard to imagine being an expert in everything you use for your business nowadays. But those brokerages and teams who take the time to master their systems, tend to excel with success.

Aligning yourself with a technology company who provides a product and the team to train you and your company is essential.

These teams extend well beyond initial adaptation and good teams will continue to help strategize through all the ups and downs your business may experience.

Step Two: Implement In-House Real Estate Technology Experts

Now this is the step that true technology advocacy comes into play. Long gone are the days that we can wish upon others the task of understanding the systems that fuel our days, and our success.

To achieve and understand success aided by technology, you also need to understand the technology.

And this is not difficult if you first train with the tech company in question. Good training programs won’t make this seem like work at all, but rather a transition from one way of doing things to another much easier route.

When the first step is underway, it is then time to find the technology advocates in your own office. Who are the people who speak up when someone needs clarification or help working through a process?

According to Alyssa Hellman, Director of the Go School of Real Estate at Go Realty in North Carolina, these technology advocates are the people who keep things moving.

Step Three: Experiment and Adopt a Proven Process

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new processes when it comes to implementing technologies.

With BoomTown Clients for example, the entire process for adoption is centered around a personal approach. There is constant community support and communication to encourage finding the right process to fit every business.

After all, this is the only way to figure out how exactly to tailor your technology to your business. 

For more tips on real estate training and strategy, head on over to the BoomTown Library! 

Kevin Smits of Century 21 Gold in Colorado has dedicated his entire team structure to facilitating training in both technology and the best practices in real estate.

He finds his technology advocacy largely in BoomTown Training. But through his onboarding process, advocates grow and develop in every role creating a constant stream of in-house experts as well.

His new team members always navigate through the same levels of training and skill sets. These levels contribute to a holistic knowledge of how Century 21 Gold runs their business and treats technology.

Training is built into his process and the process is built into his training in order for both to be mastered at the same time. And to progress, both technology and process must be put into successful practice.

Step Four: Active Accountability

Accountability is vital for success. And accountability comes into play every step of the way when it comes to real estate technology training. Since technology is always changing, staying accountable to your process will help to account for those changes.

Kevin Smits does this by sending out a check-in email every day to maintain consistent accountability among all team members. These check-ins involve progress and how it is noted within their system.

Video: Maximizing Your Accountability Tools

The post The Secret Weapon for Real Estate Team Technology Training appeared first on BoomTown!.

Buyers love the allure of a fresh, beautiful bathroom that reminds them of luxury hotels or soothing spas they have enjoyed. And, most important, buyers want to envision themselves enjoying this luxury every day in their new home.

However, the reality is that most of us do not have the perfect bathroom. And we know that, in most instances, it is not a wise investment to do a full, costly renovation just for a home sale. It simply doesn’t translate into profit.

A better strategy is to maximize what you already have, on a budget. You want to transform your real-life, everyday bathroom into a five-star hotel experience that prospective buyers will love, without over capitalizing. Here are simple ways to create havens with a wow factor. 

1. Clear off the counters to create a blank canvas.

Remove all of your everyday toiletries and bathroom supplies. This includes soaps, toothbrushes, cotton balls — everything. (And don’t forget the products in the shower.) Buyers do not want to see your personal hygiene products. In fact, this can make them feel as though they are intruding on your personal space, which can be distracting and a little awkward.

Anne Webster Designs Pty Ltd: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

2. Get rid of cleaning products.

Remove all items that imply housework and maintenance, such as toilet brushes, wastepaper baskets, sponges, cleaning products, bath mats — even spare toilet rolls. These are a necessary part of everyday living, but they do not create a beautiful spa-like experience for your buyers.

Tip: Remove the bathroom scale, too. Remember, your buyers want a luxurious bathroom experience, not a reminder of those extra pounds they are trying to lose.

3. Maximize your storage. Storage space sells. Your buyers will be looking inside your bathroom cupboards to see how much space they offer. Make sure they are only half to two-thirds full and well organized. Store the little things you use everyday (hair elastics, lip gloss) in a pretty box or basket with a lid to avoid a tidal wave of trinkets on the shelves.

Tip: If you’re running out of space to store your toiletries, keep the overflow in simple wicker baskets. When buyers are coming to inspect your home, just grab the baskets.

One Small Room – OSR Interiors & Building Design: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

4. Make minor upgrades.

Rather than spending many thousands completely renovating your bathroom, it’s much smarter to spend your money only where it will show and to make small, inexpensive upgrades that will create a large impact. As a general rule, improvements that can’t easily be seen don’t translate into a higher sale price.

The best bang-for-your-buck bathroom upgrades are: repainting the walls, replacing leaking and worn taps, updating the cabinet hardware, installing new light fittings and updating towel bars.

Note:  In some bathrooms it’s also worth considering changing the tiles (large white tiles always make a bathroom feel more spacious and contemporary), replacing shower screens and investing in new cabinetry and countertops. This is often warranted in a higher-priced property, where buyers are looking for (and expecting) a higher level of bathroom luxury.

5. Clean thoroughly.

Clean everything to within an inch of its life. No, it’s certainly not exciting, but it’s super important. Buyers will pay a premium for new, so your aim is to create a new feel. Everything must be immaculate, as this creates the impression that your home has been well maintained and well loved.

Mink Home Staging: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

6. Hang Luxurious Towels

Any bathroom can be instantly transformed by adding beautiful, soft towels. New is best (once towels have been washed, they never look quite the same). So it’s a great idea to keep your new towels just for display only. Pack them away between buyer inspections and reinstate them just before the prospective buyers arrive.

Tip: If there is a lot of extra counter space, you can also place a neatly folded pile of two or three matching towels on the vanity or side of the bath for extra luxury.

Thick, white, luxurious towels always work well, and there are some beautiful textured options. Funky, brightly colored towels are popular at the moment too; for a more dramatic effect, you could consider adding a splash of bold color.

Touch Interiors: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

7. Stick with Neutrals

If you are going to repaint your walls, upgrade your tiles or invest in new cabinetry, it’s always a good idea to keep to a neutral palette for these larger elements, as it will appeal to more buyers. If you want to add some fresh color, use towels and accessories.

