‘Quigler is an agent’s guardian angel’: David Michonski, CEO, on bridging the communication and transparency gap in the real estate industry

“Give a consumer transparency, greater communication and accountability and they will trust you more. Trust is the food that feeds a stream of agent referrals, for life.”

Quigler is a SaaS transaction and compliance manager for real estate agents and consumers. It is a revolutionary tool that empowers agents to bring transparency and accountability to buying or selling homes. The firm operates across the United States.

Quigler was incorporated in 2015.

The Silicon Review contacted David Michonski, CEO of Quigler, who spoke about how the company is making a difference in this segment and plans to stay at the forefront. Below is an excerpt.

Interview Highlights

Q. How does Quigler help agents to convert more leads and make more?  

Generally, agents can convert only about five percent of cold leads, like those from Zillow, because they have no rapport with a cold lead and do not have anyone to vouch for them. With Quigler, an agent can create that rapport through one simple dialogue that we teach. Assuming the agent has convinced them they know something important about how to sell, we suggest they finish their pitch with something like this:

“While we’ve just met, know that I use a tool most other agents don’t. It gives you 100% transparency into the transaction process. You can follow along with me 24/7 and always know where we are, what I’ve done, and what you may be required to do, from start to finish. I make sure the whole process is compliant with not only federal and state law but also our industry’s Code of Ethics. You’ll get weekly Update Letters, and when we’re done, I’ll give you a Compliance Confirmation Report that details every action I’ve taken to be sure both you and I are compliant, all time-stamped, and dated. Working with me means that you’ll enjoy a tool that gives you unprecedented transparency, written communication, and total accountability. How does that sound?”

Q. How does Quigler help drive more business and help new agents get started more quickly and last longer in the business?

Give a consumer transparency, greater communication and accountability and they will trust you more. Trust is the food that feeds a stream of agent referrals, for life. That is how you grow your business.

Q. Why Quigler now?

Quigler is driven by several powerful business megatrends. They are the drive for greater transparency, more accountability, and better communication between customers and clients.  These megatrends are a “must” in today’s business world, except in one very large business where there is a gaping hole. That business not only handles 6,000,000 transactions a year worth more than $2.4 Trillion in sales and generates over $100B in yearly fees that consumers pay, but that business also handles the largest financial transaction of most people’s lives.That business is real estate brokerage. Our industry has simply not embraced the transparency and accountability that should accompany all business transactions. Remember it was not so long ago that agents viewed themselves as the gatekeepers of information that was not to be shared and was kept in their listing book. They forced consumers to take off 3- 7 days and lock themselves in an agent’s car just to see what was for sale.

Transparency and communication today is driven by the fact that technology allows for more of both. When you give both, the result is greater accountability.

At Quigler, we have set a big goal — to use our proprietary technology to bridge the communication and transparency gap in the real estate brokerage industry and help agents to more easily ride the megatrends of greater transparency and business accountability with consumers.  

Q. How do you do it?

Once an agent inserts some simple data into their Transaction Dashboard, Quigler informs a buyer or seller of all the Steps and Actions required for their particular transaction. It provides a ‘Why’ tab with the exact citation from law and Code, informing everyone why this is required. It provides the penalties for non-compliance. It gives the agent the forms needed to complete the action and provides helpful tips for getting the job done. The simplest way to understand Quigler is that it is a checklist for both consumers and agents of the what the NAR Code, federal law and state law require the agent to do during a transaction. When checked as completed, Quigler creates an Update Letter for the agent to give to the client. Thus, it automates communication and keeps the client always ‘in the know’ and never ‘in the dark.’ The agent can even customize the Update Letter and add new listings to it, or new sales, market trends, or whatever they want. When the transaction is done, Quigler creates a Compliance Confirmation Report (CCR) that details for the consumer every action required and the time and date it was done. Quigler helps de-stress consumers. With it they have a private guide for something they do once every 10 years. For agents, it’s a “personal assistant” and “coach” guiding them daily, step by step, while automating both their communication and compliance with law and Code. With Quigler, agents give consumers unprecedented and welcome transparency that leads to trust, in an industry where 67% of consumers say they don’t trust agents. But a consumer with an agent on Quigler is constantly reassured that their agent is doing what they should be doing and that leads to earning consumers’ trust, for life. They feel they can trust an agent on Quigler more because they know this agent will keep themselves and the consumer in compliance with complex law and keep the agent following the industry’s Code of Ethics. With Quigler, earning trust just becomes easier.

