Real AI: Fannie Mae embraces CV, Claude.ai gets better, AI facts and top headlines
Real AI is a 100% human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate. Fannie Mae embraces computer vision Craig Rowe at Inman News did a solid job with his recent piece on Fannie Mae embracing AI and computer vision or CV. It's important because when Fannie Mae makes a move, the mortgage industry follows. In June, Fannie Mae announced the use of "image recognition" to detect incorrect quality and condition ratings. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require appraisal reports to include interior and exterior photos for funded properties. However, the GSEs only require one exterior front photo for each comparable. Fannie's turned to computer vision for condition validation. It's a big swing but one Fannie backs up with research and data to justify. Having worked at Fannie Mae as the Director of its Seattle Affordable Housing Partnership Office in the 1990s, I know first-hand that Fannie doesn't make any major move without dissecting it from every angle. In fact, Fannie analyzed more than a million appraisals using image recognition technology to compare appraisal reports to interior photos of comparables to determine condition ratings. What Fannie discovered was that computer vision technology was able to identify appraisal defects with 98% accuracy. More importantly, the discovered CV found "many defects that were previously impossible" for it to detect. That translates into incorrect condition ratings leading to missing or faulty adjustments to comparable sales, resulting in unsupported, inaccurate appraisals. With the GSE moves, mortgage lenders and appraisal firms are looking to CV for GSE compliance. Real estate's computer vision leader, Restb.ai, is already offering mortgage originators and appraisal management companies (AMCs) a GSE-compliant image validation solution with its computer vision technology. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! Finally, what most people don't realize is Fannie Mae is a technology company. It has been for the last couple of decades. The majority of its ~8,000 employees work in its technology group. As it moves to solidify AI in real estate, the industry will follow. This is just the beginning. Claude.ai is getting better – much better When we first used Claude.ai, it quickly became our No. 2 choice. But it was a distant second to ChatGPT-4. It has closed that gap. We'll dive deeper into Claude vs. ChatGPT in a future issue, but there are some things that Claude does better than ChatGPT and vice-versa. One example, for now at least: Claude can consume a much larger word count of content and is wickedly good at summarizing that content. The betterment of Claude is so striking we signed up for the Pro version – the same price as ChatGPT at $20 a month plus tax. We can see why Google recently invested $2 billion more in this AI tech! AI Five Fast Facts The market size of artificial intelligence is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.3% between 2023 to 2030. About 97 million individuals will be working in the AI space by 2025. AI is considered a top priority in business plans by 85% of companies. Globally, 38% of consumers prefer to utilize chatbots. 47% of enterprises have established AI strategies for smartphones. Source: What's the big data AI Headlines Take 5 1. Has Great Potential! Meet Your A.I. Realtor | The New Yorker - 11/27/23The Maya Chatbot uses real estate data to answer home buying questions. 2. Generative AI can change real estate, but the industry must change to reap the benefits | McKinsey & Company - 11/14/23A fantastic deep dive into how multiple real estate sectors can benefit from AI. 3. PropTech Today – Balancing AI innovation with the human touch | EstateAgentToday - 11/29/23Remember "high-tech, high touch?" Rinse and repeat. 4. AI brings transparency to farmland values | Successful Farming - 11/27/23An ag real estate agent in Iowa uses AI to improve farmland valuations. 5. How AI can address the skills gap in CRE | Altus Group - 11/29/23Commercial real estate is looking for new ways to leverage AI. Quote of the week To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

We Asked 6 AI Bots to Recommend a Realtor. Here's What Happened
ChatGPT hit the scene in a big way this year, and ever since, people have been asking it all sorts of things — everything from explaining complex topics to home maintenance tips to recommendations for books or movies. That got us thinking — what happens when someone asks ChatGPT (or similar AI models) to recommend a real estate agent to them? And is this a marketing channel that agents should start thinking about? To find out, we asked six AI chatbots the same question: I'd like to buy a house in San Luis Obispo county. Can you recommend Realtors to me? Here's what we found. ChatGPT We started with the most well-known chatbot, ChatGPT. And, well, we struck out. Here's the answer we received: I'm sorry, but I don't have real-time access to databases or the internet, so I can't provide specific recommendations for real estate agents or Realtors. However, I can offer some general advice on how to find a good Realtor in San Luis Obispo County or any other area… We got the same exact response — to the letter — from Poe by Quora, which uses OpenAI's dataset. OpenAI owns ChatGPT, so we're not completely surprised by the similar answers. Fortunately, those two chatbots are the only two on our list without real-time access to the internet. That means our journey is about to get a lot more interesting… Bard Google's Bard chatbot harnesses the power of Google search, but it has yet to attain the same popularity as ChatGPT. However, of all the AIs, it gave us the most complete response. Not only did it provide a photo for each of the five agents it recommended, but also a link — three from LinkedIn, one Realtor.com agent profile, and one agent website, underlining the importance of maintaining a strong online presence. Bing Bing, the Microsoft-owned search engine, now offers an AI-assisted search option. When we asked it to recommend an agent, it offered a succinct list of five options. Only one was a real estate agent, however. The four other suggestions were brokerages, which may indicate that brokerages in our area have more time and budget to invest in their web presence than local agents. Interestingly, Bing provided a link and an example of a current listing for each suggestion. None of the links, though, directed us to that listing or even to the brokerage's or agent's website. Instead, each link sent us to a generic Realtor.com property search for our area. In order to contact any of the listed real estate pros, we'd have to Google (lol, sorry, Bing) them ourselves. Also, every link featured an ad above it, which was far easier to click on than the actual link. So if you're looking for a new place to advertise, perhaps buying ads for similar queries on Bing is worthwhile, especially for brokerages or teams — or for agents who don't have yet a strong enough online presence to be selected for an AI recommendation. ClaudeAI ClaudeAI, which was founded by OpenAI alumni and has investors in Google and Amazon, offered the most straightforward answer. It gave us plain text with no links or images, and a bit of homespun (lab-spun?) advice for finding an agent. Thanks, Claude. Perplexity AI Perplexity AI offered up five suggestions, only three of which were actual real estate pros — one agent, one real estate team, and one brokerage. The other two answers were websites (FastExpert.com and US News) that simply list agents in our area. Not exactly a recommendation — more like a recommendation to a place that kinda-sorta offers recommendations. Thanks, but no thanks. Let's disregard those two suggestions and look at the actual working professionals that Perplexity recommends. Each response comes with a link, but none of those go to an agent or company website. Instead, two links went to a broad search for local agents on Yelp, and one went — somewhat oddly — to this page on Google Maps. To finish things off, Perplexity threw in some random listing photos from the aforementioned sites for good measure. So What Did We Learn? Like most things related to AI chatbots, it's a work in progress. While we don't yet know if or when consumers will rely on chatbots to find a Realtor, agents who wish to prepare for that scenario should invest effort in ensuring their business can be found across a wide array of places online. Here is a list of actions to take, based on where the chatbots we queried pulled information from: Realtor.com links were very popular with the chatbots we surveyed. Make sure you have a complete agent profile there, including contact info and client testimonials. While no Zillow, Trulia, or Homes.com links were offered this time, tend to your profiles there, too, as there's no telling when a tweak to chatbot technology will change things. Claim your Yelp page, if you haven't yet done so, as some chatbots reference this site. LinkedIn was a major recommendation source for Bard, and was the only social media site consulted by the bot. Make sure your profile there is complete, and optimize it for SEO to increase the likelihood of being found. Make it a habit to ask for reviews from clients. Perplexity AI specifically mentioned that each of the real estate pros it recommended were highly rated. It also referenced Yelp, while both Bing and Bard pulled information from Realtor.com. Try to get as many reviews as you can in as many places as you can: portals, Google, Yelp, your website, etc. Make it a long-term goal to establish your agent website as a local real estate source. The one agent website that was linked to in this experiment belongs to a local Realtor who has spent considerable time and effort into building his site as an authority. He offers market updates, a podcast, resources for each community he serves, customer reviews, and more. Regularly update your site with quality content, and link to it anywhere you can: social media, portal profiles, your email signature, marketing materials, and more. Essentially, the key to being recommended by AI is having a broad internet presence. We can't be sure of where it will pull information, especially as the technology is updated, so having a well-maintained online presence seems crucial to catching the attention of AI. But don't stress too much about it. After all, the number one way consumers find their agent is still satisfyingly old-fashioned — by asking family and friends. Related Reading The Power of Local SEO for Real Estate Agents: 7 Ways to Optimize Your Online Presence 6 Expert Tips to Dominate the Online Real Estate Market as an Agent Influencer Approved: 6 Game-Changing ChatGPT Prompts for REALTORS

