In our fast-paced world of technology, social media, and smart phones, the days of delayed gratification are long gone. People everywhere are used to getting instant updates on any and all things that matter to them. When a phone call or email from a prospect goes unnoticed, the following passing seconds (minutes, hours, or even days) are like gold ticking away. This is an important practice to keep in mind at any time, but as the year winds down and business begins to slow for the holidays it is crucial for agents to keep response time at the forefront of their minds.

Here are some easy ways to stay connected to your prospects on the go:

• Link all your social media profiles and email accounts to your smart phone, and make it so that your phone audibly alerts you of incoming messages.
• Respond as soon as you receive a message. Your initial response doesn’t have to be completely thorough (especially if you’re with another client) but simply acknowledging the message is nice.
• If you don’t have a smart phone, ask an assistant at your office to monitor your incoming emails and/or social media messages and respond to each one promptly, even if that message is simply, “I’m out on a showing right now, but I will answer your question as soon as I get back to my office.” Again, any response is better than no response. It’s important to let clients know they matter to you.
• Most regular cell phone carriers provide a service where you can send emails via text message. Each provider works a little differently, but you can click here to find out how yours works. You can use this feature to ensure that clients can send emails straight to your cell phone through text message using your AgentAdvantage site.
• If you are a Premier level customer for AgentAdvantage, you can also use our Click to Call Feature on your website to offer one more way to connect to you. All a prospect has to do to get in touch with an agent is click a button on their website, enter their phone number, and our service calls both the agent and prospect and connects them.

 

These are just a few of the ways to stay connected. The more invested you seem in your clients, the more invested they’ll be in you. If you need help with adding an additional email address to your account or would like more information about upgrading to a Premier level account with Click To Call, please contact Member Services at 800-889-3726.

Though the Apple iPhone 4 release certainly taught us a lesson or two about the importance of good PR and solid customer service, it also forces us to think about mobile technology in new ways and redefine what smartphones can do for us. With the advent of mobile video chat, GPS, and hundreds of thousands of smartphone apps, today’s phones are changing the way we interact with each other, and the services we provide as internet marketers. Here are a few tips to keep you ahead of the competition during the mobile revolution.

Mobile Search

More and more people are flocking to mobile apps to search for homes, and the ‘print out listings and drive around on Saturdays’ approach is becoming a thing of the past. As the ‘grab the phone and go’ technique gains momentum, you’ll need to make sure your listings are being syndicated to websites with mobile sites or apps. Also, make sure your property addresses are correct so they are properly displayed in mobile home searches that use GPS technology. Visit the Homes.com Mobile page to download the free Homes.com mobile app.

Mobile Video

With 3G and 4G networks and an ever increasing pixel resolution, mobile video is not the painfully slow ordeal it once was. Your video tour or slide show can finally shine on these newer devices, and buyers (and sellers) will certainly appreciate the extra effort. If you’re a YouTube user, simply upload your next property tour and your video will be automatically optimized for mobile browers (and if you have a YouTube channel, be sure to mention it on your AgentAdvantage website and in your next listing presentation!). Want to move beyond property tours? Consider creating an ‘About Me’ video, a video blog, or videos about key subdivisions, cultural hubs, and entertainment venues in your service area. To learn more about using YouTube on your phone, visit the YouTube for Mobile page.

Mobile Contracts

Mobile contracts are no longer a fantasy for real estate agents, now that DocuSign and the National Association of Realtors have partnered to create software specifically for Realtors® that allow you to get documents signed right from your iPhone. Those poorly designed mobile scanners and printers we’ve dealt with may be headed to the nearest recycling center at last. For more information about DocuSign’s products under the Realtor Benefits Program®, visit DocuSign Realtor Edition or DocuSign for iPhone.

We are proud to bring you the first real estate mobile agent and broker sites to be optimized for iPhone, Blackberry, Palm and all major smartphone platforms – a new FREE feature exclusively for AgentAdvantage clients!

With the number of mobile homebuyers on the rise, we’ve listened to your feedback and have created your NEW Mobile Site with a clear and easy-to-navigate interface, to lead homebuyers directly to your listing search of your MLS (if connected) for maximum conversion! Additionally, your AgentAdvantage Mobile Site can be customizable to match your website’s branding.

What are the advantages of my NEW Mobile Site?

• Your AgentAdvantage search is featured front and center on your mobile site for maximum homebuyer conversion!
• Your Mobile Site is optimized for iPhone and is compatible with ALL major mobile phone providers including BlackBerry, Android and Palm.
• GPS mapping on iPhones and select other devices.
• You can customize your Mobile Site’s background and text colors to match your personal branding.

How do I customize my Mobile Site?

You can customize your Mobile Site by clicking on “Mobile Site Options” in the Listings tab of your Control Panel. Once in this area, you can select your color and other preferences according to the directions on the page.

 View of the “Mobile Site Options” feature in your AgentAdvantage Control Panel

Best of all, your mobile site has been automatically activated, with no need for action on your part! If you wish to deactivate your mobile site, you can choose this option in the “Mobile Site Options” area of the Control Panel.

We constantly work to improve your membership experience to include the newest and most in-demand features, so we are excited to provide this NEW Mobile Site upgrade as yet another FREE service included with your AgentAdvantage membership.

If you have questions about your Mobile Site or any other AgentAdvantage product or service, please contact us at 1-800-889-3726 or support@agentadvantage.com.

Homes.com has released a mobile application allowing consumers to search for your listings on the go! Forrester Research recently reported that 67 percent of smartphone owners browse the mobile Internet at least once per week, and 30 percent do so daily. By releasing mobile apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Blackberry Storm alongside a new mobile website, Homes.com has become the FIRST real estate portal to reach consumers through all major mobile marketing channels. Now home buyers and sellers can easily search over 3 million homes for sale and rent, right from their mobile phones!
Your listings will appear on mobile phones complete with rich property details, Google maps, color photos, driving directions, and agent contact information. Featured listings on Homes.com will also apply to the mobile applications allowing your listings to be highlighted in search results.

The Blackberry Storm application is available from Blackberry World, the iPhone application can be found in the iTunes App Store, and the mobile site can be accessed from any web-enabled phone at mobile.homes.com.