Recent inclement weather in Alabama has left many Realty offices struggling to determine the best protocols to follow for safety and efficiency in and outside of the workplace.
Though inclement weather days may seems like a setback to business as usual, it is important to take time to ensure the safety and comfort of employees and clients, while also remaining productive and on task.
When inclement weather arises, real estate bosses say it is imperative to provide employees and clients with the information they’ll need for the day or days ahead.
While social media posts are a great way to provide your audience with updates, placing a sign on the front door will help notify and redirect clients who choose to check-in with the physical office.
“The first thing I do is call the Realtor offices, internal listings, closing and attorney offices,” said Amanda Howard of Amanda Howard Real Estate in Huntsville. “I then proceed making calls to our vacant listings to ensure there has been something done ahead of time to keep the pipes from bursting,” Howard said.
Thanks to the advances in technology, not only can Realtors remain safe during inclement weather, but they are also able to make use of this time by taking care of things often put aside in the midst of hectic schedules. Here are five great tips to ensure your weather day pays off:
- Organize and Generate: According to Jennifer Toomer of Keller Williams Vestavia, weather days provide an otherwise overlooked opportunity to clean up databases.
“Inclement weather affords an agent the chance to do database cleanup and most importantly, purposeful lead generation,” Toomer said. “One can pretty much guarantee their sphere of influence will be home as well, which makes the odds of having great lead generation conversations much greater.”
- Research What’s Happening in Your Community: An important aspect of being a successful Realtor, experts say, is maintaining the effort to stay connected to the community at all times. By using inclement weather days to research happenings in the local community, chances are you will find events you would like to participate in, school district updates and networking opportunities surrounding your area. You might even find a fun new restaurant to try with clients.
- Show Your Appreciation: Howard said inclement weather days allow Realtors time to show their appreciation to others by writing thank you notes, birthday cards or simply making phone calls to check in on past and present clients.
“I’ve never had a snow day where I’ve run out of things to do,” Howard said. “Because we always want to put the client first, there’s so many things we often put on the back-burner, but inclement weather days allow us to go through our task list, send out emails and complete projects.”
- Pre-plan Marketing Strategies: Effective social media strategies require time, attention and careful thought in order to provide your audience with the most resourceful information. By using inclement weather days as a chance to determine the details of your next social media post, experts say you can easily craft a status, video message, digital graphic or flyer that will be readily available to use when the perfect moment comes along.
- Make Those Deals: “Because of tools like DotLoop and DocuSign, agents can still construct, sign and present offers and negotiate transactions from their smart phones, mobile devices, tablets and laptops,” Toomer said.
Not only does the ability to work via electronic services allow Realtors to never miss a beat in solidifying sales, the advance of 3D technology also gives clients the chance to tour homes even if the weather is insufficient.
“Sometimes people wanting to see homes are relocation clients,” Howard said. “We are now able to walk them through many homes that have 3D tours and show these homes to them on their iPads or iPhones, so they can truly feel as though they are looking through the properties.”
While some clients may insist on still touring properties or keeping appointments as scheduled, it is crucial for Realtors to remain cautious while making their best, personal call on inclement weather situations.
Thanks to the advances of weather apps and alerts, predictability for inclement weather is easily accessible to the public and can help Realtors make decisions in advance. Keeping extra water bottles, blankets, first-aid kits and seasonal equipment in the car can help keep Realtors prepare for inclement weather while helping clients feel cared for and safe.
