The nation is going through unprecedented times and the COVID-19 pandemic has been playing havoc in lives and all types of businesses. But as in every adversity, there are opportunities in the lockdown time, too. Instead of brooding over things, real estate brokers can utilize the time to reach out to new clients, do business and increase earnings.
Use online property portals to generate leads
1Sqft is India’s first lead-based real estate platform. You don’t have to pay anything to post your property advertisement on the portal. Go to 1sqft.com, download the app and complete registration. You can post unlimited number of properties without any charges.
Reach out to potential leads
Due to unforeseen circumstances, many who wanted to rent out/purchase property might have put their plans on hold. This is the best time to reach out to them. If you can offer them good discounts, rest assured that they would be interested to close the deal.
Use WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram
Use messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram to promote your deals across your network. You can also use Facebook and Instagram to showcase your properties and get enquiries. But ensure that you’re not spamming anyone in the process.
Use video calls to add personal touch
Since everyone is forced to remain indoors, creating a personal connection is important. But you can use video calls to establish a personal connection and increase rapport with the clients. The video call option on chat platforms and platforms like Zoom, Google Meet and Teams can be used to talk to clients over videos.
Make cold calls
Try cold calling your former clients and ask for references. Be warm in your approach and strike a conversation with them and discuss market trends and such information.
Customize property options
Shortlist properties, localities and projects for your clients based on their budget and preferences. You can compare the projects and localities during the video call to give them an idea why they should choose a particular property.
Create video tours
Videos are very popular these days. You can create a video tour on your laptop or mobile phone easily and show to your clients. Else, you can click 3D pictures from your Smartphone camera and create a slideshow/video with it. You can also upload this to YouTube and Facebook and share the link with your client, if you don’t want to send the video.
Use online payment options for token advance
Online payments options like Gpay, Paytm and net banking have made monetary transactions easy and fast. Once, a client zero in on a property, ask them to pay a token advance by any of the online payment options. This takes you one step closer to sealing the deal.
Sindhu Vijayakumar is a tech, business, and creative content writer and marketing solutions provider, who has been helping several B2B and B2C companies with their content and marketing (including digital marketing) needs. She has been guiding startups with marketing content initiatives, both internal and external, across multiple platforms and formats to drive sales, engagement, retention, leads and positive customer behaviours.
An MBA in Marketing and Sales, she loves crafting engaging business and digital content for businesses. As a professional content writer who is comfortable writing on technology, she has been providing writing services to many software and technology organizations, including mobile app development companies.
A gold medalist in journalism, before turning to freelance, she was a full-time journalist with The Hindu, The Times of India and Sulekha.com, and for over a one-and-half decade, she had published hundreds of articles on communities, urban development, lifestyle, wellness and parenting trends. As an accomplished radio programmer, she had propelled the south FM stations of Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd, to exceptional heights.
A Research Scholar in Management, her special interest areas are startups, tech, application development and small businesses. She has published several papers on communication in national and international journals and is also a published author of fiction and poetry.