Smarter Agent Insights from the ERA International Business Conference – Mobile Real Estate from Austin, TX
Last week, I was part of the Smarter Agent team that attended the ERA International Business Conference in Austin, Texas.
During one morning, I had the opportunity to hear the Executive Keynote presented by Richard Smith, Chairman and CEO of Realogy. Mr. Smith began by saying that he often gets questions from agent and brokers about the state of the economy, the political scene, etc. and how they influence the real estate market. He very strongly said, although it’s important as a realtor to be knowledgeable about these things, “don’t worry about things you can’t influence”, and focus on what you can.
Following that statement, the first thing he said that an agent should be focused on and should be influencing is their knowledge of mobile technology. Word for word, he said that
“If agents are not thoroughly competent in mobile applications, they have very little chance of success in this business. They are critical to success today for real estate agent.”
It’s amazing to see the progression of how mobile technology has been discussed eachyear. A few years ago, smartphones and apps were just a nifty tool to have and use for your business. It was something that made you stand out from the crowd. Now, fast forward to today, and we are at a point where this technology has become a vital part of the real estate business.
I am happy to say that a lot of agents we are meeting this year are already taking Mr. Smith’s message to heart and already putting a strong focus on mobile technology in their business. Last year, at IBC 2012, I spent a lot of time helping agents download the ERA Real Estate app onto their phone. This year, every agent who I met at our booth already had it on their phone! That was great to see and it allowed me to focus on telling them about the great branded agent and broker apps that can help them take the ERA app to the next level by getting all the leads from this great top rated app.
In closing I want to leave you with these statement from Mr. Smith; “Agents, get fully confident in mobile. It’s critical for your success. Get smart. And get smart fast!”
~ Phil Tomasello