Broker Strategies: Innovation Done RightBy Deborah Kearns Kentwood Real Estate is making big waves locally and beyond with its impressive array of technology offerings and forward-thinking leadership in the competitive Denver market “Innovation” is one of those buzzwords real estate brokerages use to describe the value they bring to the table. One independent brokerage – Kentwood Real Estate – not only delivers on that value, it also has the awards and productivity to prove it. Led by Chief Executive Officer Peter Niederman (left), Denver-based Kentwood is home to 185 agents who work in three pristine, high-end offices in the city. As the largest independent brokerage in Colorado ranked by sales volume and transaction sides in the 2014 RISMedia Power Broker Report, Kentwood is no stranger to pushing the envelope – and it does so aggressively with technology. For starters, Kentwood agents have access – at nominal costs – to three company-owned drones for capturing aerial listing photography – a huge hit with clients and brokers alike. Agents can also use Google Glass to walk through a listing and narrate every nook and cranny they see along the way. If those things weren’t cutting-edge enough, Kentwood’s mobile app also features Matterport, a high-quality, rapid 3D visualization of physical spaces, that rolled out to agents in March.
“Anything we touch isn’t good; it’s great,” Niederman says. “We’re early adopters of the latest technologies, and we’re not afraid to try new things. Our agents can’t wait to try it either.” One of those agents is Michele Ciardullo (left), an eight-year Kentwood veteran and member of the Sandy Weigand Team. Ciardullo says she’s continually in awe of the technology the company adopts. The corporate marketing team’s support is also second to none. “Our team recently won an $8 million luxury listing due, in large part, to the amazing presentation the marketing team helped us put together on a tight schedule,” Ciardullo says. “The sellers loved seeing the 3D tour in action, as well as our sleek marketing pieces, multiple search websites and high-end drone photography, that we showcased in our presentation. If you ask around, most Kentwood agents will credit Niederman’s progressive leadership with elevating the brokerage’s profile. One example: He took the company’s traditional play-it-safe approach and flipped it on its head by investing more than $1 million in the www.denver.com domain name. To capture these fresh leads, Kentwood is advertising on TV as other real estate companies pull back. Jamie Slough, Kentwood’s Director of Marketing, says its “We are Denver” advertising campaign, which includes TV, radio, out of home and online placements, points audiences to www.denverrealestate.com as a community resource. “It’s tough to get a true sense of ROI from an advertising campaign,” Slough says. “But when I see our agents embrace and adopt the advertising into their own materials and they’re winning competitive listings left and right, the results speak for themselves.” Deborah Kearns is an award-winning writer based in Denver with more than a decade of experience in corporate communications and news journalism. She has covered the real estate industry for more than seven years. For more information, visit www.deborahkearns.com. |