Now is the time to turn up the heat on an already-hot housing market by utilizing some of the best technological advancements in real estate. It may not seem that dire to incorporate more technology into the process of selling a home. After all, as a real estate agent, you want to make a personal connection with clients who are trusting you to help them navigate the housing market.
By upping your technology game, you can expand the services you offer to clients, free up time by letting electronics shoulder a bit of your workload, and create a smoother experience for homebuyers and yourself. If you’re interested in the tech world and what it can offer, here are a few power players that will make selling your next home a breeze.
Virtual Tour Software
Providing a virtual tour of your listings is a big win for both you and your clients. Neither of you has to compare schedules to find a time to meet, saving you both the time and money required for commuting. In the worst-case scenarios, clients navigating hectic workdays or those living out of state can view the virtual tour at any hour and as many times as they wish, making the entire process run without a hitch.
Virtual tours are also an effective way to boost sales since they drive interest by providing more visual gratification, being emailed to potential clients, and speeding up the buying process. You won’t have to worry about breaking the bank either. Virtual tour software is surprisingly affordable for how much money it can help you bring in through sales.
Virtual Staging
Similar to virtual tours, virtual staging is a must if you’re looking to converse formerly wasted time and energy. In many instances, staging a home for a tour can be arduous since you’ll need to lug in heavy furniture and decorate the area to show clients the property’s full potential. This process can take days and involves laborious work, but virtual staging allows you to skip the physical aspects altogether.
A virtual stager can digitally insert furniture, houseware, and decorations into the photo by taking high-quality images of the property’s empty rooms and living spaces. With this state-of-the-art technology in your agent artillery, you’ll no longer have to search for the perfect couch and move it in for a tour since a virtual stager can find chic additions in a matter of minutes.
Internet of Things
The internet of things is a simple way of referencing any smart devices which connect to a cloud. In the housing market, these “things” can be smart TVs, refrigerators, security systems, and climate controls. Smart devices are an ever-expanding technology sector, and many speculate that soon, agents and homeowners will be able to connect a smart device that tracks maintenance history for the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems. Providing this information to clients could speed up the willingness to buy since clients will know they’re purchasing a home that won’t immediately require costly repairs.
Artificial Intelligence
AI sometimes gets a bad reputation when people linger on the potential horrors of a science-fiction scenario like AI robots becoming self-aware and taking over. But rest assured, the AI used in daily life and business development isn’t going to spring to life suddenly.
By collecting data on the housing market and your client base, real estate agents can put AI to work. One of the more lucrative ways to utilize AI is by having it differentiate between people simply browsing your property listings and those actively looking to purchase a home. Being aware of this information allows you to spend more time on genuine leads and focus less on individuals who aren’t ready to buy yet.
Digital Transaction Management
Digital transactions eliminate the need to carry around stacks of paperwork and organize physical copies. You may already be familiar with a popular digital transition management software known as DocuSign, which allows you and your clients to sign documents and store them electronically and securely. The lack of physical paperwork cuts down the time and money spent traveling to meet up and instead allows you to email any necessary paperwork to your clients. Since the documents are stored electronically, you can also pull them up virtually anywhere if needed, as long you have a phone or laptop.
CRMs
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, CRMs stands for customer relationship management software. Working as a real estate agent requires frequent phone calls, emails, and meetings, as building relationships is the key to helping clients close on a home. With how much back and forth you do, it can be easy to get your wires crossed when keeping track of your customer interactions. CRMs help you keep track of your clients, when you last spoke with them, what you met about, what they’re looking for, and when to follow up with them. This software remembers all of the nitty-gritty details so you can focus your energy on your clients.
Before you go
Whether you like to keep up with the technology world or this information is entirely new to you, it’s essential to know how your field of work is shifting. Technology is here to stay and is only going to become more extensive and more advanced. The sooner you begin to incorporate it into your workflow, the quicker you can start to reap the benefits.
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