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Moxi Cloud Welcomes VoicePad Lead Gen Service as Newest Partner
April 24, 2018 – Seattle, WA – The MoxiWorks partner program signed its latest partner, VoicePad, to their platform. The Moxi Cloud differs as an open platform, making it the first of its kind in the real estate industry. The Moxi Cloud’s latest addition, VoicePad, builds IDX (Internet Data Exchange) mobile lead generation and automated property marketing solutions for some of the most successful real estate brokerages and teams across the country.
Randall Standard, CEO of VoicePad said, “Seldom do we have such an alignment of client interests as we have with the MoxiWorks partnership. Their API documentation is excellent, and the integration process has been accomplished in a most professional manner. MoxiWorks makes it easy for agents to use our services.”
Like the Moxi Cloud, VoicePad is able to build a custom solution of their tools and services for each brokerage, making this the ultimate partnership for a la carte customization. The integration to the Moxi Cloud includes SSO (single-sign-on), meaning agents have one less login to remember – a growing necessity.
Mike McHenry, VP of Moxi Cloud Partnerships & Integrationsat MoxiWorks said, “When it comes to tools and services, VoicePad brings a variety we haven’t seen before. It enables our brokerage clients to truly pick the options they need, without having to settle for an all or nothing ‘solution.’”
There are a wide variety of tools and services available from VoicePad, including: Curbside lead-gen, mobile sites, virtual tours, property videos, virtual reception, social posts, texting, audio stream, mortgage lead-gen, MLS automation, rental marketing, and flyers. Brokerages are able to pick and choose the tools and services they need from VoicePad, and they are plugged into the open platform with the rest of their unique ecosystem.
Kylah Searing, Director of Moxi Cloud Partnerships & Integrations mentioned, “Moxi is thrilled to see VoicePad join the Moxi Cloud! Adding a quality lead generation provider that focuses on a mobile strategy is unique to our industry and we believe many brokerages will find it highly valuable.” With their unique positioning, VoicePad is the leading provider of mobile search solutions for the world of real estate.
About MoxiWorks
MoxiWorks is a comprehensive open platform system for large residential real estate brokerages that serves over 100,00 agents and 55 brokerages nationwide. Named one of the 10 Best Cloud Solution Providers of 2018 by Industry Era, MoxiWorks make brokerages more profitable by enabling their agents to be more productive, earning the highest adoption rates in the industry. MoxiWorks’ integrated tools are centered on sphere methodology that drastically increases agents’ repeat and referral business by 40%, while lowering overall technology, training, and support costs for the brokerage. The open platform, known as the Moxi Cloud, has tools from more than 40 partners that plug and play to create unique brokerage solutions. More information at moxiworks.com.
About VoicePad
VoicePad serves 60,000 agents within 150 brokerage relationships. As a recognized leader in quality real estate lead-generation, VoicePad is uniquely positioned to provide a variety of cutting-edge property marketing solutions from a single login, on a single platform; requiring only a brokerage’s listing data to operate autonomously. This includes VoicePad’s most popular solution which uses MLS automated speech to handle property inquiries and route phone calls via our cloud-based automated assistant, “Eve.” Discover more at voicepad.com.
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For more information on this topic and other press inquiries, please contact Tiana Baur at tiana@moxiworks.com.
Why The Right Brokerage CRM Can Be a Goldmine
Choose wisely, and your brokerage could see agent productivity increase by 40%
As seen in Mile 62 Magazine – By Andrew Eberting
A CRM should be the epicenter of your customer and prospect data – and your brokerage. Not having the right one implemented at your brokerage, you cost yourself and your agents the #1 thing that matters most: Money.
If profitability and growing market share is not for you, no sweat. However, if you do want to own the competition in every possible competitive category, then keep reading.
1.) Ease of Use
For Your Agents: One of the biggest factors that impact agent adoption of your brokerage’s tools is its ease-of-use or lack thereof. The more approachable your offerings are, the barrier to resistance will also be lowered.
Agents want to do what they do best: create dreams for clients and win more listings. Give them something that accomplishes both, and your brokerage becomes the “it” place to be.
For You: If your current agents are excited about the tools that make their lives easier, think about the impact this can have on other areas of your business.
- New agent recruiting
- Current agent retention
- Growth in market share
If your brokerage platform offering is sound, it will result in the acquisition of more share of your local market. It is a dog-eat-dog world; which one are you going to be?
