IT Marketing.. Yes Bells And Whistles But Also Dog and Pony....

Host a Virtual Open House Free Using Skype....
We talked about photos and video, the quality of cameras, Agent bio videos and all of that other stuff but as i said earlier successful Brokerages always say, "Put my Agents in contact with the buyer or seller fast and they will make the deal". Lets talk about that a bit.

 Brings Open Houses To The World 

Your buyers are in Canada, New York, California and the UK. You're in S.W. Florida hosting an open house. How are we going to get you in contact with prospective buyers in other areas of the world while you're hosting an open house here? Its easy, we're gonna Skype them in! Its free, easy and you control who can or can not participate in the open house meeting. How are you going to do that?

You will need 3 things.
1) A Skype account.
2) A mobile device with a mobile Internet connection. You can also use the hosting houses Internet connection. There are usually Internet Services in most homes that are on the market and that have the utilities that are required to host an open house.
3) Lastly, a little practice and help from a few friends

Before you try using Skype on your mobile device, set it up on an office or home computer and practice with a few friends. You may ask your office manager to hold a sales meeting and use Skype to invite others to sit in on the meeting from remote locations. Maybe ask some home Agents to sit in on a Skype meeting being hosted in the sales meeting room. This will help you to get the feel of it and to know what you're doing before you start hosting Virtual Open Houses in public.

 Bring Different Devices To One Place 

I have found that using one way audio and video is best. This means that they can see and hear your camera feed but not each others. Nor can you see or hear their cameras unless you choose to. Allowing the attendees to speak openly, or not at all, is your choice as the host. However they can send you a text message in the skype screen that you can answer with speech or text. Everybody can see the question and hear your answer. They may then type a followup question. If a buyer wants to get more information by talking directly to you then call them directly on a voice line. This is a great way to get their phone number and to make personal contact. Tell them you have to call them directly to talk in order to save bandwidth for the video feed your sending in Skype. You can even have a second Agent or an assistant in the Skype meeting answering questions in text while you present the house or talk on the phone. You can then give that person control of the camera and let them take over the open house while you work with a customer. If somebody is unwanted or is playing around in the meeting, just right click and eject them. They are now blocked and can not come back to cause you trouble again.

I know this works because i have seen it in action. Not only did the Agent get offers but the local buyers worried that another person in Canada or the UK may make an offer from Skype. At the same time Skype users watched local buyers walking through the house with other Agents. It made them all antsy to make an offer before another prospective buyers did. Very effective.

As i mentioned earlier see if the property has internet connectivity first. This would be the best scenario, then

 Show Your Open House To Multiple People Across The Country All At Once 

you can use a laptop or tablet to connect. iPads work great and so do Windows 8 phones and tablets. Droids and iPhones both have Skype apps you can install and use. Again practice with friends using your Skype mobile apps before you try to deploy an open house in public.

After the Open House is over you can print the log of text chats to follow up with your guests after the fact. Be sure to advertise the Skype link with the time and date of the event. You can also create a QR Code to allow iPhone, Droid and other Mobile Devices to simply scan the code and connect to the open house. Yes its that easy. Adding the Skype link to your home flyers and Internet advertising will get more buyers to the event. Be patient and remember that you have to be punctual and consistent to make Live Internet Marketing work. If you advertise "every saturday I have a Virtual Open House on Skype", then people will start to attend. Over time more and more people will come. You can also use your MLS Open House Calendar to spread the word. Social Media is a great place to advertise planned events. Facebook has an Event Post you can use to either invite people to attend an event or use it to announce a scheduled events time and date. As a listing Agent this opens markets to you and to your customers that few are tapping. Don't follow the leader, be the leader.
You don't find many Top Producing Agents named "Johnny Come Lately"...and for good reason.

"He who controls the flow of information, controls the world", Bill Gates. Makes sense...

If you're not sure and would like me to stop by your Brokerage and set up a Skype meeting, just give me a call. Its fast and easy... and profitable! Be sure to have a computer with Internet access that's equipped with a  webcam and a microphone setup ready to go.

Hope this helps you to sell more listings and to order more Virtual Tours!
Frank Colontonio
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