Real Estate Agent 2.0 - Defined

It seems the more I try to participate here on the my own blog, the more I am presented with great content that I know our readers will enjoy.  Today, we are introducing yet another new member of the Vine, Mr. Steve Groves.  His topic: Agent 2.0.  Grab a coffee, this is another great ride.

Agent 2.0 - Defined
By Steven Groves

Jim Cronin and I have connected at various levels and he’s allowed a posting of the manifesto of Agent2.0 here at the Tomato and I am grateful. 

Premise of Agent2.0 – the ‘Duh’ Statement

The sale of real estate is / has changed significantly in the last several years.  The major shift is the immediate and widely available access to multiple listing service (MLS) data.  MLS data was at one time the exclusive domain of the real estate professional, who acted as the gatekeeper of the data to the public, MLS data is now freely and readily available.

While not completely understood, this shift in the access to data appears to have mandated that the agent extend themselves to utilize the Internet to better undertake their responsibilities.  The major areas of change have to do with data. 

The Internet is rich with data of all kinds; data on homes for sale, for rent, for lease, land for sale, commercial property for big business, small business and more.  The information about specific neighborhoods in major cities is beginning to cascade into the web, entered by real estate professionals, citizens, cities and individuals for all kinds of reasons.  The drive appears to be heavily centered around the use of social media technology and the next generation of Internet users who are growing up with the web as a natural, normal part of their lives.

Agent2.0 – the Model and Implementation Outline

Agent2.0 is a framework against which vendors of online technologies for the real estate community can insert themselves to the benefit of the agent in connecting with their clients and prospects.  A fundamental characteristic is that the tool set is either completely or mostly online.  Online = good in Agent2.0.

The major categories of the business model are designed to a) promote and enforce contact with the clients and prospects and 2) develop social capital that is meaningful or useful in the sale of real estate.  The non-exclusive (they will overlap) business model categories today are -

Public exposure,
Social media tools,
Self generation of leads,
Inter-agent communication,
Personal presence and
Mobile connectivity

I’ve been writing on Agent2.0 for a while now and finally felt the model was baked enough for disclosure.  It is however, a work in progress and I suspect it will never be completely defined, particular to the individual and the market – but here is what we have so far for the first installment.

To continue reading this great piece by Steve Groves, please follow our link to the Real Estate Tomato.