Real AI: I Fought the Bot (and the Bot Won), AI Fast Facts and Top Headlines
Real AI is a 100% human-created weekly roundup of all things AI in real estate and emerging AI innovations in other sectors likely to impact real estate. I fought the bot, and the bot won When AI works, it's incredible, surprising, and often has me in awe of what it can do. When AI doesn't work, it is an absolute nightmare experience. Yesterday, I called FedEx for help on a missing package – first, a little context. For decades, FedEx was my go-to overnight service. Their old TV ads nailed my sentiment: "When it absolutely, positively had to be there overnight," I used FedEx. I had DHL, Airborne, and UPS accounts, and most were cheaper alternatives. But I used FedEx because of one key differentiator: they had the best customer service. You could get someone on the phone at any time almost immediately. I learned yesterday that those days are gone: Probably forever. And now I hate FedEx and will avoid paying them anything, for life, if I can. Yes, it was that bad. I won't go into every detail that caused me to go from fan to hater, but we are doing some home remodeling as we enter our empty nester stage, redoing our boys' old bedrooms. One is becoming a den, the other a workroom-office space. We ordered a sleeper couch on Amazon because it perfectly fits the den. Our youngest son had ordered his last couch on Amazon. It came in several boxes, but you would never know it by sitting on it or looking at it. We are having new carpet put in those rooms in two weeks. We were delighted when the FedEx shipping link Amazon provided said the couch would arrive in three boxes, as that would make storage a breeze. Yesterday, the couch was delivered, or so our notifications from Amazon said. The largest and heaviest box was missing: we only received two of three boxes. So, I did what I did years ago: I called the FedEx customer service number. In the past, these folks pulled off amazing feats for me, having deliveries re-routed while the driver was going to the wrong address. That's why I became a huge fan and loyal customer. When I called FedEx, I got a bot — a very ridgid, almost nasty bot. It would not let me talk to a human, no matter how many times I tried or what option I pushed. The FedEx bot even hung up on me — twice. The first time, it said it had given me all the information it could so no one could help me, adding "Goodbye," and hung up. I tried FedEx several more times, trying to find any way to get a human on the line, but I failed. The final time, I pretended I didn't have the tracking number. The bot told me to go find the tracking number and call back. Then it hung up on me — again. Irate but not defeated, I reached out to Amazon. I've always been able to get a human, at least via chat (and I always ask if I am chatting with a human). This time, Amazon routed me to the vendor's chatbot because the order was from a third party. OMG, the vendor bot was as bad as the FedEx bot. It asked me the problem; I kept requesting to be connected to a human. It kept asking for the problem. When I gave in and provided the details, it offered an auto-response saying the vendor had been sent my issue and I would be contacted within 1-2 business days. I returned to the Amazon standard chat, which again directed me to the vendor bot. The vendor bot said there was nothing more it could do as I had a pending request with the manufacturer! Later, I decided to go into FedEx to sign up for notifications for a delivery I already received. Or so I thought. The sign-up revealed details I could not get directly from the FedEx tracking site. It showed me that the third box was still in transit and would be delivered the next day. It turns out the bot was right; I was wrong. I fought the bot, and the bot won. But I still hate FedEx because the customer service experience was horrible. If I can't get a human on the line who could have told me in two seconds not to worry but instead have to waste half an hour with a stupid bot, they've lost me for life. AI Five Fast Facts AI is not very appealing to the older generation. Around 68% of non-AI users are either Gen X or Baby Boomers. Research shows that more than two-thirds (68%) of desk workers say generative AI will help them better serve their customers. Marketers predict AI will save them five hours of work per week, equalling over a month per year. The three most common tasks that salespeople are most likely to use AI to help them are basic content creation (82%), analyzing market data (74%), and automating personalized sales communications (71%). Service professionals are the least likely to adopt AI, as only 15% said they plan to use AI in the future. Source: Salesforce AI Headlines Take 5 12 Clever Ways to Use ChatGPT for Real Estate in 2023 (+ 17 Prompts) | The Close - 10/16/23Dive into a dozen unique methods and the various prompts for utilizing ChatGPT in your real estate business. AI is changing home buying process, but maybe not everything | Effingham Daily News - 10/13/23How AI is enhancing home searching for both buyers and agents alike. AI for Real Estate Agents: 5 Tools to Keep Up with the Evolving Market | Cynoteck - 10/16/23Shoutout to Restb.ai being included. How Marketing Executives Are Thinking About Integrating AI Into Their Strategies | TIME - 10/18/23Marketing executives from Mastercard and EY meet to discuss the available opportunities for using AI in their work. Data centers are sprouting up as a result of the AI boom, minting fortunes, sucking up energy, and changing rural America | Business Insider - 10/13/23Rural America has become a hot spot for AI investing at the expense of its physical land. Quote of the week To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.