2.) Scalability and Integration/Single Point of Truth
For Your Agents: If an agent can navigate to a single point of truth for their entire workflow with their sphere, what kind of increase would that have not only with their productivity but also their quality of life?
- One place to see all their entire database
- Build a CMA powered by integration with your MLSs
- Email said CMA to their sphere
- Turnaround and start marketing current listings or themselves instantly to Facebook and other online channels
- Send automated closing gifts to clients based on transactional closing history
How much time would be saved each day to log in and find all their tools in one place vs. logging into multiple systems? How much is this time down costing your brokerage?
For You: Staying competitive also means needing to stay current with best-in-class tools. The ability to stay agile while meeting the demands of your brokerage platform (like being integrated across multiple areas of the agent’s daily life) plays a significant role in making you recession-proof the next time the industry retreats. Being able to turn on new tools or keep favorites for your agents, while sunsetting those that have fallen out of favor or compliance, also lowers your annual spend on technology.
3.) Client Success aka YOUR Success Experience
For Your Agents: It is inevitable; at one point or another we all get stuck. With this in mind, sometimes everyone needs a helping hand. Accessibility to success, training, and support is vital to getting back on the proverbial bike and keep going.
For You: A happy agent is a productive agent. Offering your agents a CRM solution that provides multiple channels and assets to help them overcome roadblocks can be gamechanger in their productivity.
70% of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) end users prefer searching for self-service help related to their issues (Zendesk), meaning an agent’s time-to-productivity can be directly impacted by their ability to resolve roadblocks.
Want to know what else to look for in a CRM for your brokerage?
Check out our latest joint white paper with Victor Lund of WAV Group:
How to Choose a Real Estate CRM
Salesforce (2018, April 03) 4 Trends Customer Service Teams Are Using to Kill the Competition.
Zendesk Customers want to help themselves?
Goal-Hitting: Top 5 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable
By Maddie Jostol
Here we are heading into spring when the market heats up again and the leads start flowing. We started the year strong, setting goals for ourselves – maybe you want to grow your business, organize your business finances, or find better work/life balance – whatever it is, we started the year off with high hopes. Life gets busy, though, and as the market ramps up, it’s easy to get caught in the weeds and lose sight of your overarching goals. How do you plan to hold yourself accountable throughout the year to ensure you reach those goals? Here are a few tips.
1. Make those goals SMART
First step is to review your goals. Revisit those goals you set at the beginning of the year and make sure they’re defined enough to follow through on. Make sure they’re SMART:
• Specific – Outline specifically what you’re hoping to accomplish.
• Measurable – Attach metrics to your goals. How will you know if the goal has been met?
• Achievable – Make sure the goal is realistic. Being ambitious is a good thing, that’s how we take our businesses to the next level. But make sure your goals are do-able.
• Relevant – How does the goal relate to the direction you want your life and your business to take?
• Time-bound – Set a deadline for the goal. When are you hoping to achieve this by?
2. Make a plan
Without a plan, the path to your goals is undefined, making it easy to get off track and lose sight of the finish line. Make sure you have a plan that gets you from point A to point B. Set a few milestones you hope to achieve along the way and outline a few things you know you have to do to get there. Having this plan mapped out (even if it’s high-level) will make your life much easier as you navigate toward those goals throughout the year.
For more, check out this article is the latest Mile 62 e-Magazine, built specifically for real estate agents!
News: Real Estate Tech Startup Captivates Employees from Industry Leaders
MoxiWorks Real Estate Tech Startup Captivates Employees from Industry Leaders
April 17, 2018 – Seattle, WA – MoxiWorks, a Seattle-based real estate technology startup, has seen extreme growth in the past couple years due to their unique cloud-based, open platform concept, and best-in-class tools and services. Because of this success, MoxiWorks has been able to attract and hire business development Directors who have worked for major industry leaders, namely CoreLogic, Lone Wolf, Realtor.com, and Market Leader.
“MoxiWorks provides the perfect package for me. Great leadership and a shared vision for helping to connect the industry, a great team with a customer-first mentality, and a strong platform with lots of new innovations and rapid development cycles,” said Alex Jacobs, Director of Business Development at MoxiWorks. Jacobs came from Lone Wolf, and prior to that was part of the First American Corporation, that was then spun off into what is known today as CoreLogic. “The open platform that MoxiWorks has created allows clients to connect whatever partners they need, which creates the best possible environment for their agents. It’s why we’re so passionate about what we do here.”
