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4 Ways to Increase Home Value Before Selling
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
Today’s typical seller has lived in their home for 10 years prior to making the move to put it on the market. Clearly, the decision is a major event, and far more complex than planting a shiny “For Sale” sign in the lawn and calling it a day. Facing the terror that often lies within attics and basements following years of neglect, organizing all of the belongings that have now stacked up to a borderline-hoarder status, and desperately bribing friends to move it all to the next place are all aspects of the selling process that immediately come to mind. However, getting as much of a return out of a house as possible is always at the very top of sellers’ to-do lists.
So, your client has decided to sell. What’s next? At this point, many facing this move likely wonder: How much money should I actually invest into my home before selling? What aspects of my home are worth sprucing up? Will the increase in home value actually be worth the time, effort, and cost of making these adjustments?
Obviously, the answers to these questions are often very situation-specific, but there are several small aspects of homes that sellers should have in tip-top shape in order to get the bang for their buck they’re hoping for. Agents are often the go-to consultants for home value questions, so here are a few home selling tips to always have on your pre-sale checklist!
Curb appeal.
We are all told from a young age to never judge a book by its cover, but let’s be real – buyers won’t be able to help it! Think about it- What is the first thing your clients see during your listing presentation? This one’s easy, they look at the lovely exterior shot of the prospective home. They expect this image to be impressive, as it’s the first impression that neighbors, friends, and family will have of their brand-new home. According to a Michigan State Study, enhancing the curb appeal can increase perceived value by 5-11%, so if their budget allows, enhancing the front of the home will surely pay off. It’s usually smart to discourage them from any massive investments in features such as fountains, as not everyone wants a fountain and getting your money back won’t be guaranteed here. Instead, keep the renovations modest and visually appealing.
Update the little things.
Even small hardware such as cabinet handles and doorknobs can contribute to a home looking outdated if not replaced and updated somewhat regularly. Again, keep the styles as neutral as possible but avoid choosing pieces that look tacky or cheaply made.
Make it sparkle.
Investing in a cleaning service or bribing friends to partake in a cleaning party is definitely worth the effort. Buyers expect to have to clean their home throughout their ownership of it, but they most definitely won’t want to start cleaning it from day one. The driveway and siding should be power-washed, carpets should be free of stains, the windows should be smudge-free, and dusting should be done throughout. Making a house appear spotless will contribute greatly to the positive impression that potential buyers get of the home from the second they walk in.
Re-paint.
So, your client’s favorite color is neon green. While some may find that to be a quality choice in color, unfortunately not all will agree. Repainting a home with neutral tones will increase the likelihood that a wider variety of people will find it attractive and help them envision how they would decorate the home with their own style. The clean and fresh feeling provided by a clean paint job will also give it a newer feel, something that buyers will view as a definite plus.
The main takeaway is that increasing home value shouldn’t usually require a massive remodel and months of construction. It should however simply start with you, an outside perspective, consulting your clients on what about the current condition of the home will likely be seen as desirable to potential buyers, and what could use a facelift. You’re the expert – don’t forget it!
The 411 on Interest Rates Rising
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
The economy ebbs and flows, and with those fluctuations come different concerns from home buyers and sellers. As an agent, you need to be prepared to walk your clients through the fears and unknowns, serving as a trusted guide. Your clients will want to ensure their home purchase is a smart (and affordable) one.
When it comes to the affordability of a home, interest rates make a massive difference. They’re on the rise, which means you’ll likely be hearing – if you aren’t already – major concerns being voiced from your clients.
Inventory is low.
With today’s thriving economy, the housing market is hot all across the US. What we’re seeing is that there is extremely low inventory in the major markets. For agents, this means winning a listing is tougher than ever. For buyers, this means competitive bidding wars and cash offers swooping in.
NAR’s annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers revealed that in 2017, the typical home was on the market for just three weeks.
Many real estate professionals are starting to feel like there’s more agents than there are listings. While this isn’t quite the case, it can certainly feel as though there aren’t enough listings to go around. According to NAR, there were 5.51 million existing homes and 612,000 newly constructed sold in 2017, and there were 1,334,668 NAR members as of July 2018. Tight inventory increases the feeling of competition and adds pressure to an agent’s ability to win new listings.
Buyers are fatigued.
