Coldwell Banker is rolling out a handful of programs and tech-based tools to its entire network, meaning agents at franchise brokerages will now have access to resources that were previously only available at company-owned operations.
The rollout of Desk and Exclusive Look was announced Tuesday. Desk is a virtual office and technology platform that is designed to improve agents’ speed and scalability. It includes a customizable homepage, search features, third-party app integration, chat functions and other tools.
According to a statement from Coldwell Banker, as of January 2020, Desk had a 91 percent adoption rate among the agents to whom it was available.
Coldwell Banker describes Exclusive Look, which is available via Desk, as an “agent-to-agent in-network marketing platform.” It moved out of the beta stage last fall and is designed to let agents promote their listings and match up clients based on their specific needs.
The “exclusive” in the tool’s name comes from the fact that, with a seller’s authorization, listings are shared exclusively with other Coldwell Banker agents. According to the company’s statement, that means “clients have access to exclusive listings they won’t find anywhere else.” Exclusive Look also gives other Coldwell Banker agents a sneak peak at listings that are about to hit the market.
Agents at company-owned Coldwell Banker franchises could previously use both tools, but as of Tuesday, they are now available to the brand’s entire network, which includes more than 94,000 real estate professionals across 3,000 offices.
Ryan Gorman
In a statement, Coldwell Banker President and CEO Ryan Gorman said both tools are “part of our open architecture strategy to enable agents to use tech products seamlessly and effectively through our systems.”
“We are leveraging our scale and talent to unify products into one cohesive, integrated solution for all Coldwell Banker agents,” he added.
Last week, Coldwell Banker also announced that it was rolling out the RealVitalize program to affiliated agents. The program first launched last year in partnership with HomeAdvisor. It allows agents to connect their homeseller clients with HomeAdvisor’s home repair project consultants, who help prepare houses to go on the market.
In a statement, Coldwell Banker described the pilot version of the program — which was available only to agents at company-owned brokerages — as a success. Among other things, the firm said homes that entered the program sold 25 percent faster than other listings, and that they sold for 4 percentage points closer to list price.
Coldwell Banker also said 95 percent of participating agents were satisfied with the program.
In the case of RealVitalize, the rollout is happening gradually and everyone in the brand’s network should receive an invite to the program by next year. Gorman said in a statement that so far, Coldwell Banker is more than halfway toward its goal of inviting the entire network by 2021. He also called the program “a true advantage that most brokerages can’t match.”
“Now, even more consumers will have access to this unique program that can help sell their home faster and for more money,” Gorman added.
