20 Questions: A Moxian That Hustles Hard
20 Questions with Alex Jacobs, Director of Business Development at MoxiWorks
Ever heard of the quote, “work hard in silence, let your success be your noise,” by Frank Ocean? Well, that completely and utterly captures Alex. He’s quiet, humble, and polite – and it just so happens that he also happens to be a total Rockstar. When it comes to growing MoxiWorks, helping clients, and hitting goals, you better believe he knocks it out of the park every single time.
For obvious reasons, we wanted to get to know him a little bit better, especially since he lives in California (Moxi is based in Seattle). So, without further ado, here goes 20 questions with Alex Jacobs:
1. How long have you been at MoxiWorks?
Almost two years.
2. What is your life motto?
It’s changed over the years. I actually really like (and it’s sitting on my desk) “what got you here won’t get you there.”
Edit: This is the quote that stands above the door of our CEO. A great reminder for all of us at Moxi!
3. Where is your favorite beach?
I would have to say Hāpuna Beach Park in Hawaii.
4. What would you eat for your last meal?
Sushi – as much as I can have!
5. Who was your favorite character growing up?
Rocky – the underdog.
6. What’s your favorite thing about MoxiWorks?
The people. The team and the people here are really great to work with! I like the vision of the company as well.
7. What is something small that people do that makes you happy?
When someone pays me a compliment.
Edit: Alex – you amaze us! Moxi would be nothing without you.
8. How would you describe yourself to someone in one sentence?
I think if I were to describe myself, I would say that I always tend to be conscious of other people and try to put myself in their shoes. I want to make sure that other people are happy before my own happiness.
9. If you could have a drink with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
My father.
10. What keeps you at MoxiWorks?
Again, I think it’s really the leadership and the vision of the company and the direction that we’re heading. Getting a chance to help to make a difference in the real estate industry is a plus.
11. What is your favorite thing about the holidays?
I like the family time, but I also just like the spirit of the season and everyone being in a happy, friendly mood.
12. What would you say is your hidden talent and why?
I think I could say one of my hidden talents is that I can be very analytical and tend to look ahead like three or four steps ahead.
13. What was your first job?
I cleaned my mom’s office once a week. After that I worked for store that sold sunglasses.
14. What interested you about MoxiWorks in the first place?
I think what drew me was the vision and the innovation.
15. What do you do when you’re not working?
Whatever my kids want to do.
16. Did you choose this career path, or did it choose you?
I think it kind of chose me. I think it’s because one of my first jobs was in sales and every job I got after that was in some sort of selling environment. My degree was business administration, with a concentration in marketing so my mind was always attracted to that side of it.
17. Where do you live and what’s your favorite thing about it?
I live in Folsom, California and I love the community feel. I also really love that it is a great place to raise a family.
18. What is your definition of success?
I think success can be measured in a lot of different ways depending on what your goals are. From helping my clients achieve their goals, to helping my kids achieve theirs and even achieving my own family goals. That’s success to me.
19. Where is the next spot on your bucket list?
Europe in general.
20. What is your favorite MoxiWorks product to talk about and why?
I love talking about MoxiEngage because it’s really core to an agent’s business. And when they’re using it, it can really help them achieve success in their business – 54% more business in fact.
Southern California Brokerage, The Address, Partners with MoxiWorks for Agent Tech
SEATTLE, March 11, 2019 – Southern California real estate powerhouse, The Address, announced their new partnership with MoxiWorks, a leading real estate technology company, to provide a robust open platform to their agents.
Founded in May 2017, The Address has quickly made their superior level of expertise and tech-forward culture known within their communities. “To us, luxury isn’t a price point, but a level of service. We’re beyond excited to introduce MoxiWorks technology to our agents so they can not only maintain, but broaden that service level for their clients,” said Troy Palmquist, Founder of The Address.
The Address will be launching a variety of MoxiWorks products, including their MoxiEngage CRM that comes with a predicative analytics tool. This powerful tool, known as Insights, augments an agent’s account with extensive public records data about contacts in their sphere, notifies them when someone is likely to list, and prompts them to take action. Agents that use MoxiEngage CRM enjoy 54% more business, on average.
