Make your team more efficient and more profitable by getting them to easily adapt to new technology.

The world of technology continues to change rapidly, and with each new gadget or app comes a new opportunity for your team to work more efficiently or to capture more business. The problem? Getting everyone onboard and using new technology effectively.

Depending on the demographics of your team, there can be a host of reasons for individuals to be slow or unwilling to accept and use new technology. Some may be “early adopters,” or people who are all about new gadgets and gizmos, but they just don’t feel like they have time to invest in yet another piece of technology. Others may be technologically averse. You know… the team members who still struggle a little bit with figuring out how to print something in the office.

No matter what the demographics of your team are, these steps will ensure your office comes onboard with the tech you’re hoping to implement.

Prove the value proposition

For any real estate professional to embrace a new piece of technology it most likely has to do one of 3 things:

1. Save time
2. Save money
3. Increase sales (think marketing, lead generation)

Just telling your team how a new piece of tech will do this isn’t enough. You have to be the salesperson. Think of what hooked you on this tech to begin with… Was there a promotional video? Did you try it and have success?

Speaking of “trying it”- there may be no better way to get your team using the tech than with real testimonials from other real estate professionals. If the piece of technology is backed by a company, the company would be more than happy to provide testimonials or even get your team in touch with other professionals using the product.

If the tech is something more abstract such as social media, find examples of other teams using it to boost their sales and reach out. For example, an out-of-market real estate team with a great Facebook presence would be happy to talk about their experiences.

Bottom line: if your team members don’t think it’ll save them time or money or increase their sales, they won’t waste their time.

Teach and Train

Once the value hurdle is jumped, you’re up against the next big barrier to new tech adoption: your team members understanding how to use it.

Again, if you’re introducing technology from a company, reach out to see if they would be willing to host training for your team. Of course, you’re also going to want any and all training collateral (papers, charts, videos, etc.) you can get your hands on.

For other new pieces of technology, you should still host your own training seminar for the team. Come prepared with every good instructional video you can find as well as anything else helpful for showing the team the tech you want them to adopt.

After your main training session, block out some time on your schedule to give additional one-on-one training to any team member who wants it. You may also suggest certain team members meet with you. (Like that person who still can’t figure out how to print something)

Also, make all your training collateral easy to access both online and in print if appropriate. Little tip: add a testimonial or a fact to the bottom of all handouts and .pdfs. It never hurts to remind your team why you’re pushing this tech.

Make it “a thing” for a very long time

From team meetings to email updates, make sure your team knows you seriously want them using this technology.

Afraid of being a bit of a nag? Ok, we get that. Make your reminders fun- make using the technology a contest or give weekly awards for the team member who really utilized it best.

And whenever you see something good as a result of using this new piece of technology, make sure you capture your team’s own testimonials and make them well-known.

To wrap it all up, your team will adopt whatever technology you’re pushing if they believe in its value, know how to use it, and are reminded to use it.

Source: https://blog.casamatic.com/agents/adapt-to-new-technology/?utm_content=buffere0b4f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer