This blog post was written by Homesnap MLS Account Manager Jordan Weiers, who attended the Homesnap training event in Ohio earlier this month.
In a jam-packed room at a live Homesnap 101 training in Westerville, Ohio, Matt Warren (Senior Trainer/Systems Analyst at Columbus REALTORS®) gave a glowing introduction of Homesnap and the Broker Public Portal.
I obviously love Homesnap and think we are the best tech company in the real estate business, but I was still surprised at what followed Matt’s introduction: a thunderous round of applause.
Why so much excitement in just the first few minutes of our training? Because Matt ended his presentation with a call to action: He asked agents to spread the word about Homesnap far and wide to help the industry regain ground that’s been lost to third-party search portals.
What we showed Columbus agents was a technology solution created by and for the real estate industry — not outsiders trying to make a quick buck on the back of agents’ leads.
In the six trainings we had (our largest in-market event ever, I might add — we trained more than 1,000 agents!), we showed agents how Homesnap is superior to third-party search portals for collaborating with clients.
Here’s how we explained it:
1. Your listing, your lead!
Homesnap follows Fair Display Guidelines, which were developed by a collaboration of brokers. This means that if consumers find your listing on Homesnap, they’ll see your name next to it.
If they are interested in the property, they can reach out directly to you through Homesnap and you’ll get the lead — for free. No bidding wars that allow other agents to purchase your leads off the listing you worked so hard to get — Homesnap never sells ad space next to your listings.
2. Protect existing agent-client connections
If a client accepts your invitation to connect, every time they go to a listing on Homesnap, they’ll be prompted to contact their agent (you!) for more information. Everywhere your client goes in the app, they’ll be branded to you, for free. They’ll even get weekly local market reports with your face on it (also, of course, for free).
3. Crowd-pleasing features that none of the other search portals have
Walk the property lines in augmented reality (augmented reality currently only available on iPhone devices).
Both agents and consumers can “snap” a photo of a home (for sale or not) and instantly pull up property information on it. They can “walk the property lines” in augmented reality (this one got oohs and ahhs in every stop in the Columbus Homesnap Roadshow).
Listing agents can make Homesnap Stories (similar to Instagram stories) and add them to their listings (for free) and track who’s watching them.
Columbus agents, like agents across the country, come to the technology table with a wary eye. They’ve had mixed experiences with new technologies in the past, and it can understandably be scary inviting new people into your business. However, as Matt pointed out in his applause-generating introduction, Homesnap is not just another third-party tech vendor. We’re a tech partner.
The Broker Public Portal — the industry initiative to take back lost ground from third-party marketing portals — selected Homesnap as its technology partner. Homesnap is not going to monetize your leads, ever. It follows Fair Display Guidelines and sends all leads to the listing agent. This is in the BPP contract we have with all member MLSs. We are the industry’s partner.
Not only does this direct industry partnership mean that Homesnap is abiding by NAR guidelines and doing right by our MLS and agent partners. It also means that we can bring the real estate tools you use to run your business under one roof.
Scheduling a showing. Walking the property lines. Viewing live-updated MLS data. You can do all this in our app because at Homesnap we’re building bridges with the industry, not burning them.
That’s why we got a round of applause in Columbus, and why we’re earning praise from MLSs across the country.
Want to bring an in-person training to your MLS? Click here to fill out our form!