Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - Inman
News
Brendan King, COO of Point 2 Realty Solutions in Saskatoon,
Canada, explains the company's mission, business model and
more.
IN: How long has Point2Realty Solutions been in business?
BK: Point2 has been developing software solutions since 1996.
IN: What is your company vision?
BK: Our company vision is to establish Point 2 Agent as the
community for real estate professionals to maximize business
opportunities by collaborating via their Web sites.
IN: How did the company get started?
BK: In 1996 Point2 began developing a software solution for
the marketing of heavy equipment on the Internet. Point2 now
dominates this industry and powers Caterpillar Inc.'s Used
Global Trading System.
Point2 recognized that by leveraging our knowledge in marketing
complex capital assets we could provide grassroots real estate
agents with powerful user-friendly software products. In the
span of one year, Point2 has delivered powerful marketing
solutions to more than 20,000 members. Point2 is now connecting
these members, which exponentially increases their exposure
and allows them to work together to better satisfy their clients.
IN: What is your business model?
BK: To eliminate the barriers to participate, Point2 Agent
provides free access to a full-featured online marketing solution
at www.point2agent.com. Members are rapidly upgrading their
subscriptions to pay versions, as they desire to play an increased
role on the network.
IN: Do you have a killer application? If so, what is it?
BK: Agent Handshake is one of our killer apps. It is the only
solution that allows members to selectively share and display
their listings on each other's Web sites—maximizing listing
exposure and increasing listing inventories. Agent Handshake
is included in the free version of the product.
IN: What is your most popular feature?
BK: Freedom is our most popular feature. Point2's patented
technology gives our membership the freedom to create, maintain
and even edit their Web site from anywhere at anytime all
at no extra cost.
IN: What are the prices for your products?
BK: There are three levels of Point 2 Agent membership: A
standard membership is free. A professional membership is
$29.95 per month or $299.95 per year, and a premium membership
is $99.95 per month or $999.95 per year.
IN: What are cutting-edge Realtors doing today with their
Web sites?
BK: Cutting-edge Realtors are using their Web sites as the
focal point of their marketing strategy. They attract new
business, capture leads, incubate prospects, communicate with
clients and maximize listing exposure. In addition, by collaborating
via their Web sites with a community of agents, they are able
to share rich listing data (through Agent Handshake), exchange
client referrals and leverage the experience of other network
members. More important, cutting-edge Realtors are recognizing
that technology plays an important part in their "full-service
offering," allowing them to earn full commissions.
IN: Are leads playing a bigger role in your Web business?
If so, how?
BK: Lead generation is and always has been, a big part of
Point 2 Agent's offering. Internet leads have different expectations
than traditional prospects have. Many are in the early stages
of their decision-making process and may not be ready to buy
or sell a property for six months or more. As a result, they
need to be incubated. Point2 Agent automatically captures
the lead, categorizes it, then interacts with it, delivering
timely, relevant information. It then notifies the agent member
when the lead should be contacted personally.
IN: How has your business changed?
BK: Quite simply, it has grown and continues to grow faster
and faster. Point2 Agent was launched in January 2003 with
a handful of local members. In just one year, it has grown
to more than 20,000 members throughout North America. Presently,
the network is growing by well over 100 members per day. This
pace of growth continues to increase rapidly as members spread
the word about Point2 Agent.
IN: What changes do you see in the Web business in real
estate?
BK: To date, the Internet has not yet lived up to its promise
of revolutionizing the real estate industry. In fact, the
reputation and promise of the Internet is in jeopardy because
of the poor quality of listings data. Rich data on which consumer
can make informed decisions must be made available.
In addition, savvy real estate professionals must realize
that forces outside their industry are exploiting the client
relationships and listing data that Realtors have always had.
Working together, with collaborative and powerful technical
tools, real estate professionals will be able to increase
the value they add for the consumer in the real estate transaction.
Re-printed from Inman News © Copyright 2004