If there’s one mantra you hear in our industry, it’s this: real estate is a relationship-driven business. While emails and phone calls have their place, nothing builds a business relationship like face-to-face interaction. One of the best places that MLS and association executives can foster key relationships is at the upcoming National Association of REALTORS® Conference.
A Partnership Years in the Making
Not only can in-person interactions cement existing partnerships, but they can also spark new ones—sometimes years down the road. That’s what happened to the Omaha Area Board of REALTORS® (OABR).
Six years ago, Denise Mecseji, OABR’s MLS manager, was attending her first Clareity conference when she was invited out to a dinner that included executives from Georgia MLS and Georgia’s public records/property data vendor, CRS Data.
OABR honed in on CRS Data in part because “it is its own company,” says Mecseji. “We were confident that no matter which MLS platform we went to in the future, CRS Data would work with it, because they aren’t owned or operated by any particular MLS system provider.”
Furthermore, CRS Data was the only vendor that OABR contacted that actually checked the counties to see what kind of tax data was available.
“We never went beyond CRS Data at that point,” says Mecseji. “For us, it was really CRS Data or we’re not going to switch tax systems at all.”
In-Person Meetings Bolster Ongoing Relationship
Face-to-face meetings are not only crucial in launching new partnerships, but also in strengthening existing ones. Northern Nevada Regional MLS (NNRMLS) began speaking with CRS Data—over the phone and at conferences—a year before they launched CRS Data’s MLS Tax Suite.
“We were impressed with not only what CRS already does, but their ability to customize,” says Andrew Cristancho, director of Member Services and Training at NNRMLS. Once launched, CRS Data next invited NNRMLS to meet with them at NAR Annual to discuss how the deployment and adoption of their product went.
“It’s nice when you find a vendor that mirrors the culture and values that you have in your organization,” says Cristancho. “You only get a certain amount of that over the phone, but once you meet someone face-to-face, it’s reinforced…I can’t stress enough how important it is to sit down and meet with vendors face-to-face at a conference.”
Cristancho suggests asking a few important questions of a vendor, such as:
- What will this product do for my members?
- What will they be able to accomplish in their day-to-day?
- How will they integrate it into their workflow on a daily or weekly basis?
Want to meet CRS Data in-person? Visit them at Booth No. 852 at the NAR Annual conference, or contact Rob Williamson at rwilliamson@crsdata.com to set up a meeting.
For more information, please visit CRSData.com.
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