The home buying process can be stressful and discouraging, often causing buyers fatigue, which stems from seeing a lack of inventory in the market. Houses aren’t on the market long enough to go through the typical home buying process. Decisions are made sight unseen, inspections are waived, and above-asking offers are made. This can be incredibly discouraging for a buyer, surfacing fears around timing, affordability, and their ability to find the perfect home.
Interest rates are on the rise.
Freddie Mac published research showing the steady month-to-month increase in interest rates so far this year, starting at 4.03% in January 2018 and increasing to 4.57% in June 2018. This continuous rise is what has caused a stir across our industry, worrying many home buyers.
As published by Bloomberg, “The average rate for 30-year home loans climbed this week to 4.38 percent, the highest since April 2014, according to Freddie Mac.” Shanne Sleder, a mortgage broker based in San Diego, commented on the data, saying, “At this point in time, people don’t like it but they can still make it work. It hasn’t gotten to where people are starting to back out of deals yet. As we get closer to 5 percent, that’s when they will start thinking about it.”
These rate increases are serving as both a concern and motivator for many buyers who want to purchase before they can’t afford to do so. Some buyers want to wait it out, hoping for a drop in rates, while many others want to move quickly, confident that the upward trend in interest rates only gaining speed.
You don’t need to be an economist predicting the future of the housing market, but you do need to be able to assist your clients through the process as they navigate through market information such as interest rates. Stay up to date with forecasts, but more importantly, know how you’ll respond to your clients’ concerns, no matter what twists and turns the market makes.
How Data Can Change Your Real Estate Recruiting Game
By Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager
At MoxiWorks, we’re pretty vocal about data and how important it is for all aspects of business. So vocal in fact, we called out Compass on their recent embellishments with plenty of data to set the record straight for our industry. But that’s a story for a different day. My point is, data is everything. Without data, we’d all be wandering around the office all day with no real direction.
When it comes to real estate recruiting, data can make or break your recruiting game. It’s so much more than what people give it credit for, and once you see how powerful it is, you’ll never want to go back. Here’s how data helps you recruit, retain, and grow:
Data makes your business goals easier to define.
The amazing thing about data is that it tells you what your goal should be in order to get to where you want to go. Want to be pulling in $1 million more next year? Data will tell you exactly how many agents you need to recruit to get there.
Data shows you what you need to be doing when.
Data calculates everything, including what your daily tasks should be to get you moving towards your goal. It guides you through the entire recruiting pipeline, resulting in more hires than you would have otherwise – saving time and precious energy.
Data tells you which agents are most appropriate for your office.
Data helps you find agents that fit your business and your goals. Okay, okay we don’t mean in terms of personality or culture, data can’t fully tell you that, but it can tell you who fits the bill when it comes to their sales volume. Data allows you to quickly and effectively narrow search criteria, spitting out the high-valued recruits you want sitting in your office. Powerful data can show you an agent’s ability to perform, and at the end of the day, that’s what recruiters need.
And don’t forget, recruiting doesn’t just mean new agents. Data can help you stay focused on recruiting your current highly-valued agents as well, raising your retention numbers within your office and taking a little pressure off finding newbies.
Data will get you past the finish line.
Data, specifically from the MLS, helps identify agents who match whatever criteria your recruiter stipulates. Once specific recruits have been identified, they are added to your pipeline as recommendations. With built-in goal-setting and tracking for recruiting, it’s easy to ensure recruiters keep their eyes on the prize, crossing that finish line and reaching that goal they set for themselves.
Data keeps you from making silly mistakes.
Without reporting and insights, it can be hard to know where time is best spent. Let’s say you knew an agent’s sales volume over the past year, but not previous years. They talked a big game and you trusted their references, so you signed them anyways. Turns out this past year was more luck than work ethic, and now you have an agent not contributing to the office’s goals. That means you might’ve wasted countless hours you could’ve been spending on high-valued recruits, whether that’s recruiting new ones or focusing your efforts to agents in-house that you really don’t want to lose.
Data is knowledge. Knowledge is power.
Data makes things more efficient. It puts tangible facts behind a solid recruiting foundation that enables recruiters and office managers to do their jobs better, faster, and with more conviction. It’s what our new recruiting system, Moxi Talent, was built for. It helps you by providing you with all this data, direction, and so much more.
The July Roundup: News to Know
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator & Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager
This month has been a bit of a whirlwind. In just several weeks we’ve had Inman Connect, tons of tech news, and some announcements that continue to elevate industry pressures on a very real level. A lot of the news has been “hype” and had enough fluff to fill a million build-a-bears, but what are the main headlines we should all be focusing on? We put a little list together of the important news stories that came out in July and recapped them for you.
