Using Live Chat in the Real Estate Industry

Customer Communication is Key to Success
There is hardly an industry or vertical in which customer communication is not critical to growth and profitability. The real estate industry is perhaps top on the list because in addition to occasionally heightened communication between buyers and sellers, there is negotiation to boot. What if the buyer and the seller are miles apart literally in terms of geography and figuratively in terms of the asking price? What if there is a need to preserve and sustain a written record of the interaction? May be live chat on the real estate broker’s website is the ultimate ticket!

There are tons of questions, which you, as the real estate broker, will have to address when getting ready to set the ball rolling between buyers and sellers:

• Can the buyer afford the property?
• How long will it take to close the deal?
• Is the seller willing to take a second?
• How about the title?
• Can the seller be persuaded to hold paper?
  
  

Because large sums of money are involved in such transactions, buyers and sellers wish to experience a level of confidence when dealing with real estate professionals. The real estate industry, however, has become increasingly complex owing to the sophisticated nature of the deals being struck. These dynamics create questions and uncertainties for both buyers and sellers, and it becomes harder to achieve a trust level.

Live Chat is an Ideal Fit
With live chat, buyers can meet real estate and mortgage agents online and discuss criteria, options and concerns before they pick up the phone or step inside an office while preserving anonymity. Much of the doubt and ambiguity can be diminished through a relationship that begins online. Questions that are answered immediately and without obligation tend to further facilitate the deals being negotiated.

Case Scenario Ideal for Live Support
Meet Mr. and Mrs. Smith, an elderly couple who are retiring and planning to sell their house. There are numerous real estate agents in the area but the couple is hesitant to call them. They feel that a telephone discussion would obligate them to engage in a business relationship with an agent. They hope to explore their options before initiating personal contact with the real estate agent who will eventually represent them.

The Smiths log on to the real estate agency’s website and find a live help button. The couple starts an online chat with the agent who answers all of the couple’s queries, and a comfort level begins to form. Once the Smiths are satisfied that their home will be adequately represented in the sale, the couple calls the real estate agent directly to initiate the paperwork.

Two blocks away and currently renting an apartment is another couple. Meet Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. They are a young couple who are ready to purchase their first house. With a view to avoiding personal contact, they log on to a local real estate agency’s website. They click on the live support button and engage in an online discussion with a real estate agent who explains the couple’s options based on the criteria they have provided..

Utilizing live chat technology, the agent sends the couple links to particular houses in their preferred area. The Thomas family is excited about several prospects and asks the agent about financing. The agent is affiliated with a mortgage company that also utilizes live chat technology and transfers the chat session to a mortgage specialist who addresses the couple’s financial concerns. The couple confidently schedules an appointment to see the house with the agent.

By deploying live chat technology, both buyers and sellers are able to collect the information they need to confidently choose a real estate as well as a mortgage professional for their real estate transaction. Live chat also benefits real estate and mortgage professionals by growing their exposure and rising ways to acquire new clients.

Benefits Galore when Using Live Chat

If you are a real estate broker or a mortgage professional, live support can go a long way to simplify the interaction and reduce if not completely eliminate the hiccups:

As you can tell, live chat has the potential to streamline multi-channel communication within the real estate industry in more ways than one by making it possible for buyers, sellers, real estate agents and mortgage professionals to come together in a harmonious blend of motivation and an innate drive to cement the proverbial deal.