TechQuest Project

Realtors in the 21st Century

By: TamaraLindemann

Project Overview:

This project will be directed towards developing a resource training program for new and seasoned real estate agents to utilize that will guide them through basic company and board established processes for:

  • Personal web page development
  • Use of online resources for centralized forms
  • Introduction to social networking.

This program will be offered to the Realtors in my office. It will be implemented on an individual or small class size basis with the use of computers and a projector for larger class sizes.

Educational Need and Opportunity:

In the real estate industry, Realtors are very set in their ways of processing transactions via paper. There is a significant need to introduce and teach seasoned and new Realtors the advantages of utilizing the online tools and resources available to them. Some benefits to using these online resourcesare:

  • Save time
  • Increase productivity
  • Reduce errors
  • Increase shared information available to the Broker

And in today’s market, with lending being so tight it is imperative to get your name out there and do as much personal marketing as possible. So Social Networking is crucial in today’s market. As approximately 95 – 98% of home buyers use the internet to search for a home, setting up pages such as Facebook or Linkedin is a wonderful way to increase an agent’s Sphere of Influence. Creating a presence and participating via the web by using social networking sites increases exposure to a variety of new and old acquaintances which can help to grow your business.

Technology-Integrated Strategy:

The strategy I plan to integrate technology with other Realtors in my office that do not currently utilize the resources available to them by:

  • Promoting technology at a team meeting
  • Volunteer my time to teach use of the technology
  • Create interest by demonstrating the benefits of technology uses
  • Create training program using PowerPoint with step by step instructions

Relevant Research and Resources:

The primary resources for this project are sites that require membership through the Greater Lansing Association of Realtors (GLAR) and are password protected. As of July 13, there are 989 Realtors registered with the GLAR.

The association has not provided the following information to me regarding statistical data to include in the project.

  • How many of the 989 realtors have a personal website designed on MLXChange?
  • How many Realtors have taken the GLAR sponsored MLX Web class?
  • How many Realtors today use Transaction Desk? What is the percentage of Realtors that utilize this system?
  • This site answers to common questions a Realtor may have.
  • This article discusses how to deal with informational overload, the use of common business practices, and developing programs to meet specific needs.
  • Membership and password required to access this site. This is where the centralized forms repository is located.
  • Century 21 has many online training resources available to agents.
  • This is the MLS system for the Greater Lansing area. This is the site that a Realtor can create their own personalized web page. It features residential, commercial, and vacant land that is for sale in the Greater Lansing area. It is a query based system that allows specific search criteria to be entered to minimize search results.

Development and Implementation:

A resource training program will be developed that will be introduced to agents that will provide them with the basic tools necessary to increase their business and earning potential by learning:

  • How to create a personal web site via MLXChange
  • How to use Transaction Desk for creating their forms and retaining them in an electronic fashion
  • The benefits of social networking with sites such as Facebook and Linkedin

Implementation Plan:

Develop a user-friendly PowerPoint that will provide links to these online resources for Realtors in my office. It will feature how to set up a personal web page, basics on using Transaction Desk and the benefits of setting up social networking sites. During this course I plan to walk another agent through the process of setting up their personal website and how to use the Transaction Desk.

Four Common Places:

Teacher: This project addresses the teacher from a development and leader perspective. As you know, Realtors are 100% commission so their time is very valuable. As a teacher it will be completely volunteered time. I feel it is of great value to our company to help others learn. It is my belief that the more you know the more successful you and the others around you are.

Learner: Exposure to online resources will increase marketability as well as efficiency for the learner. It will help to establish customer confidence and have a positive effect on time management due to streamlined processes.

Subject Matter: The resources introduced in this project are already available but under-used by Realtors today. It will be essential to gain their buy in to at least try and continue to use the resources being introduced. Topics included in this project will be developing a personal web page, use of an online centralized forms repository and benefits of using social networking sites.

The plan will include a follow-up with all learners two-three weeks after training to see how the use of the new technology is going.

Setting: Since time is of the essence for these learners, it will be taught on an individual or small class basis with a computer and possibly the use of a project.

How do you know that this training program will be an effective learning tool?

To evaluate that the Technology for Realtors in the 21st Century training program is effective a variety of evaluation methods could be used. The purpose of these evaluations, focus groups and post training survey is to gather specific feedback from the student to determine how the program might be enhanced, modified or improved. The following are three forms of evaluation that could be used to collect this type of information from the student:

  • Course Evaluation Form
  • Focus Group Discussion Questions
  • Post Training Survey

How I would approach another project of this type differently given what I learned?

If I had this to do over again, I would have held a focus group with the Realtors in my office. The purpose of conducting a focus group session would be to identify what isn’t working well and what they would like to see different or streamlined in the future related to processes. This session would allow them to discover the advantage of using technology tools that are available to them vs. me or someone else telling them to use it. In my opinion, a good learning experience is when the learner discovers the task, etc.

Second: Be sure the agents in training bring all their Realtor passwords with them to the session.

Third: I would make sure each agent had a picture of themselves on their computer or flash drive to use on their personal website.

Fourth: I would make sure each agent had an actual transaction they could enter into the computer for Transaction Desk centralized forms.

For the student evaluation I will create an evaluation form with specific questions on the training instruction and material presented. Students will be able to take the training material with them for future reference and it will be emailed to them as reference. They will use this material on a regular basis until the process it committed to memory. The data that is stored electronically on Transactions Desk will be maintained for easy electronic access and the web site will allow the agent to monitor customer interests in property on a daily basis. See screen shot below…

What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?

It is important to know your audience and their level of knowledge regarding the topic being taught. For instance, one of the agents isn’t that computer savvy and wasn’t familiar with basic terminology (i.e. drop down, radio button, etc.). So it would have been beneficial to cover some very basic terms prior to the training.

In what ways will I endeavor to do the same project again, and what would I change or not do?

It is my goal to continue to find ways to improve processes and simplify processes without compromising a transaction. I will continue to develop and share job aids and procedures to assist my co-workers and myself through the Real Estate Sales process.

As stated above I would hold a focus group or even develop a survey for agents to participate in to determine level of comfort using proposed technology to determine specific area of focus. This would allow me to cover specific areas of interest.

I would also create a Teacher Checklist. This would assist me in sending out reminders about things like bringing user ids, passwords, pictures and a transaction to enter into the system while at the session.

An evaluation form would have been nice for the agent to complete regarding the training session.