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Are fancy digital gadgets undermining agents’ core sales skills?

By Tim Neary
19 October 2016 | 9 minute read
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Facebook’s Messenger Platform allows agents to build custom bots for richer content, but is there a danger of content overload – knowing too much about the prospect and failing to utilise your sales skills?

Not according to Ray White’s CEO for growth, Mark McLeod.

“Real estate is a relationship business and all we are doing is trying to create an environment where agents can talk to people,” Mr McLeod told REB from the 2016 Inman Conference in San Francisco.

“When we start the conversation, we have to have some skill. I’ve got to know my area, know my product, know how to do an auction, know how to market a property.”

Mr McLeod said every digital lead has to end up with a phone call.

“That is a really important piece to manage. We have a saying in our network  Is this is a relationship industry? So, how many relationships do you have with people you have never spoken to? The answer is none.”

Mr McLeod said using online intelligence tools isn’t about someone emailing you an auction authority.

“It’s about creating an experience for a customer that they have understood for a period of time that we have created an environment to provide great service,” he said.

“So when I talk to you about the home you own in Bondi, I can also talk to you about your hobbies.

“Because your bot has told me how you have acted on Facebook, so it’s that richer content that I communicate to you.”

In April, Facebook launched its Messenger Platform, a service that allows businesses to build custom bot, essentially software that automates tasks. 

Facebook Messenger uses Facebooks Wit.ai Bot Engine to turn natural language into structured data using a form of artificial intelligence, making these bots easy for non-techies to build.

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