MoxiWorks recently turned heads when they announced Hanna Holdings’ investment in their startup, now being owned by the three largest regional real estate companies in the nation, along with Windermere Real Estate and Long and Foster Real Estate. They also power the LeadingRE Cloud, announced at the LeadingRE annual conference at the beginning of 2018.
Georgia Perez, VP of Business Development at MoxiWorks, said, “Alex, Nick, and Bennett all came from other large, well-known tech companies in real estate, and are able to act as trusted advisers. With a truly open platform in the Moxi Cloud, brokerages can assemble all of the best-in-class products they need, having confidence that they will all work together, regardless of who the provider is. Having these three experienced and dedicated sales professionals on our team to help brokerages navigate the sea of choices is a real gift to our clients.” Perez leads the business development team at MoxiWorks not only with years of technology experience in the industry, but also as a real estate agent herself, bringing a unique perspective to the decision-making efforts behind the company’s offerings.
Bennett Hutt, whom formerly worked at Realtor.com, is one of MoxiWorks’ most recent recruits. He joins Alex Jacobs and Nick Van Valkenberg, all Directors of Business Development. Hutt said, “MoxiWorks has had a progressive trajectory in terms of where they’re taking their technology and, most importantly, the Moxi Cloud open platform concept they’ve brought to life is transforming the industry as we know it.”
Like his peers, Van Valkenberg came from a competitor. He mentioned, “Other industries that rely on technology have all moved to the cloud, use API integrations, and strive to make the lives of its users easier. While I enjoyed working for other industry leaders, I’ve always strived to be with the innovators and MoxiWorks absolutely checked that box for me. I mean have you seen the product?”
Perez added, “There is a lot of talk about technology in real estate these days, and a lot of shiny objects that glitter for a moment and become unadopted shelf ware soon thereafter. By providing a truly open platform that integrates, streamlines brokerage operations, and drives agent productivity, the MoxiWorks Sales team is able to serve brokerages actual needs in ways not previously available in the industry.”
About MoxiWorks
MoxiWorks is a comprehensive open platform system for large residential real estate brokerages that serves over 100,00 agents and 55 brokerages nationwide. Named one of the 10 Best Cloud Solution Providers of 2018 by Industry Era, MoxiWorks make brokerages more profitable by enabling their agents to be more productive, earning the highest adoption rates in the industry. MoxiWorks’ integrated tools are centered on sphere methodology that drastically increases agents’ repeat and referral business by 40%, while lowering overall technology, training, and support costs for the brokerage. The open platform, known as the Moxi Cloud, has tools from more than 40 partners that plug and play to create unique brokerage solutions. More information at moxiworks.com.
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For more information on this topic and other press inquiries, please contact Tiana Baur at tiana@moxiworks.com.
Get Off My Transaction! What Zillow’s Latest House-flipping Announcement Means for Brokers
By York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) (NASDAQ: ZG) announced they’re expanding Zillow Instant Offers to compete directly with OpenDoor and other Instant Offers companies – and that for the first time, Zillow itself will be buying homes from consumers and reselling them.
So, what does this mean for brokers? Two ways to look at it:
- So much for “we sell ads, not houses” as Spencer Rascoff has repeated ad nauseum over the years. That’s right up there with “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Zillow of course has every right to direct their business as they choose, but this is proof that they couldn’t care less about their relationship with brokerages. Look at the revolving door nature of the staff working with brokers as further evidence (remember Chris Crocker and Nick Bailey as the most recent examples?).
- Wake up call. I attended the Swanepoel T3 Summit in Miami this week and the theme was resoundingly that if you don’t make change happen, then change happens to you. I’d rather be the one making it happen, and I think that the brokers that continue to thrive will be the ones that disrupt themselves, not wait around to get disrupted
The Power Stays with Spheres
After you’re done absorbing this news though, remember that you have one of the most valuable assets any business can possess: relationships. Those with your agents, and critically their relationships with the consumers in their spheres of influence – their “databases” as many call them. Those relationships are the most difficult things to come by, and while we are all trying to make a home sale transaction happen, we don’t operate a transactional business – we’re in the people, the relationship business.
Channeling Michael Scarafile from a panel session at T3: when you cut your finger, you go to the urgent care clinic and you don’t really care who the doctor is. But if you have a heart problem, you go see you trusted family doctor. Selling or buying a house isn’t buying the latest gadget off Amazon, it’s one of the most emotionally and financially important things that most consumers do.
