The Doorbell Rings... Can We Help You?

As indicated in my last post, technology is consuming the real estate market and at a pace that is almost unbelievable. Those that deny this simply are not looking at the reality around them.

In speaking to a realtor this past week that gets it.. we have been asked to provide a rather simple technology that I have now considered offering all of our clients. Live Help. Let me explain what this is...

Picture you are an agent and an online visitor has just gotten to your website. They click around and within seconds are perusing the local listings. Suddenly while they are reviewing a listed home's specifications, a window pops up on the screen. It is the agent whose online doorbell on their own computer has just rang. It rang to let them know that the online visitor was reviewing a listing on their website.

The window that pops up is a basic chat window. The agent asks, "How are you? Can I answer any questions regarding any of the listings you are reviewing on my site? If the agent was not in front of their computer at the time, the window still would have come up, but instead of it being the live agent on the other side of the chat, it is a canned correspondence... "I am sorry I am currently unavailable but would love to provide any information you may be seeking. Simply ask any questions regarding any listings on my site here and include your email or telephone and I will respond shortly".

Simple but brilliant and yet really not intrusive. This realtor gets it. He completely understands how to use modern technical methods to reach a prospect. For those realtors that still ask for a telephone number or to fill out a short form before viewing listings on their site, or those that still do not include a street address in a listing, I can all but guarantee... you have it wrong and will soon begin to understand this.


Give us a call or email us and let us consult you on what new technology is out there, what people are looking for in an online real estate agent or agency website and how we can help. Visit http://www.realtymadeeasy.com for more info.





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Are Real Estate Brokers Internet Savvy Enough?

With all of the new Internet technology creeping up on a what seems to be a daily basis, I wonder if the real estate brokers and agents gets it? The technology and how it is going to reshape the industry that is.

I wonder how much they realize the significance of the Internet and how this will be the year they will need to differentiate themselves. And even if they do realize the significance, I wonder how they intend to keep up with the race that is gaining speed daily.

The bottom line is that a home buyer in today's market wants to go online and do just about all of their work in terms of locating their next dream home. From finding a home, viewing pictures, and video of a home, to getting an estimate from Zillow.com. And as I look today, there are a whole new bunch of real estate sites that popped up over the last few weeks. The data out there available to a home buyer is incredible. Homebuyers who are about to spend a lot of money in their largest investment, have no problem spending a few hours here and there online to learn about the market. Trust me.... and just ask around, by and large, the last thing they want to do is reach out to an agent until they find a home that they want to walk into and further review.

To me, it already seems that at least a portion of what a real estate agent or agency does for a home buyer is now something that can easily be done online. And to me, it is increasingly important for a realtor who is trying to gain the online traffic of local home buyers and sellers to provide a web presense that offers all of the (now) fundamental online tools. It is far too easy for propects to browse from site to site and get lured in to what would appear to be an agent or agency that "gets it".

Let's face it, we want to work with someone who we feel has more knowledge than us. Doesn't seem to be a good thing when a prospect offers online technical insight to an agent or agency, but it happens. And it happens a lot. One thing I can predict though, is that it wont keep happening. This really is going to be the year that realtors need to plant the marketing seeds that will get them back in line with connecting with propsects.

As I mention, new Internet technical resources pop up almost every day. But how does a broker who is not Internet or technology savvy enough incorporate these tools or ideas into their existing marketing umrella, while trying to manage a propect who spends a lot of time online learning the market? Seems to me that having a connection to an Internet technical consultant could signicantly help this out. RealtyMadeEasy.com offers a service called WebAgency Pro to help. Sure this all sounds like a great pitch for me to try and get realtors to visit my website. But spend even a few minutes online researching and I could just about guarantee that you too will share my sentiments. I honestly believe as much of the research will show, that in 3 years, we will be at least 20-25% fewer agents. That may seem like a good thing to those that intend to stay the course, but to me it is only the beginning of a trend that will continue. Online tools will begin consuming the process and what an agent has to offer. It is up to the realtors to begin putting technology in their forefront and take action. Immediate action.





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.