8. Beautify with accessories. 

Now that you have cleared away your personal bathroom products, bring in a few well-chosen accessories to add a layer of warmth, elegance and luxury. Think about creating a spa-like experience with accessories in tranquil, soft colors. Include fragrant soaps, bath oils, natural loofahs and candles.

See a Savvy DIYer’s Dramatic $400 Bathroom Makeover

It’s important to display these products as groupings rather than scattering them around the room; scattered products can look like clutter. Less is better. Think simplicity. You may want to consider using a wooden tray as a base and group items together in odd numbers. Vary the height of candles and jars, too.

BG Architecture. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

9. Use flowers for impact. 

Fresh flowers and plants make any space come alive, and the bathroom is no exception. They make a dramatic impact, adding instant color and texture. Orchids are always a favorite in bathrooms; however, there’s no need to always buy huge bouquets. In a smaller room, a single stem of your favorite bloom, a small planter or even a branch with beautiful leaves placed in a jar will look understated and elegant.

10. Add a stool or an ottoman. 

To create the ultimate private-hotel-suite look for your buyers, add a beautiful decor piece that is functional as well. Put a stool beside the bathtub and add neatly folded face and hand towels, soap, a candle, potted plants or even a good book. You could also use other beautiful occasional pieces of furniture, such as a marble side table, a long ottoman stacked with fresh towels or a bamboo ladder, to add extra style and take your room to another level.

The post How Your Bathroom Could Sell Your House appeared first on BoomTown!.

Selling a home was difficult even before the market started to slide. Now every penny counts more than ever — which means that every leaky window, every dangling gutter and every ugly cabinet can make a big difference in the price of your home. While we all have a natural tendency to nest in the places we live, the reality is that many of the changes you make (or don’t make) can make or break your home’s appraised value.

What to do — and what not to do — before and after a home appraisal? We asked Houzz users and professional appraisers across the country for their tips.

When remodeling: DO tackle all the major features in each room. 

Kitchen — DO have:

• An open layout
  
• Newer matching appliances, stainless steel
  
• Extra perks like small beverage refrigerators, dual dishwashers, instant hot water and a central vacuum clean-out
  
• Granite countertops
  
• Custom cabinetry

DON’T try to fix outdated cabinetry or countertops. These need to be replaced if you want to add value — new hardware won’t be enough to fix them.

Rikki Snyder: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Bathroom — DO have:

• New fixtures and mirrors
  
• A freshly painted tub if necessary
  
• Natural light
  
• Good ventilation
  
• New or refaced cabinetry

DON’T let your bathroom feel dark or have any outdated colors or materials.

AHBL: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Exterior — DO:

• Pick plants that are evergreen and perennial so your yard always has pops of color.
  
• Put in new exterior light fixtures.
  
• Add on extra touches like shutters or planter boxes to give your exterior charm.
  
• Put a fresh coat of paint on the front door.
  
• Keep grass and landscaping healthy and not overgrown.
  
• Replace worn-out fencing.

DO pay attention to low-cost finishing touches that can make a big difference. Peeling or chipped paint, mildew, exposed insulation or pipe insulation and visible dry rot are small details that your appraiser is sure to notice. If you have a basement, make sure there are no signs of water leaks, moisture or mildew. Visible evidence will get mentioned in the appraiser’s report.

DON’T try to change your home’s style. “Always stay with the style of your home and go with the features that enhance it the most,” says Tom Blair of Justin Thomas Appraisal in San Ramon, California.

Nicole Helene Designs: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Interior layout — DO:

• Incorporate a smooth and open layout. Anything that feels too cramped or doesn’t make sense might need help from a good contractor before going on the market.
• Think about potential. Does a basement have the capability of turning into a media room, or are the ceilings too low?
• Fix negative features when possible. Small bathrooms, rooms that are accessed through other rooms, slanted second-floor ceilings and small kitchens can be a downside.

DON’T worry about changing features that are common for the home’s age and area. Appraisers do take into account the way the home functions in the area and for its age. “In Atlanta, the downtown-area homes built in the 1920s had two bedrooms and one bathroom, which is common for this area. But that house wouldn’t function properly in suburban Atlanta, with newer homes that have three to four bedrooms,” says Mark Skapinetz of What’s It Worth? Appraisals.

Kenny Craft, CNU LEED AP: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

Before your appraisal:

DO make a list of recent improvements to your home. Think big and small here — this can range from renovating the kitchen to painting your deck. Make sure your appraiser has a list when comparing your home to others in the area.

DO talk to your appraiser before the inspection. Discuss your house and its history. Find out the appraiser’s history, number of years in business, and knowledge of the area. “The key in getting a fair appraisal is to have an appraiser that is experienced and knowledgeable in the local market, and that you’ve checked out,” says Greg Wilkinson of Worth Every Dollar Appraisals in Atlanta.

DO ask your agent to do a walk-through with the appraiser. Houzz user Genevieve Llerena says this is the best decision she made. “She pointed out all of the work that I’d done and made sure the appraiser was familiar with all of the comparables in our area. She reminded him of how our location made a difference in the comparables.”

Modern Patio. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

DON’T try to predict your appraised value based on listings in your area. There are far too many factors to be taken into account here. “Just because something is listed at $300,000 doesn’t mean it will sell at $300,000, especially in today’s market,” says Skapinetz.

DON’T stage it for the appraiser. There’s no need to do staging until you begin showing your home to buyers. Straightening up and doing light cleaning for the appraiser is fine, but not necessary.

After your appraisal:

DO consider getting a second opinion. Many lenders won’t allow multiple appraisals for a loan, but if you’re not getting an appraisal for lending purposes, it could be worthwhile to get more than one opinion of value if you feel like your home has been seriously undervalued.

The post From the Pros: The Dos and Don’ts of Home Appraisals appeared first on BoomTown!.

Chances are, you’re already using social media. And you most likely arrived at this post through a social channel. The question now though is whether or not you are effectively using social media in your real estate business.

