I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics and seeing the determination and drive that so many of these great athletes demonstrate from around the world. To see the best athletes in the world competing against each other is an inspiring experience.

Just like in the Olympics, selling homes is about strength, determination, preparation, perseverance and being the best of the best. Being in real estate today requires us, as agents and brokers, to win the price war and the beauty contest both online and off!

I’ve watched companies come and go and most don’t begin to understand what buyers really want in their search for finding homes online. I am blown away by the poor visual experience agents and brokers provide the buyer on homes they so desperately need to sell. So many real estate brokers and brands leave it up to the agents to decide how to demonstrate their listings on the web. The problem is, in this difficult market, more and more agents are moving away from professional photography and high quality virtual tours to cheap, do-it-yourself tools with poor, less than complimentary photos of homes. The agent then brands their poor visual content with the high quality brand of their company and sends the message “that our company does not really understand what you, the buyers, really want.”

Buyers today want high quality photos of everything in and around the home, they want both still pictures and moving panoramas, and they want the option to see everything about the home even if it is a short sale or REO property – especially those. Instead, agents and brokers seem to be cutting their budgets in the wrong places. If they really want to sell their listings, they need to give the buyers the best experience, the Olympic experience.

My nomination for the best company to help us accomplish our Gold medal run is Obeo (www.obeo.com). They provide the highest quality experience for buyers and sellers, and add elements that are so advanced no other competitor can come close to them!

Imagine a buyer looking at a home online and having the ability to emotionally move in by moving their furniture in and around, changing the color of the kitchen cabinets, changing the floors from carpet to hardwood and even redecorating the living room by changing the color of the paint on the walls. This is a gold medal performance that should be done on every listing – not just on your high end, beautiful homes—but on ANY listing that you want to sell!

Real results, that’s how I differentiate between a good company and a REAL competitor. One of my coaching clients in Dallas sent an email recently stating that many of her sellers are coming to her because she markets properties using Obeo. Her closings for one month were over 2 million dollars and she attributes much of that to the way she markets her properties with Obeo.

There are a lot of good companies out there with cool web 2.0 experiences. However, I have not heard the extreme positive feedback from actual buyers and sellers, or seen the real results for agents like I have from Obeo.

So, if there were a competition of best online sales tools, Obeo wins the Gold!

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Verl Workman is a leading national speaker, coach and consultant. Despite his busy speaking schedule, and role as co-founder of Pinnacle Quest Consulting Group, he still sells real estate so that he can test and stay abreast of the latest tools and techniques that maximize results. He uses that knowledge to assist individuals and companies in building effective business strategies, implementing powerful technology solutions, and establishing strategic competitive advantages through coaching, seminars and private consultations. To contact Verl visit www.verlworkman.com or www.PQPipeline.com or email him at AskVerl@verlworkman.com.

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