Here are the top five bites to know in the July Roundup:
1. “Cryptocurrency, Cyber Fraud Focus of Trump Task Force”
Don’t worry, we’re not getting all political. With a new-found focus on cyber fraud in the U.S., real estate will hopefully see less cyber-crime events, especially with cryptocurrency coming into the industry from all angles. Fraud in general, whether that be banks or cyber-related, has heavily impacted the industry. “According to an RISMedia survey, 27 percent of agents and brokers are ‘not sure’ if their brokerage has a cybersecurity policy, and 19 percent have no policy at all. The most common crime is phishing/wire fraud, in which buyers are duped out of their funds.” Hopefully this new focus will find a way to combat it.
2. “Gary Keller Slams Real Estate Startups, Refuses to Sit Down”
Gary Keller made moves at this year’s Inman Connect and made his agents across the nation extremely proud to be with his brokerage. He argued that many real estate tech companies, such as Redfin, Opendoor, etc. would get rid of agents if they could. Agree with his stance or not, he made it very clear and now everyone knows about it. Well played, sir.
3. “The ‘For Sale’ sign gets a modern update”
Well, it’s pretty obvious how we feel about Compass, but putting all that aside for a few moments, they had a major-ish announcement at Inman Connect and it deserves a spot as a top headline. Not only did they turn a rectangle into a circle, but they also illuminated the sign and added a connection to the internet so smart phones can connect. Sort of feels unnecessary for our industry, sort of feels like teenagers are going to go around vandalizing them, but who knows. To each their own.
4. “Overstock is making a push into real estate”
So, this is one we might have all overlooked. While July mostly focused on Inman, Compass, and other industry related news, this should’ve been a main discussion topic. The big boys are getting into real estate. Overstock announced they they’re relaunching Houserie, a property management website focusing on background checks, that basically helps landlords out. The juicy plot twist? It’s going to become a giant real estate platform in September for buying, renting, and managing properties. Alright, alright, alright Overstock.
5. Redfin announces $240M stock offering for potential acquisitions
Looks like Redfin has hopped into the dating pool. In their press release, the company stated that “it may choose to use a portion of the proceeds to invest in or acquire third-party businesses, products, services, technologies or other assets.” With this news, they’ll be looking for potential acquisitions, swiping right on dime piece businesses that catch their eye.
Home Design Trends and Features: What Homebuyers are Looking for Today
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
The changing trends within the housing market are often fast paced and challenging for agents to keep up with. Thanks to the popularity of smart homes and Joanna Gaines (the queen of home-remodel TV), today’s home buyers and sellers are becoming surprisingly knowledgeable about home design, and specific about which features and trends make up their never-ending lists of must-haves.
While this heightened level of clarity can be helpful for some, it also tends to make the process of finding a client’s dream home an increasingly difficult task for agents. Buyers are constantly perusing the internet and covering their beloved Pinterest boards with professionally designed inspiration, driving their expectations for their future home to seemingly impossible heights. Knowing what trends are attracting attention will ensure that you are looking at prospective listings through the eyes of clients you are bound to work with in the near future. Surprising your customers by highlighting popular trends in your presentations will likely deepen the value they see in your proposed listings and heighten the overall interest they have in them. The wow factor is a huge part of what you do, and every bit helps! Don’t worry, we are here to keep you in the housing trend loop (you’re welcome).
Gardens.
That’s right, get out your shovels and rakes – gardens are making a major comeback. With cities expanding and becoming increasingly crowded, tiny homes are “in” and the concept of having a significant chunk of land is becoming a thing of the past for the vast majority of urban dwellers. Many of today’s current homebuyers are looking to bring surrounding greenery back into their living space, especially in the form of a garden. Whether it is incorporated into the actual property or merely a local community garden close by, it is a trend that is likely on the minds of your clients. Be sure to familiarize yourself with nearby community gardens or consider a home’s potential for an indoor or outdoor garden when prepping for your next open house!
Smart homes.
This is a hot topic that we recently wrote a full blog post about. Smart locks, smart thermostats, smart windows, and smart kitchen appliances are just a few of the most popular smart products stirring up excitement among homebuyers. If a home has smart technology, be sure to showcase it. If a home is lacking in this department, make sure to have a trusted technology source on hand to pay a visit and provide an estimate for incorporating some of this smart tech into the home. Dare I say, a closing gift? Here is a breakdown of some of the potential costs associated with adding these types of tech.
