Vendor Bonus Paid Forward

I had the strangest experience in 2014. A client sent me a check out of the blue. It was a striking gesture. It came with a phone call saying that he appreciated everything we have done. His business had a great year. It floored me, and my family. Financially, it made a difference. The amount was significant. It was not trivial – like a tip. More like the kind of bonus that people get that work at companies for a job well done. Of course, I was thankful. But it was transformative. This year, I went through a list of companies [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:23-07:00February 5th, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on Vendor Bonus Paid Forward
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Is Old School Print Set to Rebound?

Print advertising and marketing has seen a striking decline. I love using the phrase that newspapers are like nursing homes. But that might be changing. Here are some thoughts. Years ago, I spent a few years working with a real estate magazine. We helped them expand into digital marketing – online portal, online advertising, agent and broker websites, etc. It was a good thing. We married their loyal customers to new services that escalated in revenue as print dropped off. The relationship remained the same, the revenue by product choice changed. One of the great boosts to the online marketing [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00February 4th, 2016|Main category|1 Comment
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Will Zillow’s New Stripes Cause Stock to Decline

WAV Group does a lot of work on Wall Street. We work with leading analysts to deliver research and insights from Main Street about what is happening behind company shareholder reports. Z is making some significant strategic changes and it will be very interesting to see how the market reacts. It may be poised for incredible growth or the slide the stock has experienced may continue. Media Company vs. a Product Company Zillow Group® has been traditionally valued as a media company. Purchasing product companies like DotLoop change that. Expunging MarketLeader™ after buying DotLoop is asymmetrical. Marketing tools like MarketLeader™ are aligned [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00February 3rd, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on Will Zillow’s New Stripes Cause Stock to Decline
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When to Text and When to Email

I have a 13-year-old daughter. Her style of communication is very different than mine. In truth, I spend a lot of time talking to her along with my younger and older staff members about effective communications. I think that business leaders need to have this conversation with their flock to set expectations. Here are some questions to hydrate the conversation. When is it appropriate to pick up the phone? When is it appropriate to send a text message? When is it appropriate to send an eMail? When you look into the palm of your hand, you have a powerful communication [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00February 2nd, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on When to Text and When to Email
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Take A Board Seat With That Purchase

Centris is the MLS that provides services to 13,000 agents in Canadian Provence of Quebec. In an announcement today, they agreed to provide a new service to all of their members called Urbanimmersive. Urbanimmersive is a full suite of online marketing tools that includes photographers that create content to power videos, virtual tours, 3D Tours, aerial photographs, and other digital media. Normally, brokers and franchises would not appreciate the MLS delivering services like this, but Montreal is different. Organized real estate would be at risk in Quebec if the Association of REALTORS® and the MLS had not stepped up their [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00February 2nd, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on Take A Board Seat With That Purchase
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Price Is What You Pay And Value Is What You Receive

You know the drill. You need to evaluate a purchase. You juggle the balance between what you want and what you can afford. The Oracle of Omaha is attributed to the Buffetism “Price is what you pay, value is what you receive.” Strategy WAV Group works with all types of firms to lead vendor selections each year. It starts with strategy: outlining the goals of the purpose. What happens if you buy? What happens if you don’t buy? What does success look like? Discovery The next step is discovery. Who are the potential suppliers? Who uses them now? What are [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:24-07:00February 1st, 2016|Main category|Comments Off on Price Is What You Pay And Value Is What You Receive
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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|Comments Off on Does Your Brand Have a Strategic Plan?
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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|Comments Off on Authentisign® used by 11.2 million consumers to sign 17.3 million documents in 2015
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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|Comments Off on BOLD Move – Pacific Union Names Selma Hepp New Vice President, Business Intelligence
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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
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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 [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:25-07:00January 21st, 2016|Broker Technology Research, Main category, Our Services|Comments Off on Making Vendor Partnerships Work
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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|Comments Off on Do you have a PR plan for 2016?
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