* HP group supports Realtors and other wanderers
Their signs stay in one place, but Realtors don’t. Although selling a low tech item, houses, many Realtors fill their pockets (and briefcases and car trunks) with technology to improve their sales. HP’s vertical market group has a strong focus on Realtors.
Although you’re probably not a Realtor, you can apply mobility lessons learned by Realtors to your own wandering coworkers. If you’re a reseller, mobile professionals may be a market worth investigating.
Some Realtor friendly technology tools come to mind quickly, like cell phones and notebook computers. HP’s product offerings also include mobile printers, iPaq smart phones (excuse me, Mobile Messengers), digital cameras and tablet PCs, along with some special marketing software.
Most people in real estate are independent contractors. Even big real estate groups contract sales people rather than hire employees. Every technology purchase is personal for these people, because if the tools don’t help them sell more, they go broke and can’t pay for the tools.
Technology for Realtors is more valuable when data connections are available. Whether wireless hot spots at coffee shops, municipal Wi-Fi projects, or data services over a cellular phone network, staying in touch remotely means staying in the field rather than driving to and from the office. Since about 95% of new notebook computers include wireless support, data connections are the norm today.
HP has even found a way to sell Tablet PCs: use pen-enabled screens and software to let customers sign contracts while still enthralled with their “new” home. No need to drive back to the office and give the customers time to reconsider, or pass another house they want to check “just in case.” Hand them the Tablet PC and the stylus, get their signature and close that deal.
If you still don’t believe Tablet PCs are a good idea, how about putting a mobile printer in the car trunk? Bluetooth-enabled printers with battery power can spit out paper contracts from a Bluetooth notebook or iPaq at up to 16 pages per minute in color, and 17 pages per minute in contract black and white and fine print. If the customer isn’t ready for the contract, print them out a full color photo to remember the house.
Many printers now support a variety of ways to print photos from digital cameras, including Bluetooth, USB ports, and card readers. HP has been about the best in supporting a wide variety of data cards with even their low-end printers. Their new mobile printers can wirelessly accept images from notebooks, digital cameras, PDAs, and mobile phones. Check your particular device to be sure, but the list grows with each printer iteration.
HP includes many case studies and product bundles on their Web site. You can choose from white papers, catalogs, or videos. You can also get a list of resellers, or finance through HP directly. Members of NAR (National Association of Realtors) get special offers from HP, including lease options for bundled products. Since the NAR has about 1.3 million members, that’s a pretty good market segment HP is targeting.
Too often we think of “mobile” workers as those flying on airplanes, so every product must fit into a coat pocket. Yet many mobile workers drive around town rather than fly around the country, and the types of tools sold to Realtors can help them as well.
One product not sold by HP that could help many employees and customers is a portable DVD player. Now that some models are down to around $60 for the holiday sales season, they’re much cheaper than including a DVD drive on most new notebooks and Tablet PCs. Give employees sales or product training DVDs, and let customers watch product sales pitches on DVDs while you’re working on their computer problems. Or, depending on the customer, let them watch a movie so they don’t bother you while you’re working.
Mobile technology products should be the default for traveling tech support companies. If you send technical service people out with paper work orders on clipboards, what does that say about your ability to manage technology? Nothing good.
Prices for mobile products are higher than their stationary counterparts, but the gap narrows constantly. In fact, notebook computers outsell desktop computers today. PDAs with phones and cameras and Wi-Fi data access consolidate three devices into one, saving pocket space and reducing your total expenditure.
Best of all, these mobile products make great Christmas purchases. Add the seasonal sale prices to the tax deduction, and a pocket full of technology may be a good employee present, if a bit self serving. Maybe you can be satisfied with the sale prices and tax deductions, and give your employees cash bonuses. If you give them the choice, I bet they’ll bypass a pocket full of technology for a pocket full of cash.
