I have attended several industry events recently and so many of the discussions continue to focus on the short game—top of funnel. I find myself wondering after all these years and despite abundant real estate tech innovations to support the entire buyer/seller lifecycle, are we stuck as an industry in a fixed mindset, unable to move beyond simply lead gen? As someone who has been working in real estate tech for the last 15 years, I can understand why today’s agents—and the team leaders and brokerage owners who manage them—may feel stuck, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. While today’s real estate professionals continue to face headwinds, instead of deferring to lead gen activities—those that may be easiest to access—this is the time to instead focus on the long view and adopt a growth mindset to support a sustainable career. This is also precisely when technology can play a crucial role in helping agents, teams and brokerages transcend short-term hurdles and a top of funnel focus.
One of the biggest challenges I continue to hear from brokers regarding technology is poor user and feature adoption. In many cases, agents are not using the full capabilities of the tech platform they are handed, and of the 20-25% of agents within brokerages that are using the platform, they are still only using a limited number of features. With thoughtfully designed tools to drive better conversion rates, automate social media marketing, and streamline time consuming tasks, technology is a key enabler to business growth, but only when fully maximized. Agents need to move beyond a fixed mindset when it comes to technology and invest the time to learn the platform. Those agents that do will thrive while others who continue to focus only on top of funnel, will find themselves struggling to survive.
To help today’s real estate professionals overcome current market challenges, develop a growth mindset and leverage technology from search to settlement, I recommend the following best practices:
- One at a time: At first glance, a new technology platform can be overwhelming to navigate and often the source of frustration, leading to low adoption rates. Instead of trying to tackle the entire library of features at once, take one at a time. For example, leverage social media automations to establish your online presence and ensure consistency. Then consider another feature – from IDX templates to smart plans – that can make an immediate impact on your business and get savvy about which tools will help streamline your day-to-day life. Before you know it, you will have mastered the entire platform, freeing you up to focus on revenue generating activities to grow your business.
- Lead by example: The most effective way for brokerage owners and team leaders to inspire agents and encourage adoption is to showcase how they themselves use technology successfully. Fueled by a growth mindset, real estate leaders can serve as an example to the many agents struggling to effectively leverage technology beyond top of funnel. Host monthly discussions to highlight popular features and demonstrate ROI. Offer tips/tricks based on personal experience and schedule training sessions to provide the support agents desperately need to overcome typical roadblocks.
- Integrate into the recruiting process: The next generation of agents are more tech savvy than ever and more likely to lean into a growth mindset. Take advantage of this natural affinity for innovation in the recruiting process. Showcase the platform you offer agents and secure commitment from new agents to learn and use the technology from day one. By integrating the platform into the onboarding process and weaving the technology into the very fiber of your operations, you are more likely to attract tech savvy agents and increase adoption to more quickly drive business growth.
These are exciting times for our industry and technology innovations continue to improve to support the needs of modern agents. AI for example, continues to take the main stage and rightfully so. AI eliminates menial, time-consuming tasks and empowers agents to instead focus on revenue generating activities and deliver essential customer service to sales-ready prospects. From intelligent chatbots to strategic marketing campaigns, social media content development to smart follow-up, AI is a lynchpin to keeping an agent top of mind among sales ready leads to drive long term success. However, agents and brokers need AI to engage with prospects and clients in a reliable and consistent fashion. This can only be achieved when agents apply a growth mindset and take the time to understand and learn how to use the technology effectively.
While real estate professionals continue to face headwinds, it is important to keep in mind that technology—especially the platform seamlessly delivered upon hiring—is not a hindrance to growth, but a true enabler. While top of funnel activities are easily accessible and fulfill an immediate need, the true benefit of lead gen is derived when these leads are nurtured and eventually converted. This is more quickly and efficiently achieved by relying on an end-to-end platform designed to support the entire process—from search to settlement. By adopting a growth mindset and maximizing the tech innovations at their fingertips, agents, teams and brokerages will be better positioned to achieve unprecedented business growth and ensure professional long-term success.
Stuart Sim is the VP of Industry Development at Lofty.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.
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