How a top real estate agent serves clients using Marco Polo

Paige Schulte is a Realtor and neighborhood specialist in the Canterwood community outside of Seattle. In addition to heading the #1 real estate team in her area, Paige is a proud mom of three and founder of the Chelsea Paige Foundation, supporting nonprofit organizations of Gig Harbor.

Impact

There are a ton of people relocating to Seattle every day. I have clients reaching out from all over, needing to buy a new home in a city they don’t really know much about. But coordinating home tours becomes a major challenge when clients live and work on the other side of the country.

Touring homes from far away

Buyers want to know what life is like in the community they are about to invest in.

So, it’s even more crucial to find ways to build trust and form a partnership when you’re guiding someone to their next home, and around their new community, from a distance.

It was actually a client from Florida who told me about Marco Polo. He travels for work, a lot. So when I started pulling listings together, it was clear that coordinating time to travel to Seattle, to see properties in person, was going to be a challenge. He said, “Paige, let’s do walk-throughs using this app.” I agreed to, but I have to be honest, I was pretty nervous about it. I wasn’t convinced I could present (much less sell) a home this way. Walking through a home and the neighborhood in person is important. I thought, How am I going to deliver this intimate experience over an app?

Bringing the mountain to the client

Being a neighborhood expert is a BIG deal to me. Most often, clients reach out to me because I’m an expert in the neighborhood they are interested in. So being able to capture and share the community and surrounding neighborhoods over the app — even the coffee shop around the corner and the neighborhood market — is huge. These are details that help someone envision living there.

It’s the reason I’ve sold multiple homes sight-unseen, based only on Marco Polo walk-throughs. Clients were happy with touring homes and neighborhoods over the app.

And it’s not just my long distance clients that appreciate touring property this way. Life is busy for everyone. I can share properties live on Marco Polo and answer questions immediately. Or clients can watch the tour later, when they have time.

"It makes a big difference when I can show (and not just tell) the story of a home and the neighborhood that surrounds it."

Success is more than a stack of great listings

Before Marco Polo, every meeting, walk-through, and consultation required coordinating time with one or more people. So the ability to save time for myself and my clients is a commodity. It pays off!

In just my first year of using Marco Polo with my clients, I:

Sold three homes, sight-unseen, based solely on walk-throughs over the app.
Freed up countless hours to reinvest into developing my business strategy.
Gained quality, face-to-face time with clients without coordinating time to meet in person. Buyers love the feeling of being right there with us but not having to be “on” at the same time.

Now in our welcome email, we ask every new client to download the app. Connecting face-to-face, building solid relationships, and instilling trust, all while saving everyone, time is gold.

Top 4 reasons Paige can’t live without Marco Polo

1. It’s perfect for new homeowner final walk-throughs!

I can video the entire tour in multiple Polos. It’s like a binge series for the new buyer to learn important details about the home they just purchased. When there are experts involved, like the technician who installed their new thermostat, I include the expert giving live instructions on how to operate it. It’s way better than third party notes. And it takes the pressure off me. We’ve even used Marco Polo for inspections when buyers can’t make it.

2. I’ve created a group on Marco Polo to connect with other agents.

We share content, best practices, and brainstorm. But even better, I build relationships with agents in other areas and states. When I have a really awesome buyer who wants property outside my area, I can refer them to another agent with confidence. It goes both ways!

3. I can easily coordinate to-dos.

For example, because my home stager is usually super busy, she can’t always accommodate a consultation in person. But we can meet over Marco Polo. She can see all the rooms and the furniture that is currently there. She can decide what pieces to work with and what needs to change. We can do this live, or she can watch later.

4. I can keep clients in the loop.

When clients are renovating their new property, I can Polo them with weekly drive-bys. It makes reporting on progress so much easier. Plus they can see how their home is coming along (and get excited) without making time to see it, or manage it, in person.