Virtual Agents – Is This The Next Step – Not From What I've Seen?
Comments(3) This promises so much, the virtual agent, no shop front, all properties marketed exclusively on the web, all promising the newest technology to sellers and buyers, sounds too good to be true? and you’re right it is!!!!
I’ve spoken before in a post a few days ago about making sure you are what you say you are, and not trying to pretend that your agency offers the best technology when in fact it doesn’t live up to the hype. Well that has just happened to me. I’ve just checked out a web site from a Brisbane based company supposedly pushing the boundaries of the traditional agency by promoting themselves as “the” virtal agency. Here again is a sows ear being marketed as a silk purse. If these agents are going to survive in the virtual world they are going to have to learn some lessons in real estate technology and on line marketing, because from what I’ve seen so far, they won’t be here in the next 6 months, not with the market the way it is and the vendor and consumer will see through the hype.
Firstly, their web site opens with flash, come on team, flash hasn’t worked for real estate web sites for years, get me to the property with 1 click, secondly, their listings are substandard, Incomplete property descriptions, they promise the best in technology, OK, no video, no suburb data, no 15+ photos, no HDR photos,no virtual tours, a blog that hasn’t been updated since August, standard email alert set up, do I really need to go on about this?
If you are thinking of going virtual, and to me as we stand here in 2008, that means leaving more traditional advertising formats behind, then you need to really have a 2 year strategy in place, and more importantly, you need to live the promise.
In this case, the agent sold up his shop front business and decided the next step was virtual, and that’s a great dream in my mind, but the execution is all traditional thinking, not virtual thinking, and that is the big difference.
Don’t be tempted to go virtual without thinking through what you do and how you will execute the plan and the vision, If in doubt ask me, I won’t hold back on telling you the truth!!!
I love your honesty and frankness on the topics of educating agents on what works and what doesn’t in todays technology. My company has a similar philosophy which is to partner with agents and advise them on trouble-free, effective technologies with great applications for real estate. I do beg to differ on your overall comment about Flash. As a Broker and real estate photographer, I’ve been developing a Flash-based product to help agents easily make their listings look more attractive online and function the way buyers expect them to: fast and fun with FULL SCREEN photos! It’s loaded with agent tools as well. This is the easy, effective, and super affordable way to help agents sell more homes online. I’d love your review and I’d love to speak with you some more.
Angelina Shamrock, Broker
Founder & Co-creator Flash Gallery Homes
angie@flashgalleryhomes.com
http://www.flashgalleryhomes.com
http://activerain.com/flashgalleryhomes
http://flashgalleryhomes.wordpress.com
Firstly thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I really appreciate your comments as well, the best way to respond to your comment is to state that i’m not against flash, but in my experience in the Australian market when real estate offices have used flash on their front page, which in the case of the virtual agent I was mentioning it has been a turn off for them. The consumer research on this has the buyer or seller wanting to get to the property in as few clicks as possible, that is why myhome.com.au based their design on a 1 click to the property design, realestate.com.au can take 3 clicks etc. I like flash when it is used to market properties etc because it adds the dynamic to the search. I guess with real estate agents who advertise themselves as virtual agents and offer, what they say, is the best technological offering around, in some cases, they do not live up to the hype, that was the point of the post. Be what you say you are,and deliver what you promise.
Hope that answers your comment and i really hope we can get to chat and share some ideas.
Kindest Regards
Mike
I’ve been to both your seminars in Bundy and have learn’t a great deal. You would be welcome again. Now is implementation time … for the next two years.
We had already made the decision to close our shop before the seminars. Our shop is now http://organicodyssey.com.au
I designed the site 4 years ago and our clients comment how easy it is to use so we have left it as they like it for the time being.
Our first step is to get a blog hosted on our domain.
Joe Hall, like yourself, recommends WordPress : http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/05/a-bulletproof-seo-strategy-for-real-estate-professionals.html
Have you installed it on your own domain’s root directory? It seems that the blog software is infact your web site?
Will it work just as well if I place wordpress in a directory within my web site?