BuilderRadio Podcast – New Tools to Communicate with Your Prospects and Buyers
Filed under: Best Practices, Interviews, Online Marketing Experts, Online Trends, Resources & Tools
Be sure to stop over and check out the new podcast of an interview I did with my friends at www.builderradio.com
New Tools to Communicate with Your Prospects and Buyers.
Click Here to Listen Now >>
In this interview, we discuss the following strategies for upgrading your sales tools:
1. Lose the ‘Dumb Phone’
A smart phone, such as the iPhone, is like a Swiss Army Knife for communication. It’s always with you, so it’s easy to use to shoot a quick video of a customer or a home, or shoot pictures of a home, and then send them via email. Don’t forget your apps that keep you connected to all the social media outlets. You’ve got to have that ability in your phone to keep in touch and communicate in new ways.
2. Video
Video is the second most powerful form of communication; after face-to-face communication, there’s nothing better than video. Video can share expressions and emotions that you can’t share in an email or even over the phone where you lose that visual communication. Even though it’s still one-way, your buyers can see your excitement, energy and enthusiasm. So it’s very powerful.
3. Video Email
Video can be used to communicate with customers directly. There’s a great tool that I use called Eyejot.com. Video email gives you an opportunity to communicate more and better than your competitors. And the more you communicate, the better your chances are of making the sale. And by the way, a basic Eyejot.com account is free, so it doesn’t cost you anything to communicate on a much better level!
4. Social Networking
Social media is like word of mouth marketing on steroids. The first thing about social media is that it’s very broad; there are so many sites out there. The second thing people tell me is that they don’t have the time to engage in all the different social avenues. When you’re using social media, try to be efficient with it. Use your smart phone in your down time or in the evenings to make quick connections and have valuable conversations, and you’ll see the opportunities present themselves by using these new tools to better connect with Realtors, past customers and future buyers.
Will the iPhone 4 Help You Sell More Homes?
I think, more importantly, the question is how will these new super smart phones continue to change how we sell homes? I shot a quick video of my thoughts.
The long awaited iPhone 4 will soon be coming to a store near you. Steve Jobs revealed the new iPhone 4 last week. This new smart phone has a lot of new hardware updates and features as well as a new sleek look, all of which you can see here. One of the new features has the potential to change the landscape for sales professionals that will use it. The new Face Time video calling feature will give agents who really like to sell “face to face” (don’t we all) the ability to do so via their new iPhone 4 video. This feature gives you the ability to talk face to face to anyone else using the iPhone 4 (wi-fi only for 2010, but you know they are pushing this for 3G, and it is open so I am sure we’ll be talking to other phones too). You can show properties, talk to customers and give them updates on their home construction or whatever your selling heart desires. The ability to connect on this level is going to be a huge game changer.
Another slick new feature is the 720p HD video which eliminates the need for an additional camera like the Flip or Kodak. So if you have been jonesin’ for a HD pocket camera and debating whether or not to upgrade to an iPhone – this should help you make that decision. On top of that, it looks like the photos you can take will kick butt with the new 5 mp lens.
Along with the new 720p HD video, you now have a full featured tool to edit all that content right on the phone. Apple announced the new iMovie for iPhone, the demo was pretty cool. My mind is racing with all of the possibilities. Think about recording a quick video intro to a property, pulling in 10-15 photos of the home with a Ken Burns effect, finishing off with another video message and including a nice music overlay and titles, all while in your car outside of the home. Crazy right?
Video is one of the most underutilized tools for selling homes. The more comfortable you are with video the better off you will be. You can’t get more comfortable than having this rocket right in your pocket.
Now – if AT&T would just improve their network. It’s not too bad in my neck of the woods but I know others who complain.
So, are you thinking about a new smartphone? I am still on the fence but my “apple-fanboyness” is drawing me in to the iPhone 4. If you are comparing the latest phones, check out the helpful infographic below from Mashable.
What do you think? Will you be buying the new iPhone 4 and how do you plan to use it in your business?
Below is a video ad of the cliffnotes version of the keynote.
Build a Model Home for $2,500 (video)
I am sure you are intimately familiar with the cost to build and keep a model home running? Many times, it’s thousands of dollars every month.
How cool would it be to build a virtual model home – starting at $2,500.
That is exactly what Focus 360 is doing with their brand new Value Line. I was familiar with their product and quality of work with other builders and have seen these tours before. I also knew that it was a sizeable investment. Well, now they have introduced a new product for every builder. Check out the video below of my interview with Steve Greco at the recent BIS show in California.
I always like to bring you the latest in tech and I think this product is fantastic!
You can see examples at their site www.focus360.com and click on the link on the bottom right that says New! Value Line.
(Update) Steve left a comment pointing out their recent post on the Value Line here.
I quick snippet:
Take a look at the samples below that were produced for less than half the cost of our traditional imagery and let me know what you think. We are here to partner with you and deliver the rendering, animation, video or interactive tool that fits your project’s (and budget’s) needs!
