The real estate sector, since the last century, has heavily relied on a very persistent sales team cajoling potential buyers into buying houses big and small over multiple discussions. Traditionally, the procedure has dictated a walkthrough of the model apartment and discussions using printed materials like plans and costing sheets. None of this has been possible for the larger part of 2020 because of Covid-19.
The onset of Covid-19 rapidly accelerated the need for a digital transformation for the sector to stay afloat. The real-estate sector was thrown into the virtual world overnight and since has leap-frogged in multiple ways, right from transitioning to online platforms and achieving even a bigger feat – closing deals online, without any face-to-face meetings (quite unthinkable of in 2019!)
Here are the top 5 products that gained huge popularity with real estate developers and sellers in 2020 which have helped their teams in closing deals in these unprecedented times.
Matterport (3-D scans)
Matterport is a San Francisco based company. It employs proprietary machine vision technologies and deep learning algorithms to enhance the 3D experience. Matterport’s cameras and cloud services make it quick and easy to turn real-world places into immersive virtual experiences. Once the space is scanned and converted into 3D, you can fully customize it to your liking. It has features like annotation, video editing and it can be shared on almost any platform.
Their pricing for paid plans ranges from $9.99 to $309 per month. It also offers a free version.
With the current restrictions brought about by the pandemic, virtual tours can be done as opposed to apartment showings. Although Matterport is picky when it comes to the devices you use to capture photos, it gets the job done in creating high-resolution virtual tours.
More on the Matterport website
Chatbots (on websites)
Today, most real estate buyers start their research online. In such a case when a potential buyer lands on your website, they can immediately get their queries answered by the chatbot. They do not have to wait for any human assistance to get to know more information about the property they are interested in. These chatbots assist your sales team by creating a sales funnel and chasing leads that have a higher rate of conversion. Not only that, chatbots can help in scheduling calls, keeping a log of interaction, and knowing your customer and their preferences better.
Good examples of chatbots are Intercom and HubSpot
Zoom
Zoom has emerged as one of the most popular platforms for video conferencing during the pandemic. With a clean user interface and plenty of features, Zoom has proven to be a great alternative to face-to-face meetings. Features like screen sharing and annotation allow the real estate agents to mimic a real meeting by sharing plans and taking clients through a virtual tour. Moreover, it allows for broadcasting a Zoom meeting to Facebook or YouTube. It’s perfect for hosting a Zoom webinar that can benefit your clients help you reach a wider audience.
Zillow (virtual tours)
Virtual real estate tours are offering a way for buyers and investors to overcome the restrictions on on-site visits during the pandemic. VR tools have gained wide popularity in the early stages of the buying process as it helps shortlist properties worth pursuing.
Stepping into a 3D home by Zillow is just like using Google Maps’ Street View: you see arrows that let you click or tap around to different rooms. It gives an immersive experience to the buyer and helps them shortlist properties they like with ease.
More on Zillow here.
Salesforce
Salesforce comes with just the right features that allow it to be used in the real estate industry. Having a simple interface, without complex setup procedures, easy customizability, and great flexibility afforded by cloud computing, Salesforce is the CRM of choice when it comes to the real estate industry. In a poll conducted by Active Rain (the world’s largest online real estate community), it was discovered that the most successful real estate agents are approximately two times as likely to adopt CRM and lead management solutions when compared to their less-successful peers.
Some of the benefits of Salesforce are:
- Lead tracking
- Automate tasks
- Build better customer relationships
- Evaluate your performance
And then, since you are on the TrialEstate blog, we can’t help but mention that TrialEstate helps digitise the sales process.
What is TrialEstate and why should one use it?
- TrialEstate is a fast growing online portal and video sales enabled online platform that is specifically tailor-made to enable residential real estate sales.
- The platform has plenty of specific tools and methods to allow you to recreate the physical visit experience online.
- TrialEstate has been made by an assorted team of professionals with deep knowledge in real estate, UX and UI design, graphic design and website design.
- Your sales team can sell while sitting at home; only on TrialEstate.
Click here to schedule a free demo of how you can sell dream homes to customers in need via TrialEstate.
In conclusion:
The new digital ways are here to stay even after the world bids adieu to the coronavirus (soon, we hope).
The pandemic has made both the buyers and sellers more comfortable and active on digital platforms. Those who have actively embraced digital tools for operations, customer engagement, virtual tours, etc. stand to gain over the competition as the market recovers.
We’re well into the last quarter of the year, with the festive season right around the corner, what are you waiting for?
Make the shift to digital. Happy selling!