BloomTree Realty in Prescott, Arizona is a one of the newer kids on the brokerage block, but youth hasn’t kept the company from more than doubling its volume since it launched just 18 months ago. Take a look at BloomTree’s impressive statistics:
Sales grew from $20 million the quarter before converting to BloomTree to $52 million for Q1 2016.
The company's agent base increased from 90 to over 150.
Market share doubled from 6% prior to conversion to currently first in their market at over 12%.
Stacy Stateham, VP of Marketing and Branding, says their successful growth just might come from the way they do things at BloomTree, with a focus on client service, and an environment where agents can thrive.
Stacy also shared that building such an environment is a group effort, starting with the management team, and implemented with the help of the Agent Happiness team, led by (who else?) the VP of Agent Happiness. And when it was time to select a suite of tech products that would handle CRM and lead management, the team proceeded methodically to ensure agents would embrace and benefit from the technology.
“We see our tech package as an extension of our culture,” said Stacy. “By leveraging our collective buying power, leaning up training and support requirements, and, with our new cloud solution for agent websites which will leverage our collective SEO (under construction by Dakno Marketing), we’re taking collaboration beyond working together and sharing knowledge and into a comprehensive business system for our agents.”
The number one factor in BloomTree’s decision-making process was ensuring clients get the best service. Next up was supporting agents with tools that would help them succeed. “Along with our high level of training and support, technology is the proverbial last leg in the stool,” said Stacy. “With all three, they have everything they need to run a successful business.”
Choosing a Technology Suite
BloomTree’s first step was to survey agents to assess their needs. Through this process, the company learned that only about 20% of agents had a database, and many still recorded client data in notebooks. To Stacy, that’s not too surprising, considering that agents who are fantastic at keeping clients happy sometimes struggle with learning the processes and systems side of the business. But the revelation pointed to a need to give both tech-savvy and tech-averse agents the right systems to improve productivity and success, as well as make their lives easier.
Each member of the management team then reviewed and vetted products according to their own area of expertise. The “short list” was then presented to the Agent Council, a group of agents empowered to represent their peers. Based on their feedback, BloomTree decided to invest in and implement Top Producer CRM and FiveStreet lead management, plus brokerage and agent websites with Dakno Marketing, RealSatsified to track client satisfaction, TourFactory and Showcase Listings on Realtor.com for listing marketing, and other solutions. “The biggest benefits from Top Producer and FiveStreet are that they are an integral part of the whole and not just stand-alone systems,” said Stacy.
Top Producer Benefits to Agents and Company
Why did BloomTree select Top Producer? According to Stacy, they found a number of benefits in the Top Producer suite, including:
Scalability. “While each of the products presented their own benefits, the two main differentiators are that Top Producer is very robust and it’s easy to use,” said Stacy. For example, Top Producer is scalable according to the agent’s choices and comfort level. “Even if all they do is hit the front page and channel leads from it, they will still get benefits. They can go in as far as they want, and one size fits as many as possible,” she added.
Productivity. BloomTree considered their tech package an investment and felt confident it would pay for itself with agent productivity. “We knew that if we could get all our agents on board with Top Producer and we trained them how to use it effectively, they’d have to try hard to NOT get one extra closing a year,” said Stacy.
Integration. Top Producer integrates with other tools, which makes it easy for agents to go beyond the typical one or two touches per lead. “They can look at their entire database and see how long it’s been since they reached out to a client. And they can easily stay in touch by sending emails, connecting on social media, and just checking in to chat,” Stacy said. “It is making a huge difference.”
Standardization. The system’s standardization brokerage-wide was yet another selling factor. For example, not only is it easier for the agents when they’re all on a common system, but it also saves time for the Agent Happiness Team, who can easily answer questions without having to learn dozens of different web platforms.
Branding. The higher level of service made possible through the Top Producer suite of products means clients feel that they’re being well taken care of. “We are very much monitoring our brand and teaching agents to monitor theirs, as well,” said Stacy, “and the Top Producer CRM simply makes it easier to provide that extra human touch that our clients remember.”
Gradual Roll-out Gets All on Board
BloomTree didn’t roll everything out at once; they deliberately implemented tools slowly, to give agents time to get used to the idea, become familiar with the product and then integrate it into their daily routine before adding the next piece. “We started with the more simple ones, then added Top Producer and FiveStreet together, and next are the websites,” said Stacy.
Giving agents time to get used to the idea, as well as the technology, resulted in 100% participation—another benefit to BloomTree. “Before we had Top Producer and FiveStreet, we had very little visibility on lead follow-up. It’s so important to have the ability to track and see what’s happening with our leads as they come in,” said Stacy.
Agents found it easy to integrate BloomTree’s suite of products with optional Top Producer products they could purchase on their own. With one system to track leads, clients and transactions, “Even those who typically forego technology in favor of their tried-and-true systems are raving about increased productivity and newfound simplicity,” said Stacy. “They love how much easier Top Producer has made their lives.”
Top-level Service from Top Producer
Working with Top Producer was a positive experience for BloomTree, and Stacy especially appreciated that “they held our hands” throughout the process. “I’m pretty techy, and so are several members of our management team, but we relied on the Top Producer team to get this right. And they have been fabulous to work with!” said Stacy.
Just ask one of their happy agents how much easier and productive their daily life has become. With better, faster lead response, improved client service, and total visibility, BloomTree is 100% on board with Top Producer and FiveStreet.
To learn more about Top Producer, see our webinars and blog posts on ActiveRain.
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