Watch the On-Demand
Real Estate journalists and websites have an eye on the industry and are wealthy source of the trends and insights that make Realtors better at the work they do. There is spades to know about technology, building a strong business and serving customers and Brad Inman is here to tell it. The founder of Inman news provides details and information that you can put into action now and start seeing results!
Takeaways + Tactics
Create owners and not workers, but don’t give away equity just to get free work. There is a sensible and logical way to give away equity, without hurting the business in the long run.
The concept of hiring underlings is an old concept. Your first hire is more likely to someone that is equal to you who can completely revolutionize your business.
There will be a point when a business has to scale and become efficient. Investing in technology and hiring an experienced operational person will become necessary.
“There’s no robot that can replace the Realtor but the Realtor that doesn’t use technology will be impaired.” -Brad Inman
Kicking off the Hangout, Brad introduces himself and gives a bit of background on what he does and how he started Inman News and grew it to the news organization and industry resource it is today. He began as an activist and became a consumer writer, covering real estate. He says that the concept of a home has always been important to him because outside of work it’s where we spend the most time. What he does with Inman News is what he calls “raising the IQ of the real estate industry.”
Digging deeper, Brad goes into detail about running a news organization virtually and how he’s able to create the culture of a office for writers spread across the country, working from home. He relies on Slack, which he calls “IM on steroids” and Trello for project management. The second thing that makes virtual possible is who you hire and he’s all about hiring independent, responsible people who are accountable and business minded. He believes that the hiring mentality has changed because people don’t just want paper pushers who handle administration. Entrepreneurs are excited by the chance to hire someone who is an equal so that they can revolutionize the business. In terms of what roles to staff, Brad says finance, technology and strategy are the first roles for a growing business to staff and then sales should follow.
The sophistication of the consumer is overwhelming for many Realtors and that means that team structure continues to morph significantly. People want to work with people they can feed off and exchange knowledge with. To put it simply, Brad says “try to get five smart people around the table.” To truly benefit your business you need someone to complement your weaknesses. It’s also important to hire people who act like owners and not employees because owners will take you further. A lot of teams today consist of a visionary and implementer partnership and not hierarchies.
In the final minutes, the hangout then turns its focus onto machines and how technology is keeping today’s Realtors on their toes. Machines are much better at information processing and that’s something people can leverage to better serve their customers. People won’t be able to work like machines but they can learn something from a machine’s ability to provide important data. On top of that, it is necessary to invest in technology that makes life easer for the consumer. Brad ends with a scoop on how messaging platforms are going to explode and bring great benefit to Realtors. He believes that these platform will promote communication and collaboration in the industry.
Remember that value is what you’re meant to bring to the customer, and today’s customer is a lot smarter. Arm yourself with the information they need about a house, its history, the area and the history of the area. Buyers want the details and they want the Realtors’ interpretation of data so make sure your answer to a question isn’t “I don’t know.” You might have to go back to school to gain some of the information but as our knowledge depreciates quickly, it is necessary to become a lifelong student of the industry.
Guest Bio
Brad Inman is an Internet entrepreneur and founder of several online and offline companies, including Inman News, HomeGain.com, TurnHere.com and Vook. Brad’s been interested in real estate for years and he wrote on the subject for the San Fransisco Examiner. He is also the author of Livable Neighborhoods of the Bay Area. For more information on Brad and his work go to inman.com
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