With the housing market struggling to operate under stay-at-home orders and group bans, Weichert has responded with a bundled offering of technologies that feature virtual open houses, showings and other digital services powered by its myWeichert platform. Dubbed “Virtually Home with Weichert,” the immersive online sales experience enables customers to go from first look to final walkthrough to closing from anywhere they happen to be.
When state governments began issuing stay-at-home orders and shutting down non-essential businesses in mid-March, Weichert was well-positioned to go virtual quickly having already rolled out its myWeichert platform to Weichert’s 13,000 associates and affiliate agents across the country.
“For Weichert’s sales associates, myWeichert and our strategic move to more digitally-based sales experiences couldn’t have come at a better time. We leveraged myWeichert and rapidly deployed new virtual tools to protect the safety of our associates and customers, while still keeping our business open,” says Carlo Siracusa, president Weichert, Realtors®.
Initially, the suite of mobile apps and tools was aimed at facilitating the day-to-day lead generation, marketing and CRM activities of sales associates. But in light of the industry’s turn to virtual, the myWeichert platform’s incredible flexibility and built-in digital and virtual tools have made it a critical tool for interacting with customers. By leveraging this virtual toolbox, associates can conduct a host of virtual experiences for buyers and sellers while addressing the safety concerns of both customers.
At the heart of the Weichert virtual sales experiences is the virtual open house. Weichert sales associates hosted more than 1,000 virtual open houses engaging with several thousand potential buyers during the last week.
“Weichert is known for its robust open house program, it’s one of our biggest lead generators,” says Siracusa. “We initially focused on virtual open houses, so we could keep lead gen going, that way when we come out of this and the economy storms back, we have clients in the queue.”
By embracing the virtual sales experience, Weichert has been able to engage with customers in some unusual places. In the Weichert Mendham, N.J. sales office, associates gave a buyer in Switzerland a virtual showing for a local house, while others are seeing success combining traditional and online, such as leads coming through call centers being followed up with virtual meetings and digital contract signings.
“Virtually Home with Weichert” offerings include:
All Under One RoofSM: From first look to final walk-through, customers can complete their entire transaction virtually with Weichert’s real estate, finance, insurance and legal advisors, who work together to keep the path straightforward and simple.
Virtual Showings: One-on-one scheduled tours allow buyers to experience a video walkthrough of every room with a sales associate who is fully engaged and can respond to live questions.
Virtual Open Houses: Weichert’s Virtual Open House events allow potential buyers to virtually “check-in” and ask questions while seeing every highlight of the home.
Property Listing Ads With myWeichert: Our myWeichert ad platform powers geo-targeted Facebook ads for every listing, targeting ads to likely buyers based on their neighborhood interests, preferences and prior search criteria.
Live Virtual Buyer Events: Experience Weichert’s listings in a new and unique way, a virtual gathering. Buyers get up-close-and-personal—think cocktail party or family game night—with sales associates helping them to imagine themselves there.
Neighborhood Walkthrough: Learn about the surrounding area with virtual neighborhood tours and gain additional insight about the surrounding areas and town.
Property Websites With Live Chat: With custom property websites for every Weichert listing, sales associates receive real time alerts and can immediately respond to messages from prospective buyers on the website, from any device.
Interactive Digital Property Brochures: Creating brilliant online collateral for every Weichert listing, buyers can engage with simple, beautifully designed interactive home brochures.
ePostcards: Powered by the myWeichert platform, sales associates can send digital previews of every Weichert listing with property information, before it goes to market.
Virtual Buyer’s Consultations: Engaging with prospective buyers through a virtual consultation, sales associates gain insight and understanding of their needs and wants, further assisting them in finding their next home.
Virtual Listing Presentations: Working closely with a Weichert sales associate, sellers learn about how we market and ultimately sell their home fast, for top dollar.
For more information, please visit www.weichert.com.
