Cops do not manufacture their own guns, make their own patrol cars or design their own uniforms.
Baseball players do not carve their bats, weave their gloves or harvest their own chewing tobacco.
Few artists create their own paint, brushes and canvas.
The business world is filled with examples of partnerships – vendors and their clients. They need each other.
Terabitz
I was skeptical when Terabitz launched. But after watching Joel’s interview with Ash, their CEO, I went back and did some research. Things cleared up for me.
Historically, real estate has been plagued by two issues:
1) Its reluctance to work with and support outside vendors
2) Its desire to dominate and dictate the experience for the client
Need examples? Let’s go back to the beginning.
– To the MLS book, which allowed but a mere pass through rather than a deep experience that would serve as the basis for a truly meaningful relationship.
- To modern day IDX search, which continues to dictate how the consumer browses homes by limiting the fields of data they can query.
- In the chastity belt placed around fresh solds – data that would surely help buyers make better decisions and mediate seller expectations.
- In the tiny thumbnails that require the viewer to exercise their imagination.
- In content — the boilerplate, templated, ubiquitous content seen on hundreds of thousands of websites.
Terabitz offers real estate a way out. And the ability to provide people with a choice to decide what information they want, and how they get it. The ability to provide clients and prospects a better experience. The opportunity to work with a vendor and a platform that is truly innovative.
I like that.
Actually I love that.
The average Realtor can’t build this platform. Or any platform for that matter. The average broker can’t. Most companies can’t. The ones that could, haven’t.
So what do you do? Ignore it? Pan it? Dispute its viability. Write negative commentary and play Monday morning quarterback on its revenue model?
I’m a homeowner. An investor. I’d want my Realtor to send me their Terabitz dashboard rather than the staid, tired, slow to load PDF, market report newsletter I’ve been getting for ten years.
And that’s all that should matter today. What the consumer wants.
If you were a cop, you’d want the best gun.
If you were a baseball player, you’d want the best bat.
If you were a Realtor you would want the best tools you could get to perform your job.
Wouldn’t you?
- Davison
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I did look at Terabitz a while back – I see that they have a bit more content, the interface is pretty crisp and the dashboard is great – how can an agent use it and get it on their site though?
Terabitz is a platform that enables real estate agents to work with clients through the decision making cycle by using their live, ever changing platform rather than a static PDF newsletter.
Imagine farming a neighborhood by providing the customer a live link to a customized Terabitz page that you built for them. Imagine the recipient being able to then recustomize it based upon their own needs.
Righteous.
Once the transaction of the property occurs, through Terabitz the Realtor is able to provide their clients their live, updated, feed of neighborhood info that remains ongoing. Agent saves a fortune sending out just sold post cards.
Even more righteous.
At least, that's how I see it.
Marc, imagine agents doing this on their own site without Terabitz.
Terabitz is just some data and some software. Nothing special, nothing unique and certainly nothing with any IP. They may have a difficult time getting the most important data…home listings.
BTW: A platform is something that serves as a base/starting point. From a development perspective Terabitz is not a platform.
Damon,
I have imagined agents doing this on their own. In fact, I imagine agents doing everything on their own.
But they do not.
Its why a Terabitz exists.
It's why a Zillow exists.
It's why a Trulia exists.
It's why a Redfin exists.
And the benefit to all is that by these entities existing, agents don't have to do it. It's done for them. Instant valuations. Delightful searches that add to their Google juice. Interesting competitors that offer another way of thinking. And data mashing.
BTW: I am aware of the technical application of the term Platform. I used more as a descriptive term to make a point but thanks. I can see how a programmer might take that the wrong way. It's sort of how the terms marketing and branding often get used in the wrong context.
Hi Marc! I didn't look at the interview you referenced, but I did look at Terabitz' TOS, and it says "personal use only" in bold, followed by NONCOMMERCIAL PURPOSES in bold and all caps. How does a realtor get away with using this service for clients? Realtors are presumably in business to make money.
Tracy,
You can sign in on Terabitz and create customized views and or pages of a market, neighborhood, etc. and send the link to these customized pages to your clients. You can update these pages as frequently as you want or show them how they can do it themselves.
Why not contact them for more info?