Think about Facebook. It’s a platform and a software product. The application of Facebook is the software product (i.e. it’s an app), but it’s also a platform for other apps. Other products are built and work within Facebook’s framework. So, what about real estate technology?

More and more systems are readily available, but very few have the breadth to be a real estate platform. The result is an ecosystem of many tools and software products, making it hard for real estate agents to learn and become proficient with. Today, we’ll discuss what a real estate platform is and why agents need it.

1What is a Real Estate Platform?

A real estate platform is a “stage” where other software applications can connect with the original system. This allows the software product to do other things that were not originally planned for it. An example is BoomTown. The original system was designed to be a CRM + website for real estate professionals. Today, it connects with transaction management software like Dotloop and with prospecting tools like Mojo Dialer — making it a more robust system for managing the day-to-day activities in real estate.

2What Does a Real Estate Platform do?

A real estate platform connects with other software applications, allowing it complete other actions it wasn’t originally designed for. Essentially, it “talks” to other systems. It allows other systems to communicate with it and build upon its capability. For example, BoomTown now partners with BombBomb, Mojo Dialer, and Dotloop. All those tools have built-in functionality, where you can use them within the BoomTown platform.

3Why Should You Use a Platform?

Imagine a loose screw holding your dining table up. You want to tighten it, so you grab your toolbox. Inside, you look for a screwdriver to match the head of the screw, but nothing matches. You go through five different screwdrivers until you find the right one. Obviously, you’re irritated at taking such a long time to complete a simple task. This is why you need to use a real estate platform.

No tool can do every job, but you don’t want to deal with the hassle of transferring data from one software application to the other. It’s tedious and creates silos. Having a platform allows you to connect devices and simplify your day.

4Why Do Agents Need a Platform?

Real estate agents are busy with money-driving activities — responding to client questions, showing houses, contacting new leads. Typically, team leaders or brokers will create a process for them to complete these tasks efficiently. And oftentimes they rely on software products to manage it.

The problem is when you have one system for lead communication and another for handling current clients, then you have one system for tackling transactions and so on … it gets very muddled. The process you designed becomes task-heavy and a time suck. Agents need one system to operate from, one that’s easy to use because they’re busy with money-driven activities.

5A Real Estate Platform in Action

If you want to see what a real estate platform can do — how it can improve your success metrics — then I’d recommend getting a demo of BoomTown. We integrate with some of the top providers in the industry and can show you how your workday can become really simple and easy.