ACHIEVING AN AUDACIOUS GOAL - ROYAL LEPAGE'S FUTURE-FOCUSED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WITH RLPSPHERE
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The Leader in Real Estate Information www.rismedia.com
ACHIEVING AN
AUDACIOUS GOAL
Royal LePage’s Future-Focused Digital
Transformation With rlpSPHERE
– Page 58
Royal LePage COO Carolyn Cheng
Photography: Korby Banner
Achieving an
Audacious Goal
Royal LePage’s Future-Focused
Digital Transformation With
rlpSPHERE by Maria Patterson
F
rom its founding in 1913 to its status as its nation’s
largest real estate company with more than 600
locations and 18,000 agents, Royal LePage is
synonymous with real estate in the Great White North. As
President & CEO Phil Soper says, “Royal LePage is Canada’s
Real Estate Company; a contemporary, innovative business
built on more than 100 years of industry leadership. We
have no intention of slowing down.”
Royal LePage COO Carolyn Cheng
Photography: Korby Banner
58 January 2021 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
The catalog of Royal LePage firsts ket reports based on a consumer’s
stretches back decades, from intro- search criteria. Royal LePage wanted
ducing For Sale lawn signs to the to tap into the positive implications
country early in the last century, to this could have for lead conversion.
the launch of Canada’s first national “There’s been a lot of progress in
real estate website in 1995. Royal- AI, and we’re able to do a lot of in-
lepage.ca is Canada’s second most teresting things that we haven’t been
visited home search portal. able to before,” explains Cheng. “All
Today, Royal LePage is once again of a sudden, agents have a new as-
shaking the industry’s foundations sistant that is effectively nurturing all
as a technology innovator with the of their leads but only surfacing the
launch of its groundbreaking digital warm ones as they become ready.”
ecosystem, rlpSPHERE. Powered by
kvCORE from Inside Real Estate, Setting Bold Goals
the platform features a suite of fully Royal LePage’s goals for rlpSPHERE
Royal LePage President & CEO Phil Soper
integrated proprietary and industry were ambitious, but in keeping with
Photography: Jacob Sharrard
technologies. Automating the full the company’s long history of innova-
spectrum of a real estate profession- “Gone are the typical real tions and firsts.
al’s needs—from lead generation “We wanted to make sure we
and CRM, to marketing automation
estate company’s islands were building a future-focused sys-
and EDM—rlpSPHERE is a solution of technology that devour tem that leveraged advanced sales-
uniquely customized for the Cana- hours of human labor automation technology to give our
dian market, and designed to em- to allow them to talk to network an advantage and to make
power Royal LePage’s management, each other. rlpSPHERE sure everyone had the tools to be
teams and agents. successful as transformation in the
represents a triumph in
The timing of the platform’s launch digital age progresses at an accel-
was fortuitous. end-to-end design and erated pace,” says Cheng. This in-
“The rlpSPHERE concept and data integration.” cluded a solution that would allow a
high-level architecture was born 18 – PHIL SOPER broker to generate leads, then track
months ago,” explains Soper. “We President & CEO, Royal LePage and service those leads throughout
envisioned a cloud-based, AI-en- their entire lifecycle, from inception
abled operating environment where strategic vision and the delivery of to close.
our people could access what they its products and services, Cheng Differentiation was also a major
needed to work anywhere, anytime, closely monitors real estate technol- goal when it came to the develop-
on any device. Thanks to Inside Real ogy, and noticed the material infu- ment of rlpSPHERE. “We wanted to
Estate and our brilliant design team, sion of venture capital flowing into create a completely Canadianized
we had created a system optimized the space, along with an increasing
for a pandemic well before the world level of tech sophistication.
had heard of COVID-19.” “For the first time, we felt there
Royal LePage Chief Operating were companies that could effective-
Officer Carolyn Cheng describes ly digitize the brokerage, agent and
rlpSPHERE as “a fully integrated, team processes, allowing each party
future-focused” solution. “It allows to automate many of their adminis-
brokerages and agents to move away trative and routine tasks in order to
from multiple, disjointed technolo- focus more on elevating the level of
gies,” she explains. “Right now, espe- service and professionalism being
cially with the pandemic, this integrat- offered,” she explains.
