As agents and brokers try to make sense of the new normal with social distancing regulation in place, customers will increasingly look to you for solutions and support as they navigate the possibilities of buying and selling a home.聽

3D scans and video walkthroughs, virtual staging and video emails, social content and, most of all, lots of clear communication are just a few of the ways you can help your clients find home as we ride out these turbulent times together. 

If you鈥檙e a real estate agent suddenly tasked with the challenge of transforming a high-touch business into a fully remote, digital operation, here are six ways to make it work.

Objection: “I’m too nervous to buy a house right now.”

Solution:

Communication is king now. When people are sheltering in place, sending a genuine, personable message of support can reach people in powerful ways. It tells your customers that you鈥檙e thinking about them and that you care. When done well, communication can build rapport for the lifetime of a relationship. 

While it鈥檚 not a good practice to try and predict the real estate market鈥檚 future with clients, you can gently remind prospects that buying real estate in a bear market has historically been a wise long-term investment.

Here are some other ways to connect with clients and the community and keep the communication lines open:

• Create a webinar on virtual staging and 鈥�3D live houses鈥� then video-market it.
• Share advice on inventory, interest rates and market conditions via email and social posts.
• Connect past clients with lenders to help with refinancing.
• Organize a community call-to-action to check in safely on elderly neighbors.
• Schedule a remote food donation drop-off for the elderly and less fortunate.
• Let buyers know that you have the tech to complete their transaction.

Objection: “Should I still close? The market is unpredictable.”

Solution:

Regular communication is even more key for homebuyers who are in pending transactions. Check in regularly and often to let them know when the transaction is progressing smoothly. No news can be bad news in these times to the nervous homebuyer. 

Conversely, be transparent when you hit a glitch. Throughout the process, step up your communication format with free teleconference tools that let you relate in real time.聽聽and聽FaceTime聽are a few platforms that let you talk and see all parties on screen.

Objection: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel comfortable with people walking through my house.鈥�

Solution:

By being an advisor, an advocate and a source of information, you can educate prospects on your ability to turn a high-contact open house into a virtual 鈥渓ive house鈥� with 3D scans, video tours and digital staging. 

Because still shots make it hard to grasp the layout of a home, she can offer her listing clients a full photo shoot package with 3D and virtual tours, drone and around 50 still shots for about $500. When possible virtual staging is also used, but it鈥檚 easiest when the home is vacant or the rooms have minimal furniture. 

So many real estate apps can offer home shoppers peace of mind by allowing them to tour and view a house without having to step foot inside. 

Here are a few virtual and digital platforms to check out for your 鈥渓ive house鈥�:

-Zillow 3D Home, Matterport, iStaging, EyeSpy360, Cubi.Casa

DIY Video Tours- Sellers can take their own video tours using a smartphone and maybe a gimbal mount or a mini tripod to help stabilize the video. You or the seller can then host the video tour via FaceTime or Skype.聽

Objection: 鈥淲hat if my state orders 鈥渟helter in place?鈥� I need to find a house, but will I be able to view homes?鈥�

Solution:

Change and government action is moving at a fast clip right now. What might seem like a benign situation in your community today may be different next week. While some West Coast cities were still reporting multiple bids at open houses last week, new shelter-in-place orders changed those selling landscapes in a matter of days. 

Don鈥檛 get caught unprepared. Prepare today by adding 3D scans to listings now and forge partner alliances with lenders, mobile notaries and other professionals who can help solve problems together.

Objection: 鈥淗ow are we going to close the transaction? I don鈥檛 feel comfortable coming into a brokerage or title office to sign documents.鈥�

Solution:

All-in-one  allow agents to share, edit and eSign documents with their clients within a fully mobile-first, digital system. An end-to-end platform will further let you refer third-party providers, like lenders and home warranty companies, while agents and admins can submit for review on their phones. 

Many agents are closing deals with mobile notaries who watch as the homebuyer signs papers then notarizes them remotely.聽聽lets you legally sign and notarize documents 100% online, while聽聽provides a remote notary platform to all 50 states with the help of a video call. Many title companies are using mobile notaries and a video teleconference platform, like Zoom or Google Hangouts, to watch and supervise the signing.

In addition to remote bank wiring, there鈥檚聽, which touts banking-level security and encryption to fully and securely transfer funds for real estate transactions.

Objection: 鈥淚鈥檝e heard housing has come to a halt. Shouldn鈥檛 I wait until the economy rebounds?鈥�

Solution:

Letting customers know when you鈥檙e busy goes far to ease their worries and head off consumer panic. Updating posts with the current interest rates can also help create a sense of urgency. 

Don鈥檛 miss this opportunity to reach out to investors. The dip in the market and low-interest rates sends a cue to investors who may be interested in purchasing single-family homes as sources of extra income.

Also, remind your home buying customers that the action they take today on today鈥檚 low-interest rates will spell big savings for 10, 20 or even 30 years down the road. For instance, a 30-year mortgage at 3.5% versus a 4.5% rate might save the customer $20,000 over a 30-year period. Under that scenario, buying now makes more sense than waiting until rates rise.

When done well, digital technology can reward with silver linings in new leads and ways to stand out from the competition. How are you helping to allay your customers鈥� fears and concerns? Please share it in the comments section below.

originally published by

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Today鈥檚 consumer is mobile-first and more educated than ever about real estate. Likewise, they expect and demand that their real estate agents deliver personable, responsive and tech-savvy experiences with complete expertise in their market.

Here鈥檚 how to create compelling client experiences before, during and long after the deal has closed.

1. Cater to Your Clientele.

First impressions are mission critical for real estate agents trying to capture the hearts and minds of potential new clients.

Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report research shows that sellers use these initial impressions to shape and inform their decisions. Specifically, 86 percent say trustworthiness and 81 percent cite responsiveness as 鈥渆xtremely or very important鈥� qualities they seek when selecting an agent. Also, 80 percent favor agents who can serve as experts within a local market.

For listing agents, there鈥檚 no better way to engender trust in the agent鈥檚 expertise within a market than with a customized listing presentation highlighting their strengths and the home鈥檚 specific features.

With more buyers and sellers using curated data to customize their internet experiences on their mobile apps and devices, more than half of U.S. digital device users say they鈥檙e more apt to make a purchase when marketing content speaks directly to their needs, according to the 2019 Adobe Brand Content Survey.

2. Offer Mobile Transaction Solutions.

Zillow鈥檚 2019 Consumer Housing Trends Report found that nearly four out of five U.S. home buyers (79 percent) use an online resource at some point in their search. Also, more than half of first-time home buyers who look online use mobile to research their prospective properties.

Today鈥檚 client is online 24/7 and wants to know that they can connect with their real estate agent on their mobile devices to search properties, message questions and transact whenever and wherever they happen to be.

 gives customers and agents maximum mobility with on-the-spot eSignatures, on-screen document scanning and a convenient mobile 鈥渟ubmit for review鈥� feature.

Dotloop鈥檚 in-app text Messenger also archives text conversations and offers real-time notifications, alerting the agent instantly when activity has occurred on a transaction.

All add up to quicker customer service and expedited deals that let clients and agents navigate outside the confines of a desk workspace.

3. Improve Response Rates.

As responsiveness ranks high among clients in their agent evaluation, consider the fact that consumers take an average 90 minutes to respond to an email versus 90 seconds to respond to a text.

Not only do texting and direct messaging improve response rates; they鈥檙e also a preferred means of communication among clients. A Facebook-commissioned survey of 8,156 people found that 65 percent of people feel more confident messaging a business than emailing, filling out a form on a website or calling. Also, 74 percent of those surveyed said they expect messaging to enable better customer experiences.

Text Messenger also makes a great way to make first contact with buyers at an open house when you only have a phone number and want fast, efficient followup.

4. Streamline Referrals.

Clients trust and highly value agents who offer referrals to third-party vendors, including home warranties, title insurance, mortgage lenders, contractors and home inspectors. They rely on their agents to provide professional expertise and insight on trusted referrals who can help complete the transaction.

Dotloop can help by giving real estate agents and admins the ability to seamlessly connect clients with third-party referrals, using the  feature on the paperless transaction management platform. Business+ admin profiles can also create brokerage-level Trusted Service Providers that will appear in all agent loops.

5. Offer the Little Touches.

Long after the transaction closes, agents should continue creating memorable client experiences by sending clients thank-yous for their closings and check-ins for home anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions. Dotloop鈥檚 integrations with our app partners makes it easy to set up drip campaigns to auto-trigger a congratulations email post-closing or a check-in email at a one-year anniversary.

Video, too, is a great way to engage and keep an agent鈥檚 name top of mind long after the closing.

In the end, it鈥檚 those agents who add thoughtful touches to their client relationships who really make a great lasting impression and help prompt referrals.

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Order pizza on moving day for new homeowners.
• Throw a housewarming party so neighbors can meet new residents and bid farewell to sellers.
• Hire a cleaning crew for sellers to help prepare for showings.
• Create a housewarming basket full of move-in essentials, like paper towels and hand soap.
• Send a handwritten card thanking your clients for their business at close.
• Invite past, present and future clients to an appreciation event.

originally published by dotloop.com.

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After a successful sale, it鈥檚 always a good idea to keep in contact with that client. But when is the best time to follow-up and when does your outreach become too much or not enough? Real estate agents grow a large portion of their business from existing clients giving referrals, whether it鈥檚 a friend telling a friend or a client posting your name on social media next to their new home. It can be tricky, but here are a few tips on how you can keep in contact with your referral network without becoming a pushy salesperson.

Keep it relevant

No one likes letters, postcards or emails that are not going to help or inform them in any way. Don鈥檛 just send something to get your name in front of them, send material that the consumer will open and use. Price updates, housing trends or holiday greetings are all examples of emails or mailings that your client can appreciate and/or find useful.

Social Media

Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are just a few social media platforms that are a great way to remind your referrals about your business without having to directly message them. You can share content about the real estate industry, tips and tricks to selling a home or your current listings. These topics keep you on brand but also encourage engagement from your clients to like, share or comment. You can share parts of your personal life to social media but remember to keep it simple. Business accomplishments, business announcements or family celebrations are great things to share that let your clients get to know you a bit more without being intrusive.

Events

Client appreciation events or just a small get-together to say thank you to your clients is a great way to stay in touch. This puts the control in the consumer鈥檚 hands, but also shows you care enough to invite them to a special event. These functions are also a great way to network and discuss potential business with those who are able to make it.

Be Unique

All agents want to be remembered by their customers, but not all succeed. Make sure your follow-up is unique to your brand and business. Make it personal to each client and not a generic message you send out every year. You can also do small gifts as a thank you for their business. If they have a dog, send dog treats with their thank you card! People appreciate the effort and are more likely to remember something that was personalized to their family or buying/selling experience, than a card that they鈥檝e seen a thousand times.

Write it, don鈥檛 type it

The art of a handwritten note goes a long way. When sending 鈥淭hank You鈥� or 鈥淛ust Sold鈥� cards, consider writing it by hand. This gives a personal touch to any mailing and shows that you took the extra time for that client. If you鈥檙e worried about your messy writing, don鈥檛 worry, most of us have that problem! In that case, just write the sign-off by hand and include the body of the message as text.

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