The MLS Vendor arena is highly competitive! Superior installs build upon the foundation from the sales team; they are essential to solid relationships and happy, long-term MLS customers. In my 25 years as a vendor, my never-ending pursuit was to make each implementation a positive experience. I built upon what worked and maybe more importantly, what did not.
Giving back to the industry that has been so good to me over the years is another commitment of mine. My basis for this comes from being the vendor during my tenure with BORIS/ FNIS (now LPS) and also with Threewide (ListHub) and Listingbook, before joining Kevin at Focus Forward. So here is some information, which I hope you find interesting and useful.
Lisa Jackson
Focus Forward
As stated in my first post, it takes both parties in the relationship to produce a really solid MLS implementation or conversion. Success comes from the joint collaboration and there are no shortcuts. I credit all of my MLS customers (400+) that I’ve had the pleasure of working with – for these are the folks who have helped me get better at what I love to do. Thank you for that!
Key factors that will help pave the road to implementation success:
- Product & Product Team Launch Ready
- Product is sound programmatically with no performance issues
- Cross–functional team understands roles, responsibilitie and procedures
- Product descriptions / marketing materials ready for prime-time
- Seasoned Program or Project Managers are empowered & have a balanced work load
- Entire company focused on common launch goal – i.e. making sure the MLS customer has an AWESOME install – management (and leadership) must constantly support – conflicting priorities detract from the goal
- Tried & true approach to implementations (the process)
- Realistic schedules
- Statement of Work and Project Plan that people can understand – A must have
- Training Plan – preferably multiple options – one style does not fit all
- MLS Marketing/Communication Plan – a starter kit – communication materials they can build on
- Knowledgeable Customer Service and Technical Support and the bandwidth to handle the load
- Issue Tracking and reporting process
- System Feature request process
A time for reflection is requisite! Having the opportunity to manage many implementation teams, the last phase of every project was to hold an internal project review. Input from your team is essential as it reaffirms that every member has value and offers an opportunity to be heard. In turn, and also vital is polling your MLS customer – most are full of ideas about how to improve going forward. And they are more than willing to share – if you ask them to. None of us should ever miss the opportunity to grow and get better! I’d love your feedback – contact me with your thoughts! Next up in the series … How to prepare your Staff and Members for your conversion so that everyone survives!
Recent Comments