“Getting a transaction to the closing table boils down to hard work and maintaining a level of consistency throughout the process,” says Brad Kuenzi, Broker/Owner of Realty Executives Platinum in Watertown, Wis. Read on to learn how Kuenzi stays ahead of the curve and uses technology to better serve his clients.
Region served: South Central Wisconsin
Years in real estate: 15
Number of offices: 1
Number of agents: 7
What do you love most about your job? Watching my Sales Executives grow their businesses by using the tools and systems the brokerage and Realty Executives provide.
Motto/work philosophy that you live by: Hard work pays off.
What demographic segments are driving your business these days?
Our company is super heavy on the listing side, and this has driven our business for the past 15 years. And today, first-time buyers are a key piece of the puzzle. Since we’re located halfway between Madison and Milwaukee, we have a large commuter clientele as well. In the end, we have the inventory, and the inventory is what draws the clientele.
How do you use technology to better serve your clients?
The fact that approximately 90 percent of consumers start their home search online goes a long way toward building our case when it comes to the necessity of incorporating technology into the mix. Not only do we take advantage of Trulia, Zillow, realtor.com® and the Realty Executives website, we recently implemented the Realty Executives mobile marketing system into the mix, which has been a huge benefit across the board. Prospective buyers especially love that they can simply scan a sign and get access to a whole virtual tour, as well as additional information regarding a home they may be interested in. While technology plays a key part when it comes to serving our clients, we still rely on old-school things such as open houses and data sheets in brochure boxes. Whether clients are tech-savvy or they prefer to look for homes in the newspaper, we have them covered.
What is your top strategy for closing a transaction?
Getting a transaction to the closing table boils down to hard work and maintaining a level of consistency throughout the process. We have an inner office checklist that is instrumental when it comes to keeping us on track, ensuring that each piece of the puzzle is completed in a timely manner. In addition, we’re 100-percent transparent with our buyers, sellers and affiliated services. Our lines of communication are always open and we update our buyers and sellers on a weekly basis so that they know we are working hard to help them achieve their buying and selling goals.
How do you see your market evolving throughout the next year?
My gut tells me that there’s a lot of pent-up demand that is going to infiltrate the market at some point. In fact, we can track how many potential buyers are viewing each of our listings via Trulia, Zillow and realtor.com®, and the numbers have been amazing. While there are more buyers than listings in our market at the moment, I believe values will begin to go up a bit and we’ll get back to a market where the values are what we’re used to.
