I just said yes.
I finally got my Palm Pre and in full disclosure, no one would loan or give me one to try out, nor did I ask. The truth is that ultimately, it was time to bring my phone up to the level of the technology I am accustomed to.
Rather than do a review of the Palm Pre (that’s been done to death), I thought I would enlighten you as to why you should ultimately drop your Treo, Centro and other devices that bind you to antiquated systems- consumer demand forces change naturally.
You as a real estate professional have bent over backwards to adopt new technology, become more mobile, taken on social media to merge with the communication age- but your phone hasn’t come with you- why? The reason floats right back to the electronic e-key that latches you to MLS mediocrity.
Change has come.
Ask yourself the following:
- If you’re doing a listing presentation, are you able to whip out your phone and with the touch of a finger, slide through listings? No, not unless you’re using a 3rd party vendor and even then, it’s presented on a technology that has lived and died. The fact is, it isn’t impressive in the sense that you can tangibly demonstrate how you’re always able to promote property quickly and easily, even with your phone.
- Are you able to demonstrate with the slide of a finger your youtube profile with the videos you shoot of listings? Or is it slow and clunky and a let’s wait for the page to load kind of moment?
- Are you able to pull and assign clients to your Googledocs account so that they may print and view at their leisure all with the click of a button?
- Can you immediately snap a shot of their home while standing by the car and post it to Facebook to show off a pre-MLS listing?
- Can you immediately access an application with today’s mortgage rate from your chosen lender via an application for buyers you’ve just met on the street? Or is this a call you back cold kind of moment?
- Can you receive Facebook or Twitter messages from your clients without loading email?
- Speaking of email, can you read, respond, or forward with the slide of a finger?
- Can your phone pinpoint exactly where you are on the map without even touching it? Even further, can it tell you where you made the wrong turn? Or do you pull over with your client in tow and break out your stylus and start clicking, poking, waiting, and loading?
I can do all of these things and a hell of a lot more at a speed unparalleled, and I can do it without fumbling for a stylus.  I have a phone that impresses both my buyers and sellers, it makes a statement, and it backs up our claims of being ahead of the curve- we can demonstrate that we can reach buyers, sellers, title companies, and them no matter where we are (oh hey, they can reach us too)- that we truly have global reach, not just reach from the office.
As I’m drafting this post, I see this from @dakno on Twitter (courtesy of NAR)
70% of home sellers want to deal with a Real Estate Agent equal or above them in technology
The bottom line is that it’s the finer details that impress our clients, it’s the wow factor, and how you market yourself today that goes far beyond your sign and lockbox as a feature.
We talk a lot about defining our value, but I think the most easy thing to miss is how we actually demonstrate our value. The ability to absolutely demonstrate their product not only at your fingertips, but at the fingertips of buyers. In other words, what good is a 3rd party application you brag about for consumers if you yourself cannot demonstrate it?
So do it today- whether it’s iphone or palm pre, it matters not. What matters is that you took control and released yourself from the excuse your local MLS enslaves you with- just stop it. You’ll be glad you did.
[cb type=”company”]palm[/cb]
