eXp CEO reveals Homes.com talks and new twist on recruiting 

During a video presentation with other company leaders, eXp CEO Glenn Sanford discussed several key initiatives that the company is working on that could be "total game changers" for its army of 87,000 agents. 

Of particular importance in last week's eXp State of the Union presentation, hosted by self-described eXp "rainmaker" Brent Gove and also featuring Chief Growth Officer Michael Valdez and agent Jay Kinder, Sanford revealed that eXp is in discussions with other major players about forming exclusive, strategic partnerships. 

"We were just in the offices of Homes.com a couple of days ago," Sanford said during the presentation. "We want to create a partnership because it democratizes the ability for agents to generate leads."

He, of course, is referring to CoStar's "your listing, your lead" model that sends consumer inquiries and leads directly to the listing agent. It's a model CoStar CEO Andy Florance has described as being more agent-focused than what he has referred to as the "your listing, our lead" approach taken by portals like Zillow and Redfin.

Sanford also added that the company was working on two or three other exclusive partnerships. The outcome, he explained, would provide eXp agents an "unfair advantage in the marketplace." Sanford touched on existing partnerships with Inside Real Estate and Clearwater Benefits, and an exclusive pricing deal with Realty.com. 

A spokesperson for eXp declined to comment on the specific partnerships Sanford alluded to during the video presentation. However, a source with direct knowledge of the discussions between CoStar and eXp.com confirmed to Real Estate News that the two companies met, but indicated there is no official partnership agreement in place at this time.

'My link, my lead' aims to drive lead generation

Partnerships aside, eXp launched a proprietary in-house tech platform around the model earlier this month, calling it "My link, my lead." The tool allows agents to share property searches and listings via personalized links, and leads from those links will go directly to the agent. Sanford said during the State of the Union call that the company is currently patenting the system.

"My link, my lead gives you a tool to generate new leads in your marketplace. However, in virtually every other system, there's breakage in your lead generation strategy because all you can typically do is promote your IDX with the listings you're a party to," he said.

Because eXp is a virtual brokerage with a presence in all 50 states, the idea is that agents can generate leads outside of their primary market area and then agents "get a check without having to do the additional legwork," Sanford said. He explained that it would also function as an additional stream of income "for the internet marketer" by generating potentially tens of thousands of leads. 

Doubling down on recruiting

During the call, Sanford also said company leaders have been working on a strategy — and earmarking funds — to help bring more teams and brokers over to eXp. The company recruited a bevy of teams in the first three months of the year and has successfully wooed other large teams in recent months. While discussing the cyclical nature of the real estate business, Sanford said eXp is hearing from other team leads and broker-owners who may be ready to make a move. 

"If you're 50 agents or more, and you want to move to eXp, we have some ways, financially, to make that work," he said. "If you're considering a move, we have a lifeline. We've have some money. We've got over $120 million in the bank and we have the ability to do that."