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Category Archives: MRED Communications
MRED Help Desk Named a Top Contact Center in North America
Posted by on April 13, 2020
Serving real estate professionals is our top priority. For the 11th straight year, our Help Desk has the hardware to prove it.
BenchmarkPortal, a global leader in the customer support industry, rated the MRED Help Desk as one of the top contact centers of its size in North America. The ranking uses objective, metrics-driven performance data such as caller satisfaction, average hold time, and average talk time.
The Help Desk’s achievements in the 2020 rankings included:
- 98% of inbound calls being closed on the first call
- 15% better than industry average
- Inbound calls being answered in an average of 36 seconds
- 40 seconds faster than industry average
- 85% of customers being “very” or “extremely” satisfied
- 11% better than industry average
- Average email response time of two hours
- 12 hours faster than industry average
2019 additionally saw the launch of our Knowledge Base, which has answers to common MRED questions. You can also use this 24/7 online tool to enter support tickets and request new features.
Our friendly and knowledgeable Help Desk team is dedicated to helping you succeed by quickly and kindly connecting you to the answers and resources you need. We’re grateful for the opportunity to serve the hardworking members of our incredible Association Partners.
Announcing MRED’s 2020 Board of Managers
Posted by on January 8, 2020
MRED is proud to attract many of the best and brightest real estate professionals to its Board of Managers. This collaboration of experience and thought leadership allows MRED to pave the way forward as a cutting-edge MLS.
MRED’s Broker Preferred Unit Owners (PUOs) have the unique opportunity to nominate any candidate to represent their company on MRED’s Board. The members of one of three categories (based on annual transaction count) may vote on the nominees in their respective category. The following individuals were recently elected to the MRED Board of Managers to fill five open seats through election by their peers:
Sue Miller – Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group
Miller is the Designated Managing Broker of Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group in McHenry, Illinois and has been licensed in real estate for 32 years. During that time, Miller has previously been active on MRED’s Board in addition to serving on MRED’s Compliance User Team (CUT) group. Miller is the current Illinois REALTOR® President-Elect and is also an active member of the National Association of REALTORS®. She has served as President of Heartland REALTOR® Organization twice.
Molly Ryan – Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago
Ryan has worked as General Counsel at HomeServices of Illinois for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group and Fort Dearborn Land Title Company. Ryan was also recently named a “Most Notable General Counsel” by Crain’s Chicago Business and has served several terms as a River Forest Public Library Trustee as well as President of the Library Board. This election marks Ryan’s fourth term on MRED’s Board of Managers, having served as Board Secretary for three previous terms.
Lynn Madison – Lynn Madison REALTOR®
Madison owns Lynn Madison Seminars, a full-service real estate training and development company. Madison often speaks at national real estate events and has led classes in more than 30 states. Madison was the President of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® in 2016, currently sits on two National Association of REALTORS® committees, and has previously served on MRED’s Board.
Sue Wiskowski-Fair – Realty Executives Premiere
Wiskowski-Fair has been in the real estate business for more than 40 years, having been President of the Realty Executives Franchise system in the Chicago area. She was President of the Wisconsin Association of REALTORS® prior to moving to Illinois 30 years ago. Wiskowski-Fair is the current Treasurer of the Board and is Vice-President of Career Development for Realty Executives Premiere. She has served in numerous leadership positions of the Realtor Association at the State and National levels. She is an active agent and Managing Broker.
Jeff Gregory – Realty Executives Success
Gregory is the Owner and Managing Broker of Realty Executives Success. He has 7 years of experience on MRED’s Board of Managers, including 4 years as Board Chair and 1 year as Treasurer. Gregory also served as MRED’s Acting CEO for eight months and chaired the search committee that found MRED’s current CEO, Rebecca Jensen. Additionally, Gregory has served on numerous committees for Illinois REALTORS® as well as the National Association of REALTORS® and is an RPAC Hall of Fame Member.