From years of experimenting with the best social media strategies, we’ve created BoomTown’s Guide to Using Social Media in Real Estate. The guide below will help you to put your best social media foot forward and increase the quality of your social media responses.

The first and most crucial step in using social media in your Real Estate business is to identify your social strategy. Building a strategy for your business should begin with knowing your audience, yourself, your brand and your goals.

Your strategy may shift slightly over time, but at its core, should remain steady and completely in line with your overall business objectives.

Know Your Audience

Unless you are trying to launch a new business model targeting a new demographic, you need to take a look at your typical buyers and sellers. In some cases, they may have preferences similar to your own. Are you frequently using Twitter in your personal life, or are you more of a Facebook user? Keep your average customer top of mind when you are forming your strategy.

For example, if your audience skews older, they are more than likely going to be more frequent users of Facebook as opposed to Snapchat.

Through knowing your audience, you are not only well-armed to choose the social channel(s) best for your business, but you are also better equipped to use the targeting those channels have to offer. Using demographic and interest targeting for your advertising on social channels allows you to continue to effectively build your addressable audience.

Why is social marketing a no brainer? It provides the ability to address your current audience easily and frequently while also having the opportunity to acquire new audience members.

Know Yourself

That said, be honest with yourself when developing your social strategy. The worst thing you can do is build a social profile for your business and then leave it unattended.

“Set it and forget it” is a phrase you need to forget, in all elements of business, but that is especially true in regards to your social strategy.

If you do not have someone available to assist in posting to and managing your social account(s), take advantage of the scheduling opportunities offered within your channel(s) of choice.

Employ this Strategy Today: Scheduling Posts

• Devoting a few hours each month to scheduling posts is a proven time saving strategy. Keep in mind, you’ll still want to mix in more time-sensitive posts every now and then, such as last minute events, news, market updates and occasionally listings. Scheduled posts are easily leveraged for sharing content on your website or events that are scheduled well in advance.

Know Your Brand

Your business’s social profiles need to be representative of your brand, not only in using your logo and brand colors (we recommend using a version of your logo for your profile image or avatar), but your brand should also be represented in the content you share and the voice you use.

Avoiding polarizing topics (such as politics or religion) seems like common sense, but it is important to keep in mind. Our recommendation is to be insightful about effects on your local community and market, but avoid anything on your page that you would avoid at a dinner party full of strangers.

Aside from the more polarizing topics, we encourage you to embrace your brand’s voice in your social strategy.

Be conversational in your social content, have fun with it, and get creative not only in what you are saying, but how you say it. Don’t be afraid to mix video into your posts and if you’re advertising, take advantage of different types of ads.

Need help with social advertising? Let us help! 

Facebook in particular has a ton of options to choose from, but every social platform has its own. From Canvas to Carousel, you have user friendly options at your fingertips, just be sure that it fits YOUR brand.

And when in doubt, don’t try to force your business into a shoe that doesn’t fit.

Know Your Goal

At the end of the day, everything you do in your business should be done with a goal in mind. From high level goals, such as a target GCI or number of sides, down to the post you published last Wednesday, you need to know what you are looking to accomplish with your actions; otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels.

If you are looking to educate or share information, we recommend including insightful, market-specific comments about a news article you are sharing to highlight your industry and market knowledge.

No matter what you are sharing, always be sure to include a call to action.

Even if you are linking to a news source or community website, also share a link to your website to learn more about a particular topic, or to search homes in an area. If those options are not relevant, at least tell the user how they can reach you if they have questions. Don’t be afraid to use the private messaging functions in each platform; they are a great, non intrusive way to start a conversation and customer relationship.

How to Handle Negative Comments on Social Media [Video]

Track Your Social Media Efforts

Second to knowing what your goal is, you need to know if you’re getting there! Tracking your efforts through your social channels allows you to know which are paying off and which are not.

Whether through the channel’s built-in analytics and insights, links containing utm tracking codes to your website, call tracking numbers,or the channel’s pixel (if you’re running paid advertising), you have a great number opportunities to see what is working for your business.

If you are leveraging a channel’s paid advertising platform, be sure your ad objectives are in line with your goal. For example, if you are looking to secure conversions on your website, be sure you are using the pixel to optimize towards conversions and not simply clicks to the website.

The pixel will allow you not only to see how many conversions you have garnered as a result of the campaign or ad, but will also allow the platform’s algorithm to show your ads to those individuals more likely to perform that action – two birds, one stone!

Interact

Last, but certainly not least, make sure you are interacting with the commenters, interactors and even detractors on your posts and ads. Not everyone has something nice to say, but it is a best practice to still respond to their comment. In many instances you have the opportunity to turn a negative into a positive, but if not, simply hide the comment and go on about your day.

The purpose of instituting a social strategy, at its core, is to establish and grow your audience and digital community. Starting and continuing the conversation is pivotal to the success of your social strategy and will allow you to ultimately develop that relationship offline as well.

If you are just getting started in setting up your business specific social profiles or need a quick refresher, check out our Library for how-tos and best practices!

The post The BoomTown Guide to Using Social Media in Real Estate appeared first on BoomTown!.

Stranger Things. Narcos. House of Cards. What do these all have in common other than being awesome shows? These shows were masterfully created and engineered to be the most-watched series on Netflix.

Having a system that tracks user behavior and data is pointless unless you actually use the information you collect to improve your business. Analyzing user behavior is exactly how executives at Netflix created hit series that they knew would captivate their consumers.

This was not by luck or chance. User behavior helped Netflix to make calculated and data-driven decisions that catapulted their business to unbelievable success. With the same notion, implementing user behavior can catapult your real estate business to success as well.

What Real Estate Can Learn From Netflix

Home sales in the Information Age has provided agents with an endless supply of tools and advanced technology that focus on getting your services in front of more consumers or streamlining the sales process. All invaluable to the savvy salesperson. Yet these tools pale in comparison to the concept of data and user behavior.

The idea is certainly not new. We are surrounded by custom content, curated based on our user behavior, like advertisements based on our internet browsing or suggested content based on our social media behavior. But what about using the behavior of a customer in a way that they feel they came to a decision organically, on their own volition. That is a level of mastery few companies and even industries have yet to achieve. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is Netflix’s streaming services and original content.

