Think back to any website projects your real estate brokerage has launched in the past. Would you call them a success? A failure? Somewhere in between?
Turns out that unless you (and the company building/launching your new website) are extremely clear on how you define success before the project even begins, you’ll end up disappointed. There’s an emphasis here on the word “you” — you’re not selecting a vendor just because you hear they’re awesome, you’re selecting them because you believe they can fulfill your real estate brokerage’s needs.
Too often I see brokers and vendors who no longer see eye-to-eye, because expectations weren’t communicated effectively before the agreement was signed.
Why even bother?
It’s the biggest question you need to answer. What makes this transition to a new tech platform worthwhile in the first place?
Did you get burned by another platform/vendor? Many brokers we speak to begin the story by saying they would never want to go through the last project again. It just “didn’t go well.” But how, exactly?
I need to know exactly what my team can do this time to avoid the result of last time.
Below, I’ve compiled the most common deal-breakers I hear about from brokers when approaching custom real estate brokerage website projects. Avoid being blindsided by requesting detailed information on everything that’s important to you from this list right away, from any vendor you’re seriously vetting.
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- Unexpected price increases
- Downtime/unreliable systems
- Disputes over data ownership
- Lack of good quality tech support
- Limited system updates
- Slow development cycles
Make your success list.
You’re in the real estate industry, so I’m sure you’ve heard your agents discuss “needs versus wants” lists with clients many times. Begin with the acknowledgment that the project will not be perfect, so that we can move on and focus on the “must haves” that define success for you.
At this point in the process, you’ve begun to whittle down your list of potential vendors, so let’s see how they may make your success goals part of your project plan.
Here’s where you need to take the time to get specific. This step shouldn’t be confused with the feature requirements you may have. Instead, think of yourself a year or two in the future — if you had to grade the project with a pass or fail, how could you measure it?
It’s really helpful if you begin your list with, “The project would be successful if ___________.” That way, you don’t get bogged down with the smaller details like, “We need to appear higher on search engines,” “Our home search should be easier to use,” and so on.
I’d recommend refining the success list until it includes only the most basic and measurable requirements:
The system must [what] for [who] by [when].
That’s it. Try to avoid terms like “best,” “top,” “fast,” et cetera, and instead focus on who benefits and how.
Don’t forget that success goals must be measurable in order to be scored later. Your vendor wants a good grade on this project, so tell them up front how they can achieve it and then let them rise to the occasion.
For further reading, here are a few articles I found interesting on defining project success:
