IRVINE, CA—Market-leading brokers leverage technology to allow clients to self-serve, getting the information that the client wants when the client wants it, CBRE EVP Phil Voorhees tells GlobeSt.com. Voorhees leads NRP-West, CBRE's West Coast retail institutional group team, which recently released an iOS and Android mobile app that allows registered clients self-serve access to all NRP team listings, early notice on new retail investment opportunities and push notifications delivering listing and pricing updates.

Voorhees said in a prepared statement that the app has received favorable feedback since its initial launch at ICSC's Western Conference & Deal Making event in L.A. in October. To download the iOS app, visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nrp-west-retail-listings/id1268845006?mt=8. To download the Android app, visit: www.nrpwestapp.com

We spoke with Voorhees about how the brokerage community is using technology to help cleints and where this trend is leading.

GlobeSt.com: In what ways are brokerage firms using technology to provide more services to clients?
Voorhees: When I started in the business in 1998, it was said that you could stand on the roof of the building and probably see the buyer. Obviously, this changed with the Internet, email marketing and Google Earth. Market-leading brokers leverage technology to allow clients to self-serve, getting the information that the client wants when the client wants it. Databases enable brokers to track buyer preferences and share detailed client notes. With CBRE's National Retail Partners platform, we share buyer bid lists nationally. This ensures that our team's listings are in front of the country's most active retail investors, and it similarly provides deal flow to these active investors.

GlobeSt.com: What will future technological advances allow brokers to offer clients to this end?
Voorhees: Most broker marketing is “push” marketing: blasts to other brokers and investors from team client lists. “Pull marketing,” where the client actively seeks membership in the broker's marketing queue, thereby engaging the broker in a conversation, will become more prevalent. It's easier than ever to “opt out” of marketing emails. This puts the onus on brokers to provider cleaner, more concise and germane content into outbound marketing efforts. Signing apps like DocuSign and new posting services like Crexi, a Loopnet alternative gaining traction, will also integrate into the standard marketing process of most brokers, particularly on less-complex assets like single-tenant net-leased investments.

GlobeSt.com: What types of technology should brokers avoid, if any?
Voorhees: I cannot think of any. Brokers just need to be accountable for the correctness of the information displayed via any of these services. Typos, outdated information and incorrectly posted information immediately available to a wide audience present a constant challenge for brokers and the service providers alike.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the free app your firm just released?
Voorhees: Our NRP app provides a direct link for investors and brokers—our clients—to our inventory. The app is a “pull” technology as referenced above; clients need to seek it out and actively register. Team listings will first be posted to the app, so using the NRP-West app will ensure priority notice to view our team's new listings, in addition to providing access to key indices like the US 10-Year Treasury yield. As with all aspects of the real estate business, the app will evolve and improve over time, incorporating feedback from our clients and also incorporating improved data feeds and other services as they become available.

Instant Insights /

Brokers Are Embracing High-Tech

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