I visited Matt Richling's New Purveyors Team in Ottawa. The office vibes felt more like a tech startup than a real estate team office. Located inside an open concept, industrial hard-loft feel building just across our REMAX Hallmark's O'Connor office, the staff were cheerful and busy.
Matt and I sat down for a boardroom meeting where he showed me his Openclaw setup and what he built for his team. A custom team hub, internal messaging platform, automated marketing tools for listings, top secret recruiting tools. You name it. He had it.
Today real estate team leaders, broker owners and even independent real estate agents have the ability to build any tech stack they desire. But one truth prevails in order to build a successful real estate business. And Matt's words at a tech meetup the day prior summed it up.
"Just pick up the 🤬 phone!"
No matter how complex and sophisticated your tech stack is, real estate remains a people and relationship business. Belly to belly. Face to face.
Yes, there's a doomsday narrative that AI will replace everyone's jobs. Hey, real estate is no exception.
If you don't provide value, knowledge or competent service, and if a home buyer or seller can get more out of their chatbot than you, then of course you're going to get replaced.
But if you know your neighbourhoods intimately, have your ear to the ground with market situations, and can fight courageously when it comes time to negotiate and represent your client, you win.
Before you play with Openclaw (or Hermes) tonight, just ask yourself – did you pick up the 🤬phone today?