Other 2020 MRED Board Members include: Fran Broude, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage; Chad Gilbert, RE/MAX Suburban; Dave Naso, Keller Williams; Drussy Hernandez, Fulton Grace Realty; Paul Wells, RE/MAX of Barrington; Michael Emery, Urban Real Estate; Royal Hartwig, The Royal Family Real Estate; Al Rossell, Jack Carpenter Organization; Chris Studebaker, CEO of the REALTOR® Association of the Fox Valley; Jim Haisler, Heartland Realtor® Organization; Art Carter, California Regional MLS.
MRED’s Board also appointed Jeremy Crawford to serve in 2020 as a Strategic Manager. He will join returning Strategic Manager Art Carter on the Board.
Jeremy Crawford – President/CEO, First Multiple Listing Service
Crawford is the President/CEO of First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS), a broker-owned MLS which serves more than 42,000 real estate professionals in Georgia across 2,100 broker member offices. Crawford’s experience includes 7 years with the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), 4 years of which he served as its CEO and 3 years he served on its Board. Crawford also previously served as an executive for a well-known MLS and MLS vendor.
Art Carter – CEO, California Regional Multiple Listing Service
Carter oversees the strategic direction of the largest MLS in the country at more than 86,000 real estate professionals and 34 associations across California. Carter was named one of Inman News’ 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders in 2016 as well as one of the Top 20 Association/MLS Executives in the Swanepoel Power 200.
MRED would like to extend a special thank-you to outgoing Board Members Luigui Corral, Broker Owner of RE/MAX American Dream, and John Matthews, Senior Vice President of Residential Sales of Baird & Warner, for their dedication and service to MRED. A special thank you to John Matthews for his 9 consecutive years on MRED’s Board and serving as Board Chair in 2019.
Click here to learn more about MRED Preferred Unit Ownership.
MRED would also like to thank North Shore–Barrington Association of REALTORS® CEO Steve Volkodav for his years of service to the local real estate marketplace and on MRED’s Board of Managers. Steve was recently named the new CEO of the Pike’s Peak Association of REALTORS® in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Steve began his time with NSBAR in 2000 and became its CEO in 2013. He is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago and was named as one of three national honorees in June of 2018 to be inducted into NAR’s Almon R. (Bud) Smith Leadership Society.
Chris Studebaker, CEO of the REALTOR® Association of the Fox Valley, will be filling the vacated Association Executive seat on MRED’s Board. Chris began as RAFV CEO in 2014 and previously served as the Executive Director of the REALTOR® Association of Southwestern Illinois.
Clients looking for transportation options? Use MobilityScore in connectMLS!
Posted by on March 28, 2019
It was one of the most-requested additions for connectMLS… and now it’s live!
You can use MobilityScore by TransitScreen to help clients understand the nearby transportation options for a listing they’re interested in and choose the best fit with mobility in mind.
The MobilityScore tool displays an address’ nearby transportation options on all MRED listings, evaluating the ease of mobility on a 1-100 scale. Scores gauge public transit options as well as available carsharing, bikesharing, and hailed ridesharing services. The result is an easy-to-understand measure of transportation access that can play a major factor in home-buying decisions.
This feature is available on the connectMLS Modern View in two places:
- Additional Information
- “General” section of Listing Details
Along with the numerical score, each listing includes a rating that ranges from “minimal” to “excellent” mobility and a detailed list of its available transportation options (bus, train, carshare, etc). Just click on the MobilityScore to see the full breakdown.
MobilityScore joins a diverse list of more than 20 product and service offerings in connectMLS, contributing to MRED’s goal of providing everything you need to succeed.
Even more connectMLS enhancements are coming, and we’re always open to feedback on how to improve our current offerings. Have suggestions or questions? Contact the MRED Help Desk at 630-955-2755 or help.desk@MREDLLC.com
MRED Help Desk Ranked #1 in National Contest
Posted by on March 6, 2019
Some of MRED’s award-winning Help Desk staff members: Brenda, Katrina, Ashley, Kaylee, and Ed.
Our Help Desk is the best in its class.
BenchmarkPortal, a global leader in the customer support industry, rated MRED’s Help Desk as the top small-sized contact center in the country. The ranking is based on metrics-driven performance data like caller satisfaction, average hold time, and average talk time. This first-place honor marked the 10th straight year the MRED Help Desk was named a top contact center.