Q. What’s Quigler’s point of differentiation? 

While in the transaction manager family, unlike other transaction programs that start at the time of contract, we start from the first meeting with a consumer, and we let other transaction managers pick up where we leave off. Quigler allows the agent to welcome the consumer into the transaction process where they can follow along and feel empowered. 

Generally, 97 percent of consumers want good communication from their agents, but less than one percent of agents provide consumers with Update Letters. So there is a huge disconnect between what agents do and what consumers want. Through our automated notifications, the Update Letters, and the final Compliance Report, we make it easy for agents to give consumers what they want. We put communication to consumers on steroids. For new agents, Quigler is nirvana. It takes years for agents to learn what’s required of them and consumers. With Quigler new agents can get a license on Friday, and on Saturday start using Quigler as their guide, as their “guardian angel” or their “personal manager,” guiding them through what they must do at each step of a transaction.

Quigler is one of the best lead conversion tools ever invented. And the Compliance Confirmation Report means a broker can qualify for “risk reduction credits” on their E&O insurance because being more compliant means less risk for insurance carriers. That can lead to lower premiums and save brokers and agents real dollars. At the same time, it provides incredible customer service that leads to fewer consumer complaints and helps a firm brand themselves as super consumer-friendly.

Through local board co-marketing partners, we give a free version of Quigler to all 1.5M NAR members. With it, agents can log in 24/7 and see what the Code of Ethics requires at each step of the transaction. Consumers like to know their agent is following a Code of Ethics.  And Quigler 2.0 is coming which will allow agents and brokers to customize the Quigler experience and add Steps and Actions that are unique to how that brokerage or agent works. 2.0 will also allow for integrations with other transaction management systems and CRMs.

Q. What strategies do you implement to develop and keep your service promise?

We offer training 24/7 online, and in-person Zoom training weekly for beginners, intermediate and advanced users. We also have a ‘chat’ button for immediate service. Also, anyone can email us for one-on-one help. Unlike other tech companies, we love to hear from our subscribers, and we like to make it easy to get them the help they need.

Q. How responsive is Quigler to the changing needs of its clients?

If a law changes or a new state or federal law creates new or more actions for agents or consumers to follow, we can implement those changes into Quigler within 24 hours and Quigler 2.0 will be able to do so in real-time.

Q. What new endeavors is Quigler currently undertaking?

Quigler 2.0 will enable us to scale rapidly and provide for customization by MLSs, brokers, and agents, and allow each to customize Quigler by adding their own Steps and Actions to the law and Code which we cover. Bottom line? 2.0 will allow our customers to customize Quigler and integrate it with their CRMs and/or more traditional transaction management programs.

Q. Where does Quigler stand at the moment relative to other participants in the industry? 

We are the new cowboy in town seeking to make the transaction process easier and better for consumers, agents, brokers, and the industry as a whole.

Q. No doubt Quigler is charting new territories. Given how frequently circumstances change, what plans for transformation are you pursuing to remain relevant now and in the future? 

As long as real estate continues to be a highly-regulated industry with compliance required by federal, and state law and a Code of Ethics, Quigler will be here. As the requirements change, we change, but doing the right thing and what is required, never goes out of style. And that is what we help agents do.

Q. Is there anything else you want us to highlight that we might have missed?  

Because the desire for compliance, accountability, and transparency transcends all aspects of the real estate transaction, we have been approached by other services like escrow, title, mortgage, insurance, i.e. service industries that utilize agents to put online the same type of program that offers consumers transparency, communication, and accountability. We have also been approached by almost 10 countries worldwide who love the idea of raising the bar on real estate brokerage and giving consumers all they deserve. The future looks bright because the megatrends we are part of provide no signs of ebbing. 

David Michonski | CEO

David Michonski has been a serial entrepreneur his whole life. He has been called a “visionary” leader for decades and was named as one of the ‘Top 10 Newsmakers of the Year’ (together with former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson). He has been named as one of the “100 Most Important People in Real Estate” and was named one of the ‘Top Agents in the U.S.’ by Today’s REALTOR magazine. He has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, ABC News, and in hundreds of publications worldwide.               

“...a consumer with an agent on Quigler is constantly reassured that their agent is doing what they should be doing and that leads to earning a consumer’s trust, for life.”

“As long as real estate continues to be a highly-regulated industry with compliance required by federal, state law a Code of Ethics, Quigler will be here.”