Why is IBM, a company traditionally regarded as a business enabler and technology provider of Fortune 500 companies targeting small brokerages and individual Realtors? It all has to do with IBM's Global Small Business division which believes that Big Blue can leverage its blue-chip bartering power into better technology equipment and connectivity deals for the world's largest mobile sales force - Realtors.

"What we are doing to focus on the wants and needs of small businesses in general," begins Judy Smolski, vice president of marketing, IBM Global Small Business division. "We have a wide variety of offerings which are appropriate to the needs of Realtors. What we have is the overall adoption of Internet; we have growth in personal computer products and in our focus groups with real estate agents, we see a strong intention to adopt Internet technologies such as Intenet access, email, e-commerce, and we believe we can make our offerings specific to the needs of Realtors."

Why Realtors? Because small business is huge and underserved, says Smolski. IBMs' GSB division is focused on businesses with between one and 99 employees and has identified Realtors as an appropriate target. "IBM is known historically for large enterprise solutions, but we've found you can't just scale down to make it relevant for small businesses. We knew we had to get to know them. What do they need? What support and services do they need?" says Smolski. "What we found is that what Realtors have the least amount of is time."

IBM GSB also found out that real estate businesses also vary. "If you are a two-person real estate office, your needs are going to be different from an 80-person office," observes Smolski. "We developed baseline offerings, like PC technology, and we have a wide variety of Thinkpads. Some models have accessories like a digital camera that is appropriate for a Realtor, so we tried to tailor our PC technology for small business, and then for the subset of Realtors. We feel we could provide differentiated value from everyone else."

So what are Realtors concerns regarding technology and how can IBM help? Consider the following points made in IBM focus groups of wired agents and brokers who are primarily responsible for making the purchase of their company's PCs. While this focus group was chosen to consider the Web Connections product offerings by IBM, their sentiments about what is happening in real estate are valid for all agents and brokers.

IBM reports that participants expressed that the real estate industry is going through profound changes which are driven by the following:

1. Customers/Clients aggressively use the Internet:

The participants described their clients as becoming more aggressive in using the Internet to proactively locate listings prior to meeting with an agent. Younger buyers, particularly, screen listings and put together a consideration set. This take-charge attitude is forcing real estate professionals to keep abreast of technology, especially the Internet. They expressed that many Realtors are experiencing a feeling of loss of control and pressure to keep pace with their clients.

2. The pace of transactions is accelerating:

Not only are clients proactive in locating listings, they also expect to close deals quickly. Real estate professionals feel pressure to reduce turnaround time and feel that the new Internet technologies can help them achieve this goal (i.e., showing houses and closing deals online.)

3. Changes in MLS infrastructure are looming:

It was mentioned that some MLS services are in the process of changing their connectivity requirements, so in order to use these services, real estate professionals needed to switch from traditional analog connections to either cable-modem or DSL.

Todd Stilson, alliance marketing manager for IBM GSB, oversees the strategic marketing alliance between the NAR and IBM which offers special pricing on IBM hardware and connectivity products to Realtors. He says that Web Connections is tailored to meet these concerns.

"Web Connections is an offering that has several features and functions that are appropriate for small offices. We asked what appeals to you and what do you find of value?"

The company identified four needs in focus groups.

1. Brokers and agents want one-stop shopping -- a way to get everyone in the office connected to the Internet
2. They want one provider to provide support
3. They want support 24/7
4. They want customized solutions

One complication to getting the Realtor alliance off the ground is the wide range of understanding that Realtors have of technology services. "Some businesses are not very tech-savvy, and they use the national and local board to help them learn what's new in technology. They ask what should we be buying? At the other end is the tech-savvy people who know what they want and want to buy it over the Web," adds Stilson. "One thing we grasped is that some want a one-stop shopping bundle or others want to integrate what they want. So we need to do both."

Web Connections is a broad service offering that does everything from help brokers buy domain names to hosting their Web sites to enabling their offices with specific broadband technologies. "That is a very inclusive offering," says Stilson. "It enables the whole office to have one shared Internet access with a lot more."

Through the one-stop shop, agents have one centralized point of accountability, good perceived value for the expenditures, and round the clock technical phone support.

The real estate community may be ready to take advantage of what Big Blue has to offer. Curiously, only half of the focus group had corporate e-mail, which is a sure sign that they are prime targets for service.

Just like IBM's focus group, you may feel that you are at a point to adopt and integrate e-mail technologies and more to meet customer demands and competitor challenges. IBM participates in the NAR's Realtors Rewards program and the prices are astonishing. The site encourages brokers to get "everyone in your business online."

E-mail @yourcompanyname.com and Internet access for 5, 10, up to 100 employees is $99 per month and $219 for DSL. Plus, the site promises 24x7 human telephone support and firewall security. A wide range of packages and connectivity.

For more information, NAR members can click here.

Published: January 24, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.