4 Ways Technology Can Help Real Estate Agents Achieve Work-Life Balance
Thank you to Tech Helpline for sponsoring this article on RE Technology: Busy real estate agents often find themselves juggling a myriad of tasks and responsibilities, making it challenging to strike a balance between their work and personal lives. Long hours, ongoing deadlines, and the overall demands of the job can leave little room for relaxation and quality time with loved ones. How can agents balance their professional aspirations with their personal lives? Technology can help. Most agents today have access to innovative solutions that help them work smarter, not harder, to regain control over their schedules. Let's explore four powerful technologies that can help change how real estate agents manage their work-life balance. 1. Digital Transaction Management Systems: Increasing Efficiency A digital transaction management system like Form Simplicity is one of the most potent time-saving technologies for real estate agents. These platforms simplify the entire transaction process, and agents eliminate paper shuffling by going digital and dramatically increasing their efficiency. Today's top transaction management solutions integrate seamlessly with other essential tech tools, supercharging productivity. For instance, Form Simplicity integrates with RentSpree, making tenant screening a breeze and reducing liability. It also interfaces with Google Drive, allowing for effective team collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Moreover, its Google Contacts integration streamlines data synchronization between apps, creating powerful automated workflows. Dropbox can help organize one's files in a single, convenient location, simplifying cloud storage. To save time securing vital client reviews, Rate My Agent makes collecting them easier than ever. Earnnest facilitates the secure electronic transfer of funds, eliminating the need for agents to drive around town picking up and delivering checks. By utilizing these integrations, real estate agents can save significant time, helping to provide more opportunities for work-life balance. 2. CRM: Nurturing Relationships and Saving Time Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are a real estate agent's best friend when it comes to maintaining a productive workflow. According to the National Association of Realtors, only a quarter of agents use a CRM daily or nearly every day, yet those who do are among the most productive in the industry. A CRM system helps agents manage client relationships, track leads, and streamline promotional efforts. It automates routine tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and reminders, ensuring no opportunities slip through the cracks. With a well-implemented CRM, agents can free up valuable time by automating essential processes and improving their overall efficiency, which can translate into more personal time. 3. ChatGPT 4: Unleashing Creativity and Efficiency ChatGPT 4 is a versatile tool that can be a game-changer for real estate agents seeking to save time and enhance productivity. Beyond its capabilities in generating high-quality copy, it serves as an invaluable resource for brainstorming, ideation, and content creation. Real estate agents can use ChatGPT 4 to draft blog posts, social media updates, property descriptions, and more. Most importantly, agents can provide prompt instructions to ensure compliance with Fair Housing laws. When used correctly, agents can proofread and make changes to ensure accuracy and appropriate word usage. This AI tool can also assist in creating marketing plans, video scripts, social media schedules, and more, making it an indispensable asset for content creation and marketing strategy development. Moreover, ChatGPT 4 is a lifesaver for overcoming writer's block, offering a wealth of ideas and topics to explore. When used effectively and verified for factual accuracy, it can significantly boost an agent's efficiency and creativity, ultimately freeing up more of their schedule for personal endeavors. 4. Automate Your Marketing Most real estate agents can access automated marketing tools and platforms their brokerages provide. These tools can transform how agents promote their listings and engage with clients. Automated marketing often includes a variety of tools – from drip email campaigns and local market reports to newsletters and promotional campaigns for listings. With the ability to personalize content to users, pre-schedule social media posts, and more, agents can set much of their marketing outreach and maintain a solid online presence. Automated marketing saves agents time that they can deploy elsewhere and ensures consistency and effectiveness in their marketing strategies. Leverage all four technologies When real estate agents use all four powerful technologies – digital transaction management systems, CRM systems, ChatGPT 4, and automated marketing – they unlock more of their most valuable asset: time. These helpful tech tools enable agents to work smarter, not harder, by streamlining processes, nurturing relationships, enhancing creativity, and automating marketing efforts. As a result, agents can reclaim their work-life balance, enjoy more personal time, and create lasting memories with family and friends – and remain highly successful agents. One final timesaver If you are among the 750,000 Realtors in North America who have access to Tech Helpline – which also supports Form Simplicity – reach out for assistance to navigate these technologies or help you resolve any tech-related issue faster. By embracing technology that genuinely will save you time, it can help you achieve the life-work balance you deserve. Related reads Tech Helpline Blog: 3 Best AI Prompts for Real Estate Agents Best practices for AI in Real Estate Today Form Simplicity Blog: 6 Ways You Can Use Technology to Reduce Your Stress Don't fall for it: 4 new online + offline scams and how to protect yourself 5 Realtor safety apps to protect you and your clients Are your kids attending school from home? Safest ways to share your work computer Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

6 Innovative Ways Real Estate Agents Are Using Artificial Intelligence
The real estate industry may well look back on 2023 as the year that artificial intelligence (AI) became useful in a tangible and measurable way. Any number of products and tools have adopted AI to enhance their effectiveness, to the benefit of real estate agents everywhere. Recently, Liz Sturrock, Chief of MLS and Innovation at Miami REALTORS®, shared her perspective on AI in a webinar. She noted different ways that real estate agents are using AI today to save time and money while providing top-notch service to clients. While she doesn't think that AI is going to replace real estate agents, she does think that the agents and brokers who are best able to leverage AI will have a distinct market advantage, so it's a good idea to get on this bus as early as possible. 1. Generate and nurture leads The latest AI tools go above and beyond website chatboxes, which have been in use for some time. Some AI lead generation options are indeed chatboxes, but their ability to answer questions for consumers and even hand off the conversation at any point in time to a human are next-level. 2. Send personalized property recommendations Finding the right house to buy, especially in markets with low inventory (which is just about every market in 2023), can be a challenge. In addition to setting buyers up with an MLS feed, there are AI tools available that can comb listings and deliver recommendations for homes for sale that might have slipped through the cracks for one reason or another. 3. Finally get that blog up and running There are two big reasons why many real estate agents choose not to use their blog or website as a lead-generation tool. The first is that they don't know what to write about, and coming up with a list of topic ideas that are relevant to their audience and that they can write easily is a huge hurdle. The second is that even if they do have a list of topics, they don't have the time to execute on those stories. AI writing tools can solve both of these problems. Agents can ask a chatbot "what should I write about?" or even "what should a real estate agent in the San Francisco Bay Area market write about on their blog?" and then pick and choose from the list of ideas that the chatbot delivers. If they don't have time to write the piece themselves, they can ask the chatbot to do it (always making sure there is time to review it for accuracy before posting online). 4. Write property descriptions Writing a property description that shines takes a certain kind of talent, which not every real estate agent possesses. Thankfully, there are ways to almost instantly generate a property description using AI that both fits the home for sale and highlights its most attractive attributes. 5. Virtually stage and enhance properties Staging is expensive, although it does help sell houses. If agents want to save their staging budgets for the big, splashy listings, AI can insert furniture and artwork into listing photos, as well as make changes (subtle or large) to help buyers envision what the space could look like if they took out a wall or added some windows, for example. It's a good idea to clearly mark any digitally staged or enhanced images so that buyers aren't disappointed and know what to expect when they arrive at the house in person, that said! 6. Ask for business advice For agents without a coach or mentor, AI can answer common questions about business strategy, motivation, and any number of other issues that agents might struggle to manage. "I want to find more listings; what would a real estate coach tell me to do?" is one prompt that can generate all sorts of ideas from an AI chatbot. Or, "I would like to retire from real estate in ten years. How should I start preparing?" How can you stay up to date with the latest AI tools and how people (including agents) are using them? Sturrock suggested two resources: Reddit and a newsletter available at therundown.ai, which curates new AI products and sends them out in a list to subscribers. For more details — including specific product details and recommendations from Sturrock — watch the full webinar.

