This year I am proud to say that through our member satisfaction survey efforts with our MLS partners we have been able to survey over 250,000 real estate agents and brokers. We have learned a lot about where the real perceived value of an MLS is derived.

While many respondents are very satisfied with the technologies, training and support offered by their local MLS, few appreciate or even understand the marketing power that a multiple listing service delivers to them.

Just think about it, MLSs offer a myriad of ways to help brokers succeed and yet get VERY LITTLE credit for it.

Here’s a SIMPLE TIP to help your members understand the FREE marketing exposure they are getting as part of their MLS membership.

MLS Consumer Sites can throw off thousands of FREE leads to their members.   Interestingly, though, when we surveyed agents about the quantity and quality of leads they receive from their local MLS, few are aware of the marketing value they are receiving.   Most don’t even see their MLS as anything more than the MLS system, even though many MLSs spend thousands and even millions of dollars on a myriad of products designed to help REALTORS® succeed!

SIMPLE TIP! 

While turning the tides and helping subscribers understand the marketing power they receive from their MLS, there are simple steps you can take to start to change attitudes over time.

Here’s an extremely simple tip to improving awareness of the leads your local MLS site generates for your members.   Check the subject line of the emails that go out telling an agent that they have a listing inquiry from their site.  Most default message are something like

“Customer Inquiry for 123 Main Street”

Instead of something generic like that, change it to:

“Hurry! You have a new lead from XYZ MLS!”

Every time one of those emails is received by one of your members, it will start to educate them about the business generation power MLSs bring them every day.

Instead of thinking of MLSs as a utility, members can start to think of the MLS as a Marketing Network – harnessing the collective marketing power of agents in the local area to provide exposure and sales opportunities to every member in the MLS.

I have heard from technology leaders at several MLSs that this change will literally take about 5 minutes!  This simple step may be the start of something big – a change in each of your member’s perception about the value of their MLSs.  MLSs are a LOT more than simply an MLS system and it’s time to think about ways to take credit for it!