My exploration into using videoconferencing as a marketing tool for real estate has taken me down many a road. There are lots of products out there including:  TokBox, DimDim and Skype.

I like Skype. Makes me feel very “international!” Some of my clients are located overseas and Skype is their product of choise.

More and more of my students in class tell me they are using Skype to communicate with their clients across the country and across the world.  What is Skype?
According to Wikipedia  . . . Skype (pronounced /ˈskaɪp/) is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and, in some countries, to free-of-charge numbers, are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.

Speaking to some of my coaching clients, here are some business uses for Skype:
• Return long distance phone calls to clients
• Check your voicemail when traveling
• Make business calls without cell coverage
What makes it better is that is starts free if your client also has a skype account.
Video calls, like Skype-to-Skype calls are free, updating your clients is free, no matter where they are in the world. All you need is a webcam and software. Start by downloading the software:

www.Skype.com/download

If we want to be successful with today’s buyer, we need to remember what is – and always has been – at the heart of the sale: People will only buy something from someone they trust. Only the methods have changed. If you can’t meet them face to face, webcam to webcam will have to do.

• SKYPE to SKYPE (free)
• SKYPE to Local or Long Distance
• SKYPE to International
• SKYPE with IPHONE (mobile)
• SKYPE with video
• Free, Pay as You Go, Monthly

Skype-enabled audio and video are already infiltrating business settings, with users recording their Skype conversations and adding the recordings to their blogs as podcasts.

And the ultimate – the ability to see each others webcam and if necessary to record the call. A great software at Pamela.org  will enable you to do this.

Amy Chorew is a national real estate trainer highly experienced at helping managers and agents maximize the infinite opportunities that technology offers them. Her knowledge of the industry and the latest technologies available along with her unique ability to translate it all into easy to understand language make her a consistently top-rated trainer throughout the country. Her expertise in the area of Social Networking and the tremendous impact it is having on the industry has given agents and brokers the tools to move from traditional marketing to Web 2.0.

You can reach her at amy@amychorew.com,  or (860) 325-0101 or visit her blog at www.amychorew.com. Her technology coaching series is available at www.thetechbyte.com