Industrial.
The industrial style of showing off raw building materials is a trend that homebuyers are taking to quickly. Neutral tones, exposed pipes, wood beams, concrete, and metal surfaces are quickly growing in popularity within the interior design universe. If you are working with clients who are in search of this style, point out aspects of homes that can serve as a starting point for them to create this style within the existing space. These are a few great examples of how this trend is being showcased.
Patterns.
Think grandma’s “exotic” wallpaper. In addition to the industrial trend, there is a large population of home decorators that are using patterns as their go-to for creating flair within their home designs. Whether they are found in the bathroom tiles, bedroom wallpaper, or merely accents throughout the house, patterned fabrics and materials are making waves in today’s design trends. While these may have steered clients away in the past, today they could be viewed as a selling point. Bring along a catalog with some examples of how others have incorporated patterns into the look of their homes to share with clients.
As you know, tastes and trends are not one-size-fits-all and often differ greatly among clients. As always, feel out what your clients are looking for and help them visualize how they can rock the trends they love in their new home.
Differentiating Your Content Between Social Media Channels
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
The number of social media users worldwide is estimated to reach an excess of 2.77 billion by 2019, so if you aren’t currently incorporating it into your marketing efforts, you’re going to want to start – ASAP. Not only does it give you access to this booming population of users and potential clients, but it also allows you to do so without breaking the bank, a major plus for any business. Although it is becoming a widely used marketing tactic, many professionals are spending valuable time posting on various social media channels while failing to generate the levels of ROI they are searching for.
We get it- the world of social media can be confusing and a tad messy at times. Luckily navigating it isn’t as difficult as it may seem, however, it’s essential to make a game-plan for how you plan to utilize it. One of the keys to making the most of social media marketing is knowing what types of content to post where. No two channels are exactly alike, as they all tend to be used by different groups of people that are in search of unique types of content. If you don’t have one already, creating a social media content strategy should be at the top of your to-do list! Plan out what kinds of post would likely build value on which channels and create an action plan to bring them to life. Here are some content-related recommendations for a handful of the powerhouse channels to keep in mind as you develop your plan!
Facebook.
Where to begin. Let’s just say, if social media channels were bees, Facebook would be the unrelenting queen. According to NAR, 69% of real estate agents use Facebook and it’s quite obvious why. The channel should be an integral aspect of your marketing endeavors, as it provides you with a variety of different ways to grow your sphere quickly via shares and word of mouth (or mentions). Virtually anything goes here, as adding a variety of content will increase your likelihood of it resonating with a wider reach of users. Blog posts, articles, videos, announcements, contests, and content that shows your brand and personality should all be in the line-up. In addition to the wide variety of acceptable content, Facebook also gives you the ability to get specific when it comes to who you would like your posts and ads to target. This is why Facebook advertising is known to be so effective, and why we here at MoxiWorks incorporated it into the Advertise Your Services feature that many of our clients have already started using to grow their business.
LinkedIn.
Hold off on the gifs and memes, and instead keep things purely professional. LinkedIn is all about growing your network and connections, so avoid posting anything that could potentially hurt your image to prospective clients and partners. This is the perfect channel to practice recruitment marketing – essentially marketing that makes people want to work with or for you. Focus on sharing content that expresses what your brokerage specifically brings to the table and what you can provide to others in real estate. Blog posts, articles, calls to action, images from company events, and sneak peeks into your business’ culture are all forms of content that will likely perform well on LinkedIn, enabling you and your followers to get better acquainted with one another.
Instagram.
As you know, real estate is an incredibly visual industry – all the more reason that channeling your efforts into Instagram is something you’ll likely find beneficial. With more than 800 million users, the app is mainly accessed by people who are on-the-go via tablets and smartphones. It’s a valuable opportunity to share images and videos that tell a meaningful story with just a glimpse, but make sure to maintain a level of high quality content. Experimenting with hashtags in your comments is a powerful strategy that can rapidly increase your reach on Instagram. For example, #RealEstate and #justlisted are both top preforming tags in the real estate industry specifically. Using tags related to your geographic location is also a powerful tool. Graphs and visual representations of data tend to perform well here too. Utilizing the story feature of this channel can go far in terms of giving followers a more personal and approachable look into the daily life of your business. And don’t forget those high-quality professional listing photos you’ve already paid for!
