I am considered the go to guy for technology within my office. That being said, I think that some agents are focusing on the systems designed to make their jobs easier and are not really in the best interest of the Client. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Agents are making a concious decision to make life easier on themselves. Many of the seminar and trade show sales pitches are full of stats and figures that show how wonderful these products are and how they will benefit you AND YOUR CLIENT. There is an old saying that "Figures don't lie, but liar's figure".
In my five short years in this business, I have used, researched and tested every technology tool I could get my hands on to see if they truly will help my business. ActiveRain by the way is my first research tool when looking for other Agent's experiences with most of these tools. I understand that different things work in different areas of the country but here are my views on some of the tools they say we must have.
Visual Tours: Which ever of the hundreds of companies out there that you may be using, I hope you are having more luck than I have had. They make a great impression at the listing appointment because Seller's love to see their home on video. In tracking the numbers and asking buyers at open houses and interactive online sites, very few use the visual tour. Most say they don't have the time to watch a 5 minute video on every listing. Pictures,Pictures and more Pictures is what they want.
Customized Property Websites: When these first came out they were a great way to seperate your listings and show that you as an agent are utilizing the Internet as a marketing source. If however I compare my tracking numbers. I find that I am able to get more response from the older brother of this tool the CALL CAPTURE system. With virtually everyone having access to a cell phone, this gives you an opportunity to speak to a potential buyer at a time when they are actually thinking about looking for properties. It's not as convenient as the website but doesn't require someone hopefully fill out an online form in order to be able to contact them.
Showing Appointment Services:very convenient for an agent that has many listings and doesn't have time to orchestrate showings. This is one that I'm on the fence about and would love some feedback from you on. I get mixed feedback from clients on these. Most like the fact that these systems are relentless about getting feedback. The drawback is that it makes them think that the Agent is putting the listing on auto-pilot. Another complaint is that often times regardless of showing instructions, you get very short notice from agents using the system.
There are a million ways to spend money in this business, and I am really trying to focus on the tools that will help both me and my client. I know many of the drawbacks above can be explained away with the right "script", but if I don't believe it how am I going to convince a client to believe it.
Please share your views on these or any other system that you have had good or bad feedback on. I'm always interested in the opinions of others and not so stubborn that my mind can't be changed with valid reasoning.
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