What is an alternative to Opcity?
Opcity is a real estate agent lead generation platform that is designed to give leads to real estate agents. It charges 30-35% as a referral fee and has a very low closing rate. Agents that have used the platform have lamented that the leads are not exclusive and they are given to many agents. Actual closing rates are likely less than 5% and many agents have expressed that they feel like they are chasing clients down since many are difficult to contact. ReferralCloud is one company that is an Opcity Alternative.
Opcity Leads vs ReferralCloud Referrals
Many companies have a system where agents can pay for leads. These companies usually charge monthly fees, and the leads generally have a less than 2% closing rate. Some companies have chosen to charge a referral fee for their leads, in hopes of making more revenue. ReferralCloud doesn’t charge any monthly fees, and charges only a referral fee at closing.
Where does OpCity get its Leads?
Opcity is owned by Realtor.com and likely its leads come through when people request information on a property. Opcity has a high number of leads, but possibly the same potential client could be given to multiple agents. Opcity also likely gets leads from other sources or sites also owned by Realtor.com since they own numerous other lead-generation sites. There are many other lead sources as an Opcity alternative like ReferralCloud.
Where does ReferralCloud get its Leads?
ReferralCloud does not actually have leads. ReferralCloud gives actual referrals. These referrals come from agents that are on the platform and that are looking for an agent in another market to help an existing client. Essentially ReferralCloud is acting as a national referral coordinator. The referrals are only given to one agent and it is tracked inside the ReferralCloud platform. It is possible for clients to be reassigned to a different agent, but only if the originating agent indicates that the client is unhappy with the agent or the agent who receives the client indicates that they are not able to help because what they need is beyond their service area or expertise.
How do ReferralCloud Agents get Paid?
ReferralCloud agents get paid at closing. The agent that received the client gets paid in the normal way just like any regular real estate transaction and then they send the referral fee of 30% to ReferralCloud. Once ReferralCloud receives the referral fee, 25% of the gross commission is sent to the referring agent and 5% is retained by ReferralCloud for managing and coordinating the referral.
Advantages of using Opcity
Opcity is a highly funded platform that has over 100 employees and was recently acquired by Realtor.com. Because of this there is a large effort to generate leads for real estate agents. They do charge roughly 35% as a referral fee which is inline with other companies doing the same thing, such as relocation companies. Opcity leads likely have a higher closing rate than leads from other sites, but lower than an actual referral. Another advantage is that they have spent a lot of money generating leads and are able to get leads directly from Realtor.com
Disadvantages of using Opcity
Opcity generally gives out leads that have a much lower closing rate than referrals. Opcity also likely gives out the leads they generate to multiple agents at the same time. Also because Opcity was acquired by Realtor.com they are actively competing with real estate agents since leads that might end up going directly to real estate agent websites are finding Realtor.com and then being sold to the agents who’s listings are being marketed through the MLS.
ReferralCloud as Opcity Alternative
One advantage of using ReferralCloud is that agents are given referrals and not leads. The referrals are generated by other real estate agents who put their outbound referrals into the ReferralCloud platform and then those clients are assigned to agent. ReferralCloud only ever assigns one agent with the referral. Another advantage is that the referring agent is given a 25% referral fee, just like they would normally for any referral. ReferralCloud also saves real estate agents time by not having to search for an agent for their referral client. ReferralCloud is a better Opcity alternative even though they work under the real estate leads pay at closing model.
How to Create an Account on ReferralCloud
Agents can simply create a free account by going to https://referralcloud.co/register and putting in all their info. When a referral is generated in their market agents will be notified via email as well as phone call of the assigned referral. Agents who have used the platform to place their outbound referrals will be given a higher priority for inbound referrals.