4/23/2018. Matt Walter: tech trailblazer. bison rancher. Zap supporter. It’s not every day that you encounter a real estate company with a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) on staff. But if you’re a technology-driven, forward-thinking company like ERA Brokers Consolidated, you have someone like Matt Walter to lead the way.
As the CTO of ERA Brokers Consolidated, Matt’s job is to manage the many technology platforms and integrations the company has to offer. This includes onboarding and training agents on new technology and developing original technology products and platforms to generate a higher rate of success for his agents. And of course, that includes teaching Zap.
Leading with technology
“Zap is really a key piece of our technology offering for everyone in our organization—it’s a very complimentary platform,” Matt told us during a recent visit to the ZapLabs office. “It’s all about managing people, generating new inquiries, and taking new clients and nurturing them until they’re ready to buy or sell a home.”
Matt and his team’s goal is to get their agents in front of their clients earlier in the transaction timeline. To do this, he encourages every new agent to talk to five people every day, put them in Zap and assign them to a…
“If you talk to 5 people each day, put them into Zap and follow-up, you’re going to be successful.”
Building good habits
Just like anything in life, if you want to see results, you need to be consistent. The number one Zap user at ERA Brokers Consolidated uses Zap every day. When Matt asked her what her secret was, she told him every morning she wakes up, gets a cup of coffee, and logs into Zap. “That’s her routine,” Matt said. “She’s updating her Follow-up Plans, she’s connecting with anyone Zap is telling her she needs to talk to.”
Bringing the herd home
Not only is Matt a technology trailblazer, he’s also a bison rancher! His ranch in Utah is home to over 50 bison he describes as “awesome”. When asked how he herds these 2,000 pound animals, he replied “You don’t herd bison, you coach bison. You gently nudge them in the direction you’re trying to get them to go in. It’s kind of like when you’re trying to get people using a product—you’re not going to force them! You need to nurture them and make it easier for them to get where they want to go.” We totally get it, Matt!
Written by: Christine Nedilsky
Lucky 7 Ranch All Natural Grass Fed Bison. Video credit: Matt Walter
About ERA Brokers Consolidated
ERA Brokers Consolidated is a brokerage infused with proprietary real estate technology. ERA Brokers Consolidated includes 8 offices on the I-15 corridor from Salt Lake City, UT to Las Vegas Nevada. It is a subsidiary of Brokers Holdings, which operates commercial and residential brokerages in Utah and Nevada. With approximately 300 licensed real estate professionals, Brokers Holdings closed nearly 3,500 transactions worth approximately $1 billion in value in 2017, and it manages approximately $250 million in real estate for its clients.
About ERA Real Estate
ERA Real Estate is an innovative franchising leader in the residential real estate industry with more than 40 years of experience in developing consumer-oriented products and services. The ERA network includes approximately 37,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates and 2,350 offices throughout the United States and 33 countries and territories. Each office is independently owned and operated. ERA Real Estate is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global provider of real estate services. ERA Real Estate information is available at: ERA.com.