In our previous article, we see that property demand remains on a positive upward trend, even in these uncertain times. During our recent Consumer Sentiment Report H2 2020, we asked Singaporeans what impact the current COVID-19 situation has had on their property-related decision and 55% stated difficulty in viewing properties as their main deterrence.
Virtual tours present a new alternative for property seekers to view properties within the safety and comforts of their homes. For you as an agent, virtual tours can help you save time and resources, so you can focus on other important aspects of your business.
As we enter into the ‘new normal’ where virtual viewing is here to stay, here are some useful tips to help you conduct a virtual tour successfully.
1. Choose Your Platform
First, you need to have the right tools such as a smartphone camera or high-quality video camera. Next, you can choose to host a live virtual tour on online platforms, such as Facebook, Google Hangouts, Zoom and video call. The benefits of holding a live virtual tour is that it offers a closer to reality experience of the property and this makes buyers feel more confident about their decision.
Alternatively, you can also prepare a video recording of the property and host it on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok,your business website or even your listing on PropertyGuru.However, there are pros and cons in showing pre-recorded property videos.
The upside is that you can edit the videos anytime and highlight new features of the property.On the flip side, because there is no real-time engagement with your clients, they are unable to ask any questions in the moment and might take longer to make their decisions.
2. Promote Your Virtual Tour
Once you have selected a platform, you can then start planning and advertising these virtual tours so your clients know when they will happen and how they can view the property. Alternatively, you can also arrange virtual viewings with your clients one at a time.
Good news for PropertyGuru agent partners! Look forward to a new ‘LiveTour’ feature coming your way, where you can make your listings available for video viewing, and property seekers can schedule one with you.
3. Practice For Your Virtual Tour
Practice makes perfect, and this applies to virtual tours too. Go through a dry run so you can be more well-prepared in front of your clients.
Do a walkthrough to fully familiarise yourself with the layout of the property and identify safety hazards. This can also help you select specific features of the property to highlight.
Outline your talking points and practice what you’re going to present on camera. Have these talking points memorised.
Test your equipment, platform and connection beforehand. Have an assistant watch the virtual tour to ensure the sound, lighting and connection are working fine.
Know all the available properties for sale/rent within the same development/neighbourhood so you can be prepared to answer any questions your clients might have.
4. Preparations On the Day
Here is a checklist of items to help you prepare for the viewing:
Arrive early for setup
Turn on all lights and open all doors
Start your virtual tour with the surroundings of the property
Introduce yourself to your clients and encourage them to ask questions via the comments or chat feature
Give a general introduction of the property and its neighbourhood, then highlight its key features as you continue the viewing
5. More Tips To Help You
To support you even further, we have prepared additional suggestions for you:
Hold your camera horizontally to give your viewers a wider angle so they can see more of the property
Engage an assistant as your cameraman, so you can focus on introducing the property and taking down notes from your clients
If you are using a mobile phone, we recommend the front-facing camera for your introduction and switching to the rear-facing camera for the viewing
Have team members dial into the viewing to help answer questions or comments from viewers
6. Post Virtual Tour
After the viewing is completed, you can conduct a live question and answer session with your viewers. Similarly, you can review the comments within the feed and answer questions on the spot. After which, you can separately follow-up with your viewers for their interest.
For physical property viewing, check out our Safe Property Viewing Guide!
We hope these tips are useful for you and we wish you all the best. See you on our next article!
Agent partners, we are standing by you. Let’s take care of each other.
#GuruCares #SGunited #PGStandByYou
– PropertyGuru Team
Other articles on Spring Forward With You initiatives for agent partners:
- Springing Forward With You
Overview of what’s in store for you over the next 2 months as we celebrate this exciting progress with you and to help accelerate your business’ comeback.
- Spring Forward To More Efficiency
Let us take away the hassle of reposting your listings for you with the Auto-Repost enhancements coming to your AgentNet (web) this July! - Spring Forward To New Opportunities
Introducing the latest addition to AgentNet: FastKey Projects – your marketplace to more than 500 developments regionally. - Entering The “New” Normal With Safe Property Viewings
A simple set of guidelines to help agent partners, like yourself manage your face-to-face viewings with ease. - Tips From Agent Leaders: How Can Property Agents Thrive In COVID-19?
Find out tips from top agent leaders on how you can thrive in COVID-19!
