BP: How are you attracting and retaining top agents today?
MD: We offer great value—including a plan where the annual cap is under $4,000. Most top agents are able to brand themselves—especially in the age of social media. They don’t need a broker to do that for them—and why should they overpay the broker for anything they don’t need? We offer an attractive team plan. We offer systems and platforms that serve them very well—and excellent training at every level, including best practices for maximizing the social media opportunity. We even offer agents no-fee incentives to absorb the cost of joining DPR Realty.
DM: And we love to recognize top performers. Our agents work hard and smart, which is why we are successful, and we love to acknowledge what they do.
BP: What’s the newest tool in your tech arsenal, and how is it helping you better serve tech-savvy customers?
MD: We now have a full green-screen studio in our Scottsdale office. Agents can creatively market themselves and their listings with customizable software editing that can benefit themselves and their clients. Imagine an agent shooting a listing presentation video enhanced with a golf course as the background, or where the image behind the agent scrolls through prior listings.
BP: What are the biggest challenges facing your firm and its agents?
MD: We have to continue to stay one step ahead, or more. We have to be ready for another market shift when subsidized financing rates rise to normal supply and demand levels. We need to optimize the social media mix that will best serve our agents and clients going forward, and stay on top of new innovations that we can integrate into our business. We now have drones. How will 3D printing, fiber optic data, and more mobile tech affect our industry? How about self-driving cars? We need to know how data sharing and syndication will be affected by key industry players, and how legislation may impact the industry. That kind of strategic planning is what helps to drive the success of our agents, which, in turn, enables them to better serve their clients and ultimately close more transactions.
BP: Where do you see your greatest opportunities for increased business?
DM: It’s always in the unrelenting focus on our customer, the agent—in building tools and adding resources that enable their greater success. We recently revitalized our agent resource website, packing it with content so that our agents can do more business and so that prospective agents can clearly see what they can expect with DPR Realty.
MD: In the macro space, we’ll track shifting demographics and support the ever-changing mix of agents as younger, tech-savvy agents enter the real estate industry. We know our opportunity comes from helping our agents start, grow and jumpstart their business—from knowing they need a menu of possibilities from which to choose and providing the right mix of resources.
BP: In your opinion, what is most critical to your firm’s success path forward?
MD: We must keep looking forward, with a proven business model that inspires and maintains our cutting-edge position in our market. We must continue to anticipate and fulfill the needs of our agents, to build new resources that help them succeed, and to provide the kind of customer service that combines the best in high-tech with the kind of high-touch that builds relationships and spurs referrals. We are committed to keeping a careful watch on where the real estate market is going, and we expect to be there as a voice in the industry for our agents and our clients.
BP: What’s in store for the future of DPR Realty?
DM: Dynamic, exciting growth and a continuing passion for excellence. DPR Realty is what’s next in this industry, and we believe we are already there.
For more information, visit www.dprrealty.com.
