Technology, Agent Adoption, and ROI

I have been involved in real estate technology for a long time. For several years now, I have been meaning to write about the overwhelming number of options that exist for both brokerages and agents alike. There are hundreds of vendors who not only have competing products, but overlapping products that duplicate one or more functions of something you might already have.

Throw in the fact that agents need a simple platform to use since their adoption of technology is pretty low, and you can see brokerages pulling out their hair in frustration. What's the point of spending money on technology platforms when they are not getting adoption and expected ROI on what they already have?

It with this in mind that I have written this series of two blogs on this topic. The purpose is to analyze the many different platform types that are out there, which ones actually lead to sales, and which ones might be left off your shopping list next year.

One of my large clients told me recently that he could not justify adding any additional technology expense on new platforms until he could really understand the adoption and ROI on what he already has. I think that logic makes a lot of sense and why I present you the following information.

First, let's take a look at the multiple categories (in no particular order):

• MLS (often multiple) - An MLS is essential to doing business, but extending out of your market adds real value.
• Corporate Intranet - Most brokerages have some sort of company intranet and this is probably an important item to have in your technology program.
• Corporate Website - Again, this is hard to do without, but you could add new developments and new homes to your mix to extend your income.
• Agent Website - Hard to imagine your agents not having their own websites, but some turnkey solutions can get new agents up and running with their own website on day one.