www.rismedia.com
Reinventing Rand
Matt Rand, Managing Partner
Marsha Rand, Founder
Joe Rand, Managing Partner
Better Homes and Gardens
Rand Realty
Better Homes and
Gardens Rand Realty
Adapts for the Future
Reinventing Rand
Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty Adapts for the Future
By Maria Patterson
Matt Rand, Managing Partner
Marsha Rand, Founder
Joe Rand, Managing Partner
Better Homes and Gardens Hudson Valley, New York-based Better Homes and Gardens
Rand Realty
Rand Realty is not how you might picture a traditional,
family-run real estate firm. There are no outdated systems or
old-school philosophies here—never have been, never will be. In
fact, with Matt Rand working in conjunction with his brother,
Joe, and mother, Marsha, Better Homes and Gardens Rand
Realty has long been known for its dedication to forward
thinking, its ahead-of-the-curve technology and its all-around
contemporary take on the real estate business. That’s why the
Rands’ affiliation with mega brand Better Homes and Gardens
couldn’t be a better fit. Today, The Rand team looks to continue
the company’s rich legacy of success by reinventing the firm
in response to today’s market needs. Here, the Rand family—
Founder Marsha Rand and Managing Partners Matt and Joe
Rand—explain how the company has stayed strong, continues
to innovate and confidently reinvents itself for the future.
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Maria Patterson: First off, how ness in order to connect with cli- development/programming team,
have you managed to maintain a ents and consumers. We have to be so when there’s something we
family-run business over the years able to use the online tools in order want to create, we’re not working
and what advantages has it afford- to move forward in this business. with a vendor who says, “You can’t
ed you? do that.” We can have an idea and
Marsha Rand: Well, creating a MP: Obviously, with your longevity, our team has the talent to make it
family-run business was a bit of Rand Realty has been able to evolve happen. That’s been a big part of
an accident. I am a nurse and my and grow over the years. What has our success.
husband is a physician, but I found been key to your growth?
that I had greater talent in sales Matt Rand: My brothers and I came MP: How do you position the
than nursing. So I started in real into the company in the late ’90s. company?
estate 35 years ago and opened my We were a four-office company, Matt Rand: We consider ourselves
first brokerage 25 years ago. My plus two satellite offices. Today, we partners with our agents and we
children were inundated with the are 25 offices serving seven coun- focus on helping agents grow their
real estate business and when my ties. Most of our top producers business. This is a differentiator for
husband wanted to retire, I had the have been with us for a long time. us against a lot of companies. We
opportunity to see if the fellas were We are constantly looking for op- look to support our top producers
interested in getting involved…and portunities to grow. For us, success- so they can do more business in less
they were. ful growth involves going into new time. We are focused on coaching
It’s been a great multi-genera- markets and soaking up their DNA. and training and developing their
tional success story. I think we’re We always stay true to our overall skills so they can get to the next
one of the most productive com- company philosophy, but we also level and beyond. We focus on get-
panies and have accomplished so have to make each office part of the ting really great managers and offer
much. I think it’s a result of how particular community it is in; we coaching and one-on-one training.
we’re able to work as a group. My have to take on the culture of the My brother, Joe, has always been
sons all have different abilities— community. You don’t need to look very innovative and has developed
Matt with his ability to lead an like your other offices…you have to a unique training system for our
organization, Greg with his en- look like the town you’re in. company. We have put systems
trepreneurship, and Joe with his Technology has also been a big in place to automate admin work,
amazing ability to train, not to part of our growth. We have always which saves agents time and in-
mention his legal mind. We all been on the cutting edge when it creases their capacity. We’re also
have different strengths. And what comes to technology. very innovative in terms of our
other mother gets to speak with marketing. We offer the latest tools
her sons all the time and share so MP: How so? for agents to use so they can get
much in common? Matt Rand: For example, back be- the listing and attract buyers to the
fore IDX, we used to frame REAL- property.
MP: What are some of the most TOR.com—it was the only way to
significant changes you’ve seen in have the whole MLS on our web- MP: What tools and resources are
this industry? site. We’ve always been believers you providing your agents with to
Marsha Rand: I think the changes in the fact that you have to give compete and stand out in today’s
that we’re going through today consumers what they want. We market?
