RISMedia, May 26, 2011—This business is about connections and relationships. Before you can ratify a contract and go to closing, you have to connect. You have to engage. You have to collaborate. You have to deliver an experience, not just a transaction. Finding the right technology to help you accomplish this objective is critical.
For the better part of a decade, technological advances allowed consumers and REALTORS® to increase efficiencies, but did very little to enhance an experience. People did pretty much the same things, only faster.
Enter the iPad.
An immersive device, an iPad delivers an experience on an emotional level, an experience critical to effective consumer engagement in real estate. And perhaps more importantly, you don’t have to be an IT administrator or tech “guru” to use one in your business. REALTOR.com and Top Producer are delivering on three immediate needs via the iPad. Here is a way to get started if you have yet to engage with customers and prospects using your iPad:
1. Get the free search app and cultivate your buyers. Customers are searching for homes on the iPad. They begin their search looking for property; hopefully they end it by finding you. The consumer search on the iPad is fun and intuitive. Tap the screen, open the app, and they’re on their way. After exploring neighborhoods and viewing homes, each trace of their finger on the polished glass surface brings them that much closer to realizing a dream. For you, as a real estate professional, the app allows for seamless collaboration by delivering all of the requests for information and appointment requests from your clients directly to you. Consider being the one who shows them the application for the first time. That way you can teach them how to use the “send to agent” function to route all requests to you.
2. Digitize your listing presentation. Paper is so 2005. Realtor.com’s iPad-ready listing presentation lets you prepare a customized and interactive listing presentation in just minutes. Imagine the contrast between an agent who has a flutter of papers protruding from a three-ring binder as you simply flip open your iPad and perhaps start with some stunning photos of the subject property. Hand over the iPad. Deliver a rich presentation. Impress with an interactive experience tailored to your seller. Watch as they use their fingers to glide through your presentation, pausing to view the photos of their home you took today. This is a truly immersive experience you can leverage to win the listing.
3. Start a conversation at an Open House. Forget the archaic open house guest register. They don’t work. Grab your iPad and showcase your listing. Engage your walk-through traffic with this interactive, 21st century “property flyer.” Talk about the salient features of the home. Talk about the market. Ask if they want some detailed information about the current local market conditions relevant to them. Tap the screen and open up your TopProducer Market Snapshot, input your new prospect’s contact information, and deliver them timely, relevant content. Instantly. Now that’s engaging and delivering in the 21st century.
These are just a few ways you can turn your iPad into an important part of your customer engagement and lead generation arsenal. But this just scratches the surface. To learn more about the three strategies outlined above, and to get our free guide to the top 10 iPad apps to plug into your business, visit www.Marketing.realtor.com/tablet.