How Netflix Leverages Data

Collecting (and leveraging) data is not new. With the success of dotcom businesses and the rising power of analytics, many assume “user behavior” has been limited to interactions online. But that’s far from the truth. Collecting data isn’t only for large corporations and website-driven companies. It’s for anyone.

Wal-Mart used data obtained from barcode scanners (which were new in the 1990’s), and gave it to their suppliers. Wal-Mart and their partner factories analyzed their shoppers’ behavior. With this, they gained price advantages, streamlined shipments, and improved operations … all to beat K-mart.

Netflix utilized data they had been collecting since they were a DVD rental-by-mail company. This allowed them to carry lower inventory on less popular movies and TV Shows. The data points they collected on users translated incredibly well when they added streaming services, lowering their overhead costs and streaming content they knew users would watch.

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix, took it a step further. He used current and historical data from streaming users — and then had his team build an entirely new show destined to succeed … because it was based on data.

[ How To Double Your Online Lead Conversion with Better Lead Management ]

The data points told them which genre would be most widely received, which directors were most watched, and which plotlines were popular. They threw this all together and came up with a political drama loosely based on a popular British TV show, directed by David Fincher. It also allowed them to cast the right actors. At the time Kevin Spacey was wildly popular with their users. This data helped them build the framework for a show, but they kept leveraging data to define the finer points, like plotline, mood, and scenery. This resulted in the groundbreaking Netflix original House of Cards. And we all know how successful that was.

Other companies have since caught on. Now, leveraging big data and user behavior to curate content and predict future behavior is almost commonplace.

How You Can Leverage Data

The way that tech giants like Netflix, Google and Amazon collect massive amounts of data and user behavior to influence an action is not entirely divorced from the real estate industry. In fact, agents have many tools at their disposal that allow them to leverage this data and, in some cases, even predict a prospect’s future behavior. This process can be so nuanced that clients often think an agent is reaching out by happenstance or that they have come to a conclusion on their own, when in fact the agent used the data to point them down the right path and into a home.

There are many tools out there, of which many agents are already properly using. Listing Alerts, website usage, IDX searches, mortgage calculations, online property views, favoriting or saving properties online, online home valuations, just to name a few. All these tools are invaluable to data collection and making sure a prospect is primed and ready to buy.

For agents looking to adopt the concept of big data and user behavior, they need to find solutions that leverage and collect it properly. When looking for solutions, it’s imperative for agents to find something that marries the user’s experience with their backend solution or CRM. This way, the data is not only collected but also actionable. When shopping for new solutions ask yourself the following:

1. Does it collect user behavior?

For instance, your IDX website should collect everything a visitor does on the front end of the website. From property views all the way to what device they used. The more data the better.

2. Where is the data fed?

Getting a user’s behavior sent to you in a registration email or notification is not useful. It needs to be collected, aggregated and organized.

3. Is the data actionable?

It is true that big data focuses on capturing everything, in the off chance it could be used in the future (think Netflix). However in home sales we want to focus mostly on the immediate to 12 month buying cycle. Still, everything else is useful to identify trends.

4. What is the value of the users data?

Not all data is created equal, and can be distracting at times. A prime example is the collection of location based off IP addresses. While common, they are rarely a true indicator of the location of that buyer, and can actually confuse an agent.

5. Is it easy to use?

Does the solution take out the guesswork? If the tool can provide the best opportunities based off the user behavior, you have a winner.

In this below video, data scientist Sebastian Wernicke delivers a TED Talk titled “ How To Use Data To Make a Hit TV Show. In it, he discusses how to use data the right way to make strategic data-driven decisions while avoiding common pitfalls.

We have also created a side by side comparison of the behaviors that Netflix tracks, and similar behaviors that agents and brokers can track to help the convert and close more leads.

(Source: Kissmetrics)

Big data and user behavior should be on every real estate professional’s mind right now. It is changing the face of the industry. Embracing and mastering it will skyrocket your sales opportunities. Leveraging user behavior should always be at the forefront of your sales process. Find out how the BoomTown system tracks every action to empower you and your agents with insights they can act on.

The post Build Your Business Like House of Cards: What Agents Can Learn From Netflix appeared first on BoomTown!.

The Problem: Real estate website traffic arrives for a first-time visit, but drops off the face of the Earth afterwards, leaving no trace and a disappointed look on your face.

Why Does This Happen? We now live in a society filled with an increasing number of consumers who are wary committing to new products and services. And who could blame them? Online consumers, like you, are inundated with ads, offers and promotions every time we use the internet.

But there is a proven way to get around this. And with home ownership at the lowest it has been in 30 years, you shouldn’t wait one more second before implementing our solution.

Solution: In order to bring back 50 percent of your real estate website traffic, you must give your users the answers they want, when they want it, where they want it.

So, stop trying to convince yourself these options work:

• No! Only Market to Clients on the Streams You Like.
• No! Quantity Over Quality.
• No! Slow load times, generic websites, try to appeal to everyone.
• No! Haven’t heard from them? Forget ‘em!
• No! Set it and forget it, everything with work out if it’s supposed to.

And get on board with the tried and true strategies for winning repeat website traffic:  

• Yes! Meet Your Audience Where They’re At.
• Yes! Direct Follow-Up and Quality Content.
• Yes! Provide a Seamless User Experience.
• Yes! Stay Top of Mind.
• Yes! Track and Measure Everything.

1. Meet Your Audience Where They’re At

Who your audience is most likely an ever evolving population. Newer generations bring different ways to communicate, follow-up, and sell, while older generations may be searching and finding services through different routes.

But what may not change is the purpose and direction of your audience.

For example, Path & Post realty in Atlanta has a very specific audience which includes a range of ages and people, but still have several traits in common. They did extensive work to narrow down their audience persona and are now reaping the benefits.

Need to define your audience? Listen to how Path & Post did it on the BoomTown Closers Podcast:

Tune in to this episode of the Closers Podcast: Here! 

