- Team Leads sent its customers an email informing them that it would stop operating as of September 29, 2017, and they would need to choose a new lead generation landing page and management platform.
- Keller Williams and Team Leads are "fully committed to providing ... service and support as they transition off the offering."
In 2015, Keller Williams acquired Team Leads, an Ontario, Canada-based platform that uses landing pages to capture leads and feed them into a lead management program that helps teams follow up with leads and turn them into transactions.
Today, team leaders using the platform (now known as KW Team Leads) were informed that the company was phasing it out and they would need to migrate to something else by September 29, 2017.
“As Keller Williams has recently announced our innovative technology vision, we’re constantly having to evaluate what we focus on and what we’re not focusing on as part of a strong commitment to our agents,” said Josh Team, Chief Innovation Officer at Keller Williams, via email.
“We look forward to talking more about our technology vision at our upcoming Mega Camp,” he added.
The email
Inman was sent a copy of the email, which first thanked readers for being customers, followed with, “unfortunately, we regret to inform you that effective September 29, 2017, we are phasing out TeamLeads.
“We realize the potential impact this change could have on your business and are committed to helping make this transition as seamless as possible for you,” the company added. “We have assembled a team that is standing ready to help quickly export your data to minimize any interruption in your business. We will continue to work with you through September to make your transition a positive experience and will provide service in September at no charge.”
It listed steps for exporting Team Leads data and the system transition:
- Select a new system and a date to launch that system.
- Send a database export request and the launch date (also the date that Team Leads would terminate for each client) to a Team Leads email address.
- TeamLeads notifies your MLS.
- Team Leads will also export your database to a .csv file, which you’ll receive within two business days.
- “You own your domain and should have it transferred to the new service provider.”
- Team Leads will turn off platform access on the termination date.
“We recognize that you may need to evaluate your options in order to meet ongoing business needs and objectives,” wrote the company. “No matter which option you choose, we remain fully committed to providing you service and support as you transition off of this product.”
“Approximately 200 Keller Williams teams are on the software, so we’re working with them and we’ve assembled a support team that’s helping those 200 agent teams to quickly export data to minimize any disruption to their business,” said Keller Williams spokesman Darryl Frost.
“No matter which option these agent teams choose, Team Leads remains fully committed to providing them service and support as they transition off the offering. We’re not prioritizing a particular solution, but we are prioritizing that there’s no disruption to these agent teams,” he added.
The acquisition
Just a little over two years ago, Keller Williams announced that it was acquiring Team Leads.
“With more than 20 employees, the Team Leads headquarters will remain based in Ontario, Canada,” Inman wrote at the time. “Johnstone and the current directors and developers of Team Leads will continue to maintain operations in alignment with the Keller Williams software vision.” At the time of its acquisition in 2015, Team Leads also planned to hire 15 employees in the four months following the announcement. It also planned to make Team Leads available industry-wide in 2016.
“As part of the acquisition, Team Leads Inc. will keep its corporate name and remain a separate business entity, under Keller Williams, with a clear focus on innovating its agent team business technology,” Inman wrote at the time.