3 AI Prompts That Really Work for Real Estate Agents
One of the most extraordinary things about artificial intelligence is how swiftly the real estate industry has embraced many new AI-powered tools. An industry known as a technology lagger has become an AI leader. 3 Best AI Prompts for Real Estate Agents Real estate agents are eager to harness the potential of AI. If you haven't taken the AI plunge, here are three top AI prompts when using ChatGPT that can dramatically improve your marketing and client communications efforts, saving you time and money. Note: For real estate content, there are alternatives, but ChatGPT and DALL-E, both by OpenAI, are the most popular and proven for creating real estate content, especially ChatGPT 4.0, the subscription service at just over $20 a month. 1. Teach ChatGPT to Write Like You Every real estate agent has a unique style of communication. By training ChatGPT to emulate your personal writing style, you can maintain your consistent brand voice across all platforms without investing hours into writing every piece of content. But with all outputs from ChatGPT, remember two rules: never cut and paste but use the output it provides for writing ideas and better descriptions; always verify any data or fact reference and remind it to write for you with fair housing regulations in mind. You are putting your reputation at risk if you don't follow these requirements. Prompt instructions: Step 1: Collect samples of your writing. This can be your previous newsletters, blog posts, property descriptions, client letters, emails, or any other text representing your style that is already public. Step 2: Input your writing samples into the platform. To do this, instruct ChatGPT that you want it to learn your writing style. Ask it to respond, "GO AHEAD," when ready, and you will submit writing samples until it has learned your style. When it has learned your style, tell ChatGPT to "STOP" and wait for instructions for what you want to write in that style. This will allow the AI to learn your writing nuances and patterns. Step 3: Test your new writing model by providing ChatGPT with prompts related to the real estate writing you need. See if the output matches your style. If not, remember iteration is the key: you can give ChatGPT more instructions to adjust and retrain as necessary. Example: Suppose your writing often includes a particular flair for describing homes in poetic terms. Once trained, when prompted with "Describe a beachfront property," the AI might produce: "Nestled where the horizon kisses the ocean, this beachfront haven promises serenity with every ebb and flow of its tides." Make sure you add to every prompt for property descriptions "meeting Fair Housing regulations," again, proofread carefully, and modify for accuracy! 2. Get AI to Organize Your Input in Columns As a real estate agent, you deal with vast amounts of data, from property specifications to client information. Organizing this information can be time-consuming. By using AI, you can quickly categorize and place data into structured columns, saving you time and ensuring accuracy. While at this time we do not recommend entering proprietary or sensitive personal information into ChatGPT, for information that is already public or generic, it could be very helpful. Prompt instructions: Step 1: In ChatGPT, input the raw data you wish to organize. This could be a list of properties with details, client queries, or even a list of blog topics, writing, and publishing dates. Step 2: Specify the columns and titles you want to create. For instance: "Property Address," "Square Footage," "Number of Bedrooms," "City," etc. Step 3: Let the ChatGPT process and organize the data, which will only take seconds to create. Review your results and make any necessary adjustments. Example: The key is letting ChatGPT know that you want the data you provide organized and placed into columns. To create a column-centric document, such as a content or social media plan and calendar, give ChatGPT a list of your blog or social post topics, description, writing deadline due date, and publishing date. Commas should separate the information you provide. It would look like this: "3 ways to maximize your curb appeal, Focus on landscaping – reducing clutter and value of free paint, 11/7/23, 11/9/23, Notes." ChatGPT can automatically place your content into columns and organize them automatically by date. You then can copy and paste the content into your Google Doc, Word doc, or Pages doc for final editing. 3. Use AI Prompts to Create Your Own Royalty-Free Stock Photos High-quality visuals are crucial in the real estate industry, but when you put a photo on your website, in a social post, or a brochure or other promotional piece, have you secured the copyright? Violating copyright law can be expensive, as the fines are steep. Buying stock images can be expensive. Even when you hire a photographer for a photo shoot, it doesn't always mean you have secured all the rights you need to use the images. AI has a solution: platforms. One free option is DALL-E, an AI model by OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT, that generates images based on textual prompts. With the proper AI prompts, DALL-E can develop stock-type photos, offering a cost-effective solution. Best of all, if you have a ChatGPT 4 account, you automatically have access to the power of DALL-E. Prompt instructions: Step 1: Access DALL-E at https://openai.com/research/dall-e, and if you don't have a ChatGPT account, create a new account with OpenAI. Step 2: In the description box, provide a detailed description of the image you want. The more specific, the better the results. Step 3: Let the AI process your request and generate an image. DALL-E will typically provide you with four different versions. Step 4: Review the images. Adjust your prompt and try again if they don't match your expectations. Example: If you're writing a blog post about luxury living, you might prompt the AI: "Generate an image of a luxurious living room with large windows, a modern fireplace, and gold accents." The AI will then produce an image matching that description, ready for you to use. Take the leap! While every real estate agent doesn't have to use AI, those who use AI correctly will be vastly more productive. Remember that the magic lies in the prompt! From crafting communication that resonates with your unique voice to organizing intricate data with ease and even creating striking visual content on demand, the possibilities of finding ways to use ChatGPT every day to improve your communications and marketing are boundless. But like crafting a Comprehensive Market Analysis (CMA), ChatGPT's accuracy hinges on the quality of the input. When creating a CMA, the more relevant and well-selected the comparable properties, the sharper and more reliable the analysis. Similarly, with ChatGPT, the more precise and detailed your AI prompts, the more dynamic and targeted the content you'll receive. Dive into the world of AI with specificity in mind, and you'll begin to unlock a tool that has the potential to elevate nearly every facet of your real estate business. Remember that even though your support team at Tech Helpline are not AI experts, we are here to help you with all of your technology questions and challenges. To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline blog.

How to Use ChatGPT for Real Estate Community Page Content
In the bustling world of real estate, it's no longer enough to simply showcase property listings on your website. For real estate agents and brokers seeking to stand out from the crowd and compete against the giants of the industry, a shift in strategy is needed. Providing comprehensive community information within your website's community pages can be a game changer. This approach not only differentiates your website from competitors, but also positions you as a local expert about the communities you serve. By educating buyers and building trust, you're not just attracting site visitors, but creating lasting client relationships. This is the age of information, where knowledge isn't just power – it's a key to unlocking potential business opportunities. How AI Can Help Artificial intelligence (AI), especially models like ChatGPT, is revolutionizing the way we create and consume content, and the real estate industry is no exception. With their ability to process vast amounts of information and generate engaging, informative, and unique content, these AI tools can greatly enhance the community pages on real estate websites. Why? Because AI and ChatGPT are incredibly effective at transforming raw data into coherent and engaging narratives. Imagine feeding the AI a list of community features – parks, schools, local businesses, crime rates, and more. The AI can then use this data to produce comprehensive content that not only informs potential buyers about the community but does so in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. Moreover, using AI and ChatGPT for content creation doesn't require any technical expertise. There are plenty of user-friendly platforms available that make it easy for anyone to get started. You simply input your requirements, and the AI does the rest, saving you time and effort. In essence, by leveraging AI and ChatGPT, real estate professionals can provide their clients with valuable local knowledge, differentiate themselves from competitors and, ultimately, transform website visitors into potential clients. It's a powerful tool that's changing the face of real estate marketing, and you don't need to be a tech wizard to use it! Watch and Learn: Producing Community Page Content With AI We recently held a webinar with a special guest host, Michael Thorne of TMB Real Estate, in the Vancouver, BC area. Michael is well-versed in using AI and ChatGPT. In this webinar, you'll hear his story about why he decided to add custom content to the community pages on his team's website, and how incredibly fast and easy it was using ChatGPT. Michael also touched on the importance of adopting AI for everything you do to work far more efficiently, outsmart your competition, and have more personal time for your life outside of work. And who wouldn't like that? ChatGPT: Getting Started If you're new to ChatGPT, you'll find plenty of resources online for help and tips. Here are a couple of essentials: ChatGPT website – Free accounts are currently offered and the premium version offers more features for $20/month. How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results – This article from Search Engine Journal explains how to get better results from your own ChatGPT prompts. To view the original article, visit the iHomeFinder blog.