Twitter.
80% of Twitter’s users are said to be affluent millennials, the very group that is currently making up a major portion of the buyers in today’s real estate market. With that in mind, it’s likely worthwhile to incorporate this channel into your plan. The content that seems to perform the best here is videos, which have been shown to be 6x more likely than images to be retweeted. Engaging with followers through polls and contests are also great ways to take advantage of Twitter.
Although these guidelines are definitely important to keep in mind, being truly successful at social media marketing often entails a whole bunch of trial and error. Make sure you are tracking your analytics and monitoring the success of your content, so that you can make adjustments and see continually improving results. Doing so will contribute to increased levels of loyalty, marketing effectiveness, and profits – who doesn’t want that?
Why You Need an Open-Door Policy Right Now
By Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager
In their latest round of funding, OpenDoor scored $325 million in funding. Late last year, SoftBank invested $450 million into Compass. VC money is alive and well, and it’s found a home in real estate tech, pouring into the industry. And as we all saw at Inman Connect last week, the competition is as hot as five-star Thai food. It literally hurts to digest.
In a sea of change…
As all of us in the real estate world are saying, the industry is evolving quicker than most can keep up. It’s a treadmill that only seems to be getting faster and faster with no pause button in sight. What was super cool last quarter is the status quo today. There’s no room for lags and fear. What do these higher monetary stakes and complex competition mean for traditional brokerages? The value prop of your brokerage and its brand is key.
Question: Why should your agents stay at your brokerage?
Staying relevant and valuable to agents will continue to gain in difficulty. Without the money to offer six figure signing bonuses, your brokerage value proposition has to be hard as rock. If I were sitting across from you and asked, “Why do you think your agents should stay at your brokerage versus going somewhere else?” What would your answer be? Do you have a sophisticated tech stack? Do you train your agents on it or just hand it off and hope for the best? Do you continuously stay in contact with your agents or do you forget about them until they tell you they’re going to a different brokerage?
The magic of an open-door policy
There’s a top brokerage in Virginia – that will go unnamed – that is taking a very logical approach: They have an open-door policy. They’ll answer any and all questions – even about Compass. If an agent has concerns, they feel empowered enough to walk into the Managing Broker’s office and ask them, knowing they’ll get an honest answer. Because of that, their retention numbers are insane. They’ve invested in tech, and they’re investing time into their most precious asset: their people, their real estate agents.
Action items:
Don’t
- Don’t lose your current agents because you’re only focused on recruiting new ones.
- Don’t let any agent feel like they’re being left in the dark (including on the topic of Compass).
Do
- Build on your existing relationships.
- Let your agents know you care and want them there.
- Implement an open-door policy if you haven’t already. It’ll be the best decision you’ve made all year.
- You can even try hanging a sign on the wall by your office, letting your agents know that they’re always welcome to come in.
- Have a proper recruiting system in place. This will focus your time on top talent inside and outside of your brokerage, making sure you’re getting the full picture and avoiding agents slipping through the cracks.
Brokerages today are worried about losing top producers, concerning themselves over the revenue and sales volume that those top producers take with them if they leave. It makes perfect sense. Losing one agent isn’t going to have a dramatic shift on market share, but it will impact a brokerage’s sales volume. This whole storm is why we created our Moxi Talent recruiting system in the first place. Too often, Managing Brokers don’t pay attention to agents until they threaten to walk. Moxi Talent helps you build relationships with the right people at the right time.
Introducing: HomeActions Email Marketing
A complete email marketing system to keep your agent’s pipelines full.
We’re stoked to introduce our newest Moxi Cloud partner, HomeActions! We’ve partnered with HomeActions to provide an easy email marketing solution to our client brokerages. Not only is their tool intuitive, it instantly turns agent’s email marketing efforts into a goldmine.
What is HomeActions Email Marketing?
HomeActions is an e-Relationship platform that starts out as an e-newsletter but ends up as a flawless conversation starter and lead-gen system with the help of their amazing content and tools.
The Ultimate Email Marketing Database
HomeActions helps your agents consolidate their contacts and create their very own exclusive marketing database.
Extensive Metrics
HomeActions provides extensive metrics for their e-newsletters. See when someone opens the newsletter, clicks a link and get immediate feedback as readers respond to how well they liked a given article.