“Given the highly competitive landscape in Southern California, coupled with the fact that it’s a very tech-centric market, makes this partnership with The Address a perfect fit,” said York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks. “We’re looking forward to seeing the difference our productivity tools make for this fast-growing brokerage and their agents.”
The Address will also be launching the industry-leading interactive CMA builder called MoxiPresent, which on average increases agents’ transactions by 43% each year, the MoxiHub intranet, MoxiWebsites, and the MoxiCloud open platform, which connects all these tools and all of their brokerage data together.
“We’re elated to have The Address on the MoxiCloud. This brokerage is definitely one to watch – not only are they growing quickly, but they also recognize the tools needed to compete and outperform the competition,” said Alex Jacobs, Director of Business Development at MoxiWorks.
The Address is headquartered in Agoura Hills and is set to open a Newport Beach location this month – but it doesn’t stop there. This Southern California brokerage has plans to expand to San Diego and Palm Springs in 2019.
About The Address
Your team at The Address provides industry experience, market insights, innovative marketing, and the dedication to achieve your real estate goals – from coastal living and ranch life to vacation rentals, corporate retreats and more. For more information about The Address, please visit addressrealestate.com.
About MoxiWorks
MoxiWorks is a comprehensive open platform system for large residential real estate brokerages that serves over 72 brokerages and 120,000 agents nationwide that account for more than 13% of the transactions in the U.S. MoxiWorks’ integrated tools are centered on sphere methodology that increases agents’ repeat and referral business by 54%, while lowering overall technology, training, and support costs for the brokerage. The open platform known as the MoxiCloud has tools from more than 50 partners that plug and play to create unique brokerage solutions. MoxiWorks also powers the LeadingRE Cloud. Find more information at moxiworks.com.
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For more information on this topic and other press inquiries at MoxiWorks, please contact Tiana Baur at tiana@moxiworks.com.
BHHS Select Realty Chooses MoxiWorks to Heighten Agent Success
SEATTLE, March 8, 2019 – Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Realty chooses MoxiWorks, a leading real estate technology company, for their new brokerage intranet and agent CMA tool to further boost their brokerage’s growth and agent productivity efforts.
BHHS Select Realty chose multiple MoxiWorks tools for their tech stack, including MoxiPresent and MoxiHub, and their ads suite from MoxiMarketing. “Brokerages that choose MoxiWorks are not only tech-centric, but they also understand the importance of recruiting, retention, productivity, and how these three pillars play a key role in success,” said York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks. “BHHS Select Realty is no exception. We’re honored to partner with them for their tech stack tools and have them on the MoxiCloud open platform.”
The MoxiPresent tool is an industry-leading real estate comparative market analysis (CMA) builder enabling agents to be true consultants. Agents that use MoxiPresent do 43% more transactions every year on average. This powerful tool can be used to create CMAs, as well as open house presentations, listing presentations, neighborhood tours, relocation presentations, and anything else they want to create. Presentations include always up-to-date property data, on-the-fly editing, rich media, commute times, and listing flyers to name a few features.
Dan Lesher, Owner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Realty said, “We’re excited to add MoxiWorks to our tech stack. Being on the MoxiCloud will future-proof all of our data and give our agents the tools they need to win more listings, have fewer mundane tasks to worry about, and most importantly, have the tools they need to delight their clients.”
The MoxiHub will be the intranet connecting their entire brokerage. It will be the one single place agents go to access everything they need to run their business, improving agent productivity by centralizing communications, tools, and resources. Promote by MoxiMarketing will allow their agents to advertise their listings and services in three easy steps, right from their MoxiWorks account. These ads will automatically push to Facebook, Instagram, and the Facebook Audience Network.
BHHS Select Realty’s MoxiWorks products will also come with the MoxiCloud, a comprehensive suite of data management services designed to protect and enable the broker to fully control the distribution, licensing and use of the brokerage’s listing, agent and consumer data.