One situation most real estate businesses are adapting to now is the incoming of younger generations and their communication preferences.

Millennials and beyond are leaning towards less email, less commitment, lower response time and more of what they want. But with little to no direct communication, how can you tell what they want?

Find out where they are interacting, communicating, and finding their information online.

When you do this, you’ll be meeting your audience where they’re at. And to give a few helpful hints, here are a few go-to places where your potential real estate website traffic may be hiding:

On their phones, texting. If you do not use texting in your real estate follow-up, then you need to find a system which enables it, and go for the literal gold. You can find some handy text responses here to put to use right away.

Planning their dream home on Houzz. With over 35 million unique monthly users, this site is THE place to be when you own, rent, plan to own, plan to upgrade, or are dreaming of owning a home. You too, need to be here.

Houzz is free and easy to setup and another excellent way to show off all of the beautiful pictures from your favorite listings. Create your own Houzz account with our Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Using Houzz.

Communicate Via Slack. Heard of Slack? If not, find out how real estate businesses are loving and using the friendly new messaging tool here.

With over 3 million daily active users it is safe to say there are A LOT of users on Slack. But Slack isn’t only for team messaging. You can also use the single channel guest invite element to work with potential real estate clients.

Read specifically how to use this tool on the Slack how-to page here. Good to know: Slack support is extremely approachable and helpful.

If you have the lead’s email or contact information, make sure they know you are available for Slack chats as well. This adds an additional layer of access for those already using this tool at work. Boom!

Airbnb + Realtor. Consumers nowadays want to try before they buy. And any way you can create a new showing experience for this audience and advertise it on your website is a good for business.

Creating amazing experiences such as staying in the homes and working with partners like Airbnb are excellent opportunities to speak to a new generation of buyers.

Instagram. With the addition of Instagram Stories, this platform has a fresh new approach for business. Follow your popular local users, business owners, and past clients in order to reach a fresh new audience with your best property and lifestyle photos.

The direct messaging and comments capabilities allow you to both quickly communicate with users and direct potential website traffic to the actual listing page on your website for the respective photos.

Email. This is becoming tricky. Everyone is inundated with daily emails. And after you answer emails for work, friends, and family, consumers are becoming increasingly wary of the promotions, offers, and potential spam.

So don’t be any of those options above. Treat email for exactly what email should be: efficient, to the point, and fun (it is possible!). In the next section we will delve deeper into the art of email follow-up.

Direct Follow-Up and Quality Content

Consider for a second how many other emails your potential return real estate website traffic is receiving. Chances are, that number is higher than you think.

Now you have an advantage on your side that a home is a highly emotional purchase, not to mention a once in a lifetime occurrence for most people. They want to connect with you on some level, trust your opinion, and enjoy experience. Your content should reflect this and their time.

First, review your current emails and think to yourself if you would:  

1. Open
2. Read
3. Respond

If you don’t have follow-up emails already set-up for online leads, then visit our guide to get started. We have templates for several occasions and situations for when online leads register on your site for the first time.

Don’t know how to start your online lead follow-up emails? Well, we’ve started it for you:

Work Our Online Lead Follow-Up Templates Into Your Campaigns

These templates include concise follow-up email campaigns catered to specific sections of your audience. Speaking the audience as a whole would be akin to speaking to a toddler, teenager, and adult the same way.

These potential leads are not the same people and are not in the same place in life. Consider this, and then bolster your follow-up campaigns with quality content.

Your blog, area guides, social content, video, and more has to be direct and provide value. DO NOT try to fill your website to the brim with low quality content in order to get traffic. It will not work.

Don’t Know What to Write About?
Get Started With This Quick Video:

We have seen the most success with clients who created personalized content for their main pages, neighborhood guides, blog, etc.

The video linked to above is one of many in the BoomTown Library that is ready and waiting to give you advice on how and what to write about on your site.

The bottom line with any content you create or hire out for your site is that it needs to answer the exact questions your website traffic is asking. Avoid the fluff and commit to the real stuff.

Provide a Seamless User Experience

With return website traffic you have already introduced your website. And one of the best ways to secure a second visit is to decrease the main issues that discourage and cut first time visits short:

• Website isn’t loading fast enough.
• Content is generic and feels sterile.
• The listings take forever to load.
• Subpar listing photos.
• Making it difficult to get information.

To tackle several of these issues, you may need to consider re-doing or updating your website. Consider packaging your personal website and CRM together like we do here at BoomTown. This provides a seamless experience for you and your clients.

And remember, 47 percent of website traffic expect a site to load in less than 2 seconds. To add to it, 40 percent of website traffic will leave the site if the entire process takes over 3 seconds (Kissmetrics).

This is where your technology partner comes into the picture. They need to have these stats in mind at all times so you don’t have to worry about the specifics of load times, user experience, and seamless client to agent information transfers.

What you need to remember is the content component. If you are given a website that logistically works like a dream. Fill this website with content that makes working with you look like a dream.

Keep it local.

Keep it high quality.

Keep it quick and to the point.

And keep it ready for mobile. Because:

“Fifty-five percent of email is now opened on a mobile device,” according to a study done by Litmus.

Stay Top of Mind

Your one-time real estate website traffic is either not ready to commit, or looking for a better option. The goal for you is to be the best option the first time around. Then the second time around your high quality content, photos and user experience will win their contact information and business.

What is left to review is the appearances outside of your website. This includes social platforms, advertising, and remarketing. Below are two easy ways to remain top of mind to your website traffic right away:

Free Option: Join your local area or neighborhood Facebook groups. When there are questions about the community about anything from HOA information to area history, you can be there providing the answer. This does take time, but it keeps you top of mind for the areas you want to directly target.

Paid Option: Consider adding remarketing to your paid advertising regimen. People are ten times as likely to click a remarketing ad than a regular display ad. And the cherry on top is that these ads are only shown to people who have already clicked on your ads.

Do you have a team handling your advertising? As Google Partners, we have years of expert advice, campaign experience, and data ready to help your business. 

Find out more here.

