From Zillow to Century 21 CEO: Nick Bailey Discusses Big Data, the Future Role of an Agent and How Amazon Could Get in the Game

Real estate agents tend to have an identity crisis from handling so many different facets of the business. Who are we supposed to be? And who does the consumer want us to be? How are we going to use data and predictive analytics to improve their experience of buying or selling? On this episode, Century 21 CEO, Nick Bailey talks about how agents should prepare themselves right now for the changes tech is bringing to the industry.

 

 

We have an opportunity to leverage technology to make the process a better experience for buyers and sellers. -Nick Bailey

Takeaways + Tactics

• From the initial decision to buy or sell, the average transaction has 181 steps to close.
• Prospecting is 100% a contact sport. Go where the consumers are and engage with them.
• FSBOs are the lowest they’ve ever been, and they are lowest in the millennial demographic. Consumers value the relevant service that agents are bringing.
• We're going to see better usage of predictive analytics vs. trying to market to everyone the same way

 

At the start of the show, Nick gave a brief background of his career and we started talking about how technology and the internet are creating more confusion for agents, and how we can cut through this confusion. Next, we talked about how technology can be used to make the transaction process less daunting for consumers, and the importance of putting our focus on the consumer.

We also discussed:

• The use of data and predictive analytics to anticipate the needs of the market
• How to prepare for the changes that are coming
• What’s causing the decline in FSBOs

 

Consumers are living in a world where technology has given them easier access to data and information, and this applies to real estate too. The conversation in our industry should be more about the consumer and less about what we want in the industry. Listening to the consumer is what will improve the way we use tech, communication, tools and services to help them. The future is going to be less about waiting to get a lead from Zillow and more about engaging and using predictive analytics to get into a relationship with the consumer even before they seek another source.   

 

Guest Bio

Nick Bailey is President & CEO of CENTURY 21. Find him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-bailey-7286bb10/.