Brokerforce

Adam TetenbaumEric MetelkaCadran CowansageAndrew Morcos

A referral program to help brokers incentivize their clients and attract quality leads

Interviews Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Total

Brokers 7 6 8 6 27

Renters 7 4 35 5 51

Total 14 10 43 12 78

Which of our customers problems are we helping to solve?• Funnel / customer acquisition leakage• Customer retention

 What are the key features of our product that match customers problem/need?• Client survey tools• Process automation• Follow-up reminders• Electronic form submission• Customer feedback / referral platform

• Residential brokerage firms

• Independent brokers

• Building owners

• Direct sales

• Mobile, web applications

• Social media channels

• Provide essential features for free/cheap

• Personal assistance

• Marketing/listing platform to consumers

• SaaS subscription model• Freemium service with additional feature upgrades• Potential advertising / lead generation revenue for complimentary service providers (moving companies, etc.)

• Brokerage firms

• Building, apartment and property owners

• Consumer-facing rental sites

• Software development• Customer development & acquisition• Sales and marketing

• Software / platform development• Industry expertise• Sales force

Fixed Costs:• Technology development• Equipment • Salaries

Variable Costs:• Sales

Brokerforce

Business Model Canvas – Day 1

Broker

Lead

Lead

Office Manage

r

Personal Contact

Compile list of Apartments

Send list to client Schedule tour

Collect search parameters

Give client summary Go on Tour

Summarize tour

Request information

Submit Application

Thank You & Feedback

= Potential Brokerforce features

Send quarterly follow-ups

Send Birthday Email

Send Lease-end follow-up

What we learned: Broker Process

Business Model Canvas – Day 2

Key Lessons:• Brokers think they are organized but process shows clear inefficiencies and pitfalls • Want to focus on customer service and relationship but don’t have the time or the proper tools• Owners have their own software tools that serve very different needs from brokers

Wireframe

Business Model Canvas – Day 3

Key Lessons:• Referrals are extremely valuable but not given the appropriate amount of attention• Brokers don’t follow up with clients after successful deals• Brokers won’t even enter basic info into a computer / CRM system; don’t think long-term

Business Model Canvas – Day 4

Key Lessons:• Most important features are:

• Retention & referral programs• Email information crawling• Follow-up reminders

• Renters/referrers are an integral customer (user) segment

StartStart Tenant inquiryTenant inquiry

Sent From Web Form

Sent From Web Form

Auto-fill tenant profileAuto-fill tenant profile

Forward email to profile generator

Forward email to profile generatorNONO

Referral request + rewards link sent to

tenant

Referral request + rewards link sent to

tenant

Lease signedLease signed

YESYES

Tenant sends customer referrals to

other potential tenants

Tenant sends customer referrals to

other potential tenants

Rewards e-mail sent to current tenant

and referrer

Rewards e-mail sent to current tenant

and referrer

Customer referred

from another tenant?

Customer referred

from another tenant?

NONO

YESYES

Process Workflow

Business Model Canvas – Day 5

Key Lessons:• Referral program is not illegal and adds the most direct value to brokers• Focus on referral system as MVP• Change revenue model from subscription to per-transaction• Brokers, not brokerages, now paying for “customer service” expenses

Start: Tenant inquiry

Start: Tenant inquiry Lease signedLease signed

Was this a

referral?

Was this a

referral?

Referral request + link sent to client

Referral request + link sent to client

Finders fee gift sent to referrerFinders fee gift sent to referrer

YESYES

Client refers new prospective clientClient refers new prospective client

NONO

Process Workflow

Marketing ToolsReferrals

Leads

PurchasesCustomer

Relationships

Physical Virtual

Transaction

Brokerforce

Coupons

Groupon

Direct & Telesales

Ads

TVPrintRadio

Billboard

SEO

Adwords

Refer.ly

Archetype• Steve Broker• Broker at Miron Properties• 22 years old• Ohio State University grad• Just getting into the NY real

estate business• Is friendly, charismatic, and

professional (good broker)• Trying to build a client list

Steve’s LifeMonday, September 24

9:00 am•Steve has 3 emails from Brokerforce with referrals via past clients•He sets up appointments with them for later in the week

10:00 am•Steve meets Becky, a new Columbia Student who was referred to Steve by Tim, whom Steve rented an apartment to last week•Steve and Becky have showings at 10 apartments because Becky only has 1 day to find a place

4:00 pm•Becky finds a shoe box on the UWS she loves and applies for it!

Steve’s Life…One week laterMonday, October 1

9:00 am• Landlord confirms that Becky is approved!• Steve goes to Becky’s profile on his Brokerforce

account and clicks “Apartment Rented!”• New finders fee link is generated which Steve sends

to Becky and congratulates her!

10:00 am• Becky and Tim each get a $50 electronic Amazon gift card to buy

stuff for their new places!• Steve’s credit card is debited $100 (2 gift cards) + $5 (Brokerforce

fee) = $105 total

3:00 pm• Steve gets an email from

Alex through Brokerforce. He was referred by Becky and wants to set up an appointment…

Demo

• Show prototype to earlyvangelists for feedback

• Understand economics of gift card and payment processing

• Seek further legal clarity regarding incentives specifics

• Make first sale!

What’s Next?

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO…• Miron Properties (May Amos & Bar Cohen) – Spent 1.5 hours

with us brainstorming ideas!

• Alfred Realty (Danny) – Referrals are worth 8X a cold lead

• Bruce Feldman Associates (Bruce Feldman) – Some referrals are LEGAL

• Cadran: When is a good time to call?• Bruce: Anytime. Like Denny’s: ‘Always Open’