Jan.
2016

ISSUE
No. 78

WAV Group Report
Do you have a PR plan for 2016?
By Kevin Hawkins

Public relations may be one of the most underappreciated and misunderstood tools in the average real estate brokerage's marketing arsenal. Yet, the more you understand public relations and how it can be fully integrated into your marketing plans and sales activities, the greater your ability will be to make both more effective.

As we begin a new year, ask yourself this question: Do you have a PR plan for 2016?

What is PR?... READ MORE!
The 7 Keys to a Successful MLS Conversion
By Victor Lund

If my history recollection serves me, Vancouver is where Canada's first real estate board was formed in 1888. The current Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) has been in continuous operation since 1919. They are also members of a leading regional MLS that encompasses the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board as a partner and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board and the British Columbia Northern Real Estate Board as customers.

Together they transitioned 16,000 Realtors to Black Knight's Paragon system. Many industry insiders are touting it as the smoothest conversion in history.

WAV Group connected with Eileen Day, Chief Operating Officer, and Mike Pedersen, Chief Information Officer, to get a summary of their change management process where we learned the 7 keys to a successful migration. Each of these is critical to success, so they are in no particular order ...  READ MORE!
Brokers:  Blows the Doors off Your Goals in 2016 with Marketing Automation
    
 
By Victor Lund

WAV Group supports brokerage companies in selecting and implementing marketing automation software. Firms of all sizes need and easy to use, a one stop shop for agents to access all of the marketing tools that power their success.  

Last year we worked with Hunt Real Estate and others as they integrated their chosen solution into their broker back office solution.  Dan Mirsky of Hunt Real Estate will be joined by marketing executives from Berkshire Hathaway, Coldwell Banker, and RE/MAX to share their perspectives on the experiences they have had with marketing automation. Joining the call with be automated marketing software provider, Bill Yaman, President of Imprev. Yaman will outline current and future trends that his firm is developing against....     READ MORE!
New Opportunities for Form Simplicity, Tech Helpline
By Kevin Hawkins

The big buzz in November at the National Association of REALTORS® Convention in San Diego was all about transaction management. The move by NAR to make one solution available as a member benefit was a major validation of the crucial business role that forms and transaction management technology play in streamlining the real estate process. Forms and Transaction Management must be universal to achieve the ubiquitous mission of paperless real estate transactions...    READ MORE!
Making Vendor Partnerships Work
By Victor Lund

The tragedy of software in real estate is lack of adoption by agents. Brokerage firms and MLSs who invest dearly in technology solutions start out with the hope that agents will use it and success will come. Since hope is not a strategy, more work is required to find success.

First of all, there is a difference between a site license and a user license. As you enter into partnerships with vendors, consider user licenses. That will bind both the vendor and the company to a mutual goal of driving agent adoption of the application.  Companies should not pay license fees for software that is not used.

Adoption Strategy has a few components that should be considered in advance of choosing your vendor partner. They include onboarding agents, training, support, and communicating best practices. ..  READ MORE!  
An Exciting Opportunity Awaits
By Jenna Woodruff

WAV Group is working with a company in the southeastern United States  to find a skilled Senior Technology Director to join their team. The company is a large broker  committed to offering amazing service. The businesses are driven by a dynamic leader whose vision permeates each business unit. That vision, always putting the customer first and going a "step beyond" that, which is expected, has made the company the area's #1 service-oriented real estate firm, year after year...  READ MORE!
By Victor Lund

It's a new year and you are, no doubt, plotting your communications strategy for 2016. We published an article about the top 10 posts of the year on Facebook recently that ignited deeper thought about communication strategies that work. Entertainment is certainly one of them. If the Disney family is the first family of Entertainment in American History, P.T. Barnum is certainly a cousin. Legend has it that he is also responsible for one of the most famous quotes in the PR business: "I don't care what you say about me, just spell my name right."...    READ MORE!