What Makes Technology Practical
Practical means using technology not just for the sake of technology but because the value delivered is greater than the cost. ?Cost includes the time spent by the real estate agent figuring out how to use the technology.
Realtors come from different backgrounds, different generations ? and varing levels of skill with regard to technology. Technology solutions that work the best are different depending on the Realtor. Each Realtor is succesful because of their unique, individual traits. ?
I started in the Real Estate business directly out of college. Sometimes I feel like if ?I were a fly, technology would be fly paper. Through the years I have spent a lot of time in the pursuit of technology, not always to my benifit.
It is interesting to me that my most productive and profitable times in Real Estate are when I concentrate on basic sales rather than working with new gadgets. When I adopt something new there is a learning period that slows me down.
It would be wrong to say that Real Estate Agents shouldn’t worry about new technology. When I started in Real Estate the most important technology was the real estate calculator. Still to come was the common use of computers, electronic forms such as zip forms, cell phones and the internet.
If I had not concentrated on technology, I would not be as comfortable with my world as I am now. You could say I payed for that comfort in advance by putting the time into technology as I went.
Many companies selling technology capitalize on fear of being left behind. There is some truth in that approach and a lot of hype. Some technology is sold more to show off than to be used. ?Many of us don’t mind flashing around the fancy new phone or bragging about our web site. The best technology though, ?is the stuff you use without even thinking about it.
Just when you think you are up on everything, something new comes around the corner. I wonder how much of it all we really need. ? Sales is still a person to person business.
To survive in Real Estate you have to be able to filter out the noise and the fads. Everyone has an angle that works for them. Marketing folks are constantly looking for common hot points that make sense to everyone in the industry. “Isn’t my product worth it if you can sell just one more house with it?” ? The answer is, “maybe”.
“I’m the guy who sells all of those pens to Realtors.” “you need your name on the bulletin board in the grocery store” ? or how about the front cover of the magazines at the clinic. You need a blackberry, you need a my space account, you need your own web page, each one of your listings needs its own web page. There are a million ways to spend your advertising dollar.
Yes you’ve got to advertise and keep up with the times, but none of it is worth a nickle if you don’t take care of what you already have. Most agents lose customers and leads because of weak follow up. Top producers know that organization and communication ?are as important as advertising. If you are organized you are in a position to capitalize on the more of the leads that already come across your desk.