4 Tips for Working with AI as a Real Estate Agent
Lately, news about artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere; this emerging technology has reached an inflection point, and we can expect to see it become increasingly ubiquitous in the coming months and years. New technologies are exciting, especially for people who love exploring ways to maximize their efficiency and work smarter, not harder — including real estate agents. But new technologies also come with a learning curve. It can take some time to understand the best way to use and implement these tools in your business. Tricia Stamper, director of technology at Florida REALTORS®, did the work so you don't have to. Read her top guidelines around how agents can (and should) be thinking about using AI, from how to write a prompt that works to how to keep your brand's proprietary information protected and private. People have often feared new technologies. In the late 1800s, after the invention of the telephone, many people were frightened by it. Historians note that many people wouldn't touch a telephone because they feared they would suffer an electric shock. A greater fear among others was that the phone would somehow attract evil spirits. Misconceptions of new technology accompany innovation. Electricity, telephones, bicycles, elevators, and automobiles were all feared, boycotted, and eventually regulated. Artificial intelligence is no different. As early as 2015, one survey found that Americans are more afraid of robots than death. While some real estate agents may fear AI, others are embracing the power of AI to help them save time for many tasks that AI is well suited to assist. When your competitors use new technology to make them more productive, it's at least worth understanding how your competition uses it. One caveat: the impact of the AI landscape is rapidly changing. When you finish reading this, numerous new AI applications will likely have been conceived and launched. With that in mind, here are four indispensable guidelines for adopting AI best practices fearlessly in real estate today. 1. Perfecting the prompt: The quality of the information and specific direction you provide an AI tool will be proportional to the quality of the results it returns. The biggest mistake most people make when using an AI tool like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Microsoft's Bing, and Anthropic's Claude is that they provide too little information with too little guidance. The secret to success is specificity. For instance, if you need ChatGPT to compose a blog post, offer more than a topic. Supply a detailed prompt outlining the target audience, word count, key points to include, relevant research, tone (casual or formal), and even your writing style. With the proper prompts, you can even teach ChatGPT how you write like you so it can better mimic your writing style. But don't rely on ChatGPT to provide accurate research and URLs. If you do, test the links and validate the referenced study, as the information from ChatGPT only extends until September 2021. 2. Encourage improvement: The first response from an AI tool is not necessarily the best it can offer. You'll likely receive more creative and valuable suggestions by requesting revisions or reiterations. Interactive use of AI amplifies its capabilities, especially for writing bios, resumes, blog posts, property descriptions, or brochures. For example, if you don't like the suggested writing output, ask for a version with a different tone. Ask it to create another version that is more casual, more formal, clever, or funny. If the ending doesn't summarize your blog post, ask for a more compelling conclusion summarizing the key points. Providing specific feedback is vital for maximizing the value of AI tools. AI image tools like DALL-E2 can create unique and license-free house photos but remember to provide clear and detailed instructions for the best results – and to iterate. Remember that tools like ChatGPT are idea machines. You name it, not just for blog posts but for video scripts, emails, letters of recommendation, testimonials, content plans, and SEO enhancement ideas. And the best way to maximize the value of what you get back is by giving specific feedback on how to improve it. 3. Impersonate to innovate: When asking for assistance – say you want to create a new marketing plan – tell it to provide you the information from an expert's perspective. You might say, "You are a real estate marketing expert" or "Imagine you are Gary Vaynerchuk…" and then make specific requests: what you need in terms of your marketing plan, the audiences you are trying to reach, the tools or channels you would prefer to use, and more. You can also seek advice similarly, for example, "Assume you're Warren Buffett and advise me on improving my real estate business…" However, you must share your current strategies and accomplishments for more personalized and relevant advice. 4. Preserve privacy and verify: If you don't want your competitors to see it, don't feed it into ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, or Claude because there is no guarantee of privacy. We have already seen data leaks, and the experts warn that what you share is stored and just might be used for future AI training. Most importantly, make sure you verify the AI-assisted content you provide. It takes an agent years to build trust with their sphere of influence, and you can decimate that trust in seconds by giving your clients wrong information. The good news is that when used right, AI should save you significantly more time than you will spend fact-checking. The bottom line AI holds immense potential for the real estate industry, and these guidelines can help professionals navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. Perfecting your prompt, pushing for more drafts, leveraging expert impersonations, maintaining privacy, and checking the facts are keys to maximizing the utility of AI tools. Real estate professionals can gain a significant edge in productivity, creativity, and efficiency by embracing AI fearlessly and strategically. The future belongs to those who are prepared for it today. And remember that if you have access to Tech Helpline, while our analysts are not experts on AI, they can help you discover where to find many of these new AI tools. Other related posts: To AI or not to AI: What are the risks and rewards? 6 ways you can use technology to reduce your stress 6 new cutting-edge iPhone features coming soon with iOS17 Tricia Stamper is Director of Technology at Florida Realtors®, which owns both Tech Helpline and Form Simplicity.

ChatGPT Hacks for Real Estate Agents
In November 2022, the internet as we know it changed with the introduction of ChatGPT to the general public. Also known as a chatbot, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence tool that generates written responses to human prompts and is powered by human data. Countless industries felt the effects of the AI tool, with many fearing it'd replace humans altogether. Rest assured, ChatGPT isn't here to take your job. Real estate is a people-first, human-centric industry — a robot simply cannot replace the uniqueness and depth of skill and expertise you bring to the table. Thankfully, you can use the increasingly popular chatbot as a tool to support you. Here are some smart ways to partner up with ChatGPT to make your work life easier. Ways to Make ChatGPT Work for You Before we dive in, we have an important announcement: ChatGPT is a launching point — you need to add your expertise and personal touch. Don't just copy and paste straight from the bot's mouth, or your clients will be able to tell that it's inauthentic. Now that you're up to speed that it's possible to work with ChatGPT instead of against it, here are some of our favorite ways to use the tool. Write Your Listing Descriptions As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. As you prepare for new listings to go live, having an effective, informative, and eye-catching listing description can make all the difference in getting interested buyers in the door… or the listing falling flat. You can use ChatGPT to help you write your listing descriptions quickly and easily. Here's how you can get started: Step 1. Get Clear On Your Ask (a.k.a., The Prompt) ChatGPT works off prompts, or the requests you type into the tool. This is what guides the chatbot to generate a response. For this example, we wrote the following prompt into ChatGPT: Please write a brief, one-paragraph listing description for a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home in Tulsa, OK. The home has a sizable backyard, renovated kitchen, and a finished basement. It's in a walkable neighborhood also located near Downtown Tulsa. Step 2. Results Are Ready Once you click "Generate Response," ChatGPT gets to work in a matter of seconds. Let's see what it gave us as a result of our need for a listing description for a dreamy home in Tulsa: Welcome to this stunning 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home in Tulsa, OK! Nestled in a walkable neighborhood near Downtown Tulsa, this beautiful residence offers the perfect blend of style, functionality, and location. The renovated kitchen with its sleek design and modern appliances is a culinary enthusiast's dream. The spacious backyard provides ample space for outdoor activities and relaxation. With a finished basement that offers versatility and extra living space, this home truly has it all. Don't miss the opportunity to make this your dream home in an ideal location. Not too shabby, eh? Step 3. Review and Redo (As Needed) It's important to note that ChatGPT is, in fact, a robot. Its response to us lines up with the prompt we gave, but we need to triple-check it isn't creating a listing description that's too lofty. Make sure to review and ensure the response is accurate. You can also click "Regenerate Response" to see other options and iterations the bot has written, giving you a nice variety of descriptions to choose from. How easy is that? Make the Most Out of Your Email, Text, and Call Templates Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what to say or write, especially across the countless channels you have to manage for your business: email, social media, texts, and phone calls. Skip the guessing games and writer's block and ask ChatGPT to help. The tool can write entire email nurture campaigns, caption your posts, craft nifty text replies, and even create personalized phone scripts for you. Try It Out Prompt ChatGPT with the following: Please write a caption for my social media post about my new listing in [CITY/ZIP]. You can then have the tool regenerate the response, or you can ask it to rewrite what it generated in a different tone, like funny, professional, catchy, and more. Get Actionable Marketing Ideas Believe it or not, you can tap into ChatGPT for all things marketing. Think of the tool like an endless provider of ideas and concepts. Thinking back to our agent in Tulsa, let's ask ChatGPT to give three ideas for pieces of marketing content to make using the following prompt: Please give me 3 marketing content ideas I can use as an agent in Tulsa, OK. Check out the robust response ChatGPT provided (who needs a marketing manager, anyway?): Certainly! Here are three marketing content ideas that you can use as an agent in Tulsa, OK: Neighborhood Guides: Create comprehensive guides that highlight different neighborhoods in Tulsa. Include information about local amenities, schools, parks, entertainment options, and any unique features or attractions. This type of content can be valuable to potential buyers or renters who are researching different areas in the city. You can publish these guides on your website, blog, or social media platforms. Homebuyer Tips and Guides: Develop informative content that educates homebuyers about the process of purchasing a home in Tulsa. You can create articles, videos, or infographics that cover topics such as mortgage options, understanding the local market, negotiating offers, and tips for a successful home inspection. By providing valuable insights, you position yourself as a trusted resource and build credibility with potential clients. Client Success Stories: Share success stories or testimonials from satisfied clients you have worked with in Tulsa. This can be in the form of written case studies, video testimonials, or before-and-after home transformation stories. Highlight the challenges the clients faced, how you helped them overcome those challenges, and the positive outcomes they achieved. These stories humanize your business and demonstrate your expertise and ability to deliver results. ChatGPT can be a powerful tool to support your business needs, but artificial intelligence can never replace the secret sauce a human real estate professional can provide. To view the original article, visit the BoomTown blog.

