Assembling a Dream Team to Revive Realtor.com
I’m going to have a bit of fun with Todd’s request to brainstorm about how Nar and Move could put Realtor.com back in the lead….
How do you take Realtor.com to the top?
Simple.
Assemble the greatest team possible, put them together, give them lots of money, and get out of the way…
In the real estate industry, who could be put on the same team to execute on that goal?
Pay Marc, Brian, and Joel at 1000watt enough money to drop all their other clients and spend all their time on Realtor.com (Move was former client of 1000watt).
Hire Jim Marks to comb through all the analytics and implement winning SEO and conversion.
Bring David Gibbons back from South Africa to manage community.
Grab Chris Smith to speak to every agent in the country.
Poach Jay Thompson for industry relations.
Nab Matt Lerner from WalkScore to manage high level tech decisions.
Find a KILLER product manager with 5+ years of consumer web experience. I’d recommend looking outside the real estate industry for this person.
Find 10 rockstar developers. Just look at the first 10-15 developers at both Zillow and Trulia, figure out who is no longer working at those respective companies — and go recruit them.
Get someone who has managed data for Zillow or Trulia, or even one of the larger IDX companies, to build and oversee a scaleable data model.
Now, the final piece. The charismatic visionary to send on a roadshow and sell all these individuals on the grand vision and strategy to take Realtor.com to the top and unseat Zillow and Trulia — and convince them all to drop everything to join the team. Who is there to tap for that position?
My bet? No one. This is where the strategy fails. Who is going to spend 5-10 years of their life obsessed with beating Z/T?
Only a founder.
The best bet? Bring back whoever founded Realtor.com. I spent a few minutes on Google trying to find out who that is and failed. Go recruit that person wherever they may be…it may be the only chance for Realtor.com to stay relevant.
[Update: here is summary of the early days of Realtor.com by Saul Klein]
[Update 2: the founder of Realtor.com was Stuart Wolff via Inman]
Well, I guess it turns out reviving Realtor.com is not so simple after all…
Who would be on your real estate dream team? Your comments are certainly welcome.
PS: We’ve started a series titled “Meet the Real Estate Tech Entrepreneur” — for the founders of real estate tech companies reading this who want to be profiled, please shoot me an email at drew at ohheyworld dot com.
REALTOR.com Redux: The Brainstorm | Realty Nex.us
Posted at 17:59h, 10 June[…] Additional coverage from Eric Stegemann and Drew Meyers. […]
Potential Strategies for Realtor.com - GeekEstate Blog
Posted at 16:41h, 11 June[…] We know an amazing team is paramount to Realtor.com somehow figuring out how to overtake Zillow and Trulia. […]
Sam DeBord, SeattleHome.com
Posted at 16:46h, 11 JuneThis is a tough one. It would take someone who is passionate about the Realtor brand, as well as cutthroat enough to make some really strong contrasting marketing to stand out. I think they’re starting to do some of that with the “Find It First” appeal to accuracy and timeliness.
For all of those great people you mentioned, I feel like the #1 goal is spreading into every form of online media as quickly as possible. Locking down territory, creating data and listing agreements with new partners, and expanding the stickiness and capture of long-term users will win the SEO battle.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 16:50h, 11 JuneI really don’t think buyers know what “find it first” is..nor do they care. Is finding a property 6 hours early going to lead to a closed transaction they would have missed out on otherwise? I’m skeptical.
Sam DeBord, SeattleHome.com
Posted at 17:01h, 11 JuneAgreed that the messaging needs to be stronger, but the message is good. The 6 hour estimation might be true in a few markets, but in many there is a difference of days between the direct MLS feed and the syndication.
Considering half of homes in places like Seattle are selling in the first week, with pre-inspections, getting out to see the right house in the first day or two is critical in this market. The fear of missing out on the perfect home is a real motivator.
It’s a defining difference, and they should drive it home. Whether or not it is critical to every buyer, if messaged correctly it will absolutely sell itself to buyers.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 17:08h, 11 JuneMaybe you’re right. I’m not in the weeds day in, day out like you are. You’re of course welcome to write your own thoughts on the strategy move/r.com can take.. 🙂
Would love your thoughts on the follow up post to this one I just published.
Sam DeBord, SeattleHome.com
Posted at 17:10h, 11 JuneIt’s a big deal right now because of the ridiculous lack of inventory, but in a normal market it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
Agentage | Industry insiders brainstorming approaches to ‘revive’ realtor.com
Posted at 10:04h, 12 June[…] way to do that, Meyers says, would be to put industry consultants at 1000watt to work for Move full time. Meyers lists other […]
Drew Meyers
Posted at 21:19h, 12 JuneI’m with you DG
Drew Meyers
Posted at 21:20h, 12 JuneYou see my follow up post to this? Your thoughts about as a service to the industry are spot on..
PS – sorry for this having been stuck in spam for so long
Drew Meyers
Posted at 21:24h, 12 JuneThanks. and sorry this got stuck in spam..
Drew Meyers
Posted at 21:28h, 12 JuneThanks for the comment Mike, and sorry you got stuck in spam.
Agree they are hampered by their NAR agreement, and that has hurt them considerably in their fight against z and t.
Jim Marks
Posted at 17:36h, 14 JuneI’m in. Any chance to work with David Gibbons or 1000 watt. Can I share the stage with @chrissmith though? Love that guy…
Drew Meyers
Posted at 17:49h, 14 JuneSure, or see if you can kick him off it for a few minutes.
sarabonert
Posted at 08:04h, 11 OctoberMaybe I could come on and make coffee for everyone for the chance to watch the magic happen? 🙂
Drew Meyers
Posted at 09:25h, 11 OctoberYou can do far more than make coffee. Don’t sell yourself short 🙂
sarabonert
Posted at 08:04h, 11 OctoberMiss you David!
Can the Industry Combat the Portals Long Term? And If So, How? - GeekEstate Blog
Posted at 10:48h, 25 January[…] Will the industry take an Orbitz approach (6 largest airlines teaming together to take on Expedia, Travelocity, etc), with the largest franchises/brokers teaming together to build a new portal? If they do take that approach, here is the dream team to hire. […]