 With ads, come Call-to-Actions. And with CTAs, come Landing Pages. If you have valuable content ready to go, use it here! This is your opportunity to create the most direct landing page and CTA copy in order for your ads to work the way they are supposed to.

A handy way to find out exactly what questions you need to answer for clients is to ask previous clients! This is oftentimes the most valuable market research you can find. And after you close on any transaction, make sure to track all of your progress!

Track and Measure All Website Traffic

Finding the return on your investment, whether it is money, time, manpower, is impossible unless you are tracking everything. And this is where a CRM with built-in accountability comes in.

Your social and email campaigns, time spent monitoring social platforms, the hours dedicated to writing good content or follow through with first time visitors and more are actions that contribute to your tracking.

The most common objection to tracking and measuring your progress is “not enough time.”

And the answer to this is you also don’t have time to waste on non-productive measures.

If you would be interested to learn more about how you can track when and where your real estate website traffic converts, don’t hesitate to contact our team or visit the BoomTown Library. Existing clients only need to call the client success team or support for handy tips to staying on track of your analytics.

For now, work on implementing the above practices into your business routines. You will see the return website traffic rise with each effort as users see you more as a local and less as just another real estate website.

The post How to Bring Back 50% of Your Real Estate Website Traffic appeared first on BoomTown!.

How do you make a space look and feel permanent, even when you know you may be moving on? And what about solutions to decorating and storage woes that don’t involve springing for built-ins you would only need to leave behind? If you don’t plan to stay in your current home long term (no matter whether you rent or own), check out these 12 ways to bring the color, style and space-saving storage you need — with pieces you can pack up and move with you when you go.

7 Things to Do Before You Move Into a New House

CDA Interior Design: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

1. A hefty furniture piece with architectural detail. Just one large-scale piece of furniture, like the stunning armoire shown here, is enough to give any space a more permanent look. A richly detailed piece can also make up for a lack of architectural detail in the space itself — and, like all of the pieces featured here, this one can go with you when you move.

2. Artistic investments. Original paintings, sculpture, handmade pottery, glass art and iconic designer pieces you adore are all worthy investments to make for the long haul. You can take them with you anywhere, and they will hold — or even gain — value over time.

Caitlin Wilson Design: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

3. An upholstered bed. Rather than spending on fancy wallpaper for the bedroom when you think you may move, bring in a big dose of color and pattern with an upholstered headboard. The height and shape of the headboard, paired with a print you love, is enough to make a focal wall — so you can leave the wall behind it bare.

4. Portable clothing storage. If you are short on closet space, pick up a clothing rack attractive enough to be on display. Store only your prettiest pieces on it, tucking the rest out of sight in drawers or in a closet. If you move to a bigger place in the future, you can always use it in the laundry room, or pull it out at parties to hold coats. If you have the closet space but lack organization, look for stand-alone storage units that you can tuck inside your closet to customize the space — without paying for built-ins.

Matthew Bolt Graphic Design: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

5. A piece with a built-in quality top. Even renters can have the satisfaction of “renovating” the kitchen with this neat trick: Buy a portable piece with a luxurious surface, like marble, copper or zinc, instead of the usual butcher block top. A breakfast table, baker’s rack or kitchen island would all work well.

6. Colorful rugs and lightweight furniture. Small- to medium-size woven rugs can bring a punch of color to a whole room without painting. Use them alone in smaller rooms or layered on top of larger rugs in a big space. Lightweight rattan chairs, small poufs and other accent furniture are also great for changing the look of a room — they can be the stars of the show in a small space and take on a supporting role in a larger home.

Lauren Liess Interiors: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

7. Natural-fiber and hide rugs. You can never go wrong with natural-fiber and hide rugs. They look great separately or layered, in living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. They can bring textural interest to a neutral scheme or provide a soothing neutral base to a home filled with splashes of color. And to top it all off, they are virtually indestructible.

8. A great big mirror. An oversize mirror instantly opens up a room and gives the impression you’re fully settled in your home, even if you just moved in. A mirror that looks equally good hung on the wall or propped against it is the most versatile.

Emily A. Clark: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

9. Simple shelving units in multiples. You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on shelving unless you want to — just buy multiples of basic bookcases and line them up side by side for a custom look.

You can personalize your shelves by adding a coat of color or patterned paper to the back wall, or by gluing grosgrain ribbon trim across the shelf fronts.

10. Your own light fixtures. You do not have to live with light fixtures you don’t like, even if you rent.

Most landlords won’t have a problem with you swapping out the light fixtures, as long as you replace the old ones before you move out — which you will want to do anyway, so you can bring your classy light fixtures along to your next place.

Can’t change fixtures? Find a Variety of Floor Lamps Instead.

Vanessa Francis. Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

11. Stuff on the walls! Even if you are in a very temporary place, don’t skimp on putting stuff up on the walls.

Filling holes and touching up paint before you move out will take only about an hour — it’s worth it. Before moving to your next place, take a photo of your art wall so you can re-create it in your next apartment without starting from scratch.

12. Houseplants and potted trees. Greenery can solve a plethora of decorating dilemmas, from filling blank corners to disguising unattractive features. And plants clean the air to boot. It’s true you must be careful when moving your plants to a new home, but it can be done — and it’s definitely worth the effort.

The post 12 Pieces of Furniture for People Preparing to Move appeared first on BoomTown!.

The leaves are falling, the farmer’s markets are bustling and the cozy comforts of home beckon — it must be October. Make the most of this month’s bountiful harvest, get some exercise raking leaves in the brisk air and button down your house in preparation for winter. Then sit back, relax and warm your hands around a mug of hot apple cider. Fall is here.

How to Prepare for and Live With a Power Outage

Connor Homes: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

1. Rake Leaves. To make quicker work of collecting leaves from a large lawn, rake the fallen foliage onto a large plastic tarp. Then bag it or add it to your compost pile.

2. Trim dead tree limbs. Dead limbs are more likely to fall during winter storms, making them a potential safety hazard. Have an arborist inspect and trim large trees.

