Does My Property Management Business Need Video Calling? 

 

Video Calling is often associated with Facetiming friends or showing off the new grandbaby to the family! On the business side of things, video calling is for meetings with coworkers you already know. But what if it could be an integral part of your business in ways you haven’t yet discovered?

Property management relies on a lot of moving parts: you have one department buying property, another leasing, people doing maintenance and all the administrative staff in between. A lot of that communication would probably be enhanced by a visual. Think of a leaky faucet or a prospective property for sale: do you want to get in your car every single time?

Let’s go over four situations where a property management company would benefit from a quick Video Call. 

  1. Give a House Tour from miles away
  2. Increase Trust with Face-to-Face Sales
  3. Maintenance Issues solved fast
  4. Close More Deals

Property management Companies often do a lot more than meets the eye. They help homeowners with property management services, they help renters find their next home, they help owners and investors with strategic decision-making and can even be a resource for real estate agents to gain referrals in their market. It means a lot of moving parts, administratively and financially. 

Anything that can help save time and money for a property management firm should be considered. Video calling is one great example of a modern communication feature that could be embraced by property management companies with relative ease. 

 

Tour a House Virtually with Video Calling 

Think of how many house tours need to happen for a property management company:  

woman looking at a house on her computer

  • Viewing a house that needs a property management service 
  • Rental before/after renters have moved in/out for documentation of damages 
  • Showing an available property to prospective renters 
  • Providing rental analysis for market value 

Some big decisions may require an in-person viewing. However, an initial video call can provide immediate insights into a situation. A property management firm can use a quality video call to offer initial thoughts on a house. They can offer price estimates based on size, layout or suggest potential insurance needs. Even if a final visit is needed, you’ve saved time and gas money. This is especially true if the business relationship doesn’t move to the next step. 

The best part about video calling is that it can happen from a phone or desktop! Your call happens wherever you need to see another person or place.

smrtPhone’s Mobile App allows for free 1-to-1 Video Calling, up to 30 minutes. 

Anyone who has ever gone house or apartment hunting knows that some properties felt wrong the moment they walked in. Imagine if you could have given a virtual property tour, saving time on unsuitable locations. Once video calling is a consistent, integral part of a business, it will feel like a no-brainer to use it for all of the conversations that require a visual, but don’t require travel.

 

Face-to-face Sales are Better for Trust

Woman taking a video call in her kitchen from her phone

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that face-to-face interactions lead to higher close rates than regular phone calls or email. But did you know that high quality Video Calling is also more effective than regular phone calls for closing deals? Now that Video Call quality is better than ever, and starting a call is easy as clicking a button, Video Calling has stepped up as an effective way to close deals. 

According to research by Forbes Insights and Zoom, Video Calling increases engagement and leads to more effective relationship-building. This ultimately leads to higher levels of trust between seller and customer, which is invaluable for Property Managers who are working with people’s homes. The best part about smrtPhone Video Calling is that, unlike Zoom, their lead or customer does not need to download a third party application to join a call. 

Face-to-face video calls allow for subtle, non-verbal communication such as eye contact and facial expressions. This helps the seller back off if it’s clear they’re coming on too strong, or put the lead at ease with smiles and body language that is more gentle or unassuming. You want your customers leads to like and trust you, which is always easier when you can engage face-to-face.

 

Video Calling for Maintenance Issue

Assessment

Man on the phone while holding a bucket underneath a leakImagine you have a tenant who calls your maintenance line and says “the plumbing is going crazy — we’re drowning in water!” You send an expensive, after-hours plumber to the property who then finds only a small leak. Sometimes a quick Video Call where you can see an issue – and provide a smile and comforting word! – goes a long way in solving a problem. Your tenants want to feel seen and attended to, but that doesn’t always mean it’s worth sending a vendor, super or maintenance worker ASAP. Judge a scenario with as much information as possible, which includes visuals with Video Calling.

It’s not just about emergency issues, either. Imagine you installed new appliances in your units, and some tenants want you to teach them how they work. Set up Video Calls to walkthrough the new washer or dryer without having to send a person out to the site. Similarly, a scheduled maintenance appointment might call for different tools or types of screws. Set up a Video Call pre-visit to walk through the project and ensure everything needed is on its way. 

Video Calling makes customer service and emergency response even more streamlined and effective. Plus, you’ll maintain a record of the Video Call, synced to your CRM if you want it there, for later reference. Video Calling isn’t just about the right now; it’s also a way to keep visual records of important things that have happened in the past. 

Close a Deal with More than Just Voice

Why is closing a deal face-to-face over Video so much better than doing it over the phone? Let’s go over the ways: 

  1. Body Language: Anyone in sales knows that intensity can sometimes read as aggression or being terse can be received as uninterested. Yet you’re just trying to sound passionate and economical with your words! Alleviate misunderstandings by seeing eachother’s faces! A smile, a kind listening facial expression or a hearty laugh can be the engagement that tips a lead into a customer, or a sale from unsure to closed. Use technology to your advantage! And maybe save those videos for training new employees later. 
  2. Sharing Visual Information: Video Calling lets you speak face-to-face, but it also allows you to share what’s on your computer screen with the click of a button. Share financial assets, photos of a house, a timeline of a deal or whatever you think will help you close the sale. Hop between demos and conversation as you see fit. The more information you share, the more confidence you’re instilling in your offerings. 
  3. Create Urgency yet Avoid Pressure: Talking to someone one-on-one, while maintaining eye contact, might gently lead the conversation towards a resolution faster than if you’re just chatting on the phone. Help increase urgency by scheduling a video call rather than a phone call, but don’t be aggressive in order to avoid pressure. Confidence and friendliness is the key to a good call — especially when you can be face-to-face.
  4. Save Time: Video Calls save everyone time. You’re getting the benefits of an in-person meeting, while avoiding paying for gas, spending time on a commute, and syncing up calendars for an even longer amount of time. Video Calls are about combining efficiency of a call with the familiarity of an in-person visit. Get the best of both worlds. 

Your interpersonal skills are an asset in property management, how do you keep every person involved in a deal happy? Between homeowners, renters, investors, and real estate agents, you have to be a trustworthy, approachable and organized intermediary. Video Calling is an essential asset in your toolkit. 

Handshake between hand coming out of computer screen and someone in front of computer

smrtPhone Video Calling 

Sure – most people can Video Call from an iPhone or an Android phone at any time. But it requires the other person to have the same type of phone as you. Plus, the video call is not integrated with your other business communication. You want your calls to be easily referenceable with your other call and text history. 

With smrtPhone Video Calling, you can easily send a text with a link to join your call. No need to download a third party app. Anyone can click the link from their phone or computer. Even the least tech-savvy person can join effortlessly.

Running a meeting is fast and customizable to your needs with advanced settings like a virtual whiteboard, Q&A, chat options, and more.

A record of your call is nestled in between all of your other communication. Your coworkers and managers see you’re on top of your job, and can even view the video call recording after the fact. Business communication should be organized, efficient and inform future strategy. 

A lot of your video calls are short and sweet, and should be free. Every video call under 30 minutes is free with smrtPhone. If you need longer calls, or to include multiple people, smrtPhone Pro allows for extended time. If you use a CRM such as Salesforce or Podio to organize your sales pipeline, smrtPhone Video Calling instantly syncs. Stop using your personal phone for business calls!

Video call with multiple participants