We’ve made a lot of updates to Homesnap’s technology over the years, but one thing has always remained the same: Everything we build is specifically designed with agents and brokers in mind first because we want to create tools that help them grow their businesses.
Last year, when we were building the roadmap for 2020, we knew we had to talk to agents about the gaps in their current technology. Agents and brokers are in the midst of a balancing act when it comes to tech: They need technology that will help them work more efficiently, but they don’t want that same tech to make them obsolete.
Agents need deeper insights to farm effectively
When we surveyed hundreds of agents about what they need in real estate tech, we discovered we were doing a lot of things right — like directly integrating into their MLSs and providing a powerful search portal that was free of third-party advertising.
What we were missing was a way to give agents even deeper insights to complement their MLS data so they could better identify seller leads. We asked ourselves a few questions:
How do we streamline all the data sources that an agent or broker would use, so they can see them layered in one single location?
How do we go one step further beyond the real-time data and predict how likely it is that a property will list in the next 12 months?
These questions were at the forefront as our team of data scientists and developers built Homesnap Pro’s biggest update ever, the All-New Homesnap Pro. It focuses on surfacing seller leads to our million-plus agents, who get free access to Homesnap Pro and these new updates as an MLS benefit.
Data-backed prospecting isn’t the future of real estate — it’s here, right now, inside Homesnap Pro, and it’s the most efficient and effective way for agents to find new seller leads.
It’s not that traditional prospecting tactics like door-knocking and postcard-mailing don’t work. It’s that knocking on every door and sending a postcard to every house is costing agents precious time and money, which they don’t have in a surplus. Lead generation isn’t just a cog in the wheel of an agent’s business — it’s the engine that drives the entire thing, so it shouldn’t be fueled by a guessing game. We have predictive analytics and data to make lead gen much more scientific.
Our Likelihood to List score takes hundreds of data points into account and leverages artificial intelligence to predict which homes are most likely to hit the market in the next 12 months. Now, when an agent opens Homesnap Pro on their computer or mobile app, they can see which homes are likely to list on the map. That is an incredible efficiency win for any real estate agent, whether they’re looking for a seller lead or trying to find a home for their buyer.
Then, they can contact that seller lead because off-market property records now include unlimited homeowner contact information at no additional cost. An agent could call that seller lead, or add their contact info to their database so they could target them with a postcard or simply knock on their door. More targeted, more efficient, and entirely fueled by data-backed prospecting instead of a game of chance.
Watch for the signals that sellers are sending
Segmentation has been a common marketing practice in other industries for years. Businesses analyze the data of their existing customers and note which characteristics or behaviors are indicative of lead conversion. You watch for those signals in prospects, and then target the people you think are most likely to become your customers — that functionality is the foundation of our artificial intelligence-powered algorithm. It is one more segmentation tool we’ve made available to real estate agents, so they can target their farming using a data-driven, predictive model.
A few weeks ago, I saw a YouTube video from an agent who was thrilled about these new features, saying: “This could mean the best spring ever for you, and it’s something that is so powerful that could really revolutionize your business.” We’re already hearing stories about how the All-New Homesnap Pro has helped agents find qualified seller leads, so it’s making a real impact on their bottom line — that’s why we updated Homesnap Pro in such a big way.
The All-New Homesnap Pro is available on desktop and mobile as a free MLS benefit. Click here to download the app and start using these new tools to find seller leads.