3. If you haven’t already, clean gutters and downspouts. Wait until most of the leaves have fallen to schedule a rain gutter cleaning. Inspect gutters and downspouts for cracks and loose parts and make repairs as needed.

SHED Architecture & Design: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

4. Neaten up the mudroom. The back-to-school (and work) flurry can leave the mudroom looking as if a hurricane hit it. Take some time to regain sanity — sort through papers and put away stray summer items and extra coats. Clean the floors and invest in a new doormat if needed. Keep a recycling basket near the entrance to make sorting mail and school papers easier, and dedicate a tote or bin for items that need to be returned (like library books).

5. Keep seasonal decorating low-key with natural finds. Pumpkins and gourds, fresh heirloom apples, quinces, pomegranates, figs and fall foliage all make wonderfully simple decor.

Bring in cut branches from your yard, stop by a pick-your-own farm or scoop up fall’s bounty at a farm stand.

David Butler Photography: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

6. Maintain your wood stove or fireplace. If you have a fireplace or wood stove, it’s essential for safety that you have it serviced before lighting the first fire of the season. If you haven’t done so already, schedule an appointment to have your chimney inspected and, if necessary, cleaned.

7. Check safety devices. Test all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the house and replace batteries as needed. Check the expiration date on the kitchen fire extinguisher and replace it if needed.

8. Start a gift list. It may seem like the holidays are a long way off — but that’s why it pays to start getting organized now. Start a list of everyone you plan to give gifts to this year. Then, as ideas strike, jot them down on your list. You can also use your list to keep track of a holiday gifting budget. And if you want to make any gifts by hand, October is a great time to get started — handmade gifts always seem to take longer to make than expected.

Alderwood Landscape Architecture and Construction: Click to View the Original Photo on Houzz!

9. Cover or store outdoor furniture and grills. If you plan to leave your patio furniture or grill outside through the fall and winter, cover them well and stow them beneath an overhang that will protect them from rain and snow. Even if you live in a mild climate, covering your grill between uses is a good idea to protect the finish. 

10. Shut off exterior faucets and store hoses for winter. Disconnect, drain and roll hoses before storing them for the winter. Shut off the water supply to exterior faucets to prevent frozen pipes.

The post 10 Maintenance Tasks to Get Your Home Ready for Fall appeared first on BoomTown!.

With so many CRM systems and other products saturating the real estate technology market, how do you know which is the best real estate CRM?

While there are standard productivity-enhancing features in most CRM systems, what works for your colleagues might not be the system that works for you. It’s important to do the research to find the CRM that’s right for you and your business.

We asked one of our clients, Mike Grbic of Select Homes Team Real Estate, to weigh in with his story on how finding the best real estate CRM helped his team reach their ultimate success.

The Select Homes Success Story

Armed with the BoomTown CRM and a unique vision for growing a team, Mike grew Select Homes Team Real Estate to become the #1 Real Estate Team in Kansas, and #10 Team in the US by the Wall Street Journal.

In his first six months of business, he did 25 units. Within his first year, he had done 93 units. By this fourth year, he was at 234 units. But then, he hit a ceiling. For the next 5 years, Mike and his team bounced around the 300 range, but could not break into the 400s.

But then, in 2011 he signed on with BoomTown, and saw major changes. In his first year with BoomTown, he went from 393 transactions in 2011, to 688 transactions in 2012. His numbers only grew steadily from there.

Mike’s story, as well as the success stories of real estate professionals across the nation, highlight the value and long-term benefits of having a CRM system in place. All real estate professionals should have a system that helps you foster client relationships, increase productivity, and accomplish your ultimate goals.

Continue reading if you are in doubt having a CRM is worth the cost, or are unsure if your current system is giving you the best bang for your buck.

What is the Purpose of a CRM?

REAL Trends conducted a recent study titled “CRM + Agent Adoption = Productivity,” to determine the presence, usage and overall impact of CRM systems within the real estate industry. They found data that supports a high correlation between CRM usage and agent productivity.

Even though the particular processes in CRM usage may differ across brokerages and agent teams, the purpose of using a CRM is to strengthen client relationships and increase productivity.

The study showed that 96.2% of brokerages and 94.6% of agents felt that the use of a real estate CRM increased agent productivity to some degree. Most agents responded that using a CRM system increased their productivity by at least 50%, and even the majority of brokerages felt that agents who actively used a CRM were 50% more productive than agents who did not.

And the results don’t lie. In fact, the numbers support what the agents and brokers themselves sensed. Agents who use a CRM close more transactions. REAL Trends found that brokers who provided a real estate CRM system to their agents showed on average 28.2% more transaction sides per agent than brokers who did not provide a CRM. This may not seem like a huge gap, but these results reinforce the fact that proper usage of a real estate CRM has a positive impact on agent productivity and business growth.

What is the Value of a CRM?

According to a REALTOR Technology Survey, CRM solutions continually rank high on the list of most valuable tools.

Despite this fact, many brokers and team leaders find themselves facing resistance and difficulty getting their agents to adopt new technology. Whether implementing a CRM for the first time, or switching to a new system, we see this issue come up for our clients fairly often.

The key to agent adoption is to get agents to see the value that a CRM system brings to the table, or hiring the right people who will.

What do agents and brokers find valuable?

Realtors reported that about 44% of their time is spent on mobile devices, responding to and doing work for their clients.

Based on this fact, any tool that allows agents to respond faster to more leads in less time would prove to be a gamechanger. And sure enough, the technology survey revealed that realtors continue to find the greatest value in technology products that let them conduct business quickly and conveniently, wherever they are.

What features help agents do business better?

In an Inman Select special report titled “Which CRM Is The Best?”, ¾ of agents reported that they do not use all the features available in their CRM. It may come as a surprise, but agents actually don’t like having too many features or options in their technology products.

A ton of bells and whistles with no real point or purpose brings no value to your team or business if it does nothing to help conduct business faster, respond more quickly, or provide better service.

In fact, having too many features on board may be so distracting and disconnected that they sink your business. The Inman study found that what agents actually want is more customizations and integration with other technologies.