ed ecosystem is a huge component Also emerging in the market, for
of a brokerage’s value proposition.” brokerage, team and agent web-
sites, were advanced capabilities for
An Idea Whose Time Had Come leveraging AI and behavioral automa-
According to Cheng, emerging shifts tion, such as lead generation web-
in the market made the timing right sites that monitor repeat visits and
to embark on the rlpSPHERE proj- proactively reach out to consumers,
ect. Responsible for Royal LePage’s or push out search alerts and mar-
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE January 2021 59
“We wanted to make Royal LePage was well informed Creating a Unique Tech Ecosystem
when searching for a partner to One of the biggest priorities for Royal
sure we were building a make its technology goals a reality. LePage in developing rlpSPHERE was
future-focused system “We interviewed 25 different ven- customizing the platform and ensur-
that leveraged advanced dors to make sure we had a common ing “Canadianization.” The platform,
vision and that their interface was says Cheng, needed to integrate the
sales-automation intuitive and very usable in order to Royal LePage roster, Canadian list-
technology to give our get the adoption we needed,” recalls ings and data feeds, and the com-
Cheng. “We also had to make sure pany’s high-use service partners.
network an advantage there was a good cultural fit with Also on the must-do list: Canadian
and to make sure their management teams.” regulatory compliance, federal pri-
everyone had the tools Eventually, Cheng issued an RFP to vacy and marketing law compliance,
three finalists who were then subject and provincial real estate regulator
to be successful as to an evaluation matrix from Royal requirements.
transformation in the LePage’s internal project team, and The rlpSPHERE platform also re-
a meeting with the company’s Ser- quired complete white-labeling, in-
digital age progresses at vices Advisory Council, composed of cluding branded digital and print mar-
an accelerated pace.” 18 brokers from across the country. keting pieces, smart drip campaigns
This multifaceted vetting process re- tailored to Canadian consumers
– CAROLYN CHENG
COO, Royal LePage sulted in the selection of Inside Real across the core platform, as well as
Estate, known for their innovative mobile apps. Royal LePage also intro-
solution uniquely tailored to Royal tech leadership in the industry, who duced a branded, custom Learning
LePage with the data, customizations Royal LePage views as an indepen- Portal.
and integrations needed to make it dent, well-funded, long-term partner. “Our brand is incredibly impor-
work for our users while enhancing Inside Real Estate brought to the tant to us, so every single piece of
brand value,” explains Cheng. table: collateral—print, digital and social
The company’s digital solution media—had to have Royal LePage’s
also needed the flexibility and depth 4A proven ability to support large branding and speak to the Canadian
to serve both new and experienced enterprise organizations and agent and consumer,” says Cheng.
agents alike—one solution for all. complex rollouts
According to Soper, there is a 4Modern tools (AI-driven CRM, Scaling a Major Roll-Out...Despite a
broader, bolder vision for the new behavioral automation, lead Pandemic
ecosystem that goes beyond having generation, etc.) that catered While there are inevitable bumps
best-in-class features and functions. to all of Royal LePage’s key in the road for any tech roll-out, no
“To rapidly drive adoption across stakeholders and user personas one could have prepared to launch
thousands of independent contrac- a large-scale digital platform in the
tor agents, we needed the wow-fac- 4A highly sought-after platform midst of a pandemic.
tor provided by amazing new discrete (kvCORE) that was well- According to Cheng, however, the
functionality, like automated lead established in the market, yet challenge presented by the COVID
management,” he says. “Yet the true flexible and customizable to outbreak only strengthened their
superpower to increase enterprise Royal LePage in order to create a resolve.
productivity and revenue, and to re- unique ecosystem “Once the pandemic hit, all of our
duce cycle time and costs, comes 4An open API platform, allowing teams went fully virtual,” she recalls.
from integration. Gone are the typi- for existing integrations with “Because of the size, scale and im-
cal real estate company’s islands of proprietary systems, key Royal portance of the project, it bonded
technology that devour hours of hu- LePage partners and other our team with an even larger sense
man labor to allow them to talk to ancillary service providers of purpose and helped us deliver the
each other. rlpSPHERE represents solution to our network during the
a triumph in end-to-end design and “This is a robust system, but one pandemic.”
