RETS conference Notes Q is the downturn in the mkt good for our industry? * Yes, changes are taking place that need to take place. it hurts right now but changes in 12-18 mos will be significant for our insdustry. 18-34 year olds will dirve our market. We are regrouping. *We are anticipating a recovery but it won't be anywhere near the mid 2000. next 12-18 mos we will experience a new normal. less agents in business = more business for those who stay in. * Many people who were in our industry might not should have been. The strongest will survive and that will be good for us. * Agens professional ranks will be thinned and so will vendors. Web 2.0 bubble coincided w/ RE bubble. Vendors must show value to their clients. * This also happened in Korea and Thailand in 1998. Their currency crashed. They refocused on being the leading tech country in the world. Profound economic gains. EX. people who can't use PC's are being replaced by people who can. There is a replacement of a group of people. In the short term the short term actions of the fed have opened a window for RE. Will stimulat the housing markets. Long term, will inflation kill the economy? Balancing act over next 2 years. * Innovation is required in this market Q Why is it hard to define what makes a good broker? Why do we not have standards for measuring how good a RE agent is? * In the old world the measure was how profitable they were. Now we are on a different playing field. How quick are they to change and adapt to the changes? Bigger isn't necessarily better. Smarter is better. * Example: man chose listing agent who asked him questions...how will you measure whether we have had a successful transaction? agent asked a lot of questions instead of bragging on herself. At the end of day we have to respond to consumer and what THEY want. Q Realtor and Internet have 81% usefulness rating. What is your take on this? * buyers use the internet but want the knowledge of an agent to get the deal done * People go to the internet to choose the agent at the last stages. the way social media is working, the agent will be found thru a referral on social media. * RE is a relationship based business and that will continue. Technology gives so much information to the consumer. The agent of the future will have to provide a higher level of service. Combo of tech and relationship/service * ran a consumer focus group : sat people in front of computer to do a home search. People want to get to a certain level of info and then want to hand it off. From the agent they want service. They want someone to inform them so they do't have to spend a lot of time. * Consumer wants the agent for what the agent knows about the market. Esp for RElo . they want to know what the internet can't tell them. * agents compartmentalize internet vs. personal leads and residential vs. commercial. W internet leads, more people are engaging this way. We treat them as someone who lives in our computer as opposed to a real person Q 90% of buyers surveyed say they would use their agent again but only 26% of sellers and 18% of buyers use the same agent. Why? * agents have been running from one transaction to another so they didn't set up databases and follow up. Natyure of the business to move from one to the other and this will have to change. People are not following up! W The Tech available today there is no reason not to be in touch. * The agents who reach and communicate will get the "orphaned" clients. Agents who manage their database well will stay successful. those that didn't are paralyzed. * Touch points for referrals are easily achieved thru tech. FB, linked in, and twitter. takes 15 seconds to make a touch. Makes Social Media very powerful. Avg of 7 years between transactions. Number of agens that have been in business 7 years or longer. How many agents under 40 have repeat business. Whose responsibility is it to do CRM? In other industries it is the company. In ours, it is the agent. * many salespeople feel they are buggin the customer but the customer has given them permission to contact them. Bottom line, the agent must do this. * When we think about agents as independent contractors, agents would not allow the brand to set up the CRM program for their clients because agents feel that broker might steal their clients. Is this silly? (note from BETH: I do NOT agree with this!) The agents who don't allow this won't stay in the business. (NOT) ( comment from Beth: You MUST manage your own database!)