Here’s the best part: each of your agents already know hundreds of people, and one out of ten will either buy or sell a home this year. For example, the 100,000+ agents on the Moxi Cloud have an average of 470 consumers in their spheres of influence. That means each have more than 40 that will transact this year, not including the impact of referrals. All they have to do is stay in touch with those people and serve as a trusted advisor, and none of the Zillow, Opendoor, Redfin, Purplebricks blah blah blah will matter, because your agents are the ones they’ll trust to guide them through their transaction.
Presence is powerful. Windermere, Long and Foster, and Howard Hanna (all of whom subscribe to the philosophy that agents’ spheres are the best source of business) collectively did more transactions last year than all the closings generated by leads from Zillow. Think about that. How did these A-list brokerages pull this off? Many reasons. But one key factor is that they have systems that allow their agents to organize, store, market to, and advise the consumers in their spheres of influence.
You can too. You can put up a mote around your relationships that will prove to be impenetrable by the disruptors. But you have to get on with it, because it’s too late to build a mote once the invaders are inside your castle. It starts with getting your brokerage, agent, and consumer data in one place. Pick an open platform, get the data in there, and choose from the many quality technology tools that provide sphere management and marketing automation. Then be relentless about getting your agents to use them and hone their ability to serve as a trusted advisor. Sound too simple? It isn’t. It works. We have the data from our 60 brokerage clients and 100,000+ agents to prove it.
Unlike the government, we’re Moxi, and we actually are here to help. Let us know if we can help you and your brokerage.
Put Money Back in Agent Pockets Without Affecting Your Bottom Line
By Maddie Jostol
We talk a lot about making your brokerage more profitable, but it would be silly if we didn’t touch on the role that agent finances make on a brokerages’ success. How? Let’s quickly break it down: you know you need to retain more agents, agents are always searching for higher commissions, and many agents often struggle to run their business efficiently. Yes, the more smoothly an agent operates their business, the more money they make, and the happier they’ll be, resulting in them wanting to stay at and promote your brokerage. Sound complicated? Don’t worry, it’s not.
Here’s the bottom line: offer resources and recommendations that will help your agents run their business more effectively and it will pay off. The beauty of this is that it often takes very little (if any) time or funding from your brokerage. This can come in many different forms, such as specialized training, sphere selling education, marketing tools and resources, or assistance with tax filing.
Take accounting, for example (an area that many real estate agents struggle with). Too often, we hear the stories of the shoebox full of receipts or unorganized spreadsheets tracking expenses. The truth is, these practices result in a huge loss when it comes time to file taxes. All of the potential tax deductions that could’ve saved some serious cash are, instead, a blow to the wallet.
For a real estate agent, this is a big deal. It’s vital that they have a profitable, sustainable business in order to stick with the brokerage they know and love. When we came across QuickBooks Self-Employed, we instantly knew it was the perfect solution to these pain points. It’s an inexpensive, easy-to-use, reliable accounting solution built for independent contractors that saves agents time and money ($4,340/year on average, to be exact).
It made us wonder: why aren’t more brokerages recommending solutions like this to their agents? It costs the brokerage nothing to make these resources known, yet they often aren’t offering support outside of the standard.
Sure, educating your agents about tools like QuickBooks Self-Employed might not seem to benefit your business at the surface level, but remember that successful agents make successful brokerages. QuickBooks Self-Employed makes agents more efficient and helps them retain more of the money they make. Remember what we said about happy, money-making agents effecting your bottom line?
Provide your agents with what they need to be successful and you’ll find your brokerage more successful in turn.
Interested in learning more about QuickBooks Self-Employed? Agents can get QuickBooks Self-Employed for just $5/month. Take advantage of our exclusive discount here.
Does Your Compass Point True North?
By Nick Van Valkenberg, Director of Business Development, MoxiWorks
When lost, a compass is used to help you find your way, but what is a compass used for when you are already on the path to success? Could a compass force you to look in the wrong direction? Is there a need for a compass when you already know the terrain and have the map? While in the field I have been having a number of conversations about the “lion coming over the hill” that is Compass. Massively funded, technology forward, and making waves. It is hard not to look in their direction and wonder if the moat you have built around your brokerage will last.
Circle of Concern vs. Circle of Influence
To summarize Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, habit one says to be proactive. A great way to becoming self-aware is to separate your Circle of Concern and your Circle of Influence.