Influencer Approved: 6 Game-Changing ChatGPT Prompts for REALTORS
In today's fast-paced digital world, staying ahead of the competition requires leveraging cutting-edge technologies and innovative strategies. One such way to stand out from the .COMpetition is leveraging a web address ending in .realtor™ or .realestate. Another tool that has been making waves in the real estate industry is ChatGPT, an AI-powered language model designed to generate dynamic and engaging conversations. This article presents you with six game-changing ChatGPT prompts specifically tailored for REALTORS. These prompts have been handpicked and approved by influential real estate industry voices who recognize ChatGPT's potential to enhance communication, generate leads, and provide valuable insights to clients. We understand that finding the right prompts can be overwhelming, which is why our get.realtor team has curated this list based on the recommendations of industry influencers who have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of ChatGPT. So, whether you're looking to streamline your lead generation process or enhance the customer experience, join us as we dive into these influencer-approved ChatGPT prompts that have the potential to reshape your real estate journey. Get ready to unlock a new level of success and stand out in the competitive real estate market with these game-changing recommendations. Marki Lemons Ryhal, Global Keynote Speaker and Podcast Host Topic: Lifestyle Marketing Campaign PROMPT: Construct a comprehensive marketing campaign that highlights the lifestyle and community benefits associated with homes listed in [Community] in [City, State] [Community] = A community in your city [City, State] = Your city and state ChatGPT RESPONSE: Bondilyn Jolly, WAV Group Marketing Division Leader and CEO, bcollective.agency Topic: Determining Blog Content by Local Market Interest PROMPT: I run a website about real estate in [Los Angeles, CA]. What are some sub-niches I should be tackling with my content? Give me the results as a table with a number between 1 and 100 sub-niche to indicate the sub-niche popularity. Jeff Lobb, Intl. Speaker, Sales and Marketing Coach, CEO at Coach52 and SparkTank Media Topic: Online Lead Conversion Strategy PROMPT: I want you to act as a real estate agent responding to [lead type] leads that came in from [lead source] and write [number] email responses that have the ability to convert to an appointment, using catchy email subject lines and a [tone of writing] tone. Katie Lance, CEO/Founder, Katie Lance Consulting and the #GetSocialSmart Academy Topic: YouTube SEO Strategy Write me a detailed SEO description about my YouTube video about [details]. The aim of this description is to rank #1 in Google for the keyword "Homes in [CITY]." Include keywords and a compelling call-to-action. Also include 3-5 ideas for a title for this YouTube video. Craig Grant, International Speaker and Educator, CEO of The Real Estate Technology Institute / RETI.us Topic: An Entire SEO Campaign in 4 Steps PROMPT 1: Identify 20 blog post topics a Realtor should create to increase their SEO score for [Desired Niche or Topic] in [City, State]. PROMPT 2: Now create a detailed outline for each of the 20 blog post ideas PROMPT 3: Now write a 500-1000 word blog post based on the outline of idea 7 (and then 8, and then 9, etc.) PROMPT 4: Now create a video script from the blog post created from idea 7 Elizabeth Koneru, Industry Engagement Marketing Manager at NAR Topic: Increase Your Search Engine Ranking on Your Website PROMPT: What are the steps to improve the search engine optimization on my website for the keywords "REALTOR® Richmond, VA"? Speaking of websites… Did you know NAR offers FREE websites with the purchase of any of their web addresses, both .realtor™ and .realestate? Best of all, if you're an NAR member, your .realtor™ web address is free for the first year! Looking to grow your community influence like in prompt 1? Get a web address like yourcity.realestate. Take your free website for a spin today! Visit www.get.realtor. Add your .realtor™ or .realestate web address to your cart, then select the professional website option that's right for you. Use promo code: CHAT20 to take 20% off the purchase of your .realestate web address. The .realtor™ web address is free for NAR members for the first year. PLUS, you get a free professional website for as long as you own either web address.

8 Browser Extensions for ChatGPT
ChatGPT is here to stay. However, for now, it's penned up in its environment on OpenAI (and its new iOS app), and anytime you want to use it, you have to schlep over there or open the app. While that's not exactly a hardship, it is inconvenient when you want its help on, say, writing an email or social media post. That's why we've rounded up this list of ChatGPT browser extensions. They bring the power of ChatGPT directly into Gmail and social media, summarize web pages and videos, and so much more. Check out these eight Chrome browser extensions out to see how they can help streamline your real estate business: 1. Talk-to-ChatGPT Using ChatGPT requires writing a lot of prompts. If spoken conversation is more your speed, this extension lets you talk aloud to ChatGPT. Use it to get help with tasks, generate content, and even just have a conversation. 2. YouTube Summary with ChatGPT YouTube videos…sometimes you just don't want to watch them! Whether it's the time commitment or that you're in a place where you don't want to use audio, there are plenty of reasons to go "Ugh…" when encountering a video online. YouTube Summary with ChatGPT brings the efficiency and convenience of skimming an article to video. This extension summarizes videos, giving you the gist without you having to watch the entire thing. 3. Merlin Speaking of summarizing, this extension will summarize not only videos but articles across the web. It can also translate languages and create content for Gmail, Twitter and LinkedIn. 4. ChatGPT Prompt Genius Your ChatGPT output is only as good as the prompts you put into it. The ChatGPT Prompt Genius extension helps you to create better ChatGPT prompts. Consider it your in-browser prompt coach. 5. TweetGPT Still on Twitter? If your efforts there have lagged recently, whip your profile back into shape with TweetGPT. This extension can help you to improve your Twitter engagement by generating creative and interesting tweets and replies. 6. Engage AI for LinkedIn LinkedIn is one of those social media channels that are often neglected in real estate marketing. Neglect no more with this extension, which works right in the comment field of LinkedIn so you can engage your sphere with sparkling, witty remarks! 7. ChatGPT for Google Supercharge your Google searches with ChatGPT for Google. This extension shows you Google search results alongside ChatGPT responses for the same query. And if Google isn't your search engine of choice, no worries—this also works with Bing, DuckDuckGo, and more. 8. ChatGPT Writer When you started in real estate, did you realize how much writing was in store for you? From emails to listing descriptions and various marketing materials, writing skills are always in demand in this career. ChatGPT Writer lets you harness the power of AI to write emails and other messages. It can help you to improve your writing style, generate more engaging content, and save lots and lots of time.