MRED’s Help Desk achievements in the 2019 rankings included:
- Customer satisfaction ranking nearly 20 percent higher than the industry average
- Registering a nearly perfect score for tickets being closed on the first call
- Being twice as fast as the industry average at answering calls
- 80 percent less hold time on calls than the industry average
- Responding to emails 10 times faster than the industry average
Our friendly and knowledgeable Help Desk team is focused on providing top-notch service in a timely manner and doing it all with a smile. Customer support is vitally important to our association partners and their members, so MRED is intentional about making the experience as easy and helpful as possible.
We’re helping improve real-time data accuracy. Here’s what that means for you:
Posted by on February 5, 2019
We get it. Data accuracy is one of the top priorities for your multiple listing service. That’s why we’re adjusting the listing status change time frame so everyone gets better, more timely data.
MRED had received feedback concerning the previous 72-hour listing status change time frame being too long.
Effective Friday, March 1st, 2019, listing status changes must be completed within 48 hours of the date of the last required signature (including weekends and holidays) on the following statuses:
- New (NEW)*
- Contingent (CTG)
- Active-Temporarily No Showings (TEMP)
- Auction (AUCT)
- Pending (PEND)
- Price Change (PCHG)
- Closed (CLSD)
- Rented (RNTD)
- Canceled (CANC)
- Expired (EXP)
MRED’s Board of Managers approved this change as a way to combat outdated information. Moving to this 48-hour time frame provides real estate professionals and their clients with more timely data.
Numerous connectMLS system enhancements (like the mobile-friendly Modern View) and general technological advancements allow brokers to easily access and update listings on the go. You can also email the Help Desk a completed status change form if you are unable to make a listing status change. That form is available under “Forms –> MRED Listing Forms, etc” in connectMLS.
These options make it convenient and beneficial to abide by a shortened listing status change time frame. MRED polled Designated Realtors and the overwhelmingly majority said they would be able to observe this change.
Please be advised, failure to comply with this rule will continue to result in an automatic $250 fine. Keep in mind, listings must be entered into the Standard Listing Network or Private Listing Network within 48 hours of the listing agreement or within 24 hours of advertising to the general public, whichever comes first. This advertising includes for sale signs, public-facing websites, and print media. The rule regarding failure to report new while publicly advertising is unchanged and carries an automatic $1,000 fine.
Thank you for being a part of MRED. We’re excited to bring more timely data to real estate professionals and consumers.
Still have questions? Check out these FAQs.
We’re happy to help! Just contact MRED’s Rules and Regulations Department at 630-955-0011 or policychange@mredllc.com.
*Listings must be entered into the Standard Listing Network or Private Listing Network within 48 hours of the listing agreement (after the date of the last required signature) or within 24 hours of advertising to the general public, whichever comes first. This advertising includes for sale signs, public-facing websites, and print media.
Who should I call: MRED or my association?
Posted by on January 29, 2019
MRED provides a top-notch multiple listing service experience for members of our association partners. Our mission is to equip real estate professionals with a comprehensive database and game-changing technology, along with helpful training and support. The REALTOR® associations that get their MLS services from MRED provide a diverse array of vitally important and useful services, including connections and professional development.
Together, MRED and your association aim to provide you with individually unique services that add up to everything you need to succeed.
Here’s a helpful breakdown of who to contact if you have questions about the below items. Click here for an expanded list.
Contact your association…
- With questions about billing and fees, including if you need to make a payment.
- To modify your primary email or contact information.
- If you have questions about real estate contracts. (The new Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 7.0 is available in connectMLS under Forms -> State and Association Forms)
- For information on continuing education courses.
- If your connectMLS account is inactive or has been deactivated.
Contact MRED…
- With any questions about MRED products or services.
- For assistance changing your connectMLS password.
- To schedule free training sessions that help you take advantage of MRED’s available products and services. (These are separate from continuing education courses)
- If you need assistance adding or modifying a listing.
- To update connectMLS user permissions.
Not sure what association you’re a member of? There’s a list of our association partners at the bottom of this page. You can also email the MRED Help Desk to find out.
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