Why the Internet Will Never Replace a Handshake

It’s no secret that the Internet has changed the real estate industry – and every other industry for that matter. It’s made every transaction easier, smarter and faster. We can sit at our computers or look at the palm of our hand and browse a home down the road or across state lines, ask a real estate agent across the country about a home’s location over social media, or evaluate possible mortgage and financing options on websites.  All done without so much as a phone call.

Most successful brokers however, understand that in the sale of residential real estate, having a personal, face to face connection with a buyer or seller has a power well beyond the individual home being discussed and gives you maximum influence during the sale.

Marrying the Digital Age With The Personal Touch

What we need to realize is that the need and importance of the personal connection in real estate selling hasn’t really changed much in the last 50 years. What has changed is simply when and how that happens. In the digital age, more and more initial contact with buyers and sellers happens online. They respond to digital ads, search online, respond to Facebook posts and Tweets, watch virtual tours posted online, or visit your brokerage website. The difference today is that your client is better informed and has a much better idea of what they want before you ever get to talk to them.

This move to digital should not be viewed as a threat, but as something overwhelmingly positive. By learning to use digital mediums more effectively, you can create MORE opportunities to have those important face to face contacts that make a difference. Social media, and other real estate portals instead of threatening our livelihood, have actually made it easier for professionals to connect with buyers and sellers.  What’s more, you can connect with them at the moment they are interested in your services, something the internet has given us that we rarely had in a pre-internet world.

Real Estate Marketing – One Handshake at a Time

At the end of the day, real estate is still a scary and complex process for customers and that personal service they get from you, guiding them through it all, can make all the difference between the experience they get from Brand X and you.  And if you do it right, you will build stronger relationships with buyers, sellers, browsers, and people of every age and from every walk of life. Years from now, when they are ready to sell their homes, it’s not your clever Facebook post they’ll remember: it’s that you looked them in eye, shook their hand, and made them feel like you would do whatever it takes to make their dreams a reality.

Making personal connections is something we believe whole-heartedly at Weichert. It’s what we teach, what we believe, and in many ways, it’s how it all got started.

The Power of the Personal

Back in 1969 a man named Jim Weichert started his career in real estate in an interesting way. With his new broker license still hot in his hands, Jim wasn’t content to wait for customers to find him. Instead, surrounded by dozens of more established real estate brokers, Jim started handing out business cards at local train stations. Every morning, and every afternoon, you could find Jim greeting prospective customers commuting to New York City. His approach was refreshing and highly personal, supporting his long-held belief that “people buy people before they buy your product or service.”

The Weichert brokerage grew dramatically, but through it all, Jim maintained the importance of the personal touch as a core value driving the Weichert methodology. Even as the internet became the predominant method of advertising and promotion, his “people first” business philosophy maintains a central role in the operational systems he developed for the Weichert franchise model. By perfecting those systems and recruiting strategies, he created a business model that other brokers could follow with ease and greater certainty.

In the current digital world, Facebook is the new train station, where you can connect with much more than commuters. (Though you are welcome to go to train stations too, this still works!). In this age of self-service and fast moving content, there is something refreshing to a consumer about that personal touch, good customer service and personal reassurance that everything will be fine. Don’t use technology to replace a handshake; rather, use the technology to prompt one.

If you have a vision for your success that includes listening, learning, and working differently than your competitors, you just might be next Weichert Franchise success story. Contact our team at https://www.weichertfranchise.com  to learn more.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/internet-will-never-replace-handshake/