Can Real Estate Agents Be Forced to Use Certain Vendors?
We have seen it many times…the managing real estate broker or office manager pushing hard for their agents to use certain vendors. Myself, have dealt with this when an agent says, “Wade, sorry…I wanted to send you the business but my office manager told me to use the Title Company where our office has the “relationship.” Ahh…the “relationship.” This is a very important aspect of this topic and we will address it a little later. In my experience, real estate brokers and office managers are there to help, inform, educate, and protect their Realtors. They are the greatest safety net and in many cases, a reason as to WHY an agent hangs their license at that particular real estate firm. Vendors however, are separate companies from the real estate brokerage and offer related services to the Realtors, such as Mortgage, Title Insurance, home inspection, technology, etc. With that said, can real estate agents be forced to use certain vendors?
Do you have a WordPress website or thinking of getting one? In my travels in the Title Insurance industry and working directly with Realtors on their websites, I have seen the pitfalls Realtors go through learning how to use them. The $99 a month site, the real estate company websites (template), the site that isn’t set up correctly, and of course, the website that is a business card online and never updated. Even if a direct referral is given to a Realtor, that person is STILL going to look them up! When they do…what will they find? Perception is reality in real estate, so let’s talk about why Realtors should dump these crappy websites, and instead use WordPress. Knowing how to use this amazing tool can change your business. Here are some beginner WordPress Website Tips for Realtors when they are getting started.
Are you looking to implement a successful video marketing strategy in 2017? Perhaps you are just getting started using video in your real estate business? Either way, I have you covered in this blog. I’m sure by now you have (if you are a Realtor/Lender/Title) been asked to write or give your quarterly and yearly goals. One of those “goals” might be trying to figure out video, shoot a few, and post it to social media and YouTube. I want you to meet and surpass this goal. I started using video in my business over 4 yrs ago and it changed not only my business, but the entire way I look at real estate marketing in general. You have the Realtors/Lenders that “get it” and see the vast opportunity that video creates, and then you have the other 90% of Realtors/Lenders. Where do you fall? Let’s add video as part of your business in 2017!
If you own an iPhone or any Apple product you know that they come out with “updates” for IOS software that makes the technology possible. Each time you update the IOS software your phone gets new and cool additions that weren’t there before. Sometimes these changes are big, other times they are small. Either way, if you NEVER update the software, eventually the applications on your phone will no longer become compatible and work correctly…or at all. I think that is very much the same as it applies to Realtors and their real estate database and overall business. As an agent, if you aren’t updating your business and database, eventually it also becomes stale and outdated. Think…when is the last time you sat down and went through your entire real estate database and updated it? Are you still doing the same marketing tactics you were doing 5-10yrs ago? Are you getting the same result? Here are some steps to take to update your real estate business and move forward to a successful 2017 and beyond.
