Technology Making R.E. Agents More Accessible
Greg Cook is one South Florida real estate agent who doesn’t mind when his clients push his buttons. In fact, he encourages it.
Cook’s webite and e-mails contain buttons that say “Talk Now. Click here to speak with us.” If you click on the button, within three seconds your phone will ring. A few seconds later, Cook will actually be on the line to field any questions you may have.
“Consumers want answers quickly,” Cook, an associate with Keller Williams Partners Realty in Coral Springs, told the Sun-Sentinel. “People want immediate responses, and technologically advanced consumers are comfortable using the button to interact with me over the computer.”
In these days of high inventory of unsold homes, sagging sales, uncertain Florida mortgage rates and intense competition for what little business is out there, real estate agents need to pull out the stops to attract new clients.
Many real estate agents are opting to use tools that help impress prospective clients and differentiate themselves from the competition. For some agents, like Cook — who said his talk buttons have generated more opportunities — the technology is worth the investment.
The gadgetry behind Cook’s buttons is realPing, a push-to-talk button inserted into an agent’s website or e-mail that connects a viewer to the agent by a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection.
Once a client or prospect clicks on the “talk to me” button, he’s asked to type his number into a box that pops up on the website. Seconds later, the phone rings to connect him with the agent.
But realPing does more than just connect prospective Florida home mortgage applicants and agents via phone. It also allows agents to use their phone to “push” information or data onto the computer monitor of the person who initiated the call.
“I can take people directly to my featured listings,” Cook said. He can send a virtual tour of a listing onto the prospect’s monitor as well.
RealPing, the brainchild of Albert Clark, who co-founded Real Ping LLC a year ago in Scranton, Pa., charges $16.99 per month for the service, along with a $49.95 set-up fee, which includes the first month. The company now has 3,000 customers nationwide.
“Because there is such a large number of real estate agents, and so few clients today, they have to differentiate themselves and show real value for their commissions. Agents who use high-tech toys will score points at the end of the day,” said Clark.
Clark said that even if an agent gets only a few calls a month, the service is still valuable.
“It’s a listing tool,” he said. “You can demo it in a potential client’s home and show how accessible you’d be.”
Not all agents are so enthusiastic. Richard Bass, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Boca Raton, said agents wanting to be accessible can simply include their cell-phone number on their site or e-mail message.
“Some technology is more sizzle than anything else,” he said.
Andy Weiser, an associate with Coldwell Banker in Fort Lauderdale, and who’s such a fan of high-tech tools that he once prepared and sent a contract to a client in London while riding a horse in the mountains of Montana — said anyone who wants immediate answers from him can simply call. He answers his cell phone from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“If someone is going to take the time to punch my telephone number into their phone rather than simply be passive and hit a ‘call me’ button, then it indicates to me that they are a serious buyer or seller,” Weiser said.
Still, in this tumultuous Florida housing market, people whose livings depend on it are willing to try anything to stay afloat.
