The evolution of a lightbulb moment
Our mission at SkySlope has evolved. We no longer need to introduce brokerages to a digital world. Now we get to focus on building technology that automates and centralizes administrative tasks so agents and admins can spend more time building relationships and connecting with the people they serve.
We have successfully taken the back office digital. Now it’s time to expand our technology to optimize the digital experience.
Enter the self-driving transaction.
One of the main functions of SkySlope is file review. It’s true—reviewing real estate documents may not be the most thrilling part of the transaction. But ask any broker who’s gone through an audit and they’ll tell you: having a smooth and reliable review process is pretty dang important. While SkySlope originally provided a tool to help managers stay organized and provide file accessibility from anywhere at any time, it wasn’t necessarily faster or more efficient than the traditional paper method.
Consider email—it’s a necessary but oftentimes tedious task. However, the concept of Inbox Zero took an essential task and made it rewarding. Inbox Zero gamified email. Email clients are now creating better functionality for managing email and email has become an actionable, productive, and rewarding task. We wanted the same for file review.
While testing our mobile app, I noticed something unique. Because the screen was small and switching tabs or windows on an iPad was cumbersome, our engineers created a file auditing control panel. Everything an auditor needed was in plain sight and within reach.
And that was my lightbulb moment. With our mission to optimize the digital experience in mind, I assembled a team of engineers and gave them a challenge: using the mobile app as inspiration, make auditing 10x faster while reducing the amount of work in the SkySlope web app.
And that became Quick Audit.
Automagic auditing
Quick Audit from SkySlope has completely revolutionized the way admins audit files. We condensed the entire review process to one single page—no tabs, no windows, nothing extra. Everything admins need is within a click of a mouse. Much like spellcheck, Quick Audit takes admins through a file’s entire list of paperwork without having to switch tabs or windows. Admins control the pace, easily reviewing the file in one swoop. When they finish, they flag it for broker verification and one click takes them to the next file. Audit, rinse, repeat. As we like to say, “It’s automagic.”
Quick Audit successfully gamified the file audit not only by simplifying it but also by transforming it into an experience that sparks a sense of achievement and in turn, increases productivity.
And did it ever. One of our first test runs with Quick Audit was a large enterprise customer. After using Quick Audit, they went from an average of 140 to 325 files reviewed per day, almost tripling their productivity! As we expanded and released Quick Audit to all of our users, admins were reporting that they were reviewing files at least twice as fast as before.
Quick Audit gives auditors their own “air traffic control panel” where they can log in and handle files quickly and intuitively. Brokers notice fewer mistakes which leads to peace of mind when it comes to compliance. And agents are able to close deals faster because their admins are more productive. Quick Audit is a win-win all around.
So what’s next?
With Quick Audit, we took something that was already an improvement in the ways of old and made it better. Our methodology starts with listening to our customers, understanding their pain points, and then getting to work to invent solutions on their behalf. True innovation means creating advancements no one else has thought of. That’s our goal with everything at SkySlope—give the real estate industry more than they asked for. It’s not enough to improve one element at a time. We must find ways to improve entire processes so there is a ripple effect.
There is inspiration to be found everywhere, even in your own business. Something you’ve done well might be the answer to doing something else even better. Never stop thinking about how you can improve on your own success and you’ll always be at the top of your game.