This article is the second in a series on effectively implementing new technology at the brokerage level. You can find Part One here.
Real estate broker/owners face increasingly tight margins, forcing many to tighten their belts and be more strategic about their investment decisions. But one thing in life is certain: change. And if your brokerage doesn’t adapt to change, you’re at risk of losing new business and agents to your competition.
If you’ve invested in new brokerage tech, you’ve likely made a significant investment in your business’s future and productivity. But imagine the following scenario: your ROI is lower than expected, or worse, you’re failing to see a return at all. It’s every broker/owner’s worst nightmare!
Thankfully, there are ways you can boost or accelerate your ROI when making tech investments:
1. Find the right solution to the right problem.
It’s easy to be tempted by seductive sales pitches, but if you haven’t identified actual areas of improvement, your investment might not solve your problem, and it might even create new ones. You don’t necessarily need bells and whistles, but you do need a solution for your unique challenges. Find what they are and go from there.
2. Ask questions.
You can’t get answers to questions you never ask. There might be a better workflow available with one solution versus another, but you won’t know if you don’t ask. While you’re shopping around, ask as many questions as you can, leaning on your team to cover all your bases. Your team is a wealth of knowledge on how things are executed in your office. Ask questions and use your critical thinking to identify areas of improvement.
3. Make sure your team is ready to adopt.
If your team is brought into the decision-making process, they’ll feel included and more likely to accept and adopt the change. Acknowledge their concerns and listen to their ideas. After all, everyone wants their work to be easier. If you try forcing a solution that doesn’t actually solve any problems, your team will never use it. Return = zero.
4. Plan a realistic implementation.
If implementation hits a snag, delaying rollout for weeks or months, it will take far longer to see an ROI. Working with an experienced partner who sets the right expectations (and a realistic timeline) will help ensure your implementation is a success, saving time and money.
5. Find out about upgrades and enhancements.
Upgrades and enhancements do not come free with many tech products. The average cost of upgrading your software over time is an important consideration you should factor in. Solutions that come with free upgrades and enhancements will allow you to see a higher ROI than ones requiring additional big spends year after year.
If you’re still slow in seeing ROI, don’t worry! Remember:
6. New tools mean growing pains.
A lot of tech experts will tell you, there will be challenges along the way. It takes time for teams to adopt and learn to use new tools effectively. In the meantime, resistance will slow the transition. Change is often more painful in the beginning, but the long-term benefits are around the corner.
7. You can’t travel back in time.
The real estate industry is changing at lightning speed and is never going back to what it was five, ten, fifteen years ago. Technology is only going to get better and play an increasingly central role. So, dive in! Brokers need to play the game if they want to stay in it.
Making smart investments is key for any business to grow and thrive. By asking the right questions up front, involving your team and working with the right partner, you can help maximize your ROI to ensure your investments pay off.
Does your real estate brokerage have the right tools in place and are you seeing a return on your investment? Constellation1 solutions are designed to suit your unique business needs. Book your personal tour today.
Rachel Bottineau is vice president of Operations, Back Office at Constellation1. Bottineau is an experienced brokerage operations leader. She has helped thousands of brokerages implement back and front office software over the past 15 years and is a key resource for advice on the who, what and why for brokerage technology.