You do not have control over your Circle of Concern – it’s filled with topics like: what Compass is doing in regard to raising capital, building technology, or whether they move to your market or not. You can worry about these until your face turns blue, but you cannot control the outcomes.
Your Circle of Influence you can control, and this is where you should be spending your time and energy. Topics include: educating your agents on not only the negatives, but also the positives of Compass (you would be naive to portray all as negative), finding technology to compete with what they are building, recruiting new agents, and actively recruiting your current team members to raise retention within your brokerage.
Now that we have cleared the air, know where to focus and what can be controlled, let me tell you our (MoxiWorks) take on the situation. Technology is a big topic and a key point to Compass’ recruiting efforts. To compete with the technology that Compass is building you may need an upgrade. Now I’m not suggesting that you go and build your own, I’m suggesting that you look at a platform that is already being used by some of the nation’s top brokerages.
Compass says that their technology will: have a CRM that combines listing information, client information, and transaction information. Compass’ technology is said to be in “one place,” combining all tools, giving power of integration, offering insights, and easy to launch digital social marketing. At MoxiWorks we would recommend researching our open platform that encompasses (pun intended) these aspects and more.
Recruiting
Recruiting is another part of your Circle of Influence that you can control. The discussion of recruiting generally invokes the thought of trying to increase your agent count or better yet, maintain your agent count as attrition is part of the business. In the fourth quarter of 2017, MoxiWorks built an agent recruiting tool called Moxi Talent. Moxi Talent uses a two-pronged approach: recruiting new agents to your brokerage and recruiting your current agents. Trust me when I say if you are not congratulating your current agents, someone else is and that style of interaction will win them over.
In summary, the only thing that stays the same is change and those that do not adapt to the times will be left behind. The best option is to partner with a technology company known for innovating to future-proof brokerages. If any of this has resonated with you I suggest that you reach out to our team and at least do yourself the service to learn how we are paving the way. I, or one of my colleagues, would be more than happy to look at your current technology stack to show you how we can connect your current systems and upgrade others. Do yourself a favor and be proactive; now is not the time to take a reactive approach.
April Listings Bring May Closings: How to Get It Done
By Maddie Jostol
As the sun comes out, the listings ramp up. Things are about to get busy – are you ready? The housing market is hot, and it’s never been more important to ensure your business is competitive and streamlined.
“In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move.” – Henry Rollins
Here are a handful of things you can do right now to ensure the leads you start seeing end in a closed deal and a happy client.
Be responsive
We know you already know this one, but it’s always an important reminder. Considering ~70% of homeowners work with the first real estate agent who contacts them, now is the time of year when you need to make sure you’re on it. Keep your eye on the ball and make sure your follow-ups are timely and thoughtful. We highly suggest you lean on technology to help you with this as the life of a realtor can feel like there are too many moving parts to keep track of.
Be personal
When things get busy, it can be tough to remember the little things. Those little things will make all the difference, though. Don’t forget to remember your handwritten ‘thank you’ notes, your personal follow-ups, and your house-versary gifts for last year’s clients.
Your CRM is a great place to include notes for client-specific information. Also, use your CRM to help manage your work for you. Following your tasks and workflow will keep you on track, even as things get hectic, and will ensure you don’t miss a beat.
Be proactive
When you talk to clients and prospects, they can tell that you’re ‘on it’ because you’re in tune with their lives and you’re fully present in the conversations, which makes all the difference. Imagine calling up an old client, but before you did, you checked your CRM. You had data available estimating that they had teenagers in the home and might be looking to downsize. That reminds you, “oh yeah, I remember, they did have two kids.” When you call them up, you’re able to ask how the kids are doing and casually ask the client to remind you of what grade they’re in, teeing you up to get more insights into any home selling or buying plans. Before you know it, you’re back in flow with important members of your sphere.
Get a system in place that does this research for you. Moxi Insights, a tool within our Moxi Marketing suite (provided by your brokerage!) auto-fills your Moxi Engage account with public records data for all of your contacts. That means instant, valuable insights on all your contacts at your fingertips.
Agents also use Moxi Marketing for Facebook advertising – both to promote themselves to generate leads and to promote listings once they win them. This is key for keeping your marketing efforts on track throughout the year.
We have an exciting season ahead, where you’ll be able to dive in and close the deals that will help you reach your goals. Deliver the highest quality experience throughout the year, even when things get busy by using the right tools and making sure everything is taken care of. Want more information on Moxi Marketing tools? Check them out here.
