How top brokerages are investing in better pipelines for agents
RE/MAX, KW and Compass are among the companies customizing and rolling out a new generation of CRMs for their agents and broker-owners.
Key points:
- Leading brokerages are upping their tech game to help agents improve efficiency and productivity.
- KW and Compass have proprietary platforms built in-house, while RE/MAX used a third-party vendor to customize its branded platform.
- “Our goal is always to keep agents at the center of the relationship with their client, and enable them with the tools they need to enrich it,” said Chris Cox, KW’s CTO.
A new generation of agent platforms are helping real estate professionals stay better connected with clients, generate leads from multiple sources, and gain insights on communities and home values.
Compass, RE/MAX and Keller Williams are among the major real estate companies to introduce new and improved versions of their content relationship management (CRM) systems to tens of thousands of agents in the U.S. and across the globe.
"I've said it before, and it still remains true today: an agent's favorite tech tool is one that gets out of their way and allows them the freedom to be out there building their pipelines and helping their customers," said RE/MAX Chief Information Officer Grady Ligon.
The rollout of the new RE/MAX system started in late 2022 in Canada and got underway in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2023. The vast majority of RE/MAX brokerages have started onboarding the system, Ligon said.
The company chose Inside Real Estate's kvCORE technology to power its RE/MAX-branded platform, MAX/Tech. Time and resources previously spent in-house on software development have been directed to other aspects of agent business growth, Ligon said.
"As RE/MAX was exploring options, kvCORE kept coming up again and again, as many RE/MAX agents and teams already use it and love it," said Ligon, who noted that it has one of the highest adoption rates in the industry. "kvCORE's AI-powered CRM improves productivity and maximizes opportunities for lead conversion."
KW: Optimizing, centralizing its platform
At Keller Williams, the company is heavily investing in improving its proprietary platform, Command, which launched in 2019. Agents can now leverage a centralized app to manage and nurture their pipeline. Chris Cox, chief technology and digital officer, also noted improvements in the platform's ability to track and measure marketing campaigns across all mediums.
"Our goal is always to keep agents at the center of the relationship with their client, and enable them with the tools they need to enrich it," Cox said.
The platform also helps the company better manage initiatives centrally and save money. "Agents run campaigns at a fraction of the industry average through the Command platform. This impacts their bottom line at a time when agents are watching expenses," Cox said.
KW has been working to add new automated features to Command, including:
More tools for marketing on Instagram
More ways for new agents to import contacts and a system for automating the completion of contact records
New dashboard presentation for agents to see their annual production
Paid ad campaigns for driving leads and conversion
The CRM has generated 5 million leads for agents since its launch four years ago, the company said.
Compass: Agents have 'everything in one place'
Compass offers specialized training to immerse agents in the capabilities of its $900 million end-to-end platform that enables agents to advance from first contact with a client — i.e., entering their information into the CRM — to close (getting paid).
"Through our platform, agents can see each stage of a transaction, make check lists and manage their CRM to stay in contact with clients throughout the transaction process," said a company spokesman. "With everything in one place, our agents do not need any third-party real estate software to run their business, which increases their efficiency and saves them valuable time and money."
Compass describes the fully integrated CRM as a "key differentiator" for Compass agents.
Compass is in the process of integrating title and escrow services into the technology platform in Southern California, one of its largest brokerage markets. Compass will then phase in the services at its other markets around the country.
The company also is closely monitoring the performance of its CRM, which was completed at the end of 2022. Compass will track and analyze how it is performing for agents in the marketplace, which products are used the most and areas that show the most promise for future investment.