2019 is going to be an amazing year for technology. Truth be told, I’ve been saying that since I started in the tech space. But every year, it holds true – there are innovations across virtually every industry. Even as a technology professional, I find it hard to keep up.
So, with all the great offerings out there, how do you choose which technology you will embrace? After all, there is often not just a monetary cost, but also a time cost. How long does it take to set up, learn, and integrate? How does it move you forward? It’s important to think through your goals and measure the technology — plus your effort — to determine whether that specific product or service fits into your business plan.
By now you may be wondering, “What’s with that title, John?” As technology professional for the past two decades, I am telling you that too much technology – or the wrong technology – will definitely get in the way of your success. Being discerning is key. This brings us to the question I always ask of technology to measure its value: Is it Effective Technology?
The most important part of the Effective Technology equation is not the tech itself, but it’s you.
I believe that far too often, real estate professionals use technology as a crutch and it affects their potential for success. Technology should augment and enhance your abilities, not replace you.
These days it’s too easy for agents and brokers to have a ‘set it and forget it’ mentality. This can be a function of having the ‘latest and greatest’ tools, including a lead generating website, and twelve drip campaigns running at once. They let the technology run and then wait for the phone to ring. These tools can create complacency, and it’s important to remember that they’re merely tools which can help you achieve awareness and efficiency. But a high dependence on these tools is a sure way to either fail or not realize your potential.
Let’s look at how Effective Technology fits into a consumer lifecycle. As you’re prospect and meet new people, does your technology let you instantly get their contact information and send them yours? Does it allow you to tag them as a consumer type for future follow up? Does it put key information at your fingertips? If you meet a potential seller, can you do all of the above, send them your value proposition and related information within a minute? This is a result of Effective Technology enhancing and augmenting YOUR capabilities.
Moving further down the cycle, Effective Technology should prompt you to follow up, allow you to take notes as you go and set reminders. As a proactive agent, ask good questions, assess needs, then dip into your tech to provide guidance tailored to that individual, not the run of the mill drip everyone else is sending. Technology can’t do your job for you, but Effective Technology can turn data into information, and information into action. That’s using Effective Technology to build relationships, and relationships are the foundation upon which your success is built.
There’s an old saying: “You do business with people, not companies.” Let technology help make you a more effective agent. Nurture your relationships, and let technology deliver actionable information to help provide great service to your consumers. Let the technology augment your capabilities, not replace you nor make you complacent. In its shortest form, that is Effective Technology.