are much greater than anything believe that if you give consumers Joe Rand: My feeling is that the
I’ve experienced in my 35 years access to information online, you way to stand out in this market-
in the business. We read all about will build a following that will re- place is not with catchy slogans
how REALTORS® would be obsolete pay you for it. And that has proven or more advertising, but in simply
when the Internet first got going. to be the case all along. providing a better client experience
We saw all these different Internet- We’ve built our technology tools for buyers and sellers. We’ve created
based models, but the reality is that from the perspective of what the something we call “Client-Oriented
consumers are most comfortable buyer wants. Our site is fast, the Real Estate,” or “CORE,” and a set of
handling their real estate transac- search tools are integrated and we tools and systems to allow agents to
tions with a knowledgeable real share all the details on a listing, provide better services to their cli-
estate professional. The issue today including school and community ents. We believe that in the future,
is the degree to which technology data. Buyers can save properties clients are going to choose agents
is changing—not just the Internet. and sign up for e-mail alerts on based on their service reputation,
We have to, as a group, adapt to those properties. Our site is faster, not their fancy marketing, so our
those technology advancements more accurate and more complete job is to make sure our agents have
and reinvent the way we do busi- than other sites. We have our own every tool and resource they need
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Greg Rand: to give their clients a great experi- MP: What are you providing in
Exploring New Territory ence. For example, we now have terms of training and education to
Former Rand Realty something called the CORE Seller get new agents up to speed and
principal Greg Rand is hard Project Plan, which is a detailed keep veteran agents current?
at work on his newest real set of steps that an agent takes to Joe Rand: It amazes me that in this
estate endeavor, OwnAmer- get a listing on the market—most day and age, when professional rep-
ica.com, “a community of of the steps are routine, but the utation is becoming such an enor-
real estate enthusiasts and plan makes sure that every step gets mous part of building business, real
bootstrapping entrepreneurs who refuse to completed, and also that the agent estate training still doesn’t really
allow an economic crisis to keep them from does a few things they might not teach competence. No one actually
realizing their potential.” be doing, like uploading high-reso- focuses on client care. So our educa-
According to Rand, “The concept had
lution rather than standard resolu- tion and training is entirely geared
been percolating for 15 years. Back then,
tion photos. to teaching agents to think broadly
CNBC didn’t even have anyone talking about
real estate and, at the time, it was pretty about the services they can provide
clear that there was no industry for the MP: What are today’s consum- their client. If they become better at
asset class of real estate as an investment. ers most concerned with when it servicing their clients, they’ll close
But investment reflects a sizeable part of the comes to buying and selling real more deals, get more referrals and
market—$5 billion a year in gross commis- estate? generate more business. It’s that
sion income—yet no one specializes in it. Matt Rand: The pricing and the simple.
What really gives the idea legs now is the financial side of the transaction…
housing crisis.” and the timeline. It’s really the MP: How are you retaining top-pro-
While the market takes some time to reset, same things they’ve always been ducing agents?
Rand explains, opportunities abound for real concerned about. For sellers, it’s Matt Rand: We’ve been very good
estate investors who can take advantage of how much or how little the house at keeping our people. If we’re
lower prices and foreclosure purchases. will sell for and how fast or how making their lives easier and help-
There are two audiences for OwnAmerica, long it will take to sell. Buyers are ing them put more money in their
Rand explains: real estate agents and looking to make sure they don’t pockets, then we’re doing our job.
consumers. For real estate agents, make a mistake. The biggest dif- That’s why they’ve partnered with
OwnAmerica provides them with the training ference with buyers today is that us. If we weren’t adding value, then
and the certification to become a real estate
they’re not stretching. People are we wouldn’t be able to retain them.
investment advisor. The course covers real
buying what they need, not what We attract talent from other com-
estate investment fundamentals, cash flow
they want. They want to choose a panies when we show them our
analysis, internal rate of return analysis, etc.
“There’s fundamental training all the way to house that’s not a reach for them. systems. Our approach to training
advanced strategy training,” says Rand. and leadership is the difference.
The second audience, says Rand, are MP: What do today’s consumers
consumers who are interested in real estate expect from their real estate pro- MP: Besides your dynamic web-
investing. Rand has already made some in- fessional? site, what else makes the com-
roads with investors through his radio show, Matt Rand: Because information pany a technology trendsetter and
frequent appearances on the Fox Business is everywhere, consumers expect helps reinvent your approach for
Network, and soon, through his upcoming agents to have all the information the future?
book, Crash/Boom. about everything. The knowledge Matt Rand: We’ve always been for-
The overarching idea is to establish a flow that agents can provide is very lo- ward thinking when it comes to
of real estate investing enthusiasts to match cal and very particular to the prop- technology. Three years ago, we
up with the agents that have undergone erty, neighborhood and street. This had a social media boot camp and
the OwnAmerica training. “There are a lot comes from experience—from be- 500 agents went through the train-
of training programs out there,” says Rand, ing in those homes and being in ing program. We talked about Web
“but when a program comes along that those communities. You can see a 2.0, our company blog and, at the
brings with it a potential client base, that’s
property online but you can’t smell time, new vehicles like Facebook.
something completely unique.”
it. Agents, however, have been At the time, we weren’t sure if so-
OwnAmerica training for real estate
there and can talk about the neigh- cial media would be useful for pro-
agents will take place online. According to
Rand, however, the OwnAmerica site will borhood and the schools and the fessional purposes or not, but six
have two sides: the campus learning side lifestyle. Fundamentally, consum- months after that, the whole world
and the networking side, where agents can ers are looking for a lifestyle and was on Facebook. We’ve really been
connect with interested investors. Over the the house they choose is represen- ahead of that trend and training
coming months, new features will be added tative of that. Great agents are able agents to not just use social media
to the site that will enable investors to to market lifestyle and help a buyer but to figure out why they’re using
research real estate markets, visualize and find the lifestyle they’re looking for. it—what’s the point? What’s the
forecast trends and test theories. It’s more of an art than a science. purpose?
