5 Things We've Learned From The Show Floor
The past couple months we have been on the road attending major industry trade shows from Inman Connect New York to Keller Williams Family Reunion. We’ve learned a lot about what’s on the minds of agents, teams and brokerages and wanted to share our thoughts based on our conversations with customers, partners, industry thought leaders and more from the show floor.
While many themes emerged, we compiled our Top 5 takeaways below 🔽 Let us know what you think and what we may have missed!
- 1. But really, what is “all in one” and do I need it?
- While the idea of a single platform to address *all* business needs sounds appealing, the reality is a practical real estate tech platform should include only those applications essential to streamlining and supporting a typical agent’s workflow. A laundry list of disjointed, tangential applications featured in an “all in one” platform will only serve as a distraction, overwhelm agents who may already be apprehensive about technology, and hinder adoption. A truly valuable platform like Lofty, purpose built for the real estate industry, seamlessly integrates only the essential business applications – from CRM to IDX to marketing automations – to identify, nurture and convert even more leads and grow the business more effectively. And that’s the whole point, right?
- 2. Not All AI is Created Equal
- The buzz around AI continues! But once you dig into the increasingly extensive number of AI applications, how can you identify those that will truly make a difference in your business and be worth the investment? Unlike scripted, rudimentary AI applications, our AI was built from inception, five years ago, on Google machine learning and natural language processing technologies making it a true Large Language Model. Our hard-working training team is dedicated to reviewing thousands of real conversations to train the AI and deliver the operational intelligence agents need to close deals. While AI can be a useful tool, its value is dependent on the depth of innovation applied. Before getting caught up in the allure of a shiny new AI tool, ask more questions about how the AI is trained and refined to best serve the needs of both your clients and agents.
- 3. Safety First – While AI is on the forefront of nearly everyone’s mind, it’s important to keep safety and security top of mind. Compliance with federal and regional regulations will be paramount to success, particularly as the government continues to intervene and regulate use. Ask the tough questions of vendor partners to ensure your agents won’t find themselves in a compromising position, violating best practices in engaging with leads. Failure to understand how your AI applications operate could lead to damaging results to your brand and your business.
- 4. The best software is still the one agents will use! Innovations abound across the real estate industry, but no amount of wiz-bang can replace an easy to use, proven solution to support agents in converting more leads. Does the platform boast an intuitive interface to drive adoption? Can the vendor partner showcase proven success and ROI? Sure, there’s always going to be alleged “better” software, but for it to drive meaningful (and lucrative!) results for your business, your agents need to actually use it and do so effectively. This will only happen if the platform makes it easy to do.
- 5. People are still the lifeblood of the industry. We have talked a lot about how technology is essential to success in this business but having traveled all over the country, we can attest that PEOPLE are still the lifeblood of this industry. Yes, AI can augment hard working professionals, help streamline and automate processes and drive results faster, but building trust with buyers and sellers is only achieved through human connection. There is tremendous value in connecting face to face with customers, partners, industry thought leaders, competitors and more to remind us that together we are stronger and can take the industry to the next level!
We appreciated meeting each one of you and look forward to continuing our discussions throughout the year!