About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Realty
With office locations in Fredericksburg, Stafford, Prince William County and Ferry Farm, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Realty is proud to be part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices real estate brokerage network. For more information about BHHS Select, please visit bhhsselect.com.
About MoxiWorks
MoxiWorks is a comprehensive open platform system for large residential real estate brokerages that serves over 72 brokerages and 120,000 agents nationwide that account for more than 13% of the transactions in the U.S. MoxiWorks’ integrated tools are centered on sphere methodology that increases agents’ repeat and referral business by 54%, while lowering overall technology, training, and support costs for the brokerage. The open platform known as the MoxiCloud has tools from more than 50 partners that plug and play to create unique brokerage solutions. MoxiWorks also powers the LeadingRE Cloud. Find more information at moxiworks.com.
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For more information on this topic and other press inquiries at MoxiWorks, please contact Tiana Baur at tiana@moxiworks.com.
Real Estate Resolutions: Checking up on Your Goals
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
Is it just us, or did the entire month of February feel like it lasted a total of one, single hour?
The first quarter of 2019 has been a whirlwind, and its upcoming conclusion means it’s time to check in on your progress towards the goals and real estate resolutions you set for yourself at the start of the new year.
Are you where you need to be to bring your goals to fruition this year? If not, what in your workflow needs to be adjusted now to get you there in December?
Here’s a refresher on best practices for positioning yourself to crush your goals as you head into Q2:
Prioritize.
“The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’… Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time.” – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
It’s easy to get so caught up in your busy day-to-day life of being a real estate agent that you forget to prioritize the tasks that will actually enable you to reach your goals. It’s important to be mindful about what activities you put at the very top of your to-do list, and to acknowledge which tasks can be left until later on if needed.
Use your tools.
“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker
Take the edge off of your bustling schedule by utilizing tools to atomize the small, tedious tasks that are taking up precious time that could be better allocated elsewhere. Any technology tool that allow you to automate aspects of your workflow such as marketing efforts, client communication, or ad creation will help free up more time for you to focus on the activities that require more time and effort. Efficiency is the key to boosting your productivity and ultimately – your profitability.
Stay ahead of the game.
“For me life is continually being hungry. The meaning of life is not to simply exist, to survive, but to move ahead, go up, to achieve, to conquer.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Rushed work is often messy work, so instead of waiting until the last minute to complete an important task, utilize any free time you have now to knock it out ahead of schedule. The extra time will allow you to be thoughtful and ensure that you’re producing the quality of work needed to bring your resolutions to life and move your real estate business forward.
Be creative.
“Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been.” – Alan Alda
Sometimes our pre-made roadmap to reaching our goals proves to be less effective than originally expected, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel and give up. Instead, take time to think outside the box and brainstorm unconventional ways to go about reaching your goals. Not only will it be an opportunity for you to switch it up and try new things, but it may even help you stand out to the people and clients who matter the most.
We have an exciting season ahead, and it’s up to you to take advantage of it and to accelerate yourself towards your goals. Want more tips on how to use your Moxi tools to reach your goals? We have tons. Check them out here.
Episode 3: Chris Kelly, CEO of Ebby Halliday Realtors
In this episode of the REAL with MoxiWorks podcast, York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks chats with the brilliant Chris Kelly, CEO of Ebby Halliday Realtors, an iconic Texas-based brokerage that has flourished in its market for more than 70 years. Chris shares his journey to real estate and his thoughts on what it takes to remain a thriving household name throughout acquisitions and consolidations.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
MoxiWorks Reveals Competitive Offer to Contactually, Opts to Be Forever Platform
SEATTLE, March 5, 2019 – MoxiWorks, a leading real estate technology company, has announced their competitive offer to real estate CRM Contactually, who was recently acquired by Compass, a main competitor to brokerages across the nation. On the heels of this news, MoxiWorks vows to help brokerages get onto a new platform now, specifically cutting all major licensing fees to bridge the transition period.
