Remember the brokerage firms of yesterday? Desks buried in stacks of paperwork. Storage closets full of forms. Overflowing filing cabinets. This disorganization resulted in lost files, headache-inducing audits, and difficult-to-follow paper trails; they were also the scorn of eco-friendly advocates everywhere. Thankfully, the new millennium ushered in the digitization of documentation, and over the past 18 years more and more real estate brokerages have gone digital; today, many have even moved to the cloud. But paperless doesn’t mean seamless, and many brokerages are missing out on the very real advantages of a complete digital transaction management (DTM) platform; the benefits are many, resulting in experts predicting DTM to grow faster than nearly every business category, reaching $30 billion by 2020.
Paperless Platforms: A Start, But Still Not Seamless
There are a variety of providers out there that create and contribute to a paperless office environment by offering individual solutions for each of your specific tasks. However, this can result in fragmented data management, along with gaps in functionality. In addition, there may be compatibility or integration issues between individual solutions; a signature obtained through one provider may not be compatible with another provider’s system, turning what should be helpful into a hindrance. Other issues come into play when using various digital enterprise documentation providers. A big one? They may be catering to a whole host of industries: healthcare, finance, government, legal…the list goes on. By trying to be everything for everyone, it’s nearly impossible for them to have a complete understanding of the brokerage industry, the nuances of your workflow, and the needs of administrators and agents. So while paperless is preferred, using a variety of platforms results in piecemeal transaction management which does not offer the efficiencies, effectiveness—the seamlessness of a true digital transaction management solution.
Digital Transaction Management: A Total Solution
Whereas simply being paperless by way of various providers can result in inefficiencies, a true brokerage DTM solution automates everything. Within its all-in-one platform, a DTM simplifies every step of the transaction process from start to close. Think of it as a central hub for all the tools you use every day, from customer relationship management to accounting. A true transaction management system allows you to:
- Audit with speed and accuracy
- Stay compliant with state regulations through up-to-the-second tracking of all activities within the transaction cycle
- Initiate forms and acquire e-signatures
- View real-time business analytics to make smarter decisions and help or reward agents as needed
But sometimes it just helps to hear from one of your peers. Larry Matos, President of C21 M&M and Associates, the largest company in the Century 21 system with 28 locations, sheds further insight into what makes a DTM solution superior. “We’d been paperless for about 3 years, but still inefficient,” says Matos. “That’s why we looked for a company to really be a solution … as large as we are, we just need to be efficient. Efficient with our time, our staff, in reviewing files, in communicating with clients.”
Start Growing Your Brokerage Today
You’ve cut out the clutter of paperwork—now cut out the inefficiencies involved with utilizing piecemeal platforms. Join Larry and other brokerage firms in making the move to digital transaction management. SkySlope, a leader in the industry with over 1,700 brokerages on board, was created by a broker, for brokers. Its agent-centric platform is easy to navigate and has all the features needed to streamlines processes so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business.
