Changing your MLS structure is a big decision. But once the decision is made, the real work begins: getting brokers, agents, and association teams ready for the launch.

For the River Counties Association of REALTORS® (RCAR) and the Great Smoky Mountains Association of REALTORS® (GSMAR), that meant working closely with the Realtracs team to plan a transition that included broker and agent onboarding, communication plans, broker engagement, training, and support at every step.

Communication Starts Early and Stays Consistent

Switching to a new MLS platform involves many moving pieces, and keeping everyone informed and supported is key to making the process work.

For RCAR Association Executive Angela Humberd, having an open line of communication with Realtracs executive team members made a difference. Beyond initial implementation conversations, the team established weekly check-in meetings to discuss and track the project timeline and major milestones, including:

• Product discovery and data preparation
• User setup and data conversion
• Vendor and data consumer transitions
• Cutover planning

Rather than the associations and Realtracs communicating separately, the Realtracs team worked closely with each association to coordinate messaging, such as onboarding checklists and training calendars, to ensure members were getting the information they needed from the right source.

“We push out a lot of stuff to the members anyway,” Angela said. “But to be able to feel comfortable enough to come to Realtracs and be like, ‘Hey, I need you guys to push this because it’s going to be received better’ … that was really helpful.”

Training Takes the Pressure Off

Then came one of the biggest and most important pieces of any technology change: making sure new customers were equipped and ready to use Realtracs on launch day.  Getting hundreds of agents ready to use a new MLS system takes careful planning and consideration.

The Realtracs Customer Engagement team worked closely with RCAR and GSMAR to set up a variety of trainings over several weeks, meeting members where they were through virtual training, in-person sessions, and office visits.

“We made probably 500 phone calls over the course of a couple of months, reminding brokers to start the onboarding process,” Angela said. “So, while we were doing that, it was nice not to have to worry about how everyone was going to get trained, because Realtracs took care of that.”

For GSMAR, exposure to the product also helped turn initial hesitation into confidence. As members got into Realtracs and began exploring the platform, Kathryn saw their hesitation start to fade.

 “Once members got into the system and started working with it, you could see the apprehension begin to disappear.”

Getting Brokers on Board

Educating agents was only one part of the process. Both associations learned that broker engagement was crucial to a successful onboarding.

Kathryn says that if she were doing the transition again, she would begin broker communication even earlier, using meetings and lunch-and-learns to explain the broker’s role in getting agents onboarded.

“I would put even more emphasis on the broker education component of it from the very beginning,” Kathryn said.

That experience reinforced an important lesson: onboarding isn’t about telling people what to do. It’s about making sure they understand why it matters and giving them the information and support to take the next step.

Solving Problems Together

Even with a strong plan, questions and unforeseen challenges are inevitable. That’s why early access groups played an important role in the onboarding process for both associations.

Before the full launch, select members received early access to Realtracs, giving teams a chance to ask questions, uncover issues, and make adjustments before the broader membership came on board. This was especially important for GSMAR, where the prevalence of short-term rentals meant the platform needed to account for some unique market needs.

And for RCAR, which services six counties, including a significant amount of farmland, the early access group surfaced a unique need for additional showing capabilities. Realtracs used the feedback to enhance Realtracs Showings, giving agents the ability to invite real estate professionals outside of Realtracs to schedule showings.

Those early users provided valuable feedback that helped the Realtracs team and associations solve problems quickly and make the transition smoother for everyone.

That collaborative approach was one of the strongest parts of the experience.

“If a problem came up, we all solved it together,” she said, joking that the Realtracs team was probably solving problems while she was sleeping.

More Than a Launch

Onboarding wasn’t simply about getting agents into a new MLS platform. It was about giving them the information, training, and support they needed to feel confident making the change.

And while both associations learned things they would approach differently next time, the experience has been positive.

The transition reinforced something both association executives already knew: when you’re asking people to change how they work, communication, preparation, and support matter just as much as the technology itself.

This is the second in a three-part series about RCAR and GSMAR’s move to Realtracs.

Here’s the first post, and in the final post, we’ll go behind the scenes with the Realtracs team to explore what goes into supporting a transition like this.