Change is hard, especially with real estate professionals – they are in their routine, using their tools, knowing how to get the information they need and want, and can’t be held up or miss a deal. Now imagine thinking about switching the main tool agents use every day – their MLS!

This is a HUGE decision, so for association leadership it can be a lot to think about – there are members to consider, research to do, expectations to manage, technology to evaluate, data to migrate, training and communications to coordinate, and, ultimately, they need to land on a platform that works for the agents and brokers relying on it.

Earlier this summer, when the River Counties Association of Realtors® (RCAR) and Great Smoky Mountains Association of Realtors® (GSMAR) chose to move from their traditional MLS model to Realtracs, it took a bit to reach the final decision. It’s not just an association executive who makes the call; it takes consensus around the board table.

Doing the Homework

For GSMAR Association Executive Kathryn Lovell, the first step was gathering perspectives from people who had experience using Realtracs.

She spoke with fellow association CEOs and agents and asked straightforward questions: Does Realtracs provide good customer support? Is the platform easy to use? Does it offer the tools members need to be successful?

“Realtracs checked all the boxes needed to advance our members’ business and to provide what I think would be proper customer service and give them the tools and exposure they needed to be successful. That’s what made us (GSMAR) quickly decide to choose Realtracs.”

Looking at the Bigger Picture

There are governance and financial implications to think through as well. Just like RCAR Association Executive Angela Humberd worked with the RCAR board to think through different scenarios.

Both organizations recognized that with industry consolidation and emerging technologies reshaping real estate, their brokers and agents need the right tools to compete today and adapt for tomorrow. Realtracs met those needs.

“It was important to find a solution that would provide brokers and agents with what they are going to need in three years, five years, and 10 years from now.”

Kathryn saw the decision along the same lines.

“You have got, in my opinion, to align yourself or your agents with a strong MLS that has potential to be so much more.”

The goal wasn’t simply to replace one system with another. It was to find a technology partner that could continue evolving alongside the businesses and professionals it serves.

Getting Member Buy-In

As with any change or transition, Kathryn was particularly concerned with broker and agent buy-in. Her members had been through other transitions that didn’t go so well, so she worried about throwing another change at them. Then she saw Realtracs for herself.

“Once I saw it (Realtracs), I was sold. The system was so easy, user-friendly and had great tools, and I thought to myself that the agents are going to love this.”

Angela had similar concerns.

“Our market is unique in that we service six counties and a lot of rural farmlands. I have a lot of agents who like things a certain way, so that gave me a little bit of concern. I wondered what kind of pushback we would get and hoped that the agents would find Realtracs easy to use just like we did.”

Lessons Learned Along the Way

GSMAR members won’t be fully converted to Realtracs until September 28, but Kathryn already knows she would have engaged brokers earlier in the process. She believes lunch-and-learns and earlier broker meetings would have helped communicate the broker’s role in successful onboarding.

Angela joined RCAR after the contract had already been signed, which gave her a different perspective on the importance of understanding transition details from the beginning.

For example, she learned about application fees for agents not already affiliated with RCAR and recognized the importance of understanding those details early so the association could prepare its members properly.

“I wasn’t involved in the early steps of the contract and didn’t realize there would be an application fee for agents not attached to RCAR. We had to have some conversations on our side because we weren’t preparing our members. At the end of the day, we were able to catch it and find a solution that made our members happy.”

It was a classic case of “you don’t know what you don’t know” until you’re in the process but both organizations were able to identify the issues and work through them in real time.

Solving a Real Member Pain Point

Due to their proximity to other markets, RCAR agents have to juggle more than one MLS system to get a comprehensive data set. The association was hearing from agents that they were frustrated with having to log in and out of multiple systems to get the information they needed. For Angela and her board, moving to Realtracs became more about giving their members time back with an efficient platform.

“We listened to what our members had to say, and they wanted one system to do their business in.”

The Payoff

Both Kathryn and Angela see the transition as an opportunity for their associations. They are feeling excited and energized to be able to focus on what their associations excel at – membership, community involvement, networking, and training to help members grow their business.

“It’s exciting to be able to allow Realtracs – the company and team – to run an MLS and tackle anything that comes with it. And I get to service the agents. It’s a different viewpoint, and it’ll be an adjustment, but we’re really excited about it because it opens the playing field for so much more.” – Angela

For RCAR and GSMAR, the decision came down to looking beyond the immediate transition and asking a bigger question:

What kind of technology partner will give our members the tools, support, exposure, and efficiency they need today—and continue to grow with them tomorrow?

For both associations, the answer was Realtracs.

This is the first in a three-part series about RCAR and GSMAR’s transition to Realtracs. Stay tuned for the second post, which will dive into what the onboarding process actually looked like.