And here are the goods:
Value Line Virtual Tour from Focus 360 on Vimeo.
Value Line Rendering
Just Released – New Online Training for Home Builders
I am pleased to announce three new training series! Take advantage of this on-demand training right now to enhance your selling abilities. This collaborative learning experience will keep you operating at peak performance. If you are serious about your career, this training is just what you have been looking for.
Leave a comment and help fine tune the content “What questions would you like answered/addressed?”
Social Media Boot Camp |
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Are you searching for answers on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn? Now is your chance to take part in the home building industry’s first Social Media Boot Camp series. This live virtual training, specially developed for individual sales executives or those who work for home builders, will teach you how to create a powerful social media strategy. Learn More » |
Internet Sales Strategy |
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New home sales executives…NOW is your time to become an internet selling rock star. New media and new technology is a game changer in the sales process. In this series, learn how consumer buying habits and preferences have changed and what you can do to connect in new ways. Explore new avenues of lead generation and prospect management to give you the juice to take your sales to the next level. Learn More » |
OSC University |
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Are you looking for powerful strategies to implement or enhance the Online Sales Counselor (OSC) position? Take part in live virtual training sessions that come directly from my experience in the trenches, along with best practices utilized by homebuilders across the nation. Learn More » |
Guest Post: CRM Is Your New Best Friend
Building Customer Relationship Management Software into the Sales Process
By Dave Clements of Lasso Data Systems
Other than idiosyncratic and superstitious quirks, like wearing the same clothes underwear from the grand opening until you make your first sale, there aren’t too many secrets left in the new home sales process. There is change, constant change, and evolution as we all adapt to the new communication avenues present on the internet. But at its heart, selling a house is still selling a house—connect with a prospect, show off the property, do whatever it is you do to sell, and then close the deal.
For a long time, customer relationship management (CRM) software was one of the last and best-kept secrets in real estate home sales. As is often the case, the real estate homebuilding industry took a while to understand embrace and adopt this new technology. Today, there is an accelerating trend of many developer and homebuilder real estate sales teams are embracing CRM and realizing the benefits of having a centralized database of prospects and buyers leads accessible across their organizations.
Why employ CRM, and how can it benefit a sales team, and help convert leads and close contracts? Here are a few reasons why a robust CRM solution can become a sales team’s new best friend.
CRM keeps information consistent and centralized. Even the most social media-friendly sales organization may still be relying on outmoded spreadsheet-based systems for tracking their leads. Information needs to be copied across multiple documents, increasing the likelihood for error and resulting in inconsistent, inaccurate often outdated data.
With a CRM solution, a centralized database is created, and through the CRM, parties across the organization can update the same information in the same place. Departments can also share information more effectively about prospects or buyers—if a customer service rep has a conversation with a buyer about an amenity package, that can be noted in the customer record so that the salesperson is never out of the loop on any communication with his or her prospect.
More importantly, that database remains consistent and complete even as one project community closes and a second the next project opens up. Many builders right now are facing difficulties selling out projects, moving those last few homes that will take unoccupied homes off the books. A CRM database can help by providing an instant “interest list” for new projects or existing projects that still have homes available. A quick e-mail blast to the entire database can reach those who may have recently resumed a new home search, providing fresh new leads from a database of those who may have once seemed like lost opportunities.
CRM enables effective follow-up. A CRM system is like an instant “to-do” list for a sales agent each day—they can easily access an up-to-date, accurate, complete list of all of their prospects, as well as a listing of when each was last contacted. Using that information, sales professionals can determine who needs a phone call or an e-mail, who should make an appointment to come into the sales center, and who may be close to closing on a home. From a management perspective, CRM can help create a culture of accountability, since the CRM can be used to track how each salesperson is progressing with their active leads. Managers can use this information to help facilitate the sales process and work individually with each salesperson for constructive coaching and personal development. growth.
CRM facilitates marketing. Today, a robust CRM system will serve double duty—it will provide an amazing resource for a sales team and a consistent lead database, but it will also have e-mail marketing capabilities built in. This allows the marketing team to send messages directly to the lead database without having to employ a separate or external systemolution; it also helps streamline the lead tracking process, as each e-mail sent will automatically be noted in automatically as a history item in each lead’s profile. record in the system. Sales professionals will know when each e-mail went out, which prospect opened or forwarded the e-mail, and what the contents of each e-mail was—this is invaluable information to have when performing follow-up calls.
CRM is more than just the best friend your real estate sales team ever had—it’s the technology “bridge” between old-school selling techniques and the rise of Web 2.0 and social media services. With CRM, no lead gets lost, and no sale is missed—every piece of information that comes through the sales team can be documented and stored. It’s an invaluable resource, and any sales team serious about converting leads should investigate it.
Dave Clements is CEO of Lasso Data Systems, a leading provider of customer relationship management solutions designed for the specific needs of the real estate industry. He blogs about real estate sales, marketing, and technology at blog.lassodatasystems.com