data integration.” that was designed to be intuitive for The team began creating buzz for
agents,” says Cheng. “We needed rlpSPHERE at key national events
The Right Partner for the Job a proven platform that has a track in late 2019, and at regional bro-
Always on top of technology trends record of driving results for brokers, ker meetings in the first quarter of
and actively involved in industry con- agents and teams, and we found 2020. Prior to launch, a four-week
ferences and mastermind groups, that with the kvCORE Platform.” teaser video series was pushed out,
60 January 2021 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
rlpSPHERE: The Missing
Piece for Real Estate Pros
Royal LePage real estate
professionals are already
experiencing the advantages
of rlpSPHERE.
and to help brokers prepare for the agent launch, a manual
was created outlining the benefits of the system by agent per- As the director of operations for Royal LePage
sona (new agent, experienced agent, team), a comparison of Royal City Realty, Gillian Atkinson sees the val-
the service to key players in the market, the essential phases ue of rlpSPHERE for real estate professionals
of configuration and training, tips for initial adoption and en- at every level. “The system offers something
gagement and, of course, support. for everyone, whether you’re just starting out
Since the launch, the influx of information continues, includ- or you’re a veteran. And for team admins, the
ing best practices from other Inside Real Estate customers platform’s CORE Team add-on takes
and more in-depth, custom webinars from Royal LePage’s a heavy load off,” she says.
Learning Services team in conjunction with Inside Real Es- rlpSPHERE helps agents fo-
tate’s trainers. cus on what they’re good at
“The scope of this service is broader and more complex as opposed to getting over-
than what we’ve done before, and the training is comprehen- whelmed by technology, At-
sive,” says Cheng. kinson explains. “rlpSPHERE
takes that fear away for them,”
Evolution to Revolution Atkinson she says. “Everything they pos-
Cheng is happy to report that the adoption plan for rlpSPHERE sibly need to do is there, and it’s free and
is ahead of schedule. “All of our brokers are really excited by there’s tons of support. And you don’t need to
the fact that this is something unique to us,” says Cheng. “Dur- use every piece of it—you just use what works
ing the pandemic, it’s been a strong retention tool, and they’re for you and your business right now.”
starting to see the early benefits when recruiting new agents.
And real estate professionals can now
It’s important that everyone becomes a digital expert. This is a
make more meaningful connections than
transformation for everyone in the industry and our network.”
ever thanks to rlpSPHERE’s inte-
And there couldn’t be a more critical time to embrace a
grated social media feature.
fully digital future. Bullish market conditions are expected to
“This platform gives us rich
continue through 2021, and home-buying and -selling habits
intel and the ability to share
continue to evolve in the wake of the pandemic. Says Soper, a
that intel with clients,” says
well-timed business revolution.
Mark Burke, team leader at
“Never underestimate the power of luck when it comes to
Royal LePage Triland Realty.
business success,” he smiles. “In Canada, we are commonly
“This gives you an authentic
first-to-market with new real estate services and technologies. Burke way to broaden your reach to
We expect our competitors to follow suit in a year or so. The
existing clients, and reaffirms our market
global health crisis that has shut down air travel and sent
dominance in social media.”
people to work from home has made the creation of some-
thing like rlpSPHERE exponentially more difficult. We will enjoy This year, since the launch of rlpSPHERE,
an unusually lengthy window of digital exclusivity as a result. Carlo De Castris, a sales representative with
“There will be no resting on our laurels,” Soper concludes. Royal LePage Royal City Realty, is
“The wizards at Inside Real Estate and Royal LePage are con- able to credit rlpSPHERE with
tinually working on enhancements and will keep us on the one new additional client ev-
cutting edge of innovation. With the rlpSPHERE framework in ery month that he would not
place, we’ve already been able to announce new functionality have had otherwise. As he
that widens the gap between us and our hungry pursuers. It says, “I’ve been waiting most
is great fun!” RE of my career for technology
to catch up with what I thought
De Castris
For more information on rlpSPHERE, please visit could be accomplished...and
rlp.ca/rlpsphere-agents and rlp.ca/rlpsphere-teams. it’s finally here.”
To learn more about Inside Real Estate and their kvCORE Platform, visit
www.insiderealestate.com.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE January 2021 61
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