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We’ve also been ahead of the home. That is all built into the Bet- same approach to the way they do
game in creating our mobile web- ter Homes and Gardens brand and business. A lot of the approaches
site. While we’ve already enjoyed a is part of the reinvention of Rand. they took in the past need to be
lot of traffic on our mobile site, we looked at critically. There are a lot
know that within five years, more MP: What is the focal point of your of new things to learn and they
people will be searching for prop- current marketing strategy? need to rejuvenate their approach
erty on their mobile devices than Matt Rand: We’re focusing more on to build the right foundation for
on their computers—we wanted content development. Whether it’s long-term growth.
to be properly positioned for that video content from Better Homes Our goal for the future is to be
change. We’re now rolling out text and Gardens, demographic infor- number one in every market we’re
messaging on yard signs so that in- mation, school information, etc., I in. To get there, we have to beat
terested buyers can get an instant think the depth of information that the guy in front of us. We have to
response. It’s all about taking tra- we’re able to provide people with help grow our agents and attract
ditional marketing tools and bring- when guiding them through the new talent to the company. We’ve
ing them into the new age. We can experience of buying and selling a been expanding forever and there
network so much more effectively home is unprecedented. Through- are many markets within our foot-
through sites like Facebook. We can out the process, we’re delivering print that we can drill deeper into.
take a yard sign and make it an in- information to them through the We want to add marketshare in the
teractive lead generation tool. We agent. seven-county region we’re current-
can take our website and put it into ly in. We want to grow by growing
people’s hands wherever they are. MP: In your opinion, what do today’s our agents. If they don’t grow, we
agents need to focus on to reinvent don’t grow.
MP: Tell us about your affiliation themselves for the future? We’re also looking for strong
with Better Homes and Gardens Matt Rand: I think service is the growth through our affiliate com-
Real Estate. How is this an first place to begin. Agents must panies—through our Commercial
important part of the company’s create a great experience for their company, our mortgage company,
reinvention? clients. If they create that, they will our tremendous title company,
Matt Rand: When we joined Bet- get repeat and referral business over and last year, we launched an in-
ter Homes and Gardens Real Estate, the years. There are many ways of surance company. We tied those
we realized they were blazing a building your business, whether it’s companies together to create a
trail where no one had gone yet in networking, prospecting, etc., but more seamless interaction. We
terms of the media and the market- the key is to keep yourself account- want to be one, integrated compa-
ing tools they put in place for our able to constantly doing it. Every ny, not a real estate firm that has a
agents. Better Homes and Gardens deal is difficult today and it’s easy mortgage company, and also sells
offers us Pinpoint, direct mail data to get caught up in the problems title insurance. We want agents to
through the subscriber base of their and not be focused on creating new see us as an added-value company
parent company, Meredith. One of business. It takes a lot of time man- that helps them service clients and
the most important parts of suc- agement and a lot of discipline, but grow their business.
ceeding in the real estate business it’s what the great agents have al-
is having a consumer database that ways done. MP: What’s your vision for the fu-
is broken down demographically You also have to incorporate ture of Rand Realty?
so that we can target our mailings technology into the picture—you Marsha Rand: I think that we’re
more accurately. That’s what all the have to at least be able to under- passionate about running the best
big corporations do. Pinpoint ac- stand what it can do, what it’s ca- company and we will continue to
complishes this for us. pable of, so you can talk intelligibly grow and have great agents and
The other thing about Better about it with people and let clients continue to evolve as the real estate
Homes and Gardens, that’s been a know that these tools are available. business changes. My sons range
surprise to us, is how much we are in age from their 20s to their 40s…
using the brand. We have been with MP: What are your plans for con- and then there’s me. If I can learn
a franchise brand for the entire ex- tinuing to grow the company and to do something new, then the
istence of our company but we reinvent its approach to the real agents can. If I can adjust, they can
didn’t understand what that meant estate business? adjust. We know we’re with a great
until this brand. The look, the feel, Matt Rand: We are looking at the brand and together, I know we will
the content, the library of knowl- next five to 10 years, not just the continue to grow. RE
edge, all reinforces this brand as a next quarter. We’re trying to rein-
lifestyle brand. We are all about the vigorate and reinvent the company For more information, please visit
home and the life you live in that and we’re asking agents to take the www.randrealty.com.
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