Prioritizing Member Value

By Arianna Marino | January 17, 2025

On January 15, 2025, the MLS Innovator Network featured Dana Bennett, CEO of REcolorado, who shared her perspectives on aligning MLS operations with broker needs, partnering with the right vendors, and executing meaningful innovation. With a pragmatic approach rooted in transparency and curiosity, Dana’s leadership exemplifies the shift towards a more member-focused MLS model.


Dana Bennett Conversation Highlights:

Bennett emphasized the importance of understanding and prioritizing the broker experience at REcolorado, highlighting the need for MLSs to evaluate their roadmaps through the lens of subscriber benefits rather than chasing "shiny objects." She shared how continuous dialogue with brokers is crucial, which allows them to ask proactive questions to stay aligned with broker needs.

A key challenge in her first 90 days as CEO was assessing existing agreements with vendors, carefully questioning if these agreements still reflected REcolorado’s broader goals. As an example, she noted a lack of transparency in how data is used under legacy IDX agreements, emphasizing the need to revisit and adapt these contracts to reflect current usage and build more transparent relationships. 

When asked about the organization’s approach to evaluate new vendors, Bennett outlined a dual strategy, combining proactive research and reactive responsiveness. Proactively, she prioritizes curiosity—investigating relationships, market trends, and innovative solutions that align with broker workflows. Reactively, she ensures brokers' immediate needs are addressed. “Brokers work in systems,” she remarked. “If they don’t, they won’t be successful. We have to understand how new tools will slot into their workflows and address those realities.”

Bennett stressed that while new ideas and innovations are exciting, they must be balanced with practical execution and long-term value. At REcolorado, she focuses on aligning initiatives with a broader understanding of the subscriber base and their benefits, ensuring that innovation serves the ultimate goal of empowering members.


Member News & Updates

Eileen Romito: Zenlist is launching as a  mobile-first search and collaboration platform for DoorifyMLS subscribers in Q1 2025. 

 

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