NEWS

IN DEPTH: RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE REPORT

Cyber tools supporting brick-and-mortar sales
Carol Blanchard
Special to the Austin Business Journal

Better not wait for drive-by prospects to ignite real estate sales. With the power of the Internet and other technology tools, real estate professionals are driving up sales and reaping excellent results.

It's a no-brainer that, especially in Austin, having a company Web site is expected. But which bells and whistles will make a difference in your business? Do additional services, like online surveys, e-flyers, and tracking and database management reports, contribute to the bottom line? Furthermore, do prospects and clients appreciate and use Internet marketing services? What about the added value of online education and Web-enhanced services to better meet client needs?

"We've experienced a 100 percent return on investment," says Eric Metzger of a customized real estate marketing software his company uses. He is the sales director for Spanish Oaks, a high-end residential community at State Highway 71 and Bee Caves Road. "The HTML email allows us to communicate with existing prospects and invite them to our lifestyle events.

"[Prospects] love being able to respond when it is convenient for them, not when the sales guy calls," he continues. "We basically make an electronic version of our direct-mail invitation whenever we have a new [construction] phase open up."

According to Metzger, Spanish Oaks uses a program designed by IF Development The Georgetown-based software company creates and sells integrated marketing applications and services. Metzger says IF Development also manages Spanish Oaks' prospect database. "Outsourcing this function is cost effective and provides our sales team with computer generated lists of people who have requested to be contacted for their specific areas of interest," Metzger says.

IF Development President Will Furrer asserts that real estate marketing has changed forever with the advent of technology. His company's software customizes marketing messages to market segments such as families with young children, retirement-age adults and mid-career professionals.

"Successful real estate and community developers need a customer-relationship management tool to reach the right clientele," Furrer says. "We are pleased to partner with these prestigious organizations to help them gain efficiencies in the sales process and enable them to concentrate their efforts directly on pre qualified leads instead of blindly mining existing sales databases."

Web-based tools such as Intra-Site, the signature application of IF Development, is not only for the high-end home market. Westwood Custom Homes in Hutto, catering to first-time home buyers, was able to use the software to fill its on-site property tours with qualified prospects through electronic registration.