The Art of the CMA: Win Hearts, Minds, and Loyalty by Mastering Real Estate’s Most Versatile Tool

But Robertson says that what we know about CMAs is the tip of the iceberg and “that a lot of people have underestimated what a CMA could do for their (real estate) business.” As co-founder of W+R Studios, a U.S.-based tech company focussed on creating software for CMA technology, Robertson has had many conversations with agents over the years.  During this time, he has mined creative ways in which CMAs can be re-used. He has concluded that CMAs have an unrealized potential that goes beyond just a primary comps report used by selling agents. “I thought there’s a story there. There’s something that a lot of agents can learn from,” he says.

The book is Robertson’s first foray into authorship and like many debuting writers, it’s about what he knows best. With catchy chapter titles, the book is laid out with a plethora of whys and how-tos of the CMA through easy-to-read page-turners, replete with bullet points, charts, snappily titled section-breaks, examples of Robertson’s anecdotal encounters in the real estate industry and end-of-chapter summaries. As such, his book is no different than other business books that follow the same content marketing-informed formula.

But what’s worth reading are the wealth of evidence-based insights Robertson compiles for new and veteran agents alike, who are becoming increasingly wary of            competing with prop tech, Zestimates and ibuyers taking over the home selling process.

“The book is a blueprint on engagement with the lifeblood of an agent’s career – the consumer. The book gives you the strategy and mindset to do more with the information and tools already at your fingertips. Read it. Mark it up and read it again. You won’t be disappointed,” reviewed one reader.

The book helps agents take the guesswork out of pricing and valuing homes, de-mystifies data storytelling, informs on how to use data visualizations to achieve an edge on sales and breaks down the anatomy of a CMA, completed with a script for a successful listing presentation. Robertson even ends the book with findings from his company’s 2020 report on best practices for CMAs and listing presentations. Amassed from a survey completed by 3,325 participants, the report concludes that 67 per cent of respondents feel that CMAs are gaining more in relevance, as we look towards a tech-powered real estate future.

“There’s a way of using CMAs traditionally once you’ve acquired business – where you are sitting in front of a seller and you’re presenting this report – but people don’t look at it as them being a way to acquire business, to generate business. And that’s why I think there are people who want to read this book as a way of generating business, not just using in business you’ve already generated,” says Robertson.

“Think of your CMA presentation as a piece of sheet music. All the notes are there, but you are one who will create the music, build emotional connections and add the nuances and the artistry that makes for a truly memorable experience. Most agents won’t take the time to craft such a customer experience,” he writes in The Art of the CMA.

The book is available at Amazon and directly from the authors.

Sohini Bhattacharya

Sohini Bhattacharya is a contributing writer for REM.

The post The unrealized potential of the CMA appeared first on REM.

I’ve talked to quite a few agents about this, and their responses to this change seem to be across the board. From, “They’re going to destroy the industry” at one end of the spectrum all the way to “They’ve helped me make a bunch of money” at the other end and everything in between.

I wanted to find out exactly what’s changing, and what that means for you as a real estate agent, so I went directly to an agent who is working with iBuyers to make himself and his team more money. To help us get the facts straight we have a special interview with Kenny Klaus – a top-performing real estate agent and team leader in Phoenix who has successfully incorporated iBuyers into his business.

Don’t have time for the full interview? Here are five points you shouldn’t miss.

1. iBuyers = cash offers.

At the core, iBuyers give home sellers direct access to cash (or immediate) offers for their home. So treat them just like you have a handful of investors in your back pocket – because you do! Just because a seller can get a cash offer doesn’t mean they want to replace their trusted advisor. If anything, sellers want their trusted advisor to educate them about all of their home-selling options, and that should definitely include an immediate offer, even if it’s not the one they decide to go with. If you don’t tell them this option is available and they find out on their own, you’re going to lose credibility and may even look like you’re hiding something.

2. Get educated.

Kenny made a great comment during our interview: “Don’t let them eat your lunch. Go eat lunch with them.” iBuyers are becoming an important part of the market and it doesn’t look like they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. Agents that are embracing the change have been able to make more money by working with iBuyers, instead of against them. When you can’t fight ‘em, join them! So take some time to meet any iBuyers who are working in your area.

3. Face it head on.

When Kenny and his agents started bringing up iBuyers in their listing presentations, sellers would often go get the print-out for the immediate offers they had already received online. What’s worse is in some situations we’ve heard about sellers not working with an agent because they had already received an offer online and the agent didn’t even bring it up as an option. Instead of trying to hide iBuyers from consumers, your best bet is to make them part of your process and discuss them directly and honestly (see Takeaway #1).

4. “Offer conversations” instead of listing presentations.

Within Kenny’s team, they’ve changed their approach from using a classic listing presentation to what he calls an “offer conversation.” They’re able to use immediate offers from iBuyers as part of the discussion for selling a home. Then, after presenting the available offers he also discusses the other options for listing the home and what might be best for the seller. This is a great way to both position yourself as an expert and differentiate yourself from other agents in your market.

5. Sellers are buyers.

In many cases, people selling their home also need to purchase another home. Whether or not they’re using an iBuyer to sell their home, you have an opportunity to work with them on multiple deals. Don’t forget that!

Alex Camelio

As the CEO of Agent Inner Circle, Alex Camelio focuses on the development and growth of the community. Prior to selling his company to Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies, Alex was the co-founder and president at Barcode Realty. Within the real estate community, he has been recognized internationally as an expert in technology, marketing and entrepreneurship and has presented for various national organizations.

The post Why you should pay attention to iBuyers appeared first on REM.

“The way consumers buy and sell homes is radically changing, and 2020 will be the year that more will recognize these fundamental shifts happening within real estate,” says Stefan Swanepoel, chairman and CEO of T3 Sixty and the report’s editor-in-chief. “The industry is changing more and faster now than it has in decades, something that becomes abundantly clear when reading this study.”

The Swanepoel Trends Report says that “after fundamentally altering other industries, venture capital and technology are now rocking the residential real estate brokerage industry. By fueling new models, consolidation and ways of delivering services, these powerful forces are changing the way consumers buy and sell real estate forever,” it says.

With iBuying, “a controversial and powerful new real estate model used by Zillow, Redfin, Opendoor and a growing list of other companies every day, consumers can sell or buy a new home in as soon as three days with all cash and choose their closing date. The model brings transparency, simplicity and certainty to a transaction that historically has been lengthy, confusing and complicated,” says the report.

It says the trend has evolved from a seller-focused model to one that serves buyers and, increasingly, synchronous sellers – those sellers who are also buying a home. New companies are offering an increasing number of twists on the model, it says.

The study looks at three companies – Zillow Group, Compass and Keller Williams Realty – that “have made huge bets on the future by essentially pushing all of their chips to the centre of the table with aggressive, company-changing moves.”

REM Editorial Team

realestatemagazine.ca

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