Real estate brokers know all too well about the vast range of tech choices they have for their agents, and more coming seemingly daily. This makes the exercise of discerning which tech is best for their agents and models tricky. 

In T3 Sixty’s work with brokers and agents, three technology categories have become apparent that brokerages find they can significantly improve the efficiency and efficacy of their and their agents’ efforts. 

T3 Sixty has seen successful implementations and adoption of tools in these three categories, when rolled out properly. Proper rollout involves a careful strategy of getting agent buy-in, demonstrating effectiveness with case studies and supporting their launch and operation sufficiently.

Predictive analytics solutions

The average agent has hundreds of contacts in their database. However, very few agents know or have the time to effectively cultivate these contacts and find those likely to sell or buy a home.

With the growth of AI and machine learning, and the increasing standardization and integration of real estate data by vendors, the predictive marketing analytics solutions category has gained traction and improved over several years.

These technologies can predict the likelihood of consumers completing a transaction, and thus highlight which database contacts agents should focus their energies on. 

Companies like Likely.ai, HouseCanary, and Revaluate allow agents to upload their contacts for a minimal price and analyze their likely sellers. The results will vary, but these solutions have proven effective at tapping into the nuggets of gold in agents’ databases.

Customer engagement solutions

CRMs have gotten a bad rap in real estate. The general disdain arises because they historically have required agents to input a plethora of data points manually into a interface that promises results but requires a lot of time and consistency, two things in limited supply for most agents.

However, CRMs are getting easier to use, by automating some data tracking and input. This new generation of systems requires very little input from agents and ties in their disparate data points into cohesive campaigns capable of working on behalf of the agent. They provide the results that CRMs promise without as much effort from the agent. 

Companies like Cloze, Covve, and CINC allow the agents to keep in contact and market to their sphere without requiring busy work.

Back-office solutions

A growing trend in the enterprise core back-office category is improved functionality that provides agents with reporting and metrics for real-time visibility into their financials.

In the past, if agents wanted to access their pay stubs, production reports, or 1099s, they had to contact the brokerage administrative or accounting staff.

To meet the need, brokers set up intranet systems or emailed this information to free the administrative staff from ad hoc requests, but the effort proved only to be a half-measure. Many of today’s back-office systems offer an agent app or controlled access to the accounting system so that the agent can access their production information, see the status of their commission plan or pull their own 1099 or tax reporting. 

Companies like AccountTech, Brokerage Engine, Loft47, and Back At You (via its Financial Bay product), to name a few, offer such features. This level of accessibility gives the agents the freedom to access their information from anywhere while saving the administrative staff hours. Business has become a just-in-time operation, and these updated products are now delivering on that promise for agent financial information.

Takeaway These three categories in real estate tech are now delivering significant and worthwhile value to agents and brokerages that adopt. If you have questions about these suggestions or would like assistance in evaluating the appropriate solution for your brokerage, please reach out to Jonathan Peterson, T3 Sixty’s vice president of brokerage solutions, at jonathan@t3sixty.com.