Knowing who is engaging with what content makes it easy to know who to direct your marketing efforts at and who you should pick up the phone and call asap.
In-Demand Content & Widgets
HomeActions delivers content and articles your readers will love that triggers predictive behavior. They drive traffic to an agent’s CMA request page and even works with TrendGraphix reports!
Neighborhood 360
Neighborhood 360 is their newest feature. Recipients can get the “Inside Scoop” on any neighborhood they wish. Home value estimates, cost of living data, demographics, lifestyle data, school info, nearby sold properties, and so much more. This widget covers 150 million street addresses and neighborhoods!
MoxiWorks Integration
HomeActions is integrated into the Moxi Cloud and streamlines an agent’s day-to-day with their Moxi Engage CRM.
Think of HomeActions as the frosting and cherry on top of Engage. It gives the agent the ability to upload their exclusive HomeActions database into their email in the correct format to connect to MoxiWorks tools. That means their CRM and email marketing efforts just got a whole lot sweeter.
Find out more about HomeActions here and read the official press release here.
Up Your Recruiting Game with This System
If the grass is greener on the other side, what side are you on?
By Nick Van Valkenberg, Director of Business Development
Growing your brokerage is an ambitious endeavor, especially in the ever-competitive real estate landscape. Two lingering questions are: how do you find the right talent for your brokerage and how can you make the process easier for your recruiting team? I plan to answer both of these questions but first you need to define what you are looking for: is it the “fresh to the industry” agent, an agent early in their career, or a more senior agent?
As the busy season winds down the “low hanging fruit” would be the agent that, well didn’t have a busy season and is looking for help or better yet, a place where they can thrive. If this is who you focus on recruiting, then do you have the systems in place that are statistically proven to increase an agent’s number of sides? Have you made it easy for them to run their business? How about an open platform? Single sign-on doesn’t sound like a whole lot but to the new agent that doesn’t know all of the technologies offered in your brokerage it could mean the world. Open platforms and single sign-on is a whole other conversation but if you don’t have the technology in place for today’s agent you may want to look around because your competitor down the street has this in place creating a very compelling recruiting and retention tool.
The harder agent to recruit is the successful agent. They say the grass is greener on the other side but what happens when their grass looks like the a fútbol field during the World Cup? Do you know your elevator pitch, differentiator, your WHY statement? If you answered NO to any of these three mission critical pieces to the puzzle, then step one is to clarify your message. May I suggest you take a look at the book Story Brand? The premise of Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller is how to clarify your message, your WHY statement. The idea of a WHY statement sounds easy but really you need to have a smooth couple sentences that clearly state why an agent at any level in their career would benefit from joining your brokerage especially a successful agent. Let that sink in and think about this for a minute. Sure, you can offer a more competitive split but how does that help you the broker out? REAL Trends recently published that the average brokerages margin has been compressed to 14.8%. Talk to us about how you can recruit a top performing agent not because you will take less money but because you have what they need to become even more successful.
Through conversations with your fellow brokers I have found that the structure of a recruiter tends to be the broker themselves or the manager of an individual office. Time is of the essence, with an already full plate how do you add the time to recruit? In a perfect world a “recruiter” should be spending an hour a day dedicated to finding new talent. At this point you may have guessed that I am going to talk about technology, and you guessed right. Honestly to achieve the desired outcome you need to have a solid system in place. Does your recruiting technology incorporate your goals? Is it easy to ingest MLS data so you have insights on your prospects? Does your technology offer next steps and coach you for each individual recruit? Does your technology offer public records data on your prospects? Could you imagine hosting an annual golf tournament and knowing the subset of your pipeline that has golf as an interest? I’m not a gambling man but I would venture to say that you could easily win over some new agents on the links, remember that greener grass metaphor from earlier? Do your “recruiters” have the ability to easily boast about what your brokerage can offer, maybe in the form of a dynamic presentation imbedded with video testimonials, live links, and your WHY statement?
Your Agent Recruiting System
You may have been seeing the recent industry hype around Moxi Talent. The hype is because we have answered all the above questions. Take the time and let us show you not only how Moxi Talent can increase your productivity recruiting the correct agents but how you can actively recruit your current agent. We can even show you statistics on how the Moxi Suite of products can increase the business for your agents, but don’t take it from us, ask around. To quote the legendary football coach and now inspirational speaker Lou Holtz “In this world you’re either growing or you’re dying so get in motion and grow.” Now more than ever things are changing at a rapid pace, there is a time to sit and watch and there is a time to act, now is the time to act. Take a moment this week and reach out to our team, learn why top brokerages are leveraging our platform to outperform their competition.
