Family Reunion 2016 - Tech Takeaways

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Meet your new Chief Innovation Officer

Josh Team is the new Chief Innovation Officer for KW, he is the former chief innovation officer for RAPP, one of the most well known direct marketing companies on the planet.  Business Insider recently named Josh one of the “30 Most Creative People In Advertising Under 30”, and he has worked with many Fortune 500 companies.

​Josh brings many new ideas and concepts to KW to overhaul the client's experience.  "The experience of buying a home is broken" says Josh, "people have to answer a bunch of questions, which they don't know the answers to, just to see the homes".   When he took the position and was house shopping in Austin, he didn't know the zip codes, and by inputting one he limited out half of the homes available.  This was an experience he had first hand - and his goal is to complete overhaul the "experience" for clients, and disrupt the industry by giving an experience people can't find anywhere else.

​Over and over in my breakout sessions I heard the presenters talk about the experience, the best experiences are "sticky" and they keep the clients engaged and keep them coming back.  Josh talked about his loyalty to a particular bank, not because he liked his bank at all, but they had a great experience with their mobile and online tools.  Another presenter talked about her loyalty to a particular airline because their mobile app was powerful and had everything she needed in an simple and easy to use interface - even though she actually hated that airline in all other aspects.

With Josh's leadership, I feel the next 12-18 months will bring many new things in terms of technology for agents, all to better the client's experience.  

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Websites

Several months ago Keller Williams announced their new partnership with Placester and plans of releasing new websites for all agents and market centers.  The responsive websites will automatically adjust to a users screen or device to ensure they have the best experience.

​Well those websites are almost here, they will begin to launch in mid-March and will be fully launched by the end of May.  Once the new websites launch we will be offering training classes and workshops to help you get your new site up and running so watch for updates soon!

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eEdge

The announcement everyone has been waiting for...Keller Williams has announced a complete overhaul of eEdge.  By the end of 2016 they will be beta testing the “next evolution” of the eEdge platform.

The way Josh Team explains it, KW will be using the tools Placester already has as the "core plumbing" and building something bigger and better than both Placester and eEdge combined.  Team says “Right now, portal sites and most data aggregators don’t know about transactions until, at the very best, 30 days after the transaction occurred, and they have very little coverage,” noted Team “One of the opportunities we have, by having so many agents doing so much volume and growing — we have data before the house has even closed. By connecting that data and leveraging that power, we can provide very meaningful data sets well before anyone else is aware of those trends and turn them into insights that will help our agents give more insights to buyers and sellers in real time.”

​Josh has also committed to making the tools universal, that is “The single agent in Idaho needs a different tool kit than the mega agent team in Manhattan,” he noted. “They need a different set of tools, they need to talk to their consumers differently, and one of the things we’re excited about this new platform is agents will get to ‘a la carte’ their own solution and it won’t be. You can pick your solution using a central infrastructure and it will all be connected on the same data model.”

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KW Mobile App

Your KW Mobile App will be getting a refresh in the next few days with an updated layout and enhanced photos.  The new layout will put the most used buttons on the main screen.

The less frequently used buttons will be moving to the additional screen which will also create a better user experience.  The photos have also been improved upon, with larger photos when browsing and a more modern look. You can also encourage  your clients to access the HomeKeepr section of the app and create a profile.  This will allow you to share your vendors with your clients and even send push notifications if you choose.

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Zillow Partnership

At Family Reunion 2016 Keller Williams announced they have partnered with Zillow to provide agents an exclusive spot on their listings on Zillow and Trulia.

KW agent's profile picture and contact info will be displayed to the right of the address on their own listings.  For now this requires you set up your free Zillow profile, upload your photo and fill out your information.

Below your info there will still be a forum a person can fill out to submit their info to a "Premier Agent" or one who has purchased the zip code of the property.

The KW treatment will hold true on the mobile versions of Zillow & Trulia as well.  This will be a couple of weeks yet until this fully rolls out, but the desktop treatment is in effect now.

On the mobile version a KW agent's listing, the Contact Agent button will open up a screen with the listing agent featured at the top, however the same Premier Agent form will also be displayed.

This may not be the most ideal for you, but I can tell you that it is better than what every non-KW agent has on Zillow & Trulia - which is the profile photos & information of the four Premier Agents who have purchased the zip code.  Often you are hard pressed to even find yourself on your own listings...unless you are with KW that is!

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KW Video

With KW Video you can create custom videos to send to your clients.  They range from listing videos, to tips throughout the home buying process, to holiday videos.  This is a great way to stay in touch with clients and potential clients.  You can use your own scripts or choose a pre-written video where the app acts as a teleprompter.

Don't want to be on camera?  Don't worry, there are plenty of videos where all you need to do is read the script - you aren't even on camera!  There are over 200 videos currently available and the number keeps growing.  And, because you know me you can get a $50 discount on your annual membership.  Just head over to www.kwvideo.com, check out the free videos, and then sign up using coupon code KWVJUNE1 and put my name in the Referrer box.

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KWUConnect.com

Introducing www.kwuconnect.com, one centralized place for Educational Content, KWU Courses, Associate-Generated Content.  Here you can find all of the videos and contend you need, and you can even upload your own!  Share your videos and files with other agents to help us all learn more.  You can also find a new calendar here which will be more feature rich and powerful!  Check it out today.

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Upstream

Project Upstream is in the works and under development.  This is something many agents are not familiar with, but it is lead by a board made up of representatives from all relate year estate brands and will really revolutionize the way listings are inputted.

Project Upstream will create one place where listings get inputted to and from there it will go to your MLS, KWLS and syndication sites.  This will really change things in the office and make the entire process easier for agents as well.  Watch for updates on Project Upstream throughout this year!

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This was a phenomenal KW Family Reunion and I feel KW is already ahead of the industry in most of their technology.  As for the things in the pipeline, I am incredibly excited for the changes and growth in tech tools available to you.  This company will have impressive amount of powerful tools in your toolbox in the coming months.