Should You Have a Chatbot on Your Real Estate Website?
Visitors always have questions to ask, no matter how detailed your website is. And as a skilled real estate agent, responding to them on time is vital, mainly because website visitors quickly divert their attention to something else if they think you can't answer their questions on time. And this might increase your website's bounce rate. You don't want that. Sometimes, corresponding with clients through email might not provide them with the immediate response they want. Thus, to keep up with the communication demands of your clients, a more approachable form of communication through artificial intelligence (AI), such as chatbots, can be handy. What Is a Chatbot? A chatbot is software designed to automatically engage website users to resolve their queries. It is built to replicate human speech and discussions. Sometimes referred to as virtual assistants, chatbots make live chats with clients or prospects more personalized, improving user experience and the overall performance of your real estate business. Benefits of Using a Chatbot on Your Real Estate Website One of the reasons real estate professionals add chatbots to their websites is to improve the end user's experience. To succeed in a competitive market such as real estate, agents have to provide their clients with only the best products or services. Fast response Speed and convenience are two of the most valued assets in today's marketplace. The automated system with chatbots makes responding to clients almost immediate, resolving their queries and answering all their questions. This is a valuable tool, especially for businesses with fewer human resources. Increase sales Not only do chatbots help create excellent customer support, but they can also easily be used to increase sales. For example, Realtors can use information about the users' questions, interests, and preferences to provide recommendations, advice, and offer home search suggestions. Reduced cost While they won't replace human interaction, they can help reduce operational costs by being available all day at no additional charge. In addition, real estate professionals can automate frequently asked questions and conversations for easy access to users. Lead generation Chatbots are designed to identify potential customers, initiate their interest in your products or services, and cultivate a relationship with them. Through the marketing approach used by chatbots, they can collect vital user information while offering business information, thereby generating more leads. 24/7 assistance This point is pretty self-explanatory. Users visit your website at different hours of the day, so having ready support for them at any given time is essential. This is what chatbots provide on your real estate website. All-day assistance offers accessibility and convenience to your customers, thereby reducing bounce rates. Other benefits of using chatbots on your real estate website include: Improved engagement Increased user experience Helps reduce errors Increases customer satisfaction Improves service personalization Versatility Bottom Line There are three main elements involved when using chatbots. They are built to collect information, facilitate human interaction, and, in some cases, substitute human-to-human conversations. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.

How to Be Friendly, Yet Professional in Online Chats (Part 2)
In a previous article, we talked about the first four keys to making clients satisfied in online chats. In this article, get eight more tips to make your leads and clients feel happy in online chats. Check for Grammar and Spelling When talking to clients, you have to make sure that your sentences are grammatically correct and official. Do not use abbreviations such as ASAP, BRB, FYI, BFN, TY. A professional Realtor will always write the full words and avoid grammatical errors. Being too friendly and using slang will make clients feel like you are not very professional or, worse, they will not take you seriously. Although it might seem like hard work for new Realtors, there are several apps that will help you write content, such as Grammarly. Be Responsive If you are not a native speaker, communicating with clients can be stressful work for you, especially initially. Don't be afraid to send your messages right away. Proofreading your message can be a bit tiring and will keep your potential clients on wait, and they might lose interest in you just for delaying with your response. You might have grammatical mistakes or minor errors once in a while, but don't worry. You are a human being, not a robot, and your clients will understand a minor typo. However, avoid making them often. Save the Humor for Later Making jokes is a risky option, especially if you're unfamiliar with your clients' sense of humor. But being friendly is a must. Clients should trust you, but pay attention not to cross any lines and always remember that this is a business chat. Act in a way that satisfies everyone. Wrap up Conversations with a Positive Note At the end of the conversation, you should always make sure that you have answered all questions and solved the problem so that the client is truly satisfied with you and your services. Then you can end your conversation with a friendly tone. The end of the conversation is as important as the start. Your potential client should feel comfortable messaging again. At the end of the chat, ask if there is anything else they would like to know or ask. Never leave the client hanging at the end—make sure they know that the chat has come to an end. Use Active Voice Using the active voice is important. Using the passive voice all the time might sometimes make the message unclear and your client may get the impression that you are not that professional in what you do. Here are the benefits of using the active voice: Active voice is not confusing It's simple and direct It emphasizes and adds clarity to the sentence It's not always possible to have a conversation in the active voice only. Of course, you will have sentences in passive voice in your daily chats, but just make sure not to let it be frequent to avoid an awkward conversation. Give Fast Replies Never leave a chat unanswered. When a lead's message is left unanswered, they lose interest in your services and will straight up go to the next agent. Sometimes, they even text several agents and will go for the ones that reply fastest. So always be ready to accept the chats as they come. Ask for Feedback At the end of the conversation, especially if the client has reported an issue, ask for feedback. Problems occur in every real estate company. Asking clients for feedback will help you work with more efficiency. Every but of feedback will let you know what to do to be a better Realtor. The more you meet or exceed clients' standards, the more you will gain potential new clients. Avoid Misunderstanding If a client does not entirely explain their issue or explains in a way that might lead to misunderstandings, ask for further explanation. If it's not possible via online chat, you should give them a call to properly understand the issue. Misunderstandings can lead to bigger problems. Ask as many questions as needed to ensure that you understand what the client is asking. Final Word Knowing how to chat with clients and how to keep them happy with you and your services is crucial. The bottom line is that with successful communication techniques, you can keep both you and your clients satisfied and happy. Your clients are your key to your success. Make sure you show them the care they need. To view the original article, visit the Realtyna blog.

