You have your
notebook PC in a shoulder case and have already taken a few exterior
photos of their home and neighborhood with your digital camera.
In fact when you ring their doorbell, they ask you, "Is that a
digital camera you have there?" They're already impressed with
your Web savvy! You reply, "Yes it is. I couldn't do business
today without it! I use it to create a virtual tour of your home
to help find the right qualified buyers for you."
At
some point in the conversation, you show them other virtual tours
you have done for your clients. How? You could show them on your
notebook PC, you could run it from a diskette or CD-ROM you brought
with you, or you could show them from your website on the Smith's
PC! Then tell them something such as, "You've lived here for X
years and know all the wonderful unique features of this home.
Why don't you take me on a personal tour right now, and I'll take
photos along the way to let me really capture the important features
of your home. Then after you decide to list with me, I'll have
a virtual tour live on my website tonight and have it promoting
your home worldwide immediately! You know, Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
many agents today include a brief, four picture virtual tour for
their listings, but as you can see, I not only capture all of
the unique features of your home, but my virtual tours start marketing
your home today. Most listing agents use a third party tour firm
that can take a week or two before your virtual tour starts working
for you. I'm sure you can appreciate the benefits of getting your
home tour on the Internet as quickly as possible!"
According
to a 1999 survey from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR),
63% of people using REALTOR.com and nearly 40% of people surveyed
by telephone demand that their Realtor be "Internet Savvy". Which
scenario above do you think will give the Smiths the impression
that their listing agent is Internet Savvy?
It's
very common today for you to run into Sellers (and Buyers) who
use the Internet and email more frequently and for more reasons
than you do. Guess what? They are already very familiar with the
big national listing websites, with virtual tours, and with email
as a 24/7 communication tool. They know that there are Realtors
who can leverage the Internet to add timeliness and bridge the
distances between them and their agent. They start to expect a
certain level of Internet savvy as a basic qualification in dealing
with a Realtor. We want to help you meet their criteria and win
over their enthusiasm and their business!
Tune
in next week for Part II!
In
future e-marketing newsletters we'll cover other marketing and
photographic tips. Stay tuned!