Smart Homes: What Agents Need to Know in Order to Effectively Market Them
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
The technology available at our fingertips continues to become seemingly more advanced by the second, and our dependence on it to perform even the smallest of tasks appears to be increasing along with it. Smart technology is now making its way into our homes, intending to make our lives easier and successfully making us humans lazier than ever. From ordering our groceries to turning on our lights, these cutting-edge devices are changing the way we live life and turning our houses into smart homes.
Smart homes are sweeping through the market, becoming a must-have for clientele that extends far beyond millennials alone. In fact, only 43% of smart home product owners are considered millennials. The usability and, for the most part, easy installation provided by this technology is making it an appealing investment for people of all ages. A recent survey shows that 32% of Americans claim to currently own some form of smart home technology, a percentage that is likely to grow rapidly in the coming years and a trend proving that many of your clients are willing to spend significant amounts of money in order to join the bandwagon. According to a recent report, the smart home market is estimated to reach a value of $53.45 billion by 2020. That’s some serious cash, and the real estate industry will play a major role in making that prediction come to life.
Although this technology has historically been considered part of a niche market for the rich, it is now becoming more affordable and accessible than ever. As an agent, being aware of the latest advances and which smart devices tend to appeal to different segments of clientele is a strategic edge worth brushing up on. If you happen to receive pushback from your clients in response to the added cost, which isn’t necessarily as significant as one might think, make sure to emphasize the savings that the initial investment can lead to in the long run. For example:
• Some insurance companies are now offering discounts on premiums to those who install smart security systems.
• Automated temperature devices can pay for themselves in energy savings in as little as two years.
• Smart fridges can now notify you when your food is approaching its expiration date, minimizing the amount of food that goes to waste.
When touring a smart home with clients, set the stage to help them envision the specific roles that smart products could play in their life. If you are convincing enough, they may decide they can no longer live without it, potentially resulting in a major win for you.
To get you started, we have compiled a list of a few of the major players in the industry today that will likely be on you client’s must-have lists soon, if they aren’t already.
Smart Locks. 62% of realtors say that they have found Smart Locks to be one of the most desired devices among their clients. It’s not surprising, considering that they automatically lock when you leave, unlock when you arrive, and allow you to control them remotely. Imagine carrying your bag of groceries into your home without feeling like you’re performing a juggling act for the neighborhood while simply grabbing your keys to unlock the door. If a home has a mother-in-law suite that clients want to put to use or possibly even rent out, a Smart Lock will definitely be a must-have. These nifty devices have the potential to be incredibly useful, so if your listing has one it’s worth emphasizing. Here’s a leading smart lock on the market today if you aren’t already familiar.
Smart temperature. We’ve all had those nights where you finally get settled into bed, only to realize that you have to get back up to adjust the thermostat. It’s not fun for anyone, making it unsurprising that programable thermostats are gaining popularity. As a favorite among non-millennial clients, this product is already integrated into the homes of 40% of smart product owners over the age of 65. Keep in mind that the benefits that it presents go beyond pure usability. Smart thermostats also appeal to “green” minded individuals and virtually anyone that wants to save money by minimizing energy usage. Have a client that is constantly traveling? Let them know that the ability to control the smart thermostat in your listing remotely will allow them to save energy while they’re gone, but still warm the place up prior to arriving home from a trip. You can see an example of a smart thermostat here.
Smart fridges. Why bother making a grocery list when most of us end up forgetting them at home anyway? Smart fridges now have built in cameras that connect to apps, giving you access to what’s inside of them from wherever you need it. Some even take it a step further and keep tabs on what food you need so they can order your groceries for you. It isn’t just about food anymore though; these fridges also connect to other devices in order to act as a resource for you to do things like check the local weather, watch tv, and rock out to your favorite music. If your client loves to cook or has kids that could use entertainment during meal prepping, this product will likely catch their eye. Smart kitchen appliances are admittedly quite useful, and a definite game changer for users of all ages. This is a great example.
Brush up on the latest products available so you can speak your client’s language when you come across a listing with smart devices. There are constantly new products popping up within the smart home industry, so get excited and remember to always utilize them as a major selling point during your presentations! Use the grocery bag anecdote, we’ve all been there.
