- Incremental change and improvement rather than tectonic shifts, scale and customer service are a few of the things top brokerages will focus on in 2016.
- As the market continues to chug along, these leaders are focused more on trimming the sails to take advantage of the prevailing winds than plotting a change of course.
Tami Pardee, Broker at Pardee Properties in Los Angeles, California, is laser-focused on keeping meaningful relationships with clients at the center of her business success in 2016.
She’s not leveraging a massive technology push or business process overhaul. Instead, Pardee is focused on incremental improvement of what matters most in delivering on the promise of their value proposition.
Her outlook is shared by other independent brokerage leaders that Inman interviewed as part of an ongoing look at what’s next for the industry in 2016. (For a deeper dive into what’s next, register now for Inman Connect New York.)
What’s next for Tami Pardee
Tami Pardee
“I’m really focused on the client experience because I want to make sure that we create an emotional connection with our clients,” said Pardee. “We celebrate our clients, and by doing so we build lifelong relationships. We keep clients informed for years to come at a systematic level — what their house value is and what’s happening in their local neighborhood. This really helps maintain a strong rapport with our clients.”
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Pardee Properties has carved out a profitable and growing niche for itself in the competitive Los Angeles market by fostering these relationships not only among clients but also among the Pardee team, which features a flat organization and culture that supports their client-centric approach.
As highlighted in a recent Inman profile, the 55-agent firm runs less like a brokerage and more as a real estate team — a setup that, according to Pardee, enables long-term relationships between agents and a consistently high level of service.
In addition to Pardee, Raj Qsar, owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group in Orange County, and Sarah Jones, broker/owner of Bamboo Realty in Houston, Texas, shared where they’re focused in the new year. The mindset is similar: incremental change and improvement rather than tectonic shifts.
What’s next for Raj Qsar
Raj Qsar
Qsar doesn’t have his eye on a breakout technology, but he is focused on bringing together the tech he already has to create a more seamless platform for his agents, cutting down on inefficiencies and setting them up for success.
One example is an initiative to connect disparate systems through a single sign-on to give agents easy access to various systems from one account login — saving them the time and energy of managing various accounts on the brokerage’s CRM (customer relationship management) software, transaction management and marketing platforms.
In addition to technology integration, Qsar is busy thinking about scaling his local brand beyond the Southern California market and the implications of a sustained wave of foreign investor interest in the area.
How does his niche brand play in an international market? How does he stand out on the global stage to connect with foreign buyers who want to buy property in Los Angeles and Orange County? These are the questions at the forefront of his thinking headed into 2016.
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“We spend a lot of time thinking about how our local brand translates, literally and figuratively, to international buyers who continue to invest heavily in our markets,” Qsar said. “From where and how we’re found online, to how we position ourselves through service and technology, to how we meet their unique needs — are all top-of-mind for us at The Boutique Real Estate Group.”
What’s next for Jones
Sarah Jones
Scale is also Sarah Jones’ focus, whose growing Houston brokerage, Bamboo Realty, is tackling the challenges of keeping true to its brand while reaching a larger audience.
Jones believes firmly in the value that Realtors provide with unique and qualified insight. The question she’s asking is, “How do we [Bamboo Realty] provide insight at scale?”
From neighborhoods to properties to market conditions, she is focused on giving her team the tools, technology and training to help them grow while remaining true to that core value.
Jones thinks of scale across her business, including how to amplify the natural word of mouth her satisfied customers create for the brokerage. The trick of translating that organic growth to an online marketing opportunity is top-of-mind for her.
Jones adds, “For the roughly 10 percent of people who find their agent online, how do we reach them? Online reviews provide insight into what it is like to work with us; how can we amplify the message?”
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What’s next in real estate
From cultivating relationships to integrating back offices and scaling a brand value proposition, the trends and challenges facing these independent brokerages are matters of degree and refinement, not reinvention. As the market continues to chug along, these leaders are focused more on trimming the sails to take advantage of the prevailing winds than plotting a change of course.
If you’re looking to learn what’s next for your market and business, you can’t afford to miss the leading brokers and agents share what’s next for them at Inman Connect New York. Join more than 3,000 industry professionals as they learn, debate and define the future of the industry and make their plans for success in 2016.
