Every week, we ask a real estate professional for thoughts on the top trends in real estate.
This week, we talked with Duff Rubin, regional senior vice president at Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate.
Miami Agent (MA): How has technology changed how brokerages do business today?
Duff Rubin (DR): If you look at the role and duties of the broker, all have been positively impacted by technology. Gone are the days of bulky MLS books being sent to you by mail, now the Boards have online MLS, where finding homes takes seconds and listing updates happen instantly. Contracts are no longer faxed or scanned, they are electronically created and executed on mobile devices. Prospecting used to be solely done by door knocking, whereas now it done by direct mail and email. Smart data companies supply lists of probable sellers based on algorithms using sellers tendencies. Rolodex and filing cabinets of customer information have been replaced by Customer Relationship Management software, or CRMs. Pamphlets on signs have been replaced by talking signs with phone numbers you can call for an automated message about the home, or QR codes that bring you directly to the home’s online listing.
MA: How do you use tech to distinguish yourself from your competition?
DR: Coldwell Banker understands that 92% of all buyers start on the internet. With this in mind, they have created specialty teams to handle these crucial internet leads. Our ZIP teams works with agents that may not have a great sphere and are new to the business but are tech savvy and looking to be coached and monitored closely. They are trained to cultivate and nurture the leads which can sometimes take 12 to 18 months to come to fruition. Another one of these teams is our Customer Engagement Team, which handles internet leads that are generated by various websites on customers looking for information, this team is great at responding lightning fast to those inquiries, which is the key to conversion. A majority of customers will look elsewhere if we are not quick to respond to inquiries, so having a team dedicated to following up is key.
MA: Is there a website, program or other type of tech that you’d recommend to other brokers and agents?
DR: Coldwell Banker prides itself on being a leader in innovation and constantly introducing cutting edge technology, and over the past few years, we have introduced game changing tools for our agents. One of these is Dotloop, which enables the agents to have all their forms on their mobile devise, as well as getting documents executed electronically without having to add a 3rd party provider. We introduced Dotsignal (CB Connect) which lets buyers drive up to signs and get all the information on the homes via text or voice without ever speaking to the agent. The program also allows agents to give the MLS listings to their buyers to view on their mobile device. Finally we introduced Market Leader (Intouch) a CRM that provides agents a place to put all their clients and prospects. It also gives every agent a personal website and marketing tool, from where they can create campaigns by email to stay “INTOUCH” with their buyers and sellers.
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