The far-reaching impact of Zillow’s announcement that they’ll be hiring their own agents to represent iBuyer transactions is being discussed by many excellent analysts and journalists. 

But I wanted to talk about what you, as a brokerage executive, should do with this news.

One simple way to explain Zillow’s deepening iBuyer strategy, is their realization that they are better off directly monetizing their Top-of-the-Funnel dominance, instead of indirectly through reselling agent leads.

Zillow is doubling down on their key advantage. 

And my recommendation to you, is to do the same. 

Where does your current business come from? My guess is that the majority (90%+) is sphere of influence, repeat business, and referrals. These are all areas where a relationship (instead of web-performance) is driving consumer decisions. 

Focus on and invest in your advantage. You have a value-proposition—for now—that Zillow can’t compete with. If you can strengthen and solidify your network of current and future clients at the Middle-of-the-Funnel, you’ll be in a much more secure position going forward.

Since day one, deepening the relationships between brokerage, agents and consumers, has been the mission of RealScout. This isn’t an opportunistic marketing message, it’s what we do every day for our partners like Long & Foster, Howard Hanna, and TTR Sotheby’s International Real Estate, who each recognized the importance of doubling-down on relationship-based strategies. 

Whether it’s diving deeper into Zillow strategy, or discussing how we can build a strong Middle-of-the-Funnel for your organization, we’re here to talk.