Today it seems as though there is a tech tool or solution for every stage of the real estate transaction, from marketing and advertising to listing and closing. Sometimes it can feel like we are kids in a candy store, overwhelmed by so many choices that promise they will miraculously improve our business.
But is there such a thing as too much tech for real estate? And what is the perfect balance of tech tools that produce the highest agent adoption and profitability for the brokerage?
In an effort to better understand the average number of technology platforms that are deployed by brokerages, we studied a statistically significant sample size of 50 similar-sized brokerages. These brokerages have an average agent count of 250, are located across the country, and are a mixture of franchise brands and independents, without any duplicates of franchises that could skew the data point numbers.
Our findings were startling. The average number of separate technology platforms and tools being used by these brokerages was a whopping 13.125.
Why the need for so much tech?
Brokerages employ multiple tech platforms for various reasons, but their top reason is to provide everything they think their agents need and want. Unfortunately, many tech systems specialize in only one thing, so the need to pile on other solutions to fill the gaps is real.
But what we discovered is that the more tech you pile on, the more challenges you create. Adoption rates decline, information can be both siloed and redundant in the various systems, and brokers are spending a lot of money for tech they thought was helping their business.
Here are three reasons to consider consolidating your tech:
1. Agent adoption is always a challenge
“Agent adoption is a struggle enough with one core piece of technology,” shared Travis Saxton, VP of Technology for T3 Sixty Technology Consulting. “Adding more and more technologies in an attempt to plug platform gaps leads to even less adoption of agents. They become overwhelmed and don’t know what to use or when to use it.”
Brokers work hard to find systems that their agents will use, but frequently agents and teams still go out and buy their own solutions that fit their business needs best. The best solutions out there will service the needs of the agent, the team, and the broker, all in one place. Seeing adoption rates soar is just ONE of the benefits of consolidating your tech.
2. Costs easily get out of control
With every technology solution deployed comes a recurring monthly or annual cost. Taking this overall cost and referencing it with how many agents are actually using the technology can be a scary thought — potentially thousands of dollars are being wasted on systems that simply are not used.
In working with our broker and enterprise clients at Inside Real Estate, we’ve seen an average cost savings of 40-60% as these companies consolidate their solutions. That is a major advantage to any business. Couple that cost savings with higher adoption rates and consolidation is the undeniable future for real estate tech.
3. Tech tools that don’t talk to each other
Not a lot of industry solutions have been built to “plug and play” with an open platform, making it harder to connect your systems together. Typically, having disconnected systems in your brokerage means having multiple logins, multiple accounts to manage, and multiple ways for data to get duplicated or dropped. Simple lead management can be anything but, potentially creating confusing messaging for your clients and prospects.
For any business to operate smoothly, data should easily pass from one system to another. A platform that covers your core tech and makes plugging in other systems easy is crucial, and it’s the reason we’ve built kvCORE Platform with a built-in API structure.
What you can do today
If you find that you’ve deployed multiple technology solutions and agent adoption is low, you are not alone. The good news? It’s easier to fix than you might think.
Make a short list of which technologies are pertinent to keep your brokerage running. Then, do a little research to find the platforms that can offer many — if not all — of these core technologies in one solution.
By leveraging an “all-in-one” solution and avoiding piling on disparate tools, your brokerage will immediately experience more agent adoption, save a significant amount of money and have a powerful recruiting message. Less tech is proving to be the answer to a profitable real estate business.
The kvCORE Platform by Inside Real Estate provides brokerages with core technology tools to run their business at every level (brokerage, team, agent) while also allowing for integrations with top technology tools in the industry.
Catch a demo to learn more and find out how much money you can save by consolidating your tech with kvCORE Platform.