I was reading about the Zillow-Move settlement this morning and couldn’t help but think that if our industry had grabbed the web marketing “bull by the horns” early on, the portals would probably have never gained the power they have today.
There’s a lot of discussion about the bigger corporations making money from the smaller people on the street.
But what can you do today so you don’t have to spend as much for your leads as you’re currently doing?
What’s the next big thing in real estate?
Social collaboration!
Why not leverage your listings not through a media portal, but through a local and global network of buyers’ agents and their contacts that are actively promoting and sharing your listings at a fraction of the cost?
Here’s an example…
I was recently talking to a Washington, D.C. broker about the possibilities of social collaboration. She asked me about a potential scenario. “I have a $5 million townhouse listing in Georgetown. Is it possible to reach wealthy Chinese investors through real estate agents beyond my sphere of influence?”
The answer, with digital sharing and social collaboration, is yes.
Agents have the ability to “follow” the listing in Washington, D.C. and “showcase” it their clients. They can “share” that listing with their contacts wherever that may be (Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, etc.) and in Chinese if they want to. They “register” the lead with the broker in D.C. so they have the confidence they’re going to get paid.
It’s similar to what companies like Uber and Airbnb have done to create a whole new market in transportation and accommodations.
And it’s going to revolutionize the way we market real estate.
Jose Perez is the founder of PCMS Consulting, and the Executive Vice President of Global Sales for Proxio.
For more information, visit www.proxio.com.
