Zillow Headquarters Visit 2018 | Ponce & Ponce Realty, Inc. Top Rated Zillow Realtors!
Zillow Premier Agent Program – What we gained at our Visit to Zillow Headquarters
Our Top Rated Zillow Agents gained invaluable experience and knowledge at Zillow Headquarters. When it comes to learning from large tech companies, such as Zillow, Ponce and Ponce Realty, Inc. has come a long way. Through the years, Ponce has grown along with Zillow, becoming a top rated Real Estate Agency that works hand in hand with Zillow:
History of Zillow, How It Started and Today
For the past five years, there are talks about technology companies getting into the real estate business and doing away with real estate agents. Similar to what happened with travel agencies and travel agents. One day a group by the name of Expedia popped up, and it seemed like the next day travel agencies disappeared.
There have been talks of the same thing happening in the residential real estate market. In 2006 there was a company by the name of Zillow by Richard Barton and Lloyd Frink. The company was on a mission to create transparency in the real estate process for the customer. At that time I was in real estate sales in the Inland Empire working for a local brokerage in San Bernardino. At that time I had never heard of Zillow. We used the internet for the MLS and a couple of other things. The Internet was used very little, and clients didn’t have much access to listings then. Zillow created this search platform for homes, and as time went on, they improved the search to the point that it brought lots of value and transparency to buyers and sellers.
Zillow Home Search Capabilities
By 2010 I had heard of the company, but I still knew very little. In 2013 I began to hear more and more about Zillow. So I started to listen in, and do some research about the company, and what they were creating. I found the concept to be interesting. They made it easy to search for homes and find local real estate agents. It was a Win-Win situation for buyers looking for a home instead of having to wait for an agent to call them back they could find several and got to choose the right one for them. They also were able to screen agents based on location, recent sales, and reviews.
Is Zillow Becoming an MLS (Multiple Listing Service)?
The fear that they would become an MLS began to kick in since they were growing so big and fast. Realtor.com and Zillow were suing each other for various reasons. Zillow became a threat since what they created was too good to be true. Agents and brokers were on opposite ends. Some thought it was going to become real estate company others felt it was making money off their listings. Zillow has become the largest real estate media company in a 10-year span. How did that happen? They focused on the most important person, the customer. They provided a system they gave the customer some control of the most significant investment they would make in their life. On the other hand, Redfin a real estate broker was building their brokerage/ Media company. What most agents don’t understand is Redfin is doing what everyone feared Zillow would so. A large media company which owns real estate brokerages.
Ponce and Ponce Realty, Inc. – Zillow Team Members Since 2014
In 2014, my brother Jose and I, got involved with Zillow as a team . When we began with them, I knew only as much as I had found online about them. Like most agents, I expected results the first month I signed on with them. We received some excellent training, scripts, and process on how to handle leads and increase our conversion. I’ll admit I was a bit impatient in the beginning and I was days away from canceling the service. Lucky enough Zillow has excellent account managers that will help you improve the process that you have to help you increase your conversion. My method was all wrong. So we Tweaked some things and this year in 2017 we will be closing just a little under $500,000 in sales only from Zillow.
Zillow.com Premier Agent Program
Being part of their premier agent program, I have met great teams across California and the United States, and we share and learn from each other and grow faster because you learn from groups that are doing better than you are. I have been fortunate enough to meet and get ideas from the CEO Spencer Rascoff on recruiting agents and providing value to them as a broker. The amount that this company brings to agents and customers is unheard of. Everything they do seems to be to improve the process for the agent and the customers. Our account manager at the Irvine headquarters did free training for all of our agents about lead conversion. Our agents were excited about the crash course and misconceptions of lead generation. The big takeaway for the team was how vital lead follow up is. Calling the potential customer at least 7 to 10 times before you give up. The average agent only calls two times. As brokers, Jose and I mentioned lead follow up on a daily basis but it’s different when we hear it from the company that has the most significant online lead generation platform in the U.S.
What Will Happen To Online Real Estate In The Future?
Who will be right in the end? I don’t know. What I do know is that I have learned the importance of generating leads daily and following up with potential customers. Real estate is going through some changes and only time will tell what sticks and what disappears. If you are a real estate agent, make lead generating your daily priority, and you will create a more consistent real estate business. If you are interested in purchasing a home or selling your home, contact us! We would love to work with you.
