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5 tips for mixing iPads and real estate

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03 July 2014

5 tips for mixing iPads and real estate

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The iPad is nearly four years old, but confusion still reigns in some quarters as to the best ways for agents to make use of them. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your shiny new toy is the be-all and end-all just because it’s shiny and new; the myth of the paperless agent has been wildly over exaggerated.

iPads and other tablets have several useful applications for real estate, working perfectly in certain situations, while being totally unsuitable in others. It pays to carefully consider exactly when they help or hinder you.

1. Learn to use it

Tablet novices: make time to learn how to work the thing. Don’t be that agent, standing in front of a buyer at an open, umming and ahhing, unsure of which way to swipe or how to pause the video that’s suddenly started playing at full volume. It’s sloppy and painfully unprofessional. When planning to present anything on an iPad, practise and polish your presentation beforehand. 

2. Make sure it works

Now you can work the iPad, the next step is to make sure the iPad itself is running smoothly. Does your app look amazing? Do videos and slideshows load as expected? Have any bugs that cause your apps to freeze or crash been ironed out? Any tablet is only as good as the person waving it around; if you’re trying to demonstrate something with a tablet that’s not working, then it’s working against you. 

3. Size up your audience

Think about each client and whether putting the iPad in front of them is your best move. Downsizing senior citizens may not appreciate the technological wizardry of a tablet in the way that savvy young professionals will. Consider the impression you want to make and whether using an iPad will enhance it or detract from it. And if nothing else, remember that kids adore tablets – the iPad might come in handy for keeping rowdy youngsters occupied while you speak to the parents.

4. Do tablets build relationships?

You’re aiming to create rapport and build trust with vendors and buyers, and iPads can get in the way of that. For example, the listing presentation is often a poor time to introduce an iPad – sticking a tablet in between you and the vendor is impersonal. They work for demonstrating certain parts of the advertising schedule, but putting the full presentation on them is a risk. Proceed with caution. 

5. Everyone is using them

Whatever your personal feelings towards iPad, they’re inescapable; you probably need to consider incorporating them in some form. Over 50% of homes contain a tablet and they’re set to be more common than laptops by 2016, so you should be thinking about apps, emags and other tablet strategies if you’re not already.

How do you use tablets and what do you see as their main strengths and weaknesses? 

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