These agents in Pennsylvania resort country maintain that embracing technology, constantly learning its nuances and going virtual are key in differentiating themselves as successful leaders in the industry.
Dear Michael,
We first met you five years ago in Pittsburgh, when you addressed our entire Prudential office staff. As is our custom, we usually go out to dinner with the speaker the night before the presentation. As we walked away from our dinner meeting, I said, “This guy is on to something!” It made me pick my head up and listen to your messages; ones that would harken a new way to not only do business in the future, but keep us afloat and above the competition.
Our business is our priority. The fact that we are and have always been open to new business concepts and changes in the world, naturally predisposed us to taking a closer look at the concepts of virtual assistance and the use of burgeoning technology.
We are very involved in our realtor organizations; we are on the board of directors of the National CBR and NAR associations; we travel about 8 times a year and are on the road, literally, about 45 days out of the year. For many years, before virtual assistance began to become a buzz word, we recognized the beauty of putting the concept in motion and running our business from wherever we were…and are! Our communication model and the way we conduct business is ever changing. In truth, we embraced the virtual model five years ago, when we looked at our business plan and replaced a static model with a virtual one.
Because of our lifestyle and literal “housecalls” to far flung or out-of-state clients, we took the virtual concept one step further and actually became virtual agents. We freed ourselves from the traditional in-office real estate agent model and continue to effectively represent our clients regardless of where we physically are. We have a virtual secretary who comes into the office to file and do updates, but if the weather is really bad in our part of the world, she doesn’t have to come into the office at all and can work from home. If the technology wasn’t there, you couldn’t accomplish this comfortably.
Probably, the biggest glitch in going virtual is mindset—or changing it. As you know, agents, in general, are not willing to jump on anything that requires more effort than the status quo. It’s simple human psychology - if something works, don’t tamper with it.
Our target/niche market focuses on sellers and second-home owners and buyers. Our business plan now includes the adoption of one new technology per month. These include enhancing online listings, online feedback programs, the use of Top Producer 7i, the use of a primary assistant to synchronize client notes, and more. What we have learned is that all business models are in motion and motion has taken us through the virtual world and through the internet. We are so sure of this that we encourage other agents to use VAs and take their show on the road, too! If you don’t embrace technology and leave traditional office tasks to competent experts, you will operate in an inefficient model and not be able to compete in today’s real market.
Because of our physical flexibility, we pride ourselves on superior customer service, backing up our “key to closing” service model. We can confidently advise clients, “mail us the key and tell us where you want the check to go. We do everything else for you.”
Customers place a high value on face-to-face service. Stereotypically, agents don’t make the effort or are unavailable to meet clients in some locations. It’s not unusual for us to get into our car and travel two hours to spend a day with a client getting started in the selling process. We can do this because we have enlisted the benefits of technology to take care of our business needs. We are very pleased with a house-showing coordination center, based in Boston, called E-Showings. When a client sees an interesting listing in the MLS slot, they are contacted by showing agents, who meet with them, and input property information into a system database along with the client’s particular comments or concerns. This provides us with very valuable feedback, is time-saving and serves the client quickly and efficiently. We also use Realtor.com, which offers featured space for virtual property tours. One of the new technologies we will be offering are video tours. Through Microsoft’s local mapping technology (Local Live), Realtors® and clients alike can view the actual geographic characteristics of a particular property.
Our newsletter offers a personal touch to our clients, including interesting local facts and community news pertinent to the new home owner. In addition, we are on 13 different internet sites for total saturation. We diligently aim to stay about 3 to 4 years ahead of our competition, some of whom are just starting to implement the systems we already have in place. Once we master the tasks ourselves, we delegate them out. And, we continually chase people (like you!) who can teach us new things.
Loving what we do as we do, there is no better way to say we have been successful than to attribute it to our thirst for learning and commitment to technology! Embrace it and it will not let you down. Going virtual requires extra effort on the part of the agent; time and money to create an exemplary client service model, continuous energy to stay in the lead of virtual services. If you want to differentiate yourself today and in the future, it is the path you must take.
Sincerely,
Bob and Adrienne Wagner
(”Wags and Abe”)
Wags and Abe may be the veritable poster children of the virtual business model, by embracing technology and using its advances as steppingstones to their next level of leadership in the industry.
They may be contacted at:
Prudential Preferred Realty
3802 State Route 31 – Suite 1
Donegal, PA 15628
(800) 419-7653
(Fax) (724)593-6123
awagner@topproducer.com
www.abeandwags.com
Dear Michael,
Thank you for the nice article. If any of your clients need help in developing their virtual model have them contact us. Have a great 2008, hope to cross paths and have dinner.
Abe and Wags