 How The Best Real Estate Teams Use CRMs To Set Goals And Succeed

What are the most important features in a CRM?

Agents and brokers from the Inman survey listed these three features as the most important in a CRM: contact organization (61.2%), activity management (56.5%), and ease of use (50.6%).

The ‘CRM + Agent Adoption’ study from REAL Trends got a little more granular and had both agents and brokers rate the features they used the most in a real estate CRM.

At BoomTown, we have studied our data and spoken to clients to figure out what features enable successful behavior. We have learned that the most responsive agents who provide great service are typically the most successful agents. The BoomTown system was engineered with features and innovations to improve responsiveness, and thus help reach and convert more leads.

The Select Homes Story: Most Valuable Features

When asked what he considers the most valuable feature in the BoomTown CRM, Mike Grbic’s answer is the Opportunity Wall. The Opportunity Wall acts as a live feed of activity, telling you who to follow up with first, second, third, and so forth.

“That alone is a huge money maker and time save for my agents,” says Mike. Even if you have a huge database of leads, and only 30 minutes to spare, you don’t have to waste any time trying to figure out who to call, or put it off because you’re short on time. “It sets the agent up to make a specific call to a specific person for a specific reason. The more targeted the call, the more useful the agent is, which leads to more money.”

How Do I Get The Most ROI From My CRM?

Is your CRM system an investment or an expense?

When Inman asked this question in their “Which CRM Is Best” survey, they were met with mixed results. The majority of respondents (78.2%) consider their CRM to be an investment rather than an expense.

“It’s an investment,” said one respondent. “Without my database and a way to track and stay in contact with my database, I would lose 90% of my business.”

There were, however, some naysayers.

“I expect an ROI from an investment,” said a naysaying respondent. “A CRM is simply a tool.”

“It’s an expense and not an investment because it requires an investment of my waking hours to get myself familiar with is functionality,” said another. “I feel like I shouldn’t spend my time doing that kind of admin work.”

To put this gently…..don’t be an idiot.

You can’t complain that an “investment” requires an investment of your time. That’s why it’s called an investment! You can’t expect immediate ROI without putting in any work. ROI stands for return on investment. Point blank, you need to invest something to get something in return.

Real Estate A.I. – What’s the Future for CRMs & Websites

If you’re NOT seeing any ROI from your CRM…you’re either using the wrong system for your business, or you’re not investing to necessary time and effort.

There is no such thing as “magic button” in real estate. With any technology product or service, you only get out what you put in. You need to invest time and work into a CRM in order for it to produce an ROI.

Mike understands this and has some helpful advice for agents and brokers who continually claim that either CRMs don’t work, or that CRM’s aren’t worth the investment:

The Select Homes Story: 3 Steps to Maximize ROI From a CRM

1. Understand Internet Buyer Leads
Before you can successfully convert internet leads through a CRM system, you’ve got to start with a basic understanding of how it works. “There is only a small percentage of leads that are considered convertible,” explains Mike. “If you can consistently convert at a rate of 5-6%, you’re doing great.”

2. Be Patient: Success Takes Time
Real estate professionals need to be mindful of the ramp up time required to create a well-oiled lead generation machine. It could take an average of eight months of nurturing leads before they’re ready to talk. “You have to stick it out for a year, year and a half before you actually start hitting optimum levels of return and really seeing long-term benefits.” Mike and his team are still closing deals from leads that registered over 4 years ago!

3. Train Agents To Adopt The System
When Mike first implemented BoomTown, his team was comprised of older-fashioned agents who did open houses took sign calls, but didn’t want to make phone calls. “Even though we had a Cadillac of a system that generated leads, we weren’t doing that much with them. Then we developed our ISA team, recruited new agents that were more tech-savvy and eager for business.”

Agents need to be much more responsive and diligent with follow up to successfully convert more leads. A particular lead might be registered on your site, as well as 4 others. Speed to lead is more crucial now than ever before.

Brokers need confirmation that implementing a CRM is an investment towards growing your team and expanding your business. Brokers and team leaders can manage their agents’ progress with BoomTown’s Accountability Dashboards, and track their success rates with our reporting tools.

Choosing The Right CRM For You

What you want a CRM system to for your business? What problem are you trying to solve, or what challenges are you trying to improve? Making a list answering these questions will help you narrow down your many options.

The Select Homes Story: Why Mike Chose BoomTown

Back then, most CRM and IDX site platforms were doing a terrible job of lead generation and lead conversion. The system Mike was using prior to BoomTown was not only clunky, but it was expensive to generate leads, and did not do much to help his team convert leads. He was dumping a lot of money into PPC advertising, but his ROI was minimal.

“I’m a research and development nerd,” admits Mike. “I looked into all the products that were out there. I probably sat through a hundred CRM demos!” Once he found and successfully implemented BoomTown, he never looked back.

“To this day, I’ve never found another company that does it at the same level as BoomTown. The elegance of the website and the smoothness of the backend CRM are unbeatable.”

You need to have the right team to handle the leads, and have processes in place to hold your agents accountable to make the calls and produce an ROI for the money you spend on advertising.

“It’s one thing to generate leads. It’s another thing to convert them into closings,” says Mike. “If agents just collect leads and never call them or work the system, you’ll never get an ROI.”

The Best Real Estate CRM Is…?

So, how do you know which is the best real estate CRM? The answer won’t be the same for every real estate professional. Don’t just pick a CRM because everyone else you know is using it. Regardless of how popular or inexpensive a platform may be, implementing the “wrong” CRM system will not provide value or a desirable ROI to your business.

Choose one that you know you (and your agents) will use, and that you know will benefit your business. BoomTown offers three CRM products for the different stages of the real estate business. Launch is our simplest product, geared to help individual agents and small teams ramp up their fledgling business. BoomTown Grow helps established teams and brokerages scale their growth. Advance is engineered for enterprising brokerages to manage multiple offices and expansion.

We know that one size does not fit all, and believe all agents, teams, and brokerages should find their perfect fit. That is what makes the best real estate CRM.

The post How To Find The Best Real Estate CRM For Your Business appeared first on BoomTown!.