3 Zoom Tips to Look 10x More Professional
Last week, you read 3 Tips to Master Your Gmail Inbox. Those tips, once mastered, will help you save time every day. These next three tips on how to use Zoom will help you look even more like the professional that you are. You will learn how to add a virtual background, how to change your name, and what your camera angle should be. Zoom Tip #1: How to add a virtual background This is excellent, but not a requirement for your Zoom meeting. Having a virtual background can look both good and bad. Before I get into the good, the bad, and the better, let's talk about the "how." During a Zoom call, click the little up arrow ^ to the right of the start video button. Then select Choose Virtual Background. This will bring up the Settings. You can either choose an already existing virtual background, or you can upload a new one using the plus sign (+) on the right of the image. Voilà! Now you should have a virtual background. If selecting a virtual background is not an option for you, then your account settings have to be changed. For how to turn those settings on, I will refer you to this how-to article written by Zoom. Now for the good, the bad, and the ugly. As you can see from my image above, I selected an image of Earth. Which is fine, BUT that doesn't help tell my story. So, our recommendation is for you to create a background using a product like Canva. This helps to create something that has your company's logo in the top left or right corner and the rest of the image follows your company's branding. You might think creating your own image is scary, but it is not. Companies such as Canva now make it extremely easy for people to create their own images. Now for the bad. You may have noticed during your Zoom calls there is a distracting line around people when they have a virtual background. This can be very distracting to those in the meeting. If your background image looks like this you might want to question if a virtual background is right for you. This is where we get to the good stuff. The better. To make a virtual background look really good, use a green screen. This does not have to be expensive or troublesome. It really is just a green sheet that is stretched out flat behind you. When you select a virtual background, you would then also select the option that you are using a green screen. This will make your virtual background look professional and awesome. Zoom Tip #2: How to change your name I don't know about you, but I can be working in one of four different Zoom accounts. A problem that I come across all the time is no one knows who I am until I change my name. First, select Participants. Then, select More next to your name. Click on Rename. Change your name, select Rename again. And you are good to go! Changing your name so people know who you are is essential. I have been on hundreds of Zoom calls with both WAV Group and RE Technology and too often there are people that I don't know on the call. This helps the host know exactly who is there. BONUS TIP: If you are meeting new people, add the name of your business after your name, like this: "Michael Nash | RE Technology." This helps people not just know who you are, but also which company you are with. Zoom Tip #3: Pay attention to the camera angle I've saved the best for last. Pay attention to the camera angle. Many of us today use laptops. This causes the camera to be looking up at us. What do the people you are talking with see? Mostly up your nose! You don't want people looking up there! Instead, position the camera so it is at eye level, or slightly higher, like the image below. This angle is much better for others on the call with you and definitely makes you look more professional. Now it is your turn My homework for you today is to spend the next 15 minutes trying out each of these Zoom tips. They will help you look more professional during your Zoom meetings with clients, your broker or other professionals. Come back next week for an article on how to think, train, and eat for your business. I will be talking about Stu Mittleman's book, Slow Burn, and how it applies to your business. If you have any questions about these Zoom tips or have suggestions for more, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.

The Ultimate Zoom Playbook for Lead Generation
Doing business online has been a growing trend in the real estate business for years. However, 2020 circumstances have forced many Realtors to move, fully or partly, to an online environment. Zoom meetings are a very useful tool for doing real estate tasks on the web. But did you know that there is more to Zoom than just video conferencing, including lead generation opportunities?

Back 2 Biz: Conducting Virtual Listing Presentations
The final piece of our "Back 2 Biz" series (see parts one, two and three) looks at how you can use RPR and virtual meeting tools in tandem to deliver stellar listing presentations to your sellers. While many businesses are ramping up or completely opened up, there's no doubt that things will take a bit of adjustment moving forward. Everyone's comfort level will be different, and as a REALTOR, you need to pivot and change speeds accordingly. Luckily, with RPR and a myriad of tech communication tools, you can prepare and present traditional things like your listing presentations with ease. Here's how.

Best Practices: How to Hold a Virtual Meeting
With COVID-19 affecting the way real estate professionals can do business, virtual meetings have taken off. Google, Microsoft, and Apple all offer ways to hold a quick virtual meeting, and services from GotoMeeting to Zoom offer other free solutions as well, as we have written about earlier. But for many agents, all of this is very new, and many have questions. How do you hold a virtual meeting? Let's start with what you need, go over the steps to set up a virtual meeting, including the best way to invite people to your meeting, and some best practices to hold a great virtual meeting.

Facebook Messenger Bots: How to Automate Conversations to Qualify Leads and Stay Top of Mind
One of the most important lessons you can internalize about growing your business in the digital age is that you have to "meet your customers where they are." That used to be simple: postcards in their mail, emails in their inbox, calls to their phones. But if you've been solely relying on traditional communication methods like these, then you've likely noticed a decline in interactions. It's just harder to get in touch with people that way these days. So if you want to keep your business strong, then you need to find another channel. And boy, do we have just the channel for you!

How to Generate and Nurture Real Estate Leads While You Sleep
A career as a real estate agent can be challenging, and timeliness is key – you are expected to respond to inquiries almost immediately. According to the Properties Online annual real estate technology trends survey, 77 percent of sellers expect a reply from their agent within 30 minutes, while 88 percent of buyers are willing to wait a whopping 60 minutes before they expect a response. Unless you are able to clone yourself and not sleep, this can be a daunting task. But what if there was a way to make it seem like you were available 24/7? Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have made this a reality. Real estate agents and brokers can now employ chatbots and automated responders to ensure that both existing and prospective clients receive all the information they want and need at the exact moment it is convenient for them.

No Pressure, No Problem: Take the Video Chat Challenge
We've given you our take on the best video chat apps out there, and shown you five different ways you can use video chat to up your services to clients. But... you haven't fired up FaceTime or ooVoo with a client yet, have you? It's alright to have some nerves, but it's time to move past them so you can delight and surprise every client, no matter how near, far, busy or slow-moving. So. It's time. For the video chat challenge. Step One: Buddy Up When you're intro-ing any new technology, it's important to do as many test runs as you need before taking the new tool or app into "prime time." So first, find a buddy who also wants to learn how to use video chat. It can be a fellow agent, your broker or office tech liaison, a listing coordinator... and if all else fails, it can be a spouse, your teenage kid or a personal friend. Step Two: Choose One App Review our top five video chat apps and decide which one seems the most suited to your business. Ideally, you and your buddy will want to try the same app (so you can give each other pointers). But if you feel that different tech would work best, then tackle one app one week, and the other app the following week so everyone wins.

The 5 Best Video Chat Apps for Real Estate Agents
No, you're not imagining it. Open house attendees, showing appointments and even your fellow agents are video chatting a lot more often these days. It makes sense that in our hyper-social world, buyers may want to crowdsource their decision before they make an offer. But they're not the only people who can get ahead using video chat technology. Agents can also leverage live video chat apps to keep in touch with out-of-town clients, update buyers about small changes that have been made due to contingencies or inspections, or to simply show off their latest listing to other agents who are too busy in the field to swing by the broker open. We've done the research and the Results Series team informally voted on our top five favorite video chat apps for 2017. Read on to see which video chat app is best for you and your clients. 1. Most Intuitive: FaceTime FaceTime is the native video chat app for Apple mobile devices — iPad and iPhone. FaceTime is designed to use your wi-fi connection first, but will connect and run through your data if wi-fi is unavailable. Here's how to check to ensure that your iPhone knows to use wi-fi first, with data as a backup. Biggest FaceTime advantage: Unlike other apps that require a special download, FaceTime has just one barrier to entry: it's available to iPhone users who are contacting other iPhone users. This makes it a great option for anyone, regardless of their technical prowess. The technology comes pre-loaded on your iPhone and you just have to tap the FaceTime icon within your contacts to make a FaceTime call. Biggest FaceTime disadvantage: FaceTime is still a 1-to-1 app, so you can't yet host a group video chat. Rumor has it that you'll be able to host group chats with the launch of ioS 11 this June. FaceTime best practice: Even if the purpose of the call is to show off the listing, be sure to start every call in selfie mode, so you can quickly establish a connection before you turn the camera on the property. And remember to avoid looking at the corner where your face is; always make eye contact with the call recipient when in selfie mode by looking at the lens.