“How many tools have brokerages bought that ultimately get sold to their competitor?” said York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks. “That stops now. Brokerages need to be on an open platform that allows them unlimited flexibility; they need something that they control. It’s not an open platform if the data disappears when they get rid of the product. With the MoxiCloud, the data is still available to all tools regardless of which products are chosen or thrown out. It can truly be their forever platform.” MoxiWorks’ customer retention over the past seven years stands proudly at 96%.
MoxiWorks not only consists of their CRM, MoxiEngage, but also an interactive CMA tool called MoxiPresent, brokerage intranet called MoxiHub, MoxiWebsites, MoxiMarketing ads suite, and MoxiTalent, a powerful recruiting system. While MoxiWorks is on a mission to build best-of-breed products for all of their respective areas, they understand not all of their products will align with exactly what a given brokerage may currently need. This is why with their open platform, the MoxiCloud, brokerages can enjoy a truly open experience, accommodating their existing and future tech stack needs.
“We’ve been very open about the fact that we don’t require brokerages to have all of our products. If a specific tool no longer fits your needs, we will remove it and replace it with the tool of your choice,” said Georgia Perez, VP of Business Development and Product Evangelism. “It’s this flexibility that no one else offers on the market. Pick a platform that’s going to be with you for the long haul.”
Contactually and the MoxiCloud share a few integrated partners, such as RealScout, who also is offering a special MoxiWorks discount for brokerages within the RealScout network. This way, brokerages will be able to keep what they love about RealScout and move onto a more dependable CRM, MoxiEngage. The MoxiCloud consists of over 50 other partners, such as Buyside, MoveEasy, DocuSign, QuantumDigital, Imprev, and many more.
Baur noted that Compass, Contactually’s new owner, hasn’t been shy about using their technology to recruit agents from their competitors saying, “While this is great news for Contactually and we commend them on a job well done, make no mistake about it – history shows that Compass has every intention to keep their technology for their own agents and will likely use their soon-to-be stronger CRM instance to recruit your agents with it.”
As it relates to easing fears over MoxiWorks’ future, Perez said, “MoxiWorks is built by brokers and run for brokers. Our commitment to you is not only to make this transition as painless as humanly possible for you, but that MoxiWorks will continue to operate as is for years and years to come.
About MoxiWorks
MoxiWorks is a comprehensive open platform system for large residential real estate brokerages that serves over 72 brokerages and 120,000 agents nationwide that account for more than 13% of the transactions in the U.S. MoxiWorks’ integrated tools are centered on sphere methodology that increases agents’ repeat and referral business by 40%, while lowering overall technology, training, and support costs for the brokerage. The open platform known as the MoxiCloud has tools from more than 50 partners that plug and play to create unique brokerage solutions. MoxiWorks also powers the LeadingRE Cloud. Find more information at moxiworks.com.
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For more information on this topic and other press inquiries at MoxiWorks, please contact Tiana Baur at tiana@moxiworks.com.
More information at go.moxiworks.com/itsyourbrokerage.
The Top Three Things Agents Look for in Their Next Brokerage
By Maddie Jostol, Senior Marketing Manager
Recruiting real estate agents is a hot topic right now, yet many brokerages don’t have a plan in place for how they will actually reach recruiting goals and grow their business. How can you recruit the right agents for your brokerage who will find success and stick around? Rather than recruiting the masses, focus on recruiting the right agents for your brokerage so that you don’t feel the pain of poor retention. Attract those who are the right fit, so you can foster success and meet their needs and expectations.
When it comes to recruiting real estate agents, here are three things they are looking for in their next brokerage that you should focus on:
1. A competitive value proposition
Your brokerage brand is core to your value as a company. It’s what makes you unique, reputable, and leading. Your brokerage’s unique value proposition will compel agents to join your brokerage over another one.
You may be touting your years of expertise as a brokerage, but you need to take it further than that. You need to show why that expertise matters to prospective agents, how you’re going to enable them to leverage the reputation you’ve built, and where you’re going to take it in the future. Your value proposition must be unique and tailored to the type of agent that fits at your brokerage, with systems and support to back it up.
2. Coaching & support
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but it extends further than you may think. Agents are looking for coaching and support in a number of capacities, and it’s a vital piece to them loving everyday life at your brokerage.
Does your brokerage use a proven sales methodology? Do you offer training and ongoing support for agents to adopt it? Do you have technology to support that methodology? Having a chosen methodology for sales success shows your commitment to the fruitfulness and longevity of your agents’ businesses.
Remember, training is not a one-time event, but an ongoing effort. Think about how you support your agents, whether it be through content, technology, best-in-class tools, sales training, or other programs, and promote those things – agents are looking for them.
3. Technology that supports their business
Even if your brokerage is known for its long history of outstanding service, you need the show agents how you’ll help make them successful today. You need the tools and systems to back it up. This means not just showing that you have the latest shiny thing, but that you offer tools that truly save them time, keep them organized, automate the mundane tasks, and make their lives easier.
Agents want to know that you truly care about their business and their success. When they’re looking at switching brokerages, they’re often looking for a place that will provide the infrastructure behind their business so they can do what they do best – build relationships and sell homes. Show that you’re invested in them and their career through a well-selected technology stack.
So, what’s your strategy for recruiting real estate agents? No, not your hopes and dreams, but your strategy. It’s a competitive market with a lot of noise, and you need to put your best foot forward and show that you’re exactly what those agents are looking for. Real estate recruiting is gaining a lot of airtime, and all too often, it results in little action. Get your recruiting strategy in place, get a system to facilitate it, and grow your brokerage in a way that’s sustainable.
In Case You Missed It: February 2019 Real Estate News
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator & Tiana Baur, Marketing Manager
It’s almost the end of Q1 already?! That’s okay, we’re happy winter is almost over – MoxiWorks HQ experienced a bit of a snowstorm. Aside from that, MANY notable things happened in our industry in February. As always, we’ve boiled it down to the key stories you need to know to stay up-to-date with the goings on in our industry.
In case you missed it, here are the top five February 2019 real estate news stories to know:
1. Compass acquired Contactually
So… this happened. Compass bought Contactually and it set off some anger (but also many congrats) in the industry – just checkout the comments. We’re not sure what else we can say that hasn’t already been said by our CEO.
2. There was a giant conference
LeadingRE held their annual conference in Las Vegas (is it just us or did Vegas become the event city of the universe?) and everyone had a blast. We even held a wine event and got to learn some major pointers from a notable sommelier. Want to see some pics from the LeadingRE conference? We got you.
3. Amazon backs out of HQ2 New York campus deal
Well, we can’t say we’re too surprised. According to Inman, “Amazon’s decision to abandon New York City came after, and in response to, fierce opposition from area politicians and some locals.” In December’s #ICYMI, we wrote about just that saying, “their new headquarters in NYC and D.C. are sparking fear and anxiety with residents. Why? They’re worried about being priced out of metro areas. If Seattle’s market history is any indication, the outlook is less than ideal.” Basically, those in the real estate industry are none too happy, but we bet there are some locals rejoicing.
4. Rich Barton, co-founder of Zillow steps back into the role of CEO
After a less than ideal earnings report came out, Zillow made the decision to give Spencer Rascoff the boot, replacing him with Rich Barton, the co-founder of the tech giant. According to Inman, Barton said, “We decided to rotate seats a bit, and Spencer will step out of day to day but continue as an indispensable advisor and overseer on our board of directors.” We should note that under Rascoff’s leadership, the company grew to more than 4,000 employees. But as we like to say at MoxiWorks, what got us here won’t get us there.
5. Keller Williams announces 3 new international markets
Keller Williams is making some serious money moves. They announced that they’re expanding to Chile and Ireland and will soon launch in Italy. Turns out that, “As of Nov. 19, 2018, Keller Williams expanded into six new regions with 31 market centers and a net gain of 1,812 agents in 2018. The company now has more than 7,400 agents operating outside of the United States and Canada.” Wow.
There you have it! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for another #ICYMI!
P.S. If you’re into podcasts (and if you’re not, you should be) we have our very own! Episode #2 of the REAL with MoxiWorks podcast featuring Matthew Ferrara is out now. Have a listen!