Does Your Brand Have a Strategic Plan?

If you are reading this, you are somewhere in the real estate ecosystem – either part of an MLS, a REALTORS® Association, a large brokerage, or a technology firm that serves one of those personas. We work with some of these personas on strategy, we work with some on story, we all of them on state.   Strategy, Story, and State are business terms that are bantered around a lot. Saying the words has no meaning unless you are able to contextualize them within your own business. That process of contextualization is work that needs to be done by businesses [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00January 31st, 2016|Main category|0 Comments

Authentisign® used by 11.2 million consumers to sign 17.3 million documents in 2015

Austin, TX – January 25th, 2016 – Instanet Solutions announced today its 2015 usage metrics for its electronic signature solution, Authentisign. The numbers are clear - Authentisign has real estate professionals embracing electronic and paperless technologies more than ever. In 2015 users of Authentisign set-up over 6.4 million Authentisign electronic signings. These 6.4 million signings included over 11.2 million participants (consumers, agents and brokers), who signed over 17.3 million documents containing more than 78 million pages. Usage of Authentisign was up 80% compared to 2014 and over 200% compared to 2013. Usage of TransactionDesk® was up 35% compared to 2014 [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00January 26th, 2016|Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

BOLD Move – Pacific Union Names Selma Hepp New Vice President, Business Intelligence

In an email dated January 25, 2016, Pacific Union CEO Mark McLaughlin writes: "In a bold move within the residential real estate industry, Pacific Union names Selma Hepp to the newly created position of ‘Vice President, Business Intelligence'.  Selma joins Pacific Union from her position as Chief Economist for Trulia. Prior to Trulia, Hepp was Senior Economist for the California Association of Realtors and Economist for the National Association of Realtors, both trade organizations dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. Selma’s Ph.D. in Urban Economics, complemented by her deep expertise in understanding market dynamics in the western [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00January 25th, 2016|Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

Just Spell My Name Right

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.” If you read the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 21st, 2016|Main category, Marketing, Our Services|1 Comment

Making Vendor Partnerships Work

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 [...]

Do you have a PR plan for 2016?

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? It’s no wonder most people are confused when trying to describe what PR really is. Trying to find one universal definition is futile: there are dozens. Here [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 21st, 2016|Main category, Marketing, Our Services|0 Comments

New Opportunities for Form Simplicity, Tech Helpline

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. For more than a decade, Florida’s state Realtor association, Florida Realtors®, has been providing technology solutions created by Realtors for Realtors. Nearly five years ago, the association launched [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 21st, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Main category|0 Comments

Brokers Talk Marketing Webinar Invitation

  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 [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 15th, 2016|Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments

An Exciting Opportunity Awaits

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. FUNCTION/ROLE: The company enjoys an extremely strong brand that has established a reputation for delivering solid, and thoughtful integrated technology solutions for its [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 14th, 2016|Main category, Our Services, Recruiting|0 Comments

Annual Swanepoel Power 200 Recognizes WAV Group

Howard Lund had a philosophy about lists. He said that it is great to be on the good ones, but don't take too much pride in it. He shared his thoughts on this whenever I made honor roll, or was recognized for accomplishments in sports. It is the type of fatherly wisdom that sticks with you. I think that Mr. Swanepoel and his team does a good job in their selection - a process too difficult to imagine. Its an honor to receive the recognition, and I am especially proud of my partner, Marilyn Wilson. Her dedication to her trade [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 13th, 2016|Main category, Press Releases|0 Comments

The 7 Keys to A Successful MLS Conversion

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, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 12th, 2016|Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments

MRIS and Trend Take Next Step Down The Aisle

Courageous, Unselfish,  Forward Thinking, Thoughtful – those are the adjectives that Association shareholders, brokers and agents are using to describe the merger of Metropolitan Regional MLS and Trend MLS. In an announcement today, the firms announced that they are now offering a combined data feed. This means that any technology service provider can get one data feed from both markets, reducing the costs associated with managing multiple feeds and normalizing data. Unified Feed is Designed for Participant Brokers Rockville, MD and King of Prussia, PA – Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (“MRIS”) and